Since decommissioning my “other” blog I’ve tried to follow a self-imposed rule and keep the posts over here related to the martial arts. Sometimes that’s hard if something political/religious is going on in the news or if I need a good rant. The last two posts were rants pure and simple. Maybe at the end of this post I’ll try to turn the ordeal into a martial arts lesson.
Anyhow, we survived the reunion. First I thought I’d share an image of yours truly in the apron I was forced to wear when cooking for the family. Please, have pity on me…
Both “chefs” were forced to wear this goofy apron. As you can see my dear wife just had to snap a photo. Oh and so did my wife’s aunt!
Next is a shot of the cool Chinese statue that I purchased at a local shop.
The smiling Chinese guy is mounted on what looks like a horse. Anyhow, it’s a nice addition to my mishmash of Asian art.
Comcast and my dicey internet connection…
If you remember, Comcast support told me last week that I had two options: 1) Pay $50 to have a technician come out or 2) Buy my own cable modem. Since we reasoned my problem was with the modem I opted to buy my own. Naturally said modem arrived while I was gone. Today I tried to install it. I spent 2 HOURS being bounced from departments, disconnected, and having to re-tell my problem at least a dozen times. Eventually I got so mad that that I threatened to dump them altogether! Well, this forced the support lady to talk to her supervisor. Turns out that I HAVE to use a Comcast modem because it has a funny phone line connection for our phone-via-internet-service. It’s also their policy. Forget that I ordered the EXACT same make and model of modem AFTER THERE TECHNICIAN told me I could!
Bob: “So you mean to tell me that I was lied to last week? That your support person said I could order my own modem and now I’m out the money?”
Sucky Support: “I’m very sorry sir. It was misinformation. But if you submit a complaint we’ll reimburse you the cost if the store does not take the modem back.”
Bob: “So I’ve lost three+ hours of my life, been disconnected, been sent to three different departments, been lied to, been told wrong information, had to retell my story a dozen times or more, and you still plan to charge me a service call if I have to use your technician!”
Sucky-ass Support: “I’m very sorry sir. If support can’t fix your problem over the phone we’ll send the technician out for free. We care about quality customer service.”
Bob: After three+ hours of getting nowhere and no internet for a week I had not noticed.”
So we finally determine that my XP is corrupt. I use “we” loosely because I basically figured this out on my own. Two hours later I backed important files, re-formatted my hard drive, and completed a fresh install of XP–complete with Service Pack III.
So I call Suckcast back because my computer was not finding my internet connection. The fine, fine, high school dropout that I talked to had me re-start the modem and computer (something I’d already done), then declared it was a hardware issue (gee, don’t work too hard at helping me). Fine. I took one more crack at it myself and realized that I forgot to install the driver. Given that I had been at this for going on five hours forgetting that part is understandable! Anyhow, after that I was back on the net and without SuckCast support.
Now I’ll admit it was a corrupt version XP which is my responsibility but that does not even come close to excusing the bullshit hassle I’ve been through! I HAD to rule out a problem with the modem before I could proceed to look at my computer and it’s their job to help me do that! Out of the whole ordeal the only good technician out of four that I talked to was the one they finally transferred me to after I threatened to dump them. Now why do I suspect that they have a handful of “A-Team” techs and several hundred dummies that field the bulk of the calls? Do I recommend Comcast? NO! The only reason we are stuck with them is that they bought out our cable company!
In fact, this goes out to Comcast for all the “help” that they gave me!
The good news? My computer is running much faster with a fresh install of everything. Better still I now have Service Pack III installed and all my spy ware, ad ware, and anti-virus is up-to-date.
Now the martial arts tie-in…
What taekwondo tenets did I use to get me through these two ordeals? Here they are!
- Courtesy – I was polite to certain difficult relatives and also used deference when I ignored their slights. I also showed courtesy with Comcast up until the last hour.
- Integrity – I learned from my mistakes. 1) Don’t ever call Comcast support unless you ABSOLUTELY have to. They don’t know what the hell they are doing! 2) Avoid family vacations.
- Perserverance – Patience, focus, and an ability to overcome obstacles all got me through both ordeals.
- Self-Control – I kept it together with the in-laws and I only got mad with Comcast at a point when most reasonable people would have hung up or called them names.
- Indomitable Spirt – The past week would have crushed the spirit of a lesser person!
There you go! A very loose martial arts tie-in.
Now a few parting shots at Comcast! First, click HERE to find out why other people think Comcast sucks. Now watch one of those videos that I found in that search!
~BCP
I had some trying conversations with Comcast customer service. I was installing digital cable boxes and had to call Customer Service. The third Rep I spoke with finally was able to help. She was so mad because the prior two reps messed up the installation on their end.
I recently had to call upon my martial arts training in order to deal with a car dealership. I bought a certified used car that is falling apart.
Scenario #1
Bob: So how is the weather in Bangalor today?
Suckcast: Raining
Scenario #2
Bob: So are you in a minimum security prison?
Suckcast: Maximum
Scenario #3
Bob: I’d like to order HD television.
Suckcast: Would you like that with extra cheese?
Pingback: Vacation 09 « Striking Thoughts