Comcast? FAIL!
Recently, I started to get the dreaded, “This channel should be available shortly” message. The following is a transcript of the conversation I had with an online customer no-service rep from Comcast.
user Francisco_ has entered room
Francisco>
For the second time today I've received the message "this channel should be available shortly comcast"
analyst Rachel.29179 has entered room
Rachel.29179>
Hello Francisco_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Rachel.29179. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Rachel.29179>
I am here to provide you with the best customer service. I will be delighted to assist you with your concern.
Rachel.29179>
I understand that you have experience an intermittent cable connection for the second time today, right?
Francisco_>
Yes
Rachel.29179>
I know how unfortunate having problem with cable the second time. You have cable trouble, am I correct?
Francisco_>
Yes.
Rachel.29179>
I will be glad to check this for you, Francisco.
Rachel.29179>
By the way, do you have a cable box?
Francisco_>
I've power cycled the box and now it's saying that I don't subscribe to some channels
Francisco_>
Yes...
Rachel.29179>
Alright.
Rachel.29179>
Let me check if there is an outage in your area.
Rachel.29179>
May I have the account number and the last four digits of the Social Security Number, please?
Francisco_>
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx / xxxx
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
Please give a minute or two while I check this for you. Is that okay with you?
Francisco_>
Please...
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
Thank you for patiently waiting.
Rachel.29179>
How are you doing, by the way, Francisco?
Rachel.29179>
I have checked your area, Francisco.
Rachel.29179>
I can certainly understand how inconvenient it must be not to have a cable service working as expected.
However, upon checking, your services are affected by an outage at this time.
This is a known issue and our technicians are working to restore the service as quickly as possible. Please bear with us.
Rachel.29179>
At the moment, I do not see a time of restoral. Please do chat back with us at a later time so that we can provide you with an update. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Rachel.29179>
If the cable is not restored after 24 hours, you may request for credit for the number of days that you do not have the cable services. You may request this once the cable has been fully restored.
Francisco_>
No. It worked about an hour ago
Rachel.29179>
Yes, that is possible.
Rachel.29179>
Let me send a signal to the box to see if it responds.
Francisco_>
Why should I have to wait 24 hours? I understand that this sometimes happens to cable boxes that aren't registered
Rachel.29179>
I understand how inconvenient this is to you and I understand how you feel.
Rachel.29179>
May I have the serial number that is found either at the back or the bottom of the box?
Rachel.29179>
The serial number should start with either SA, PK, PA, MI, MA, M0, M9 or GI.
Francisco_>
hang on
Rachel.29179>
By the way, you only have one DVR box, right?
Francisco_>
yes
Rachel.29179>
Alright.
Rachel.29179>
I will send a signal to your DVR box. Please have the box and the TV turn "ON" and the TV tune to channel 3. Alright?
Rachel.29179>
Please be advised though that since this is a DVR, if you have save programs, that there is a possibility that it might be erased. Is that okay with you?
Rachel.29179>
Are you still with me?
It is important for me to know if you are still online with me.
Did you receive my last message?
Francisco_>
Hang on...
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Francisco_>
I can't find the serial
Francisco_>
where would it be located?
Rachel.29179>
That is okay since you have one DVR box.
Francisco_>
I think I found it. It's xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
I will send a signal to your DVR box. Please have the box and the TV turn "ON" and the TV tune to channel 3. Alright?
Francisco_>
OK
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
Please be advised though that since this is a DVR, if you have save programs, that there is a possibility that it might be erased. Is that okay with you?
Francisco_>
OK
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
I have sent a signal to your DVR box. Can you please check to see if this has resolved your issue?
Francisco_>
Nothing happened.
Rachel.29179>
I am sorry to hear that.
Rachel.29179>
This is because of the ongoing outage in your area.
Francisco_>
Where can I monitor the outage?
Rachel.29179>
But rest assured that this is being currently work on and consider the issue resolved.
Francisco_>
Is there a link to this site?
Rachel.29179>
You can chat back or you can contact our hotline at 1800 266 2278.
Rachel.29179>
There is no link available online.
Rachel.29179>
I have exhaust all the trouble shooting steps remotely and have this issue escalated to our technician so that they will hasten and fixed the issue in your area.
Rachel.29179>
Please consider this issue resolved.
Rachel.29179>
In the meantime I will make a one day credit for no cable.
Rachel.29179>
Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Francisco_>
NO.
Rachel.29179>
Thank you.
Rachel.29179>
If you need additional assistance you can find product support information on our Web site at: http://www.comcast.com/Support/.
Rachel.29179>
You may check out also our latest promotional packages available in your area, please visit http://www.comcastspecial.com for details.
Rachel.29179>
We value your business with Comcast. By answering the online survey after clicking on "end session," we will be able to gather your suggestion and recommendation on how to improve our service. We thank you in advance for accomplishing the survey.
Rachel.29179>
It's been a pleasure serving you today.
Thank you for contacting Comcast. We appreciate your business.
Have a great evening. Take care.
Rachel.29179>
Analyst has closed chat and left the room
analyst Rachel.29179 has left room
June 26, 2009 at 4:07 am
Fuck That Comcast Sucks ass. NOT that my brighthouse is much better.
June 26, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Frank,I'm sorry for the unhelpful chat. Has your issue been resolved? Have you spoken to anyone regarding the credit? Email our team at We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com. We'll see your concerns are addressed.Again, I apologize for the poor experience we created. Thank you for making us aware. I am forwarding a copy of your blog and the chat to the team that manages the chat services.Kind Regards,Melissa MendozaComcast Customer ConnectNational Customer OperationsWe_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com@ComcastMelissa
June 26, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Wow, the Comcast bitch actually posted a comment.
June 28, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Thanks Melissa,I'd appreciate anything you can do for me and other Comcast customers.Let's keep the commentary clean, especially when speaking to other posters. Trooper, that was a little uncalled for. Melissa was trying to help.