Comcast Sucks aka I Hate Comcast

I am totally disturbed by Comcast! They are a bunch of filthy liars. Could give a damn about customer service. Look to blame the customer for every issue that arises in the mess they would like to call a corporation. In order for you to feel my pain, I will have to give you all the details. And I wont leave a one of them out.

The story begins in September 2006. I was moving and would need to have cable/Internet service. I called a month in advance and set up an installation date. The installation date came, but no one from Comcast did. Being a new Comcast customer at this point, I was not completely irate when the woman on the other end of the phone told me that there was never an installation appointment set up. I just simply set up a new one...for 3 weeks out.

Three weeks later and on a Saturday I am waiting for my installation. I was promised the technician would be at my house between 2-5 PM. It is getting closer and closer to 5 and I have not heard from anyone, so I call Comcast to make sure that I actually do even have an appointment this time. Comcast says that the technician is en route to my location as we were speaking. And I suppose that wasn't a total lie, the guy EVENTUALLY would be en route to my location, so maybe he was in the process of showering, or maybe having a steak dinner at Denny's...who knows, but I guess this person on the other end of the phone was considering the whole process of this man's day the route to my location. 8 PM rolls around. By this time I have called Comcast 3 other times and again am assured each time the technician is en route to my location...Finally, there is a knock on the door. The cable guy has finally arrived!!!

So this scuzzy dude comes into my living room. He smells as if he hasn't showered in days. He is wearing ripped jeans and a yellowed t-shirt, but whatever right...I am about to get cable. Mind you 7 weeks after I started the process. So he hooks up my modem in record time. Then he moves onto my cable box. He is about halfway through when I happen to mention something about my DVR service. He told me the box he had brought to my house was not a DVR box and that nowhere on the work order did it state that I had ordered DVR service. I knew damn well I had because I had priced it all out on the phone with the woman I spoke with 7 weeks ago. Turns out she had not only forgot to actually set me up with an installation, she was brain dead when we were talking about adding the DVR for $9.95 to my service.

I am starting to get a little bit upset at this point. The scuzzy dude says he might have a box capable of DVR in his truck and goes to look. In the meantime he says I need to call Comcast back and straighten out the problem. I call and after holding for about 15 minutes, I am connected with a live person who proceeds to argue with me about whether or not I have ordered DVR service. Never once do they apologize, they just tell me that I didn't order the service and I would be able to order it now if I would like for $15.95 a month. I would then be able to have an appointment to have that installed about 2 weeks later and I would be charged a service fee. Yeah.... Even after speaking to them in a level and calm voice about how this was a mistake on their part and that I should not have to pay any extra charges for things that were mistakes on their part they would not back down. I was not offered an apology for them screwing up my order and being late, nor was I offered any credits on my account.

Scuzzy dude comes back in about this time empty handed. I am on the verge of becoming livid. Comcast wants me to pay for their mistake!!! I could not believe it. I tell Scuzzy dude what is going on and grab him and I a beer. Yes, Scuzzy dude did drink a beer with me while on the job, Comcast...way to go Comcast. Your outsourcing and hiring of third party contractors is really working out! Over the beer, I tell Scuzzy dude what is going on and he calls into his dispatcher person and tries to get them to schedule him in for tomorrow. Score! Dispatcher says he can come between 9-11 AM. He has promised me he will be back with the right box, free of the service charge first thing in the morning. He leaves.

I get up the next morning and am expecting Scuzzy dude back between 9-11 AM. I bet you can guess what happens next...NO SHOW! So I call Comcast...AGAIN...they say that technicians cannot set up their own service calls and that there is no record of this. That they have done nothing wrong and not missed a service call because there was no service call in place because I would not agree to pay for one. If I agreed to pay for it at this point, they would gladly put one in the system. I go insane. After talking to about 8 or 9 people at the call center, I am finally given a free service call to have the DVR installed that I had originally ordered. I would however, have to wait until the next weekend to have it installed.

Okay, so here we are on week 8 of me TRYING to get the cable service that satisfies me. This time I am scheduled between 8-11 AM. I wanted to be the first call...no chance to be late, they would have the right equipment, etc... HAHAHAHAH what was I thinking. It ended up wasting my whole day as 15 or so calls were made to Comcast wondering where the technician was. Around 8 PM that evening a different technician (not the beer drinking one with empty promises) finally arrives and gets me all good to go...my Comcast drama is finally over for a few months and I can just relax and watch my TV.

On down the road, I unfortunately have to move again. I again call a month in advance to let them know of my impending move. At this point I am arguing and hassling with them because the new place I am moving already has service and they cant do anything with the address until I am in the place and the other service has been cut off. Completely understandable. I would just have to go a few weeks with out cable. The hazards of every move. I was also perturbed with them because I had to pay to have my cable transferred...I said then I would just cancel and try and find a different company. They then said...well then you will have to pay a cancellation fee. When I asked what that was for, she said it was for someone to come pick up the equipment. I told her that I would drop the equipment off somewhere to avoid the fee...she said it didn't matter I would still get charged a disconnect fee. I said jeez...well what can I do with you guys without getting charged a fee!!!

Ultimately the option that would cost me the least amount of money was just to have my service transferred from my old place to my new place. I had already shopped around for some of the other Internet providers and satellite companies and for the time being sadly enough found this option was the most cost effective for me. DAMN IT!

So my "transfer" date comes up and the technician arrives on time! WOW! This time the tech is a guy in his 30s. Looks to be a family man. At least this one is clean. After about an hour...I start to wonder what in the world this guy is doing. Does it really take an hour to hook up my modem...so I go to check in on him. He just starts chatting me up, asking if I am married...wierd...I am feeling a little creeped out, so I go out to my deck to smoke a cigarette...and also to stay in eyesight/earshot of my neighbors. Guy follows me outside about 15 minutes later and starts telling me how much he likes to smoke the "left-handed" cigarettes. I said that's nice...but he just wont let it go. I am in shock...I cant believe the cable guy wants me to score him some wacky tabacky...whatever...I am going to have cable service once again after a long drought. He finally leaves and mind you this character was at my house for 2 and a half hours....was that normal?? I think not.

After the summer, my box goes out :( I talk to someone at the call center while I am at work and the girl on the other end tells me that we are resetting my box and she is sending the proper signals to it. She says to make sure its working when I get home from work and to call back if not. I get home from work and of course its not working...because I find out when I get home that the 15 minutes I spent on the phone with the girl was a waste of time. In order for them to remotely reset your box...you have to be standing in front of your box pressing some buttons. Why would this girl have lied to me and wasted mine and her own time!!!!!!!!!!! I would really love to know Comcast's training procedures. Because not one person I ever talk to there tells me the same thing. Nor does anyone really seem to know what they are talking about.

I then troubleshoot the box myself again with another employee helping me to no avail. The damn thing will have to be replaced. I set up an appointment (that of which they TRIED to charge me for, I screamed and yelled...they dropped the fee). Dude actually shows up on time and replaces the box in about 15 minutes. Great...finally Comcast seems to be on the right track. I had nothing but smiles for them at this point.

Fast forward a few weeks. My guide is nothing but TBA....I call Comcast. They dont know what the problem is, but would gladly send someone out to look at it in a week or so for a fee. I say fine whatever...set me up. Never mind the fact they could have replaced my already faulty box with another faulty box.

My box magically fixed itself before this next service call came up, so I called in to cancel. Upon calling to cancel the service call, I am told that there is not a service call in place for me. I get a little upset hearing this because what if I had been waiting for them again!! The girl on the phone proceeds to argue with me about the existence of said service call. She wouldn't take 5 seconds of spouting off loyalties and praises of Comcast to think logically. Why would I have called in to cancel a service if I had never called and requested service? Hello! Finally I get her to see things my way (or maybe she was tired of defending her beloved employer). She said that I could be credited for the time my equipment was out, but I would have to wait until I received my bill and call back...fair enough I thought. Boy was I wrong...this is where me and Comcast crashed and burned.

I called when I got the bill. Not only was there not a record of this service call, there was no record of my calling to cancel said service call. Therefore, there was nothing they could do to credit my account for the time my service was out. This manly sounding woman I was talking to was rude as all get out...she accused me of making the service issue up. Yeah lady...in my spare time for fun, I call and fight with the people unfortunate enough to have to work at Comcast. Needless to say, my conversation with this she-man gets pretty heated and I am getting nowhere because this woman is calling me a liar. I tell them how they just don't care about their customers, they are overcharging people for a service that is already sub-par, etc, etc, etc, I tell her I am sorry she has to work for Comcast and threaten to not do business with them anymore.

She-man pretty much said good riddance to me and wanted to set up a disconnection. Which would also come with a fee!!!!!!!!! I tried to fight this tooth and nail and said I would not be giving Comcast one more dime. Getting nowhere on the fee issue, I hung up the phone.

The week before Thanksgiving, I get a call from Comcast calling to set up a date for my disconnection. I said I don't want a disconnection...I told them about my fight with She-man and said that a disconnect would not be necessary. Thought that would be the end of the story.

Nope, dead wrong...


The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I get a call from a technician saying he is on his way to my house for my disconnect. I once again tell him there is not a disconnect scheduled and to not disconnect my service. He said that I would have to call Comcast and cancel it with them. I inform him, I had cancelled it with them last week and quite frankly I wasn't wasting anymore of my time with them on the issue...he said have a good day and I'll take care of it.

Fast forward to last night. I came home from work and my service had been disconnected. DISCONNECTED!!!! Two and a half hours of screaming and yelling on the phone got me NOTHING. When I say I turned into a raving lunatic last night, I am not exaggerating. I had a neighbor walk down the street from 3 doors down to see if everything was alright. I seriously was so raving mad...I went to Wal-mart in my pajamas and bedroom slippers and bought a splitter. See...the dumb ass tech who had come out to disconnect me had left the lid off the cable box...I would just connect to my neighbors box.

The neighbor, however, spotted me trying to do this and was not very pleased...mind you...these very neighbors steal water from my faucet on a regular basis. I guess water and cable are not an even trade!

It took a bottle of wine for the raving lunatic side of me to calm down.

So this morning I called at 7 AM, see last night I was told Comcast Corporate or Executive branch or something would be giving me a call...because those people would be in today, and were not in last night. I would be given a call because my matter had been escalated to higher powers. I didn't trust them, so that's why I called at 7 AM.

Took the woman about 20 minutes to read my saga and then she finally says to me...we will have someone out today between 2-5 PM. I said great...now do I have to be there and will I be charged for YOUR mistake? And yes to both. I have to be there and I will be charged for a reconnect fee...I also didnt qualify for the discounts other "new" customer's would qualify for because I had received new customer discounts within the past year. Infuriated at the fact this woman was calling me a "new" customer I yelled at her too and told her she was making me late for work...just to make sure the tech got out there and that my service was reconnected before the end of business today....now if only these phantom executive people would call me.

I'll let you know what happens tonight when I get home.