Customer Service Re-Visited

Well, the Love Affair with my Cable DVR hit a bump in the road. Seems she likes to take frequent breaks during the day. A lot of the programs I set to record don't get recorded as a result. I decided to try Comcast's Online Tech Support since being on hold online is a little less restrictive than sitting on the phone. It's an online chat room, pretty much.

The times were posted with each message. Make note:

23:26:40: clocked into Comcast Visual Chat
user James_ has entered room

James(Wed Aug 8 23:27:48 EDT 2007)>I have the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. At least once a day, sometimes more, the box will click, shut down, and go into re-boot mode. It will then be offline for 10-20 minutes until it reboots.

analyst Madilyn.4814 has entered room

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:35:02 EDT 2007)>Hello James_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Madilyn.4814. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:35:04 EDT 2007)>I’d be happy to assist you this evening!

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:35:16 EDT 2007)>thanks

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:36:09 EDT 2007)>Please hold. I am working on your issue.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:37:37 EDT 2007)>Please hold. I am working on your issue.

Please stop typing that and work on the issue, k? Thanksssss

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:39:12 EDT 2007)>Thank you for holding, James. For security reasons, please provide your Comcast account number listed on your monthly statement.

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:40:32 EDT 2007)> XXXXX XXXXXX-XX (sorry, not givin' my number out here)

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:40:45 EDT 2007)>What is your unit number, James?

Takes me a minute to get across the room to look at the cable box...handicapped, ya know how it is...

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:41:03 EDT 2007)>Scientific Atlanta 8300HD

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:41:20 EDT 2007)>Thank you.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:41:50 EDT 2007)>I meant your address unit number, James. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Isn't it funny when something makes you spit your drink out?

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:42:18 EDT 2007)>100 Stupid Street, Idiot USA (can't publish my address, right?)

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:43:59 EDT 2007)>Thank you.

10 minutes in...we both know my address, ahem, unit, number.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:44:00 EDT 2007)>Please hold. I am working on your issue.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:45:52 EDT 2007)>James, thank you for your patience.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:46:57 EDT 2007)>Have you disconnected the box for a few minutes or had a signal sent to the box to reset it?

Gulp--NO! Crawl across the room...

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:47:13 EDT 2007)>I have disconnected it

15 seconds...not bad...I didn't actually have to make it all the way to the box. I just flipped the wall switch to power everything down

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:48:32 EDT 2007)>Can you plug it back in for me, please?

SH*T! Crawl crawl crawl...

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:48:46 EDT 2007)>Please provide the last 4 digits of your box serial number. It will be on a label at the bottom or back of the box.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:49:04 EDT 2007)>The serial numbe should start with an S, James?

At this point, I wanted to make sure that she wasn't asking for the last for digits of my Social Security box serial number. :)

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:49:33 EDT 2007)>one moment

DAMMIT! I just got back here! CRAWL CRAWL CRAWL. note: this now involves me crawling behind the TV unit...

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:53:38 EDT 2007)>SABPDKGTW N003577XXX

This was the number that was micro-printed on a tiny postage-stamp-size label on the unit

Only took 4 minutes. Dark back there.

LOL, also note that I gave her the whole serial number, not just the last 4 digits. Wasn't taking any chances.

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:54:10 EDT 2007)>the box has been disconnected and plugged back in

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:54:05 EDT 2007)>Thank you.

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:54:34 EDT 2007)>I am going to send a signal to it, James. Is the TV on too?

Yes. (Thank GOD for remote controls...)

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:54:41 EDT 2007)>yes

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:56:22 EDT 2007)>The signal went through fine. If this doesn't improve the connection, please don't hesitate to swap the box at the Comcast office or chat with us to get a technician to come and check the box out or swap it at your home.

James_(Wed Aug 8 23:57:00 EDT 2007)>thank you

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:57:08 EDT 2007)>You're welcome!

Madilyn.4814(Wed Aug 8 23:57:09 EDT 2007)>Do you have any other Comcast issues I can assist you with?

I resisted asking her for directions to Pittsburgh.

Just as a footnote, it's now 12:15 AM, and the cable box still hasn't come back online. :)

The Romance Is Over!

A mere 10 days after it began, my relationship has ended. 10 days of bliss came to a crashing halt today.

Yes, the DVR that I loved so quickly, so recklessly, broke my heart today. OK, well it broke. I called Comcast tech support and told the Lady who answered, "I think my DVR is shot."

Naturally, she had to walk me through the 5-step "troubleshooting" process that I went through prior to calling Tech Support. The call ended when she said, "I think your DVR is shot."

I have to go in and swap it out tomorrow. I'm going to go play Beyonce's "To The Left" now.

Serendipity!

I'm happy to report tonight that, despite my best efforts, my new Cable/DVR box is hooked up, and operating perfectly.

So I'm driving along, and I come upon a detour. I'm in my town, just a part that I'm not too familiar with. I realized I needed to make a U-Turn, and when I did, I went into the parking lot of my cable TV company.

I have been wanting to get the DVR for a while, so I figured I'd ask what I needed to do to get one. The Lady at the counter was very nice, took my phone number, and told me that I could take the new box home right now. I could bring the old box back tomorrow, no problem.

Ok, that's not supposed to happen that way.

So I take the stuff and go home. I open the box, and inside the box was the cable box. Not a cat, not a bologna sandwich, not a brick. A cable box.

I take the cable box out, and the AC cord is there, as well as the coaxial cable. I connect everything, plug in the AC cord without electrocuting myself. So far, no fatalities.

I turn the TV on and sit. I unwrap the remote and see that it requires 2 AA batteries, included in the box. I look, and there they are: 2 AA batteries. Not C batteries, not a car battery, AA batteries.

That's not supposed to happen! After a few seconds of the "One Moment Please" screen on the TV, it loads up, and I'm looking at television. I insert the batteries, and follow the easy instructions to program it. I program it to work my TV, and my DVD player.

Then I test the remote, and it works all the devices. I start flipping channels, even getting into the comfy "Channel-Surfing" position. I'm surfing...I power down, I power up, TV, DVR, DVD, I'm programming recordings, and everything is working

OK, what the hell is going on here? No fires, no injuries, no short circuits, and not a single cuss word.

Great. And I've got shows programmed already, going into next WEEK! This is just not right!

Yeah, but I have to go out tomorrow, now, don't I? (return the old cable box and all)

I'm gonna get hit with a falling piano now. I just know it.

All I know is, right now, at this moment, everything works.

Oh well, I tried.