MMeM, Vol.12 Issue 21 – Xtastic

it hasn’t been real fun.

A little more than a month ago, I got a new cell phone on my birthday. And wow, how the story does not just end there. First, after having poked fun at co-workers and friends for having GIANT phones themselves, I opted for the iPhone 6 PLUS. I hadn’t even left the AT&T store before plotting how I would apologize to co-workers for asking if they were talking on their tablets up to their ears. Anyway, we got talked into switching home phone, internet, and television to AT&T/Direct TV as well in order to get our 5 iPhones unlimited data as only 2 of us had the old grandfathered and crappy unlimited versions.

Not everyone in this house handles change well, at all. So, Direct TV has been, a bit, of an adjustment. The installation alone took about 5 1/2 hours as a 2nd technician had to be called in to negotiate the years of co-axial cable labyrinth hell that non-techies had unleashed in the basement, crawl-spaces, and attic of my house. Finally, the day came to start our Direct TV experience. It was a perfect night for TV watching as there was a nasty thunderstorm. So, yeah you know how that went. Immediately, I had dissatisfied customers/family members in my midst.

Anyway, the day arrived when it was time to return the 2 DVRs and 3 digital converter boxes with all remote controls to Comcast. I make special mention of remote controls because as I have mentioned in the past, our Golden Retriever has been quite fond of eating these. Comcast was very helpful in giving us replacement remotes for a while, but even they had limits after a while and finally started charging $25 when they saw me walking in the door.

I was nervous about taking back all of this equipment. This location was the same place where I had two interviews with Comcast 9 years ago. The 2nd interview was in a board room with about 7 upper management types. It went well. I never heard a word from them. Obviously, apparently, I didn’t get the job. Then, about 3 years ago I made a routine monthly payment using my bank’s online payment system. Somehow, Comcast got my customer account number transposed with another customer and credited that customer’s account instead of mine. Long story longer, they put a block on my account to disallow me from using online payment for more than a year and a half! It was THEIR FAULT! I drove to this place on 3 occasions per their requirements to be in person, when I was ON CRUTCHES, 3 different workers told me they were fixing it. They never did.

Before going in on a day off I checked the hours of operation of this location the night before online. It said 8:30am-5:30pm.

 

But, when I get there before the hours of operation as posted online for the location, I see this on the door.

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After a few minutes of waiting and doubting my memory, I checked my phone to see if I just mis-remembered the hours of operation for this operation.

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Nope, I was right.

 

 

Finally, I get inside and tell the worker I have to disconnect my service. I answer the requisite questions about why and leave out all of the above except the part about the difference in hours on the website and the….. he cuts me off and proudly says, “Yeah, we are now 9-5:30 Monday through Friday.” I answer him with, “Yeah, I saw that ON THE DOOR AFTER GETTING HERE AT THE TIME ON YOUR WEBSITE.”

He doesn’t apologize and says, “Ok, you should be seeing a $25 check in the mail now as your account is paid in full and you have that much in credit based on closing it today.” I thank him and leave.

I then get this in the mail a week and 1/2 later.

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So, I went back to the same location and talked to the same worker. Of course this time, I knew what time to get there. He explained this NON-BILL, apparently, and told me that I should expect a $35 check in the mail. Not. Holding. My. Breath.

Look, Comcast I actually liked your service, I really did. I liked the WiFi you provided around our town. For the record, your internet service was faster than AT&T’s. I used to sell DSL for Verizon and my honest rebuttal now for cable modem vs. DSL/ADSL is that cable is generally faster because it’s just a really big fat wire. Simple really. The final reason for my switch was actually, surprisingly, not your fault at all.

However, all in all, it’s been fun, it’s been real, but it hasn’t been real fun.

About

Blogger, in search of humor, always. Writer of MidwesternMeditations.com, formerly hosted on Blogger.