1. Our lives basically revolve around streaming internet now. The kids do the whole education thing through their laptops and household entertainment (aka Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix) comes via Spectrum, too. Even our cable channels are a streaming internet package that brings us CNN and basketball games (you know, back when there used to be live basketball games). So school, movies, tv shows, news, sports…
2. Let’s just say that sh*t hits the fan when the internet goes down.
3. In a perfect world this would never happen. I’ve never lived in a perfect world, though, and don’t figure that’ll start anytime soon so I handle my business.
4. I’ve been around the block a few times so I know where to start. Reboot the router/modem. Always reboot the router/modem. Step number one is forever gonna be reboot the router/modem.
5. So when the internet went down yesterday the first thing I did was – you guessed it – reboot the hardware. Unplug from the power source, count to thirty, plug back in and…nothing. Still down.
6. Time to call it in. Except Spectrum’s extremely helpful automated system states it’ll “walk you through the steps to reboot your router” when what I really need is “press 4 if you’ve already rebooted your router and still got nothing.” Time to hang up and call back because I WOULDN’T BE CALLING YOU IF I HADN’T ALREADY REBOOTED THE ROUTER AND GOT NOWHERE, DAMMIT.
7. Cue a call that requires no less than five wildly patient “representative” responses into the voice system. “In a few words, tell us what you’re calling about.” “Representative.” “Have you called regarding this issue before?” “Representative.” Just give me a human being, for Pete’s sake.
8. Enter Steve The Spectrum Customer Service Representative whose first directive was, I kid you not, that I reboot my router. Even though I told him I already had. Because “sometimes it just takes a random number of reboots…before it takes…and it just somehow…works.” I didn’t want him to hurt himself trying to explain this nonsense so whatever, I unplugged the stupid router. Not surprisingly it didn’t help and Steve starts talking about scheduling a tech visit at our home.
9. When I suggested that perhaps there might be an outage – which in all seriousness was all I’d called to report – there was some hedging. Maybe it was my setup. Had I moved my modem? It was showing as unreachable. Was I sure I unplugged it correctly? (Yes. He really asked. I deserve bonus points for not losing it at that one.)
10. And then, as if the skies opened to reveal a brand new day, Steve exclaimed, “What?! I’ve never seen anything like this!” That’s right, Steve are-you-sure-you-unplugged-it-right Spectrum Guy spotted an enormous stretch of houses without internet that had not been identified as an outage yet. I somehow managed to squeak by without hollering AND THAT’S WHY I’M CALLING, STEVE, CAN WE JUST WRAP THIS UP? Tech, man.
Yep Internet has gone from nice to have to an essential service. They’re all the same. Spectrum is our current provider but with AT&T we had those same “not helpful” phone calls. My son usually does all the talking if we need tech support. Since he worked on the other side for a brief time, he knows the fast track to getting help.
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I hated Spectrum for this very reason. They ever seemed to know when it was their system that was gone. The final straw came when we were hit by Hurricane Harvey and the service was out for six weeks. Get this. They still sent us a bill for service which didn’t work. When I called in they informed me that for a $15.00 monthly fee I could go on “vacation mode “and save the $120.00 monthly charges. My response was to call the Specrum CEO and then cancel my service when a lackey he appointed couldn’t help. I also told them good luck in collecting a month’s service fee when the service was dead. At least they didn’t try that one. There were 400 of us that discontinued service.
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Oh lord, SIX WEEKS?? That was a major fail. It makes me wonder how many customers had that thing set up for autopay who never even questioned it…
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We had autopay but got an e-mail with the bill.
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When the need arises to call tech support is when I think I should maybe just grab a box of wine, tip my head back. And turn the spout to on.
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Box wine makes everything better. 😉
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I had one of those moments about a month and a half ago. The twerp on the other end of the phone insisted that I do the unplug and wait dance, and then I was to go to my TV (in another room) and do it again. Why I had to mess with the TV at all is a mystery, because there’s no modem in that room, it’s wireless. I said at one point I’d only called to REPORT AN OUTAGE. He couldn’t understand why I’d argue with him about unplugging and rebooting the router (which I did FIRST…we learn by trial and error, don’t we?), so finally I pretended to go do the steps he recommended. Still nothing because there actually was an outage. Which had been reported, the guy I was talking to just didn’t or couldn’t read the updates on his monitor. I guess. These days it’s Big Honking Conglomerate in Charge of Our Entertainment = 1; Customer = 0. Oh my heck!
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All of this. There was a call where I faked the steps, too, because I just didn’t have the energy to crawl up in our entertainment closet to disconnect a cable. Sheesh.
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Don’t leave out the official and call completing closing. “Is there anything else I can help you with today ?” Especially when none of the rest of the call was any help. My favorite diagnostic question preceding even the classic have you rebooted your router is ” how hard did you hit enter ?” We know that you are not happy your service failed and to make sure of it we are going to find new ways to convince you your service failed. We don’t want you to go away mad. We want you to go away screaming mad… please stay on the line to fill out our satisfaction survey.
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All of this!! And when I read your “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” the first thing that popped in my head was “well yeah, I’ve been trying to find a good gluten free pizza place near me, do you have any suggestions?” Maybe I can start a random series of follow ups when they offer further assistance…
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How frustrating is that. I think you did well controlling yourself. Surprised the router wasn’t chucked at him.
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I spend a fair amount of my time talking myself down off the ledge on these tech calls.
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I am very familiar with the Spectrum outage reporting. My favorite is, “I am going to send a signal”, “Looks like all is working well”. What? Still nothing here. “Might be in your house wiring.” Again, what? “I can schedule a tech.” “Oh, looks like there is an outage in your area affecting various Spectrum services”. No kidding, Sherlock!
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Agreed. I wonder if this would work once I finally get a rep on the line: “Okay, look, I’ve already unplugged and rebooted everything twice, there’s nothing wrong with our power or breakers, and we just had the wiring recertified. NOW can we just report the outage?”
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You could never work at Spectrum! 😂😂😂
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nope 😆😆
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Been there, done that. Wanted to scream.
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I take a deep breath and try to remember they must talk to an awful lot of people where the “reboot it” thing works or they wouldn’t keep doing it. Still…
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I’m surprised he didn’t say, “I have to go, lady, it seems we have a bigger problem than your little internet access issue.” How doe it feel to be the tree of focus when the guy can’t see the forest?
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The tree of focus that’s a “gee, I hear you saying you have trouble but just can’t seem to do anything about it” situation. At a certain point I’m just like whatever, put anything you want in the computer, just send out the trucks.
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so funny, and exactly like my conversations with xfinity! once, I was just trying to pay my bill online, and it turned into a debacle, as they had a new security system put into place. at one point, I just yelled out, ‘who would try to break into to my account to pay my bill? if they do, then I would welcome them.’
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THIS. One prompt asked me for my security code and it didn’t like the one I gave. Irritating but seriously, I’m just reporting an outage, I don’t want anything from you, WHAT DOES IT MATTER?? 😂
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It happens each and every time!
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Internet out just used to be inconvenient but now it’s full on crisis mode. 😆
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It’s the same story all over the world.
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