How do you tell your Comcast installer that he’s stinky if you can’t stay in the same room with him? Jessica wrote in this morning,
He is actually still here I as I e-mail you — I hate to be mean, but the BO is so bad, I am seriously choking. He left to get some parts out of the truck and the smell is so strong in my apartment I am going to need to open all of my windows for the rest of the afternoon just to get this smell out.
Update: Working together, Jessica and Frank Eliason of Comcast were able to fix the problem.
I wasn’t sure who to e-mail about this, but someone needs to tell Comcast to tell their installation guys to 1). wear deodorant and 2) avoid tracking mud all over my carpet!!
I was given a new modem 1 month ago by Comcast, which has already broken and I am left with no phone or internet (and I resort to stealing wireless). They sent out a guy today (after a whole week of trying to get someone to come out) and they can’t fix it but are still refusing to get me a new modem even though they’ve already told me it’s broken.
He is actually still here I as I e-mail you — I hate to be mean, but the BO is so bad, I am seriously choking. He left to get some parts out of the truck and the smell is so strong in my apartment I am going to need to open all of my windows for the rest of the afternoon just to get this smell out. Secondly, he stomped in with muddy boots and there is literally a TRAIL of muddy boot tracks across my living room carpet!!! Too bad my camera is broken or else i would love to e-mail you guys a picture of these mud tracks.
so… not only am i paying to have them fix a modem that was faulty in the first place, I now have to pay to have my carpet steam cleaned. great.
Jessica, maybe you can tweet Frank Eliason at comcastcares? Surely he knows someone at Comcast who can reach the guy via walkie-talkie and point out that there’s some minimum appearance/cleanliness requirements. After he’s left your apartment and you’ve opened the windows, of course.
(Photo: Zanastardust)
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Is the photo of Captain Duvel Moneycat hissing angrily at the installer? (please say yes)
@Segador: That’s not Duvel, that’s a Flickr cat named Stinky. And yes, he’s hissing in anger at how bad the Comcast installer smells.
@Chris Walters: Duvel or no, at least he’s well trained.
@Segador: Indeed, my cat would just sit there sniffing the dude making that weird face that looks like he’s holding an invisible mouse in his mouth.
@YardanCabaret: Kitty stink face.
@YardanCabaret: LOL. I love that face! I always get the impression that a cat making that face is wanting to eat my face.
@Chris Walters: You’re a cruel, cruel tease, Mr. Walters.
@Chris Walters:
I find it somewhat ironic that a cat named Stinky is grossed out so badly by someone with BO.
That is all.
@Segador: Captain Duvel Moneycat only makes that face when you try to take away his precious, precious Starbucks Oatmeal.
@MissPeacock: And, dripping blood and rent shreds of human hand dangling from his mouth and paws provide another visual clue.
I have this same problem with the maintenance guys at my apartment complex, every time they come over its like “oh hey sorry for spraying you with lysol, it was completely an accident!”
but truth be told, Americans are way too smell sensitive. I don’t know what evolution has in store for us, but I’m betting that we will look quite freakish
@Radi0logy: There’s sensitive, and then there’s encouraging people to just clean themselves. With soap, not just standing under running water. It’s about personal hygiene! Wash that grime off you, please!!
/once had a very, very smelly roommate whose side of the room was bombarded with Lysol every single morning and night when she wasn’t there, just so we could cover up the smell a little and actually live in there. Seriously, she was not only personally smelly, she never did laundry the three months she lived in our room until we got her moved. Three months. No laundry.
@pecan 3.14159265: EeeeeeeeWWW!! but funny story Pecan !!!
@Radi0logy: I believe people should not smell like anything – well, maybe sweat if they just finished a game or working out.
That means you, hippies, too. Patchouli smells like an overly-strong car air freshener, not cleanliness.
Sometimes things that mask odor (i’m talking about you industrial air freshner in the workplace bathroom) are much worse that what they try to cover up.
@edwardso: Do you have the kind that sprays this noxious jet of “clean flower scent”? THe one in my old workplace broke off its hinge on the wall and I was always so scared it would spray directly on me because it was propped up behind the sink.
@Radi0logy: “but I’m betting that we will look quite freakish”
But you already do, without hesitation willing to relinquish that disgusting, retched toxic chemical lysol garbage in your living space!
I don’t know about ya’ll, but my body odor is God’s gift to Earth, nothing smells better. Srsly, strangers thank me for letting them smell my natural odor, often even offering me gifts of praise.
@deep.thought: Are those gifts of praise in the form of water, by any chance?
Problem:just had the cable guy here the other day to rewire .. (and i can’t stand the smell of stinky cigarettes which this mans’ pores and clothes were reeking of)
Solution: Opened windows..and Febreezed the entire area!!
Effectiveness: Priceless..and the house smells even fresher
@GretaDandradeine: I was on the bus yesterday and there were a few open seats around me, including one next to me. I spot a guy coming out of the metro station and he’s smoking like a chimney, and proceeds to stand outside the bus smoking for the next five minutes, so I know he has to reek of smoke by then. And as he gets on the bus, I beg and pray and plead that he wouldn’t pick the seat next to me. He didn’t, but as he walked by, I almost gagged.
@GretaDandradeine:
YOu should have sprayed the cable guy with Febreeze. Nothing like a subtle hint…
My brother had Comcast over on Sunday, and made the installar take off his boots because they were so filthy. What is with these guys?
@MrBryan: When I had FiOS installed ages ago the installer wore booties over his shoes so he wouldn’t track in dirt. That was pretty awesome in my book. And he did a good job.
@pecan 3.14159265: Now that you mention it, I do remember my FiOS guy wearing booties in my house, too.
@HFC: Uverse guy did that in my apartment, good stuff.
@pecan 3.14159265: The Comcast guy that I had over several months ago also wore those booties – he visited several times to fix a problem that was consistently happening. Wore em each time.
I guess its just not being done consistently, which is definitely an issue for them.
@MrBryan: I always request installers who come in to my house to wear booties if they have them and if not i provide a couple of plastic bags that they can tie over their shoes so as not to track mud/dirt/gum/dog doo into my house.
Seriously, why do these people think it’s ok to walk into a stranger’s house with their shoes covered in mud?
@MrBryan: When we had a furnace installed the installers brought their own throw down rugs so that they didn’t track dirt all over the place. Its obvious that they had to run back and forth to the truck for parts so they had a good solution for this since they couldn’t remove their shoes.
Well, at least it’s an apartment and not your house.
@Saboth: Wow…a little elitist, aren’t we? Are you suggesting that all people who rent live in sloth because “it’s not your house?” I’m not sure how rent v. own matters here. She still has to LIVE in the apartment, and she has every right to be pissed that some disrespectful asshole tracked mud all over her carpet. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own–you can still have pride in keeping a clean dwelling.
@NYGal81:
Well, it’s not really her carpet, so she won’t have to worry about replacing it if he ruined it. I’d still be mad but…
@Saboth: but she can lose her security deposit over that
@Saboth: regardless you still have to clean the carpet, and as edwardso says, the security deposite.
@NYGal81: If I mucked up the carpet in my apartment I would have to pay for it! Either by loosing my deposit or by being charge above and beyond my deposit for “damages.”
Apartment dwellers have to take care of their things too, ya know.
“I hate to be mean, but the BO is so bad, I am seriously choking.”
I may well be the only one, but I immediately thought of the Cheetos commercial during the Superbowl. I love a sinister Chester Cheetah.
@Islandkiwi: For me, I immediately thought of a bad porn movie scene.
Economy and job competition being what it is, you as the consumer have the opportunity to exercise your right to demand appropriate presentation and service in a contractor and to expect follow-up. Speak to his manager.
@51tiggy: You’re forgetting, this is Comcast.
@HFC: Exactly – this guy might not be authorized to speak with his own manager!
JERRY: Boy, do you smell something?
ELAINE: Do I smell something? What am I, hard of smelling? Of course I smell something.
JERRY: What is it?
ELAINE: I think it’s B.O.!
JERRY: What?
ELAINE: It’s B.O. The Installer must have had B.O.
JERRY: It can’t be. Nobody has B.O. like this.
ELAINE: Jerry. It’s B-O!
JERRY: But the whole apartment smells.
ELAINE: So?
JERRY: So when somebody has B.O., the “O” usually stays with the “B”. Once the “B” leaves, the “O” goes with it.
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave:
lol
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave: Genius!!
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave: Yay! copy and paste!
@jake7294: Well, I also replaced some words, but thank you.
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave…..erotic journey from Milan to Minsk”…
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave:
I see a bright future for you in television.
@Blueskylaw: I knew I <3ed you for a reason.
/<3ed = *hearted*
/way to lazy to find an icon and paste it here.
The mud is something that they should talk to the guy about but you can’t force people to wear deodorant
@edwardso: Right, but you can ask people to present themselves in a way that wouldn’t be considered offensive by the “average person’s” standard. BO that lingers in your home is not something that should be considered acceptable. Then again, we ARE talking about Comcast…
@NYGal81: If someone smells that badly it could be a medical condition.
@edwardso: So we should just excuse it? I’m sorry, but some medical conditions should preclude you from working in public jobs that require you to enter homes. His job should be outdoors somewhere if he can’t control his body odor. My guess is that he simply doesn’t shower often enough or practice proper personal hygiene. He represents Comsast when he is doing his job, therefore it is Comcast’s fault that he reeks. If he were to back into your car while he was parking in your drive way, then that too would be Comcast’s fault.
@edwardso:
Agreed. They should have to pay to clean the carpet they soiled.
If the guy smells bad, that sucks, but it’s not Comcast’s fault.
@conquestofbread: I rather think it is. The installer should be presenting a professional appearance. Horrible body odor is not exactly professional.
@RecordStoreToughGuy: Caveat: Might not necessarily be their fault, per se, but they would be in a position to tell the guy to pay attention to his hygiene, as he is representing the company.
@RecordStoreToughGuy: Isn’t that the truth? You smell badly, you take care to shower twice a day or use more soap or alter the type of clothing you’re wearing. If you’re prone to sweating a lot, walking to the office in summer heat isn’t doing you or your coworkers any favors. I knew people who were so concerned with personal hygiene they kept toothbrushes and deodorant with them, just in case.
@conquestofbread: Not Comcast’s fault? I disagree. This person is representing their company. Look at the comments here. Don’t we all think a bit less of a company when situations like this arise?
@jake7294: I know people who don’t wear deodorant – and sometimes you can tell. But this strikes me as a little above and beyond that. Boy, I’m glad technology hasn’t evolved to scratch and sniff levels.
Reminds me of the time I was a cashire and someone came through my line wreaking of not only body odor but urine. Breathe-through-your-mouth-bad and then he dripped snot on my counter.
Wow. 10 years later I still get goosebumps of revulsion.
@Jabberkaty: Ewww…..now I am going to have nightmares.
@edwardso: @edwardso:
Oh, you can tell an employee they need to bathe and use deodorant before coming to work. I had that conversation with a clerk at the video store I co-owned. He kept coming in with greasy string hair and BO that could peel paint.
Possible solutions:
1. You wear a surgical mask
2. Offer your female deodorant
3. Shout “Comcastic”
@tobedetermined: Shout Comcast ftw!
@tobedetermined: Did you read the post? She’s choking so hard on the BO she probably can’t shout out “Comcastic!” …she should instead go outside and while getting fresh air, pay a neighborhood kid to stand outside the open window and shout “Comcastic!” for her. But then again, if she were to leave him alone in her home, he might take her roll of quarters and gun.
Telling someone that they stink is one of the most awkward conversations you can have. I don’t envy the supervisor that has to tell this guy to buy some soap.
@Mike8813: One of my managers had to have that talk with a coworker at the Record Store. I never noticed it, but apparently customers mention that she smelled bad. It surprised me, because I’m usually pretty sensitive to foul odors.
On the other hand, I’m sure there are plenty of non-smelly installers that have to go in to homes that are not-so-fresh.
@b.k.: ahh so true so true! Some of the living conditions people think are “okay” are truly repulsive. Why would you think 30 bags of garbage piled in your spare bedroom would ever be okay?? I get it your old but you really don’t need to keep your dead cat under the couch either.
I had a similar problem with a Charter contractor. The smell was awful and he dripped persiration on everything. I cringed when he actually laid down on my carpet to access a jack that was near the floor.
And after he went back outside, he removed his shirt and wrung it out like a wet sponge all over the sidewalk. It left a stain that lasted until the next rainfall.
@BathroomDuck: Why were you having cable TV installed in your sauna?
@HFC: Some people sweat a lot…others shouldn’t have to pay for their genetic disposition.
@pecan 3.14159265:
Right. I think weight plays a factor too. This guy had to be over 300lbs.
@BathroomDuck: Sometimes. When I was younger, I went to school with a kid who was the biggest sweater I ever saw and he played basketball and was really fit, so some people just sweat a lot regardless of weight.
We used to have a older gentleman come into the Supermarket I worked at in NJ years ago in who REEKED so bad that people would almost retch as he passed by. Customers would come up to the booth to complain after running into him in the aisles. Even his money smelled after he gave it to you. We would bag it and stick it in our deposit envelope just to get rid of it. I still get stomach stirrings just THINKING about it. But he left a lingering odor as well. Sadly, over two years, and many managers, not one could figure out how to broach the subject. Either that or they didn’t want to be that close to have a quiet convo.
@McNugget911_GitEmSteveDave:
Here’s how: “Hello sir, today we’re giving out FREE products, and since I see you here all the time and you’re such a great customer, you’re going to get them! Isn’t that awesome? So, what you’ll be getting today is this 6 pack of irish spring, this 2 pack of degree deodorant, this bottle of white rain shampoo, this 6 pack of Charmin, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash! Yes, because you’re a great customer! The thing is, it’s part of this promo thing where they want us (the store) to evaluate these products. So, next time you come back, let me know how you liked them! You might even get more free stuff! No problem sir, it was my pleasure!”
Store out $10, employee and customer satisfaction up 400%.
If I can throw in some advise.
Call the company immediately. Issues like this are best addressed while the contractor/installer is in the home. The CSR you reach can talk to the dispatcher and get someone new out OR can arrange a damage claim.
Make sure to get your receipt with a tech number for follow up. And follow up if nothing is done to remedy the situation to your liking.
Go on Comcast.net and file a complaint. Those go directly to a VP level office who makes sure it gets addressed.
Coming to the web to complain fixes very little. Make sure the company is aware of the problem and give them an opportunity to fix the problem. Comcast (and everyone else) knows how important customer rep is, which is why I think things like the twitter team and their new “guarantee” are being pushed.
/just finished a period working for research
@TracyHamandEggs:
Another piece of advise: Put your shoes on after your pants, not before.
@jake7294: it might sound like common sense, but you would be shocked at the number of people who think posting here, or on a blog, or waiting weeks to complain will get something fixed.
@TracyHamandEggs: That’s so true.
This happened to me recently, but with Dish Network. The smell coming from this guy was absolutely awful. Stale cigarette smell with BO! Plus, he had trouble setting things up, so it took more time than usual. I had to open all the windows and light a candle to get the smell out of the house. I sent an email to Dish Network and they did not respond.
I am wondering how much control Dish Network has if they use third party contractors.
If his stink actually had to be aired out my guess is he was probably sick, explaining his sub par service (even for Comcast standards).
Where’s that Comcast Bonnie chick with her LOLs and
and 
and all that crap?
@jake7294: busy helping people
but i just made some time to give you some OMG’s and LOL’s and 
@ComcastBonnie: Ahhhh! Thanks, my day is complete!
Don’t know about the B.O., but every time we’ve had a Comcast person over, they’ve put on little booties over their shoes.
We want more Captail Duvel Moneycat!
I’m one of those people that sweat a lot. I don’t smell because I shower and use deodorants however I sweat a lot. Even in winter time I still sweat. Nothing I can do about it.
During summer months just being out without any activity at all I will sweat profusely.
So when it comes to BO I don’t know if anything can be done, but when it comes to your carpet Comcast will take care of it if their installer made a mess. Cable companies do this all the time so it’s not uncommon to make a request for carpet cleaning.
Perhaps I’m a little bit more bold than most on here as most suggestions seem to be on the passive aggressive side of contacting someone else to deal with the problem in front of you. I don’t care if I come across as a jerk this is my home and I have standards. So here’s what recently happened to me. I moved to a new apartment and I moved my old Charter account to my new place. They send the guy out Sunday morning when there was a light drizzle (this is important to the story). The guy shows up 2 hours earlier than the time frame I was giving by Charter but that’s not so bad, better early than late and I was thankfully awake and dressed by 9 AM this Sunday (I like to sleep in like most lazy people). So I open the door and at my apartment complex you should know that the hallway is basically outside, it’s a breezeway. Well, the guy says hello and starts to walk in before I get a hello out. His shoes are muddy too. He is a true South Carolinian, if you know what I mean. He steps in and the smell of stale cigarettes, wet dog are immediate. He was about to step on my carpet when I stopped him and said, “Whoa excuse me, I would appreciate you removing your shoes.” This apartment is brand new and we’re the first tenants so we would like to keep things pristine plus I’m a neat freak, seriously. Asking him to take off his shoes was a mistake. The smell was awful and a mixture of bad cheese. My guess is he probably had a wild Saturday night and just figured he didn’t need to shower for the one job he had to do that day. I decided I didn’t want this guys stinking up the rest of my apartment and broached the conversation as tactfully as I could.
“I’m sorry I don’t think this is going to work for me today, could you step outside and I can explain why.” He looked at me strange and obliged and I simply told him, “Maybe you have friends or coworkers that are too kind to mention it but you carry a smell with you, sir. Personally, I’m not sure if you’re unaware or just decided showering wasn’t worth it today (some of you might think this was too harsh but the guy was seriously messy looking. As sloppy as a drunk may look with messy pants and an untucked shirt) but you’re coming into my home. I know this may just be a job to you but this is where I live and I don’t want it to smell. I’m not trying to be mean and I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings but perhaps it’s something you can consider in the future.” He didn’t seem upset accepted it and left. Later Charter sent out another guy who was just fine. My wife wasn’t happy I was so forward but perhaps I could get some back up from the other bold here on Consumerist. Or maybe I’m as big a jerk as I fear I am.
@GageAlcidice: I think this is a case in which the guy accepted it, or didn’t care, and left…I wouldn’t do it if it were just me alone at the house, or if I got the feeling this guy would return later with a baseball bat.
@GageAlcidice: I’m meek, not bold, but I think what you said was fine.
Unfortunately, depending on where you live you can get radically different service from Comcast contractors.
Comcast will buy out local cable operators and use their employees as Comcast contractors. You can bet one of the last things Comcast cares about is making sure their contractors all adhere to the same standards of appearance and practice.
Comcast, as life, is like a box of chocolates. You just never really know what you’re gonna get.
What would you prefer? His muddy boots, or the god awful stench that his feet were probably simmering in. ~blech~
I would take the mud over stench ANY day.
PS Perhaps you could borrow a friends camera, take photos, rent a steam cleaner, then send Comcast (or the installer) the bill, along with copies of the pictures.
Light a scented candle. Or two. Or three. In every room.
My sympathies.