Comcast Not On Demand

Sometimes you just have a day that is beyond frustrating. Other times, you can just let it slide. I'm not entirely sure yet how I feel about today but here's what happened.

Woke up around 8:30am and made a pot of Mocha Mint coffee, kindly provided by my aunt and settled in to watch a couple of hours of Supernatural. It was wonderful. I decided I would shower when I realized that one of my least favorite episodes (Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie) was on, and I didn't really feel like dealing with clowns before an interview. So I got dressed and ready for the day and waited for the phone to ring. About 11:51am, my cell phone went off to the Laser Breakdance Beat (from Ocean's 12) and I picked it up excitedly. Phone interview for a graduate assistant (GA) position at the Smith School of Business, a great opportunity for me, especially after my disheartening rejection from the Library of Congress Fellowship. It was a quick round of Q & A, by them and me (you should always have a couple of questions in mind for an interview) and then it was over. I hung up feeling confident and ready to conquer the day!

I had a quick sandwich and headed out the door with my GPS in hand to my desired destination: the Comcast Service Center in Lanham. I was able to find the place with no issue, except for a couple lane changes that tripped me up. The building was hidden down a creepy dirt road but with lots of cars in the parking lot, I wasn't too concerned. When I got inside, there was only one person working and a line at least 12 people deep. I resigned myself to waiting, at least it was air conditioned! When I made it up to the front and was called forward, I place my modem on the counter and the woman proceeded to type in the serial number. Then she did it again. Then she asked where I got the device from, so I told her: Massachusetts. I told her I have the account number, which she took down and tried to type that in. Then she said the service center only has access to customers within that county. That is by far the most ridiculous thing I have heard in quite a long time.

Let me back track for a minute and point out that I called Comcast to cancel my service on Monday. I asked if they could send me a box in order to ship back the products. Sure, no problem, we'll mail that right out to your old address. Can you send it to a new address? Let me check...unfortunately, I can't but if you log onto the Web site, you can enter the address you want to have it sent to. Okay, great!
So I logged on to the Web site and lo and behold, it says right there:

Alright, then the next logical step would be to drop it off at a service location. Which brings me back to standing in front of the counter being told that they cannot access my account because it's not in the same state and that I will have to ship it to the service center closest to the address that I moved from, which should be listed on the back of my bill. I'm not the type to lose my temper at service people, it's not their fault that the system is working like it is. So I thanked the woman for her time and explanation and headed out the door. And decided I needed some retail therapy, which I will get into on my next blog post.
But for now, just remember: disconnect your cable/internet BEFORE you move if you aren't going to have it hooked up at the new location or that service provider isn't available in your new area. Because this is a hassle that no one needs to deal with.

What I'm reading: The Vow by Jessica Martinez
Progress: Almost a quarter done
Reaction so far: A puzzle of friendship that is slowly unraveling or a friendship that is becoming unraveled, I'm not sure which yet. Unique, realistic characters in a small town life that makes you think about how small the world has actually become and what love really means.

Oh, and I finally finished The 5th Wave. It was awesome. I can't think of a better word to describe it. There were so many twists and shadows and alleys that I was shocked after every reveal. I picked up on small signs and missed others. I enjoyed it immensely and might actually pick up the next book in the series once I'm done with all these library books I borrowed from MA.