not my blog

So off I sent an EECB to Comcast tonight, here’s hoping to getting something done:

Tonight, May 27th, I attempted to get my account switched over to the promotion currently listed on the Comcast.com website. The package offers the services outlined in the attached pdf entitled “Select a Package.pdf” as the Triple Play Preferred Plus with Speed Tier for $87.09. The package contains the following items:

* Comcast Preferred Digital Plus with Channel 1 On Demand
* Comcast HighSpeed Internet (8Mb)
* Comcast Digital Voice

All these services are listed for $87.09 for the first 12 months on the website. I attempted to call the 1-800-COMCAST number this evening and spoke to a nice woman named Janiene, who after getting disconnected twice (both times after being hold for almost exactly ten minutes), informed me that they can’t even find it in the system, but it is only available online, and she did verify that they can find it on the website as well. She informed me to sign up through the site, and then correct my billing after the new services was installed.

I then signed up through the site (Order total information shown on Review My Order.pdf), and reached the last page (Goto Chat!.pdf) that said to call 1-877-870-4310 as one option to complete my order. I was connected to Shane when I called and was very rudly told that there was nothing he could do for me and I would be required to use the online form (which I was calling because the attempt to connect to the online chat the first time timed out). After several attempts I was finally able to connect to the chat and proceeded to watch as my number in the queue slowly ticked down to Next (approximately 40 minutes), only to go through the following chat session:

user Scott_ has entered room

Scott(Tue May 27 2008 21:22:34 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

online says to come here to complete order

analyst raymond.27858 has entered room

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:52:43 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Hello Scott_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is raymond.27858. Please give me one moment to review your information.

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:52:57 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Thank you for patiently waiting. We are currently experiencing an unexpected increase in voloume of chats coming in. But don’t worry, I will be more than happy to assist you with this one.

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:53:05 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Are you a new subscriber?

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:53:56 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

No. I was signing up for the online special for 87.09 per month for the Triple Play Plus with Upgrade Speed Tier, and it sent me this way to complete the order

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:13 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

attempted to do over phone, but they said I had to do it online, and well 2 hours later, we’re now here

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:24 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Do you already have an account?

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:24 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Do you already have an account?

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:43 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

the redirect after checkout to chat timed out, and so I went direct to start the chat

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:45 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

yes

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:55:06 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Alright. Let me go connect you now to our customer service department so they can process your request.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:55:18 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

k

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:55:20 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

thank you

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:55:15 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Please stay online, I am going to connect you now.

raymond.27858(Tue May 27 2008 21:55:53 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst

analyst raymond.27858 has left room

analyst Joseph Brandon has entered room

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 21:56:34 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Welcome to Comcast! I’m from the Sales team. How are you doing today?

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:56:53 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Good… tired… on hour two now of this

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:56:54 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

smile

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:57:11 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:53:56 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

No. I was signing up for the online special for 87.09 per month for the Triple Play Plus with Upgrade Speed Tier, and it sent me this way to complete the order

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:54:13 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

attempted to do over phone, but they said I had to do it online, and well 2 hours later, we’re now here

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:57:41 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Basically when I called the local comcast office, they said the only way to get this preferred pricing was to sign up online

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 21:57:33 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I see…

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 21:58:12 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Glad to hear that your doing good, well, I’m tired too, big smile but I’d do my best to accomplish whatever your request is for today Scott.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 21:58:37 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Alright, do you currently have an active Comcast account already?

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:58:47 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Basically I’m trying to get the 87.09 package that is advertised on the website, gain some features and save some money

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:59:04 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Yes, billing number is XXX.XXX.XXXX

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:59:47 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 21:59:45 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I see, thank you for the information.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 21:59:57 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Address: ADDRESS HERE, CITY, STATE ZIP

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:00:01 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

You mean you would want to reduce your current rate?

analyst Joseph Brandon has been temporarily disconnected. Please wait while the analyst attempts to reconnect.

analyst Joseph Brandon has entered room

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:01:55 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Yup, and considering Comcast is offering a promotion for more services at a rate severely lower than what I am currently paying, I feel as a valued 5+ year customer, I should be able to get the same rates

analyst Joseph Brandon has been temporarily disconnected. Please wait while the analyst attempts to reconnect.

analyst Joseph Brandon has entered room

analyst Joseph Brandon has been temporarily disconnected. Please wait while the analyst attempts to reconnect.

analyst Joseph Brandon has entered room

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:05:45 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

you guys having issues with chat on your end tonight?

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:06:29 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I do apologize Scott, I’m experiencing a network disruption in our chat system.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:06:32 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I do apologize Scott, I’m experiencing a network disruption in our chat system.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:06:35 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I do apologize Scott, I’m experiencing a network disruption in our chat system.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:06:47 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Oh, I didn’t mean to send it a lot of times.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:07:01 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

np

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:07:10 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Anyway, in case you didn’t get my last one:

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:07:16 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:01:55 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Yup, and considering Comcast is offering a promotion for more services at a rate severely lower than what I am currently paying, I feel as a valued 5+ year customer, I should be able to get the same rates

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:07:27 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I see, thank you for the information Scott. I understand the inconvenience and I know that you’re tired of it already. I empathize.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:07:41 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

We might get disconnected as we go along.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:08:02 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I would love to accomplish your request for you now myself.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:08:18 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

awesome

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:09:36 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

However, I have spoken with our experts and suggested that you might need to chat back to us after an hour or maybe tomorrow since it’s already late in the evening. We are currently undergoing system maintenance for this disruption that we are experiencing on our end.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:10:01 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

My sincerest apologies if I might not be able to process your request at this time.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:10:36 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Wouldn’t be your fault

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:10:52 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

I am advised to terminate the chat since our system would need to be rebooted.

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:11:00 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Thank you so much for understanding Scott.

Scott_(Tue May 27 2008 22:11:15 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

thank you

Joseph Brandon(Tue May 27 2008 22:11:43 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time))>

Thank you, and it’s my pleasure sir.

So as you can see, after now having over 2 hours invested in simply trying to get my rates reduced (Comcast is a luxury after all, and with the way BGE and the Gas pump are squeezing us even harder, and possibly becoming expendable), I’ve practically moved no where. My request as a very valued Comcast customer of 5+ years is very simple:

I want to receive the promotional rate as advertised on Comcast.com for the Triple Play Preferred Plus with Speed Tier package at $87.09 for 12 months, with a single HDTV upgrade for an additional $6 per month. I also expect to pay the $3 per month modem rental, as well as any associated taxes. I do not expect to pay any installation fees, as there is nothing to install. You may simply send your MTA unit (or whatever Comcast calls their VoIP converted), but I’m never going to use it anyway, simply want my Vonage number ported, and all calls to go to the Voicemail (we don’t even have handsets for the home anymore). Therefore I expect my final total before taxes to be $96.09 for the next 12 months. I will be more than happy to accept the rebate of $150 posted on the Comcast.com site in regards to this promotion, but that is in no means contingent for me to accept the rate noted above.

I appreciate your working with me on this matter and look forward to recieving this obviously preferred rate. My contact information is as follows:

Scott Cover
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE ZIP
E-mail: scott.cover{at}gmail.com
Cell: XXX.XXX.XXXX

This e-mail has been copied to Consumerist.com, as well as being posted on my personal blog at http://www.notmyblog.com

Sincerely,

-Scott Cover

Well, let’s see what happens.

So I got some new Hard Drives for my PC. Unfortunately one seems to have been flaky and causing crazy issues on my PC. Call Dell to get them to replace them (it was convenient and had the credit when I bought them). Deal with India and explaining to the moron for over an hour that it was a bad HD and being forced to sit through “troubleshooting” (also known as me sitting and going uh huh, nope didn’t work, still doesn’t work, etc) till he finally gave up and wanted to send a tech to replace my Hard Drive. I was like “no, just send me the damn drive”. I don’t want some monkey to tool with my PC. Either way, new HD on it’s way finally… I need a beer.

So I canceled my Myspace account today. Finally, something I really should have done a long time ago. Cleanse my internet footprint of my section of that blight on this planet. Even Geocities was never this bad, at least it kinda forced people to have some clue as to what they were doing. Goodbye myspace, for I shall not miss thee.

All I have to say, three weeks alone is going to suck… 2 days and just wow…

So I fired the liquor store I used to frequent this week. I’ve been a customer of theirs for years, mostly cause the people are nice and the convenience factor is unmatched (it’s literally right up the street). But after years of asking them to increase the selection of their high-end micro brews I finally gave up after visiting a rival store before a holiday party last weekend. After asking for several specific brews in just the past couple months alone and being told that they would never be able to get them (due to some sort of distributing issue), I was really beginning to tire of the same old selection that never changed. So after visiting a much larger store, with a much much larger selection of high-end micro brews, I unfortunately had to say goodbye to my friends at Friendship Liquors. When I can’t even get Dogfish 90min IPA, because your rep doesn’t even know what it is, you know there is an issue. So at this time I’ll enjoy the Ruination I picked up yesterday and call it a night.