Tech Support? Yeah, Right

[cu-kid9]

So, my local cable/ISP just got bought out by Comcast who, as a bigger company, promises to provide more for less, better service, better browsing capabilities, yada, yada. Fine. Whatever. I don't care as long as I can get online and watch/record certain shows that I've become hopelessly addicted to.

When I got booted off the internet early Monday morning, I was a little annoyed, but just figured that my modem had decided to be difficult. I unplugged, rebooted, logged on to my IM and, lo and behold, I was online again.

Great. Fantastic.

Except for when I tried to open my browser, I got a "Server not found" message. Okay...weird.

I tried a variety of sites, got the same message. I even tried Internet Explorer (ew), which gave me the same message. So...I called Comcast. They told me that they were doing maintenance in my area, but everything should be up and running by 7:00. (Keep in mind that, during all of this, I never once lost connectivity with my IM program (except for that one time), which is the first thing to go when the internet goes down.)

Awesome.

Except that at 8:00, I was still getting the same message on my browser. So, I called Comcast again. The lady I talked to, after putting me on hold for ever, had me try to enter some .exe file in Start>Run. When the message popped up that the file wasn't found, she immediately told me I needed to call my computer manufacturer.

Okay, well, since I built my computer, my manufacturer is me and I obviously don't know what's going on. I called Comcast again later in the day and they told me to try to get a hold of someone at Windows -which had to wait until I got off work. At two in the morning, I called 411 to get an 800 number for Microsoft (because I forgot to look the number up while I was at work and I still didn't have internet access at home). They connected me to an 888 number that was really an area code 352 number that was disconnected...At this point, I'm starting to get annoyed since I've been dealing with this issue for over twenty-four hours. I finally got an 800 number that connected somewhere, listened to their menu and, since no one was available to help me at that technical support, I wrote down the number for Microsoft PC Safety. The lady there was very helpful (even though I got disconnected every time she put me on hold...and I'm sure my roommate wanted to strangle me when I was screaming, "NO! You can't disconnect me!" into my phone at three AM). She had me flush my DNS (which I had already done), had me ping DNS names(which came back as "no reply"), and then had me ping IP addresses...which came back with a 0% loss, meaning I had internet, there was nothing wrong with my computer, and I needed to call my ISP...again.

At Comcast, I got a hold of Chiana. Now, Chiana started off as a very nice customer service representative...who had the unfortunate luck to be placed at Tech Support. However, when I started telling her about pinging IP addresses and DNS names, about packets sent, received, and loss, she became very quiet (I should have known then. If I understand more than the "tech support" person, we're in trouble). Either we weren't communicating well, or she just didn't get it (I'm betting on the latter), because she kept telling me there were outages in my area. Being who I am, this wasn't a good enough explanation. I just couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that I was online, but not online (my IM program was still connected). I told her I wasn't trying to be difficult, I just didn't understand. I told her that I could connect to pages if I typed in their IP addresses, but not to DNS names, so I was online technically. After twenty minutes of talking to her, she doesn't transfer me to someone at Tech Support that actually knows something about tech support...oh, no...she goes, "That's because there are outages in your area."

Oh. No.

Yeah, I was done with Ms. Chiana.

I hung up, called back (because you never get the same person twice) and talked to Cheryl. Cheryl was very nice and actually understood what I was talking about. She went through a series of things, pinged my modem, was just as confused as I was because what she was getting was saying that my modem was online. She opened a ticket, set up an appointment for someone to come out (three days from the day I called her...all I could think was, "By then, I'm going to have the shakes because I'll be going through internet withdraw."). Still not satisfied, I called a more local number that Cheryl had given me. I got Deshana and immediately told her that I needed someone who was familiar with things like IP addresses, DNS names, and such. She transferred me...quickly.

Finally, at three-thirty in the morning, I got an answer that satisfied me. Because all of the information from my old ISP was being transferred to Comcast, my modem wasn't recognizing that my ISP had a valid IP address. I was told that everything should be good by 7:00.

But it wasn't...

So, a tech came out that evening, looked over my connection, looked at my computer and realized that my modem was still trying to connect to the old IP address. He changed it and, just like that, I was connected again.

...You mean, after 36 hours of BS, that's all it took?

Here's my thing: If I'm calling tech support, I really need tech support. I can usually figure things out on my own and, if I can't, then I can find out how to fix it from a friend or online. I understand that there are a lot of people out there who call tech support because they can't figure out how to open their browser. I'm not bashing them (my mother is one of them), and I'm not saying that every single person at a tech support number should be a computer wiz (although, that would be helpful). But if I call and the person on the other end has no idea what I'm talking about, please, for the love of God, transfer me to someone who does, don't get snarky with me. I work in customer service, I know that sometimes people just don't understand what you're saying, that you have to word it a different way (especially when dealing with people whose first language isn't English), or you have to refer them to someone who can help them. But I do it nicely, stay patient, keep smiling -even if they're being particularly difficult or dense.

Calling 800 numbers is already a pain in the ass since you can't get a hold of anyone without going through fifty different menus, all of which have eighty options where the one you want is usually last. When I finally get someone to talk to, I just don't want the added headache of them being rude or uninformed.

[greenwizard]

Oh, don't get me started on Comcast!!! We have two computers, and therefore have a router. So everytime we call up tech support, it doesn't matter what the problem really is, we get told it's the router! And of course they suggest we buy one of their routers for the total bullshit price of $60.

Hell, one time we were told it was the router when the service wasn't even on!! We had just gone through three routers and problem wasn't fixed, so we decided it was the modem. We decided to take their crappy modem back to them that they charge us $3 a month for, and spend money we didn't have for our own modem. When we took their modem back the idiot receptionist assumed we wanted to cancel our service and have it shut off!

We also paid $34 to have a tech come out to tell us the problem was our router. Not to mention that while fucking with our network he did something so that my wireless antenna wouldn't read the router, so we had to buy a new router and wireless card for me anyway.

My recent Comcast encounter has been fun too. We weren't able to get pages to load, but my messenger was connecting just fine. I called tech support and the guy I talked to said my modem response was slow. So of course he sent a tech out. The tech told me that the signal in my house was fine, but there were occasional lag spikes. He also informed me that a few of my neighbors were having the same problems! So I pretty much paid another trouble call fee for something that was wrong with their system! I think they got it fixed now finally.

I HATE COMCAST!!! I'd switch to DSL if I could. The only problem is that the local phone company doesn't have service in my area. I'd have to get other neighbors who want their service to sign a petition for service. So basically, unless I drum up buisness for them I'm screwed. Their prices have gone up three times in the past year!! I have fantasies of blowing up their main office. Can you tell I hate Comcast?

[cu-kid9]

I have fantasies of blowing up their main office. Can you tell I hate Comcast?

Maybe just a little

They tried the whole upping our bill thing...and then my roommate got a hold of them. They told her that we would be charged more because they were "a bigger company," to which she replied, "No, we won't be charged more, because I still have the original contract from Insight that I'm pretty sure you have to honor since our year isn't up yet." After that they, very nicely, told her that our bill would remain the same price.

Damn right. I was so sad that I missed being around for that phone call

I know the feeling about them telling you it's the wrong thing. If I had had one more person tell me my problem was my freakin' firewall, I was going to scream. I didn't pay anything for the tech guy to come out. And if I find a charge on the next bill for it...well, I'll let my roommate handle that (as long as I'm home so I can listen in ). After dealing with the both of us, I'm pretty sure they have some sort of flag on our account that says something to the effect of, "Just give the crazy bitches what they want." And if they don't, they should

[bitBlackmage]

Comcast has been pissing me off too... right now, I can barely load pages if they load at all. DD:

[cu-kid9]

After that whole debacle, I haven't noticed any lag or any problem loading pages. My roomie said she noticed it took some pages longer to load, but it hasn't happened to me...yet.

I know I'm going to post this and then something is going to happen. I'm a jinx to myself

[greenwizard]

Slow loading has been my most recent problem. I'll tell you right now, if you complain, it won't be their equipment. They'll tell you that it's yours. They'll do anything to avoid fixing it. I seriously think we need to ban together against Comcast. There's gotta be some regulating thing we can all complain to. Comcast must die!

[Lost_Soul]

XD you know, to solve your guy's problem, just freakin DROP comcast and go get DSL or some other internet connection company. o.o Don't get Joink >.> I use verizon and/or time warner. ^^ I haven't hardly got much trouble from them and they aren't a bitch about charging you unfairly. Hell, when I didn't have a week of internet, I called time warner up and complained, they helped me through the phone and gave me tips that I needed to try, and if that didn't work, sent someone out to give me help and it went well. Everyone was nice. ^^ That's just my advice... >.>

[cu-kid9]

I thought having DSL required having a phone line in the house...?

If I want "high-speed internet" Comcast is really my only option around here.

[greenwizard]

Mine too. As I said in my first post, the phone company doesn't have internet service in my area. We actually called them first because DSL would be cheaper. Comcast wasn't around back then. They bought out the local company last year. The service has been crappy since.

[bitBlackmage]

I don't know what to do... searching on my badly crippled internet shows that Comcast has been aggressively attacking bittorrent users, but I'm no filesharer that eats bandwidth. I'm a goody-good two-shoes you know? No one in my house or any of the visitors that come by do any of that either.

Also, they told us that we could have two computers hooked into the internet at no extra charge or anything. So far no odd charges came up, but I wonder if they're making us pay by disrupting service. Or it could just be the weather here.

By the way, if you guys aren't mad too much about comcast, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvVp7b5gzqU

[DemonGoddess]

I thought having DSL required having a phone line in the house...?

If I want "high-speed internet" Comcast is really my only option around here.

yep, an ADSL connection requires a landline. The shielded line is plugged into a filter, which plugs into your phone jack. What the filter does is enable the splitting of the signal so that you can use the internet and your phone simultaneously.

My mom hates Comcast too. Her cable company was fine, 'til they got bought out by Comcast. I'm glad I don't have to deal with them. Heard WAY too many horror stories about that company.

[greenwizard]

Oh I just love Comcast more and more. Seriously, someone should start a class action suit against them. It's like they're turning into a monopoly that doesn't give a shit. Something has got to be done. I was watching a few of those videos, and OMG. It's shit like that that makes me wish I had a choice other than Comcast or dial up.

[cu-kid9]

yep, an ADSL connection requires a landline. The shielded line is plugged into a filter, which plugs into your phone jack. What the filter does is enable the splitting of the signal so that you can use the internet and your phone simultaneously.

See, this wouldn't help because I don't have a phone line in my apartment -we just use our cells (one less bill to pay...).

Our old internet/cable service wasn't as bad as Comcast, but they certainly weren't anything to get upset over losing. We spent just as much, if not more, time arguing with them.

And, now, to add to my list of grievances over all things computer related, my personal PC has just decided to NOT WORK anymore ...which probably should be posted in a separate rant, but I'm too lazy to start a new one...

[DemonGoddess]

how's it not working? hardware or software failure?

[cu-kid9]

Ha. I wish I knew. I've replaced the power supply because it's not even turning on, but that didn't work. My CPU fan tries to turn and the LED lights on the front flicker, but nothing ever happens. I have to wait until Monday to take it in anywhere. Hopefully, it's just the power switch, or something trivial like that...my luck, it'll be the motherboard *sigh*

I never realize until something like this happens just how dependant I am on my computer and the internet

[DemonGoddess]

Check your onboard battery. It's a lithium battery next to a set of jumpers, and then you have to also reset and clear CMOS.

If it's not the CMOS battery, check your RAM next.

[greenwizard]

Now that we've bitched about Comcast (and trust me that bitch could go on forever), let's move on to Verizon.

You see, I have a cordless phone and wireless internet. The two occasionally conflicted, but the most that happened was my internet went down until I got off the phone. It was a little annoying, and could usually be prevented by going into another room while I was on the phone.

A few days ago my phone just went haywire. Not only did my net go off everytime the phone rang, but when I picked it up all I could hear was static. I couldn't call out either. Now here is where customer service comes in....

I called Verizon's tech support number to see if it was anything to do with their service. Instead of connecting me to an actual person the automated system asked me a bunch of questions and did an automated line test. It decided the line itself was ok.

Did it connect me to a real live person then to figure out what my problem was....? Oh hell no. It said a tech may need to come to my home. It also said that there would be a $91 fee for the tech to show up on my property Oh and that was just the start of it. They would charge yet another $91 fee for every 30 mins the tech was there!!!! What the fuck is that?! If I'm having trouble with a phone line that I'm paying for shouldn't they like fix it? I'm starting to think that Comcast isn't so bad cuz they only charge a $35 fee for a trouble call.

So I went and bought a cheap phone with a cord. Problem solved. But I'm starting to wish that there was another local phone company so I could switch.

[Guest Savaial]

Tech Support

Tech Support 2

Tech Support 3

[cu-kid9]

Check your onboard battery. It's a lithium battery next to a set of jumpers, and then you have to also reset and clear CMOS.

If it's not the CMOS battery, check your RAM next.

Yeah...apparently, it was my hard drive. Dunno what happened -the people at the repair place said it had probably just worn out. Fabulous. So, now I get to re-install everything and hope to god that my last backup discs have everything that I need on them. Otherwise, I've just lost everything

[DemonGoddess]

Depending on the age and interface of the drive, failure is no surprise. Most common reason for it (assuming it's an IDE drive) is the voice coil went bad. IF you can still access it, but not boot to it, you'll be able to retrieve your data. But, what'll determine that is the nature of the failure. Did they tell you what exactly made the drive fail?

[cu-kid9]

They couldn't tell me. They just said that every time they tried to hook it up (to my computer, or another) the computer wouldn't start. I was told I probably wouldn't even be able to set it up as a slave...

[DemonGoddess]

If the boot sector is bad, you can still set it up as a slave. So, what I'd do is set up the new primary HD, reinstall all your software, and then see if you can hook it up as a slave and retrieve your data.

With them being unwilling to give you more details other than it won't come up in another system, that doesn't tell us a whole bunch.

The other thing, is if CMOS doesn't see it at all, and won't id the HD, then it's something more extensive as far as internal damage. Hard to say without actually seeing or listening to the drive itself.