[WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

[WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service
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jk0 @ 21st Oct 04:30AM:
[WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

This is getting ridiculous. I had Mediacom HSI installed not even a month ago. About a week later at precisely 1AM CDT on Friday, October 9th, I lose all access to anything outside of the Mediacom network. Or to put it another way, I could ping the modem's default gateway but nothing else (4.2.2.2 is a great one to remember for testing). I have SNMP/MRTG graphs to back up this claim.

I call in to report the outage or ask if there is any maintenance being done. Of course the automated phone system tells me there is a known outage in my area (has anyone actually heard otherwise when calling?). They have me do the usual modem power cycle. This obviously results in me losing complete connectivity to the Mediacom network since it can no longer grab a DHCP address from the servers. When the modem comes back, signals are perfect but it's still not grabbing an address. The CS rep informs me that my modem has been "disactivated" (Mediacom lingo for "deactivated"?). She "un-disactivated" the modem. The story then changes all of the sudden - now it is an actual problem with my brand new modem. I disagree and go on to explain that my modem is working perfectly fine - before the power cycle I still had connection to the Mediacom network - there seems to be a routing issue, etc. Story changes again to there being a problem with the wiring in the house. I explain that there is a direct line coming from outside to the modem and again, signals are perfect.

Back and forth we went for another 15 minutes before I requested to speak to a supervisor. I explain the situation and she is of no more help than the previous lady. Horrible attitudes. I ask to speak with tier 2, or at the very least, asked to have her ask them to take just a quick look. IMPOSSIBLE. The only option is to have a tech sent out to my residence which would take over a week. I confirmed over and over again that the problem is not inside my house and no one else was calling in to report the outage because it was 1AM! She puts me on hold for 5 minutes, comes back and then all of the sudden my modem is able to grab a DHCP address.

I ask what she did - she says nothing. At that point I am so sick and tired of being on the phone with them that I say OK and ask for a follow-up call to find out what happened. Needless to say I did not ever receive a call. Not that I really expected to.

Now today (Wednesday, October 21tst) at exactly 1AM CDT (again!) - same issue. Spent over an hour on the phone with them again and the only thing they offer to do is send out a tech and give me a $1 credit to my account for the time down. They will not even simply ask tier 2 to have a quick look.

This is flat-out bullshit. I am supposed to go days without Internet, waiting for a tech to come out, when all it would take is one simple chat with tier 2 who they refuse to let me speak with? I am not taking this lightly and will make a big scene if something does not change.

I believe the two ladies I spoke to go by the names "Dawn" and "Gwen."

EDIT: modem magically works again around 3:30AM CDT
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jmikey @ 21st Oct 06:12AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

I have noticed mine is out during those time periods. I asked about it and they told me that they are doing upgrades during those time periods because most people are asleep at that time.
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jk0 @ 21st Oct 06:17AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

They tell me there is nothing going on/no maintenance whenever I call. It would be one thing if they acknowledged that there is in fact something going on, but the fact that they keep us all in the dark or just flat out lie is ridiculous.

They must think we're all a bunch of idiots. It doesn't take a CS major to realize where the problem is.
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beachintech @ 21st Oct 07:13AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

I don't work for mediacom, but for any MSO, most of the time the call center has no idea when maintenance is going on. The fact that you only loose it for a few hours at the same time in the middle of the night looks to me like someone is doing some maintenance. It happens and that is during the usual maintenance window for any provider. Get some sleep and use it again in the morning :)
--
Tech at the Beach.
I speak for myself, not my employer.
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jk0 @ 21st Oct 07:22AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

The problem is I work 3rd shift from home (1AM-9AM CDT) so it causes a lot of headaches. There has to be some sort of communication improvement. Sending out a tech (a week later, nonetheless) for everything - before the ticket is even escalated to tier 2 - is not the answer and solves nothing. It is just a waste of my and the tech's time.

Just to clarify - I understand maintenance and unexpected outages occur. All I am asking for is a little cooperation on the tier 1 CS side. If there is an apparent issue, have tier 2 look at it right away. Don't waste peoples' time by having to send out a tech.
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MediacomJoel @ 21st Oct 09:14AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

said by jk0 :

The problem is I work 3rd shift from home (1AM-9AM CDT) so it causes a lot of headaches. There has to be some sort of communication improvement. Sending out a tech (a week later, nonetheless) for everything - before the ticket is even escalated to tier 2 - is not the answer and solves nothing. It is just a waste of my and the tech's time.

Just to clarify - I understand maintenance and unexpected outages occur. All I am asking for is a little cooperation on the tier 1 CS side. If there is an apparent issue, have tier 2 look at it right away. Don't waste peoples' time by having to send out a tech.

jk0, send me a DM with your account #. I'll have a Tier 2 tech look at it, and we'll get this fixed for you!
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quickstrike @ 21st Oct 09:19AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

I will vouch Joel has/is helping me out currently with my problems and if there was 50 of people like joel stuff would probably get done the right way. Like I said joel is an outstanding CS and is helping me and so far I am having better service then before he has helped me. Again thank you joel for taking it into your personal time to help the mediacom customers hopefully you will be CEO of mediacom someday and we would all have great service. lol :P
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nctech1 @ 26th Oct 03:16PM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

Perhaps you should consider upgrading to an actual commercial level of service since you're using your residential account for work. The business tech support is the equivalent of Tier 2 and will know when maintenance is scheduled or can take an in-depth look at either your modem or your whole area. That is exactly the reason why we offer this level of service. Your residential service is for entertainment purposes. Business tech support is more readily reachable and can schedule a tech within 24 hours should you have a problem at just your location. Unfortunately, it would not change the fact that most scheduled maintenance is done during the early morning hours.
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jk0 @ 27th Oct 03:25PM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

I don't think we are on the same page. There is an obvious problem here and the front line support is always ready and willing to place the blame on the customer right away without even considering that there may actually be something going on.

I've said it before and I will say it again: dispatching a tech is not the solution to everything. Stop wasting everyone's time.

Service is service and the level of support I've been experiencing is completely unacceptable. Business account or not, when there is an apparent issue, address it properly!
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MediacomJoel @ 27th Oct 11:09PM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

said by jk0 :

I don't think we are on the same page. There is an obvious problem here and the front line support is always ready and willing to place the blame on the customer right away without even considering that there may actually be something going on.

I've said it before and I will say it again: dispatching a tech is not the solution to everything. Stop wasting everyone's time.

Service is service and the level of support I've been experiencing is completely unacceptable. Business account or not, when there is an apparent issue, address it properly!

jk0, I'm truly sorry for the troubles and rest assured I am working to resolve them!
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anon @ 1st Nov 12:33AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

Good god.

I called for a service call because my internet connection is extremely intermittent. Good, fine, that was easy.

After the call, I did a bit of research and found out what the problem was. The upstream power level on my modem's diagnostic page shows it being 58, which is way too high. So, I call back, thinking that would be useful information for the service technician to know. It went like this:

"Hi, I'm calling back again to report some more information on my service interruptions. I found out what was wrong and I think this might be useful for the tech coming."

"Ok sir, I understand that you wish to confirm your service time Monday at 1-5pm."

"No, I'm not doing that. I found out why my connection is so poor and wanted this information added to the report so the technician knows what the problem is."

"Ok sir, I understand that your connection isn't working and we are committed..." (this goes on)

"No, no..."

After that I was so stupified by the lack of this person's understanding that the rest of the call was me going "uh huh.. uh huh.." until she finally said goodbye and told me to subscribe to Posh magazine at one of their offices. I felt like I was talking to a computer. I almost want to cancel my service because I was so offended that this person is being paid not to listen to people. Is there a codeword I can use to speak to someone who isn't reading off standard responses?
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beachintech @ 1st Nov 10:24AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

You don't really need to call back and add that info. The tech has multiple ways to verify that number, including a signal meter and internal diagnostic tools he has access to. Customer service people are not technicians and most likely had no idea what you were talking about. It's sad, but that's just how things work anymore.

I have mediacom service at my home, I am a cable tech for another company. They won't even take my advice via phone and I do this for a living. There is no secret codeword. Just setup the appointment and deal with the service tech that comes to your home. I have always found them to be good people and know what they are talking about. They listen and we get the job done every time.

edit: wrong button, that should have been for the above poster.
--
Tech at the Beach.
I speak for myself, not my employer.
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anon @ 1st Nov 01:06PM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

The problem wasn't the customer service rep's lack of technical knowledge (which I accepted), but this person's complete inability to listen and comprehend.

But yes, I guess I will just schedule service calls and try to hang up as soon as I can.
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anon @ 12th Nov 01:03AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

you were out because the pm techs do a routine smop of the fiber optic cables at these times. they wait until this time because very few subs are affected.
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jk0 @ 13th Nov 10:17AM:
Re: [WI] Absolutely Unacceptable Customer Service

okay, that's all fine and dandy but why do none of the front line support people know this and feed me a line of crap, point fingers at my equipment and want to send out techs?
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