Photo Awesome

Let me start by saying that this has nothing to do with photography. Ok, I can make anything relate to photography, but I won’t try this time.

Stacy and I have spent the past week moving from our apartment off North Druid Hills to our new house on North Druid Hills (it’s practically across the street). As many of you know, Stacy works from home on the internet, so clearly the internet is important in our house. Several weeks ago, we called up Comcast to transfer our service, but we knew from prior experience that this wouldn’t be the end of the story.

They were to come out to our place on July 26, between 8am and 11am. At 10am, a dispatcher called and left a message saying that the technician was running late. This wasn’t a surprise because they’ve been late every time they’ve ever come out to do work. And like clockwork, they completely missed the 8-11am window. We had moving to do, so we were back at the apartment when, lo and behold, we miss a call from a dispatcher again at 12:15pm saying the technician was at the house, but was leaving because no one was home, and we would have to reschedule. That’s right, they missed the appointment by over and hour, and yet we were the ones penalized.

I called Comcast to complain, because I figured they would send the guy back since it had been mere minutes since we missed the call. After going through 2 technicians and waiting on hold for 45 minutes for a supervisor, I was gauranteed by someone named “Kevin” that they would come out the next day. I also demanded free service for a month, which they wouldn’t give. Instead, he said, I could ask for a $20 credit, but only after service had been established. I asked if this was standard, and he said it was, but he essentially admitted that you had to ask for it. They would never just give up that information.

So remember this: If you’ve ever had a Comcast technician miss and appointment, demand a $20 credit on your account. It is their policy, and they won’t just offer it up.

I’ve found that essentially, Comcast has such an awful system in place that you can never talk to a local technician or dispatcher to find out anything, and neither can the phone techs. Likewise, supervisors claim they have no power as well. And according to “Kevin”, his manager was essentially an “HR person”, and they have no actual power either. I’m sure this is all a lie, but it’s the lie they told me repeatedly.

The moral of the story is for all you future SCAD-Atlantans. Don’t plan on coming to Atlanta, getting cable and it just being done. Comcast is your only choice in certain parts of the city, and they undoubtedly will screw you over. It will be all their fault, but they won’t care, and no amount of complaining or being super nice (I’ve tried both methods) will work.

Dave says that Bell South is easy and fast. The downside is that you’re required to have a phone line, which will apparently run you $30 a month. Not a great deal, but the only option for now. Supposedly they’ll have the ability to give you DSL service without paying for a phone line soon, but not yet.

I hate Comcast. Comcast sucks.