About 3 weeks ago, we decided that we were going to upgrade our cable. Before, we were just getting the network channels on a basic cable plan. Some of the higher channels came through, but they were fuzzy. One of these fuzzy channels in question was ESPN (aka the Duke Basketball Channel during college basketball season). Last year, though the picture wasn't that great, it was good enough to tolerate watching. But when we came back from summer break, the picture was worse than before, seriously jeopardizing our Duke basketball viewing enjoyment! Comcast had a decent 6 month deal for a digital cable upgrade, so we decided to go with it. Then we found out DVR would only be another $6.95 a month... long story short we are now happily enjoying our DVR and getting a clear picture beyond just the network stations.
It has been a bit of a long story, though... the cable guy came by on September 8 and got us upgraded to digital cable, but he said that they were all out of DVR boxes. He said he'd schedule us in for an appointment two weeks later to install a DVR box. That was fine; besides our short stint in Cleveland this past summer, we've never had DVR anyway, so another two weeks wouldn't hurt. Fast forward two week later... we wait around at home "between 2-5pm" and no one ever shows up or calls. So that evening I call Comcast to find out what happened. The guy on the other end of the line wasn't very helpful, and to be honest, was bordering on being rude. He basically said, "we're still out of the DVR boxes... I don't know when we'll get any... if you don't hear from us in another two weeks or so, give us a call again..." Predictably, I wasn't too happy, particularly since no one bothered to tell us they weren't going to be showing up "between 2-5pm" that day. But if the story ended here, I would've gotten over it and accepted the fact that while the guy on the phone wasn't very "friendly" about it, if they didn't have any DVR boxes, there was nothing to be done.
Of course, the story doesn't end there. After I got off the phone, I decided to get on the Comcast website and try again to see what the deal was by using their "live chat" feature. It was like a total 180 from the phone experience. The guy on the chat was not only very personable and helpful, he gave us a $20 credit on our bill since no one showed up and set up an appointment for 2 days later for someone to come install our DVR box. That was a pleasant surprise. I was still a bit skeptical, since the guy on the phone flatly said they didn't have any DVR boxes, but sure enough, 2 days later, a technician showed up right at 2pm, installed our DVR box, and the rest is history!
I guess this became a pretty long post about something quite mundane, but it was just a really interesting experience to have been treated so differently by Comcast, with the only difference being the person I interacted with. Anyway, so all is well now. :)
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So frustrating!! Comcast drives me nuts, but they've got the best deals around here. They are pretty good about giving those credits on your account -- we've gotten several before. Sometimes it's fun, right? You just keep talking to people until you get someone that tells you something you want to hear!
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