canadian Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Just thought I would share my experience with Comcast High Speed internet in the Houston area. Hopefully it might be of use to someone who is relocating from another state like we did.We moved a couple of months ago. We had been using Comcast for over 7 years for our internet and cable and did not have major problems. Comcast was to do a simple connection of service in Houston, and disconnect service in the midwest, and refund a deposit. If only things were that simple!They connected our service in Houston. Everything went well for a couple of weeks and then they ubruptly disconnected the service. Tech support would only say that it is not a technical issue and we should call sales. Sales would only confirm that the service has indeed been disconnected (we knew that!) and we would need to be reconnected. And it will take 2 weeks to schedule a technician to come over. The service was reconnected, and everything went well for a week. Then it got disconnected again. This time we went straight to sales, who promptly advised us that our service was indeed disconnected and they would send a technician over to reconnect us. No reason as to the underlying reason why the service was being disconnected. Since we rely on VOIP for our telephone, our cell phone bills quickly add up calling customer service and others. To add insult to injury they would not even put in an expedite request on the service. We had to wait our turn to be served.We learnt later that they had not disconnected our service up north, and had not processed our refund. Calling the 1-800 number is of no use since calls are routed to the local customer service based on the area code of the number you are calling from. Anyway, found out the email address of Rick Germano, Senior Vice President of Customer Operations (TheOfficeofRickGermano_Feedback@cable.comcast.com). Explained in an email about our plight. We heard from someone the very next day and our connection was restored without further delay.Lessons learnt:1. Never transfer service from a different State. Start a new account. Avoids confusion.2. Escalate an issue when you are given the run around.Given the utter contempt customer service at Comcast seems to have for their customers, I wonder how they continue to be in business? You have to speak to a different person each call, they claim they cannot call you back, and there is no way to get to a specific CSR. You end up having to explain the same crap to numerous people and risk getting disconnected at any given time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonRealtor Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Thanks for the info canadian! As a fellow Comcast customer, I will definitely keep your post in mind. It sounds like your move to Houston has been a real pain in the butt. From your Realtor that wasn't really your Realtor, to your cable/internet/phone fiasco, 2007 has been rough. Hopefully 2008 will be a better year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadian Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Thanks for the info canadian! As a fellow Comcast customer, I will definitely keep your post in mind. It sounds like your move to Houston has been a real pain in the butt. From your Realtor that wasn't really your Realtor, to your cable/internet/phone fiasco, 2007 has been rough. Hopefully 2008 will be a better year!!Hi thanks HoustonRealtor for your kind words! You remember my other debacle! Hopefully things would start quieting down from now on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Lessons learnt:1. Never transfer service from a different State. Start a new account. Avoids confusion.2. Escalate an issue when you are given the run around.Given the utter contempt customer service at Comcast seems to have for their customers, I wonder how they continue to be in business? You have to speak to a different person each call, they claim they cannot call you back, and there is no way to get to a specific CSR. You end up having to explain the same crap to numerous people and risk getting disconnected at any given time.i have to modify your number 1 rule. never transfer service period. we had a similar problem just moving across town.We didn't have service for two weeks and they could not expedite service even though it was their fault. We ended up losing our email addresses too (but they were still houston.rr.com then). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadian Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 i have to modify your number 1 rule. never transfer service period. we had a similar problem just moving across town.We didn't have service for two weeks and they could not expedite service even though it was their fault. We ended up losing our email addresses too (but they were still houston.rr.com then).Learn something everytime! Now I realize that it is foolish to rely on keeping one's email account with any of these Internet Service Providers! Which is perhaps the only reason why one would want to tranfer service verses starting a new account.Another advantage of starting a new service would be to take advantage of any current promotions Comcast might be running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Now I realize that it is foolish to rely on keeping one's email account with any of these Internet Service Providers! Which is perhaps the only reason why one would want to tranfer service verses starting a new account.Blech. I never use my Comcast account (was a Time Warner account earlier this year). Get a free Google or Yahoo email account. Get several -- one for friends, another for businesses. That way spam piles up on the business account and you can dump it without losing your friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJXterra Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 We just booted Comcast...monthly increase in bills, spotty service during peak times, and complete and total lack of respect from customer service. I'm obviously not a fan and thus may be biased, but I can also say that my new DSL hasn't crapped out on me yet and is 1/2 the price and just as fast as far as I can tell.Go for DSL regarding your internet...when we dropped Comcast completely we didn't replace the cable TV so I can't really recommend anything there yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Go for DSL regarding your internet...Keep cable. Much faster than DSL, and SBC is evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 (edited) We just booted Comcast...monthly increase in bills, spotty service during peak times, and complete and total lack of respect from customer service. I'm obviously not a fan and thus may be biased, but I can also say that my new DSL hasn't crapped out on me yet and is 1/2 the price and just as fast as far as I can tell.Go for DSL regarding your internet...when we dropped Comcast completely we didn't replace the cable TV so I can't really recommend anything there yet.I just dumped ComCrap for Cable TV. I'm stuck with their sorry azzes for broadband since DSL isn't available for me. If I could get DSL I would've switched LONG LONG ago. I've had DSL at prior residences and had no problems with it to speak of, and I can't tell a speed difference between DSL and cable for normal browsing...sure, downloads are slower, but there really isn't that big a difference in 10 minutes to get a file versus 12. ComCrap and AT&T are both evil, but at least with AT&T you'll be giving less $$ to evil. Edited November 3, 2007 by jm1fd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I used to have DSL and it was a nightmare, spotty and terrible service. Also they force bundling on consumers: they won't let you buy DSL unless you also buy landline service, so the cheap DSL prices they advertised were misleading, especially given that fewer and fewer people still want landlines at home. Things were much more stable and reliable when I switched to cable modem. There may be relief in sight for some people. The FCC is ending exclusive cable deals for apartments, so apartment dwellers at least may start to see the benefits of competition. It's about time, is all I can say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 You can find many complaints regarding both cable and DSL without too much effort. Whichever one is best in terms of speed and reliability is largely dependent on where you live, as the quality of service can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. And neither Comcast nor AT&T is likely to win any awards for customer service. FWIW, I've had Comcast (and before that, Road Runner) cable internet for about 6 years, and have been relatively happy with it. Outages have been infrequent and usually brief when they do occur, with a couple of exceptions, and speed is outstanding compared to DSL (I'm seeing a solid 6 Mbps). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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