Comcast Tech Accuses 74-Year-Old Man Of Stealing Cable Service
Pretend you're a Comcast tech who has been asked to transfer Ally's account and internet service to her 74-year-old grandfather's house. Your work order shows that Ally ordered only internet service, but when you shimmy up the pole, you see that the house is also set to receive cable service. Do you:
- A) Connect the internet service and leave.
- B) Connect the internet service and check to see if the 74-year-old man has a separate account for the cable service.
- C) Accuse the 74-year-old man of stealing cable, and declare "I don't want to see your fucking bill" when the granddaughter tries to explain the situation.
So here's my story with Comcast:
My girlfriend and I were living in an apartment where we had Comcast Internet, Phone, and Digital Cable service. After our lease was up, we decided to move into my grandpa's house for a year or so to save some money to put down on a house. Anyways - I called Comcast and set a disconnect date at our apartment. My grandpa has basic extended cable through comcast, and for us, that's good enough. So I asked them to cancel the cable and phone line for us, and asked if they could just transfer the internet service and set an appointment for a tech to come out and hook up the internet at my Grandpa's. All went well. I was told a tech would be at my Grandpa's the following Tuesday between 10 and 1pm.
As most of us know, Comcast techs don't normally show up until about 2 minutes until that window is over, but this time - the guy actually showed up at about 10:05am. Great, I thought. I don't have to sit at home all day waiting for someone to show up. He pulls his truck into the alleyway and comes into the house to see where we want the line hooked up. I proceed to show him the spare bedroom where I'll be connecting the router. He obviously noticed my Grandfather watching cable tv in the living room.
He then tells me he's going outside to check the line on the poll. I go upstairs and about 5 minutes later, I come outside to witness my grandpa and the Comcast guy in a screaming match. The Comcast tech is threatening to leave and I ask "What the heck is going on?!" Well, my Grandpa starts telling me that he disconnected his cable and says we do not have a cable account with Comcast and basically accuses my Grandpa of hijacking cable. Okay, last time I checked, most 74 years old probably don't know how to hijack cable. So my Grandpa gets really upset and starts back for the house. I'm trying to find out from the Comcast tech what is going on and my Grandpa comes back out 2 seconds later with a Comcast bill in his hand. He goes to hand it to the Comcast tech and he rudely replies "Sir, I don't want to see your fucking bill. If you don't go back in your house and quit disrespecting me, I'm going to just leave."
Meanwhile, I ask my Grandpa to try and let me straighten it out and go inside for a minute because I could tell at this point he was getting really upset. So I continue to ask the guy what the hell is going on all the while he is telling me he isn't going back in the house to hook up my internet because he doesn't appreciate my Grandpa "disrespecting him". Well, from what I saw, my Grandpa didn't really deserve to get his cable turned off and treated in such a way. I finally talk him into hooking up the internet (I needed it for school as my homework is submitted online). But the issue still remains with my Grandpa's service. So I ask the tech why he thinks we don't have cable. He replies "When I look up the phone number on the account, it only shows internet, no cable television. That's a red flag mam."
So I immediately figure out what's going on. I tell him calmly "Okay, well you are looking under MY phone number. And yes, I only have internet service in my name seeing as I cancelled the phone and cable service. My grandfather has a SEPARATE Comcast account from me, on which he only has extended cable. If you would have let him show you the bill, maybe you would have noticed it is two separate account numbers!" I wanted it that way so then the internet bill comes in my name. It's just easier that way when paying bills.
He then rudely replies with "Mam, I don't really care. I'm doing my job, and I'm not stupid. Comcast will not allow two different accounts at the same address so I already know you are blatantly lying to me." Well obviously this was news to me. And he proceeds to just leave without turning back on my Grandpa's cable, which he PAYS for.
We have a Comcast center about 2 minutes from our house, so we drive over there. The lady proceeds to tell me she can't turn back on the cable because the account was flagged.
Alright, well obviously he saw 2 accounts if he specifically flagged my Grandpa's.
About six calls to Comcast later, and I finally get someone on the line willing to fix the situation. He tells me he has no idea what he was talking about and there isn't anything saying 2 Comcast accounts can't be at the same house. He turns my Grandpa's cable back on and gives him a $10 credit, which in all honesty, is kind of insulting for the crap the rep and the center gave us. Not only was the tech wrong, but he treated my Grandfather like crap.
Who the hell is Comcast hiring these days?
Update: Ally writes:
The Comcast Corporate office called me this morning, and I'm more than happy with the way they are resolving the issue. They have credited or accounts for a period of time, and I have received a verbal apology from every single person I have spoken with.
Then a little while ago, I also got another call from the local Comcast branch apologizing as well as stating they are interviewing the tech about the situation.
To those telling me to switch - this is the ONLY issue I have ever had with Comcast. I've never had an issue with their service other than a few outages here and there, and last time I checked, you'll get that with any service provider from time to time. Any other tech I've ever had come to my house has always been more than polite and did the job they were there to do. The way the situation is being handled is fine with me. It was more an issue with a specific tech than with Comcast service. As of right now, I'm giving Comcast the benefit of the doubt and trusting they handle the situation.
Several of the people from Comcast I spoke with openly stated there are things that need improvement. They didn't question me, and did what needed to be done to resolve the issue. As of now, that's really all I wanted.
(Photo: Getty)
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Comments:
"I'm not stupid"
who checks that statistics of 74 year old cable hijack skills? is there a database for this, seriously?
I still can't help feel if people would tell comcast to go f^#k themselves when this crap happens then it wouldn't continue to happen on such a regular basis. (I know, I know, "they're the only provider for us"... "we NEED our internet/cable")
I realize that's dangerously on the "blame the op" side, but it's not really. This is comcast douchebaggery at its finest, but come one, stop letting it happen.
Would it kill comcast to hire/sub out installers that have mediocre intelligence at least? that asshat won't even get a stern talking to over this.
The problem is that none of the departments talk to each other, and supervisors and management make up rules as they go along with no understanding at all as to how the billing system and the call centers work.
Then you get a $8 an hour install tech with a god complex.
Yeah I think I would have told this guy to get off my property, cancelled Comcast and never looked back. Why are you people so willing to pay to be treated this way?? I would go back to dialup before I accepted that kind of treatment for my grandfather. I love how we have to have endless Comcast stories because people in Comcast areas pretend its a monopoly - "but I would die without my precious cable! DIE I TELL YOU!" Nevermind that there are companies just like it in almost every part of the country - ever dealt with Qwest in the rural West? It's like you're calling the Death Star and asking to talk to Darth Vader. At least Comcast didn't win worst company, that really would have pissed me off.
It's likely doubtful that complaining to Comcast at this point will get you the apology and satisfaction that you are seeking and should have. A better approach, and one that I have found that often does result in some response, is to complain to the local (city, town, village, etc.) cable oversight commission or committee. Almost everyplace should have one, and in my locale, their location and contact details are printed on page 2 of my bill.
OP: "Who the hell is Comcast hiring these days?"
A: Douchebags. :-)
Every time Comcast comes to my home they see a flag(they are color coded)and shut me off! Every time it happens I have to go up a tree(phone) to get a tech back out to turn it back on. Then every time they turn it back on they don't see the bad tag(or play dumb as stumps) and it repeats itself like the movie Growndhog day. They are quick though, I hear the truck, get my shoes on, and leave befor I get a chance to talk to them.
The part that gets me is Im running without for several days.
Way to be a dick, Comcast guy.
"As most of us know, Comcast techs don't normally show up until about 2 minutes until that window is over, but this time - the guy actually showed up at about 10:05am."
Comcast techs actually show up? When did this breakthru in service occur? Is this nationwide or some kind of test market program?
OK, let me start by saying I am in my early 30s and I have been known to drop f-bombs about once per hour (with a daughter on the way I am trying to get better). But I guess momma did something right, because the biggest "disrespectful" thing (not my words) that I see here is talking to any 74-year old person with that language.
Yes, Comcast tech..you *are* stupid...and rude..and you're a complete douchebag who should be fired on the spot, and your supervisor should drag you by your nose ring over to apologize to the old man.
I don't understand the title-unless he has dementia or is bed-ridden, why couldn't a 74 year old hijack cable? And also, Grandpa is not the preferred nomenclature. Grandfather, please.
When it's furniture being delivered, an emergency plumber or electrician visit, I will gladly wait all day. But Comcast? 20 minutes before the window closes I've called to say, if you can't be here by the latest time you promised, don't come at all, I have things to do. Thus far I've only actually left once. I had a nasty CSR who obviously didn't understand that people have lives. Yes, I know you're very busy. So am I. No you may not come tomorrow, or the day after. Come in a week and come on time. I don't have time for that shit. I'll be damned if I wait all day just for cable
There's no mention of the language used by the grandfather in that shouting match.... Seems to me the GF has had more time to practice his French....
Not blaming the OP, but I know I would cuss out a tech that cut my cable.....
most 74 years old probably don't know how to hijack cable.
No, no, no... that's a serious oversight and let me explain why. A 74-year old would have been 46 in 1980, the era when cable descramblers, pirating, and theft were all the rage. It's much more likely that a 74-year old wouldn't give a crap about what's on the premium cable channels, much less climb a pole, unless they were really desperate to get the History Channel or something.
most service people work to their own schedule it seems
I would say too switch to DirecTv but they have called me 2 times a day since I called requesting info.
Hopefully Comcast gets tired of all this bad press and does something about their customer service issues.
I don't know where the OP is located but I do know that where I live, in a small town, we have 1 cable provider (thankfully NOT Comcast) and 1 high speed internet provider (same one for both) and have no choice to go somewhere else. Sure we could get satelitte tv or do without cable channels and do without high speed internet, but why should we have to just because they think they can treat you however they want? In reality, Comcast just needs to teach their employees to respect their customers (don't laugh)
If someone cursed at my grandpa, he would seriously get one right in the kisser. POW!
@guilliam
You will never get your evil cable company to treat you with respect as long as you keep giving them your money. They DO NOT and WILL NOT EVER care about the quality of their customer service when they are the only game in town. They are using that fact to their advantage and there is absolutely no way for customers to force them to change. Is it wrong? Sure, but it's reality. The only thing they care about, and will ever care about, is profits.
I know what it's like - I spent a lot of my life living in small towns where there was only one provider, if there was any provider at all - and whatever company it was usually acted like we should treat them like gods just for showing up in our town. That's the way it works in small towns, which hopefully someday will change. But until it does, you've only got one weapon and that's your cash. You won't die without your high-speed interwebs and cable TV. But if nobody is willing to pay the cable company, they will die!
Also don't understand why people are so resistant to satellite. It sucks for internet, but is way better than cable TV in just about every single way, cheaper, and less time to deal with evil techs. I still have it now that I'm living in the big city - did cable TV for one year and it was so laughably awful we bought an apartment with a south-facing balcony just to get satellite.
@DigitalMariner: I had one at my house yesterday, the window was 11-2, he was here at 11:13, AND he made himself sound like he cared.
is it just me or does it almost seem like corporate policy to screw with their customers? when I moved and cancelled my comcast service (was the cheapest option for cable/internet and signed before I knew what they were about) they sent out a third party to collect my equipment, which was all returned. a week or two later, I get an email stating that I needed to contact the local office about a piece of equipment that I had "kept" and needed to be returned. naturally I call to resolve and the tech tells me that all was well and I was logged as having returned everything. the next week I get a nastygram saying that I owed a couple of hundred for "missing equipment" and threatening collections if I didn't pay up. took about three more calls and few hours that I'll never get back to finally get it all cleared up. one department wasn't talking to another, wooo
Although the tech was a major dick, I may have an explanation for some of his behavior. In some service jobs they hire people with a high school diploma and not much else. I when I was at my call center, they preferred rule followers who didn't raise a ruckus about things than people who actually questioned authority and rules.
It's possible this tech was given some very basic rules to follow and warned to never, ever break them, hence he came up with the "you can't have two accounts at one address" crap. It may be that you cannot have two accounts at the same address and same NAME, but who knows.
Unfortunately the OP here got stuck with an jerk tech who didn't really know the rules and didn't care that much about his job apparently.
And on another note, I love the picture with this article! LOL.
@dragonfire81: In which case, the proper way to address the issue would have been "I'm sorry sir, there's a problem with your account. I can't hook up your cable until I speak with my supervisor."
I also don't think the issue is whether an old man is tech savvy enough to steal cable..(probably not)..it's about an employee who was clearly out of control. There's no excuse for that kind of behavior, and if the tech can't handle the pressures of his job without taking it out on customers, he should be fired.
@dragonfire81: right. BUT, it's comcasts responsibility to hire and dispatch competent service personnel. Regardless of what company that tech worked for, Comcast hired them for a job, and the tech was there representing Comcast.
If they're too stuck up their own ass to hire and train competent techs, the rest of the business is bound to be borked.... oh wait.. it is.
Comcast is pretty evil. Have they sent their "intertube pacifier" here yet to tell us all to settle down or they'll have to stop the car?
$10, that's it? For a cable tech accusing a customer of stealing, and a local office rep dispensing the same wrong information as the tech? Guy ought to be getting a little more than $10.
And I'm guessing the cable tech didn't get a tip or a glass of water for his little show of stupidity.
Comcast high-speed Internet $49.95 a month. Comcast high speed Internet with basic cable $54.95.
Mistake or not, who cares about a $5 a month mistake?
Did the comcast tech use an offical van/truck ? If it was a truck with only a stick on sign on the door it was a contracter for comcast. If so they pay them per customer a flat fee plus whatever it cost to hook you up. This leads to sloppy work as in they want to do as much in a day as they can and for as little as they can. And the guy sounds like he needs better training whatever the case might be.
@nicemarmot617: No, I won't die without my high-speed connection, but I also won't be making a decent living without it. Nor would I make my mortgage payments. Like guilliam, I'm also in a small town with one provider (Time Warner, god help us all). I make my living online and absolutely need high-speed Internet. I work on image- and video-heavy websites for clients in other states. Imagine doing that on dial-up. Forget it, my clients would never pay for my time spent just loading their sites! It's easy to say don't pay for their shitty service, but it's not feasible when their shitty service is what facilitates one's ability to pay the mortgage and make more than minimum wage in an otherwise economically depressed area. That's a simplistic answer to a complicated issue.
Since Comcast lost being the worst company on 2008, they are really working hard to win the title for 2009. I'm rooting for you Comcast! You're well on your way. But it will be tough. I'm sure the competition will be fierce!
First off, my Aunt, who thinks her computer is only good for solitaire, and still thinks caller ID is sorcery, was stealing cable in the 80s. You don't need to climb up there yourself, you just need to find someone who will do it for you.
Second, I have no idea how you didn't hit that guy. I would've totally lost it.
@Illiterati
Are you implying you didn't make the choice to make your living the way you do, in the place you do? That you couldn't move, or get satellite? Certainly my answer is simplistic - because it is the only answer there is. What do you suggest - government takeover of the evil cable corporations? What would that solve? I make the suggestions I do because they are literally the only suggestions that make any sense. I don't see anybody else coming up with a better answer, you included. If a large volume of people withdraw their money from these companies they will be forced to improve. Otherwise, they will stay as they are.
I'm from an economically depressed area too - Michigan. I *left* the minute I turned 18. That was my choice. I could have stayed and made my living there working online, with a crappy monopolistic cable company, and it would have sucked. But I see so many people coming onto this website complaining about the same damn problem, and not a one of them ever suggests a good answer. Why complain if you don't have any ideas for fixing the problem? Then you're just whining to hear yourself whine.
If this had happened to me, I would have canceled Comcast immediately and signed up for one of the satellite/dsl combos the next day.
The OP could have gone to the library to submit his homework until the satellite service was installed, and I think an EECB is in order to let the Comcast higher-ups know of this atrocious situation.
It's Comcastic!
we've been without highspeed net and phone for a week now. Using a neighbour's open wifi connection is okay, but to describe my net activity as slow is ever. I've written several emails about the fun I've been having with Telus but nothing's been posted yet. I swear that "Telus" is Canadian for "Comcast" because we've been getting the same run around.
While the "we'll be there between 8 and noon" window is a pain, I can understand it. Comcast techs get a list of tickets, and they have no idea how long each one is going to take - they could get to a house and just have to plug in a box, or they could basically have to rewire a house. There isn't really a way to know how long each call is going to take.
I work in desktop support, and "computer won't turn on" can be anything from an unplugged power cable to a dead power supply. I imagine cable techs run into the same kind of situations.
I think person talking to the tech was female. (That's a red flag, mam (ma'am?)."
Anyway there is absolutely no reason to treat anyone like that EVEN if they were stealing cable. If someone is disrespectful, still no reason to do this. Get your stuff and leave if you don't feel safe doing your job.
It's been my experience that most people who start off "I'm not stupid..." usually are. It's like saying "I don't mean to criticize but..." My grandparents pretty much raised me and if someone had spoken to my grandfather that way, I would have disrespected him and knocked him on his butt.
@hardtoremember: get a grand central number to use. I never give out a real #, unless I need to... and then it's the GC number.
Funny.
Disrespecting a Comcast tech. Isn't that taken for granted?
Since apparently nobody else has said it yet:
The service was utterly Comcastic!
Ah craptastic strikes again.
Seriously I would've simply gotten the pinhead's info and told him I was calling corporate offices and to vacate the premises immediately.
Okay off for vacation now. Yeah. no more thinking about all things consumerist until September babies.
Why is it that some people seem to believe that physical violence is an acceptable response to someone "disrespecting" their grandparent? First, I don't see why it's necessary to feel the real need to hit someone over something they said to you. Second, I never have understood the notion that the elderly are entitled to more respect than anyone else. We're all people, we're all entitled to the exact same level of respect. Just because someone is 75 doesn't mean they are better than someone who is 18 or deserve more respect. Either way, violence is something that people resort to when they can't come up with anything more creative or intelligent.
@badhatharry: Second, I have no idea how you didn't hit that guy. I would've totally lost it.
So you think racking up assault charges is a good way to get your complaint with the cable company resolved?
The cable guy's being a dick, but if you hit him over it that just makes you an idiot.
@DigitalMariner: The tech probably got confused and thought the time window ENDED at 10:00 am., and was therefore showing up five minutes late, like a good Comcast tech.
@nicemarmot617: you really think the evil cable companies are currently operating in a free-market environment?
@evslin: I'm not defending it, but I might very well have hit that guy for talking to my Grandpa like that.
Given that the general method of Comcast's customer service is for whomever's helping you to arbitrarily make up a rule to explain why they aren't doing the very simple thing you're asking for, I'm surprised the guy didn't demand that the grandfather go down to the lake and prove he wasn't a witch, too. It's right in the contract, I swear.