I can't even believe what kind of a crappy day this has been. It's been raining for at least a week. People around here are starting to see what kind of flotation devices they have in the attic or garage. I was just thinking about what we would need and remembered we have an air bed stashed somewhere in this house. I suppose we could get some of those "floaty" arm things for little kids and put them on the cats. I can just see us, grabbing our "emergency preparedness" kit, getting floaty things on the four cats, blowing up the air mattress and paddling on down the, what? road? street? canal?
Yes, I did say emergency preparedness kit. I bet I know what I would find if we looked in one, toilet paper and water. The water would come in handy, the toilet paper I'm not sure about. Over the years Wanda has tried to keep some things in both cars but we have done it half-ass. We really should have a plan and get some full kits together.
I can bet what the ladies that read this will say to the next thoughts. Please do me a favor and read this to your husbands, thanks in advance.
We went grocery shopping this morning around eight. About an hour ago I was making some coffee and remarked, "I'm almost out of this French Roast, should have bought some coffee this morning." At this point you need to know I have two pounds of coffee beans unopened in the pantry. So, hearing my comment about buying coffee, Wanda said, "I asked you if you wanted coffee when we were at Safeway this morning." I remember her asking me and I said I didn't need any. Now, Wanda and I have been together going on twenty five years. She still hasn't figured out how she should talk to me. I also contend this is one of the communication problems between men and women.
Wanda should have said, "Chuck, this is the coffee that's on sale this week end." Do you want to get some?" The operative word here is SALE. Women don't understand we want to put out as little effort as possible. Just answering a question, "no" is a Hell of a lot easier than trying to think about, "do I need it, or don't I need it." However, if something is on sale, buying it makes perfect sense. In many situations you ladies need to remember to talk to us like we are six years old. This would make life a lot easier for all of us.
We did our shopping got back to the house put the stuff away and the fun began.
A couple of days ago I noticed what looked like a problem with Casper's left eye. If she was a kid I guess I'd say, "pink eye." But, she's a cat and it's getting worse. Today it's a little swollen and looks almost like the beginning of a cataract. The last time we had her at the Vets we practically had to peel her off the ceiling. She may be sixteen years old and not feeling well but there is no way she is going to let us put her in a carrier. I thought maybe our Vet could help with something so I called, or tried to call.
We have two separate and completely independent telephone numbers here at home. We have two cordless and one regular like cord phone. On the cordless phones, we have an answering machine we never use and don't need. We don't need it because these are on the Comcast system with internal voice mail. Truth be told, we really don't need that either since I'm almost always here. (OK, we don't get many calls, is that better?).
Before we had voice mail and answering machines we could at least pretend we were missing calls. Now we come home after a ten day cruise and have two messages, one from a salesperson and the other a wrong number, how depressing.
When we had our home alarm system installed the central monitoring station could only be called over a regular hard wire (like ATT) land line. A few years ago we switched phone service to Comcast, we needed to keep the old phone number for the alarm. We soon will make some changes since alarm systems now work on several different technologies. But for now, we have both ATT and Comcast phone service.
So, I picked up the cordless and tried to call the Vet, three times. When the call finally went through the receptionist could only hear part of what I was saying, She said, "I can only hear part of what you are saying." I tried the other cordless phone, the one with the built in answering machine we don't use, or need. This time the receptionist said, "I still can't hear you." Since Wanda and I both have cell phones I used one to call the Vet. This time the receptionist said she could hear me but couldn't help me. She said something about the legality of prescribing meds for a cat they haven't seen in the past twelve months. We can't get hold of her, her eye looks bad, she's at least sixteen years old, what's the problem? Tomorrow I'll see if I can find a mobile Vet, maybe "Have Cat House Will Travel" or something like that.
I now realize we are having problems with the Comcast telephone line, or modem, or are we? At this point it could be them, or, it could be us. Maybe I screwed something up after dropping the damn phone on the floor too many times? All I need to do is unplug the phone with the cord, plug it into the Comcast modem and make a call, if I can.
So, I pick up the ATT phone (with the cord) and it's d-e-a-d, dead. No dial tone, no nothing. This phone is a useless as ten day old fish. SInce we never call out on this line, or answer it if it rings, I have no idea how long it's not been working.
About now I am getting just a tad testy. About now I am getting ready to fling both cordless phones, the regular phone, the Comcast telephone modem, and, just to be on the safe side the lap top computer and both cell phones right out the stinking window. Did I mention Wanda and I cleaned out the gutters along the backside of the house before all this started?
Now I have a non working Comcast and a non working ATT phone line. I'm a little confused about the ATT line since I have not heard from the alarm company. They always call if we have a problem, even a power failure, and they haven't. Also, there is a trouble light on the alarm panel and it's not on. The last time we had ATT problems the service person put an "interface" thing in the garage. If we have a problem I can plug a phone in the "interface" and determine if the problem is inside, or outside, the house. I took the phone out, plugged it in, got a dial tone and called Wanda. This indicates the problem is in the the house. All of a sudden I had a brilliant idea, I'll leave the phone out in the garage, we don't use it anyway so why not?
Why not? Because I'm out in the garage, Wanda is inside in the family room and I'm hearing, "Something is beeping in here!" Something is beeping in here? Five words I did not need to hear just then. I went in the house to the alarm pad in the hallway to check the "beeping." In the last paragraph I said, there is something confusing about the ATT line not working because, among other things, the alarm panel trouble light was not on? You remember? Well, it was on now, and beeping, and flashing. About the only thing it wasn't doing was singing and dancing. Now I had a working phone in the garage that I couldn't use because the alarm wouldn't work with it there.
I had a really bad headache. After a few minutes of semi logical thought and process' of elimination I concluded the following, I would feel a lot better if I threw something out the window. Eventually I realized the ATT phone, plugged in the garage interface interrupted the "closed" circuit of the alarm dial out doohickey thingy. In other words, sorry, I don't have other words, just trust me on this, it didn't work.
Just about this time I suddenly have a epiphany, a moment of absolute clarity of thought, a thousand watt bulb lights over my head. The reason the ATT phone does not work in the back of the house is (drum roll please) because I completely screwed up all the wiring when we painted the family room.
When this house was built around 1975 a large ugly metal wall plate was installed for a wall phone in the family room. For a number of years we had a regular old ATT wall phone plugged into and hanging on that wall plate. After a series of cordless phones, eventually we got a system that rendered that wall plate obsolete. When we last painted, without much thought, I unscrewed the plate, cut some and stuffed other wires back into the wall. I patched the hole with a screen and lots of plaster. It looks great now. There is nothing I can or would do to "fix" it.
In other words, I screwed up the internal telephone wiring. I cut the phone wires that go to all the rooms in the back of the house. I really, really, really am a stupid "fix-it" guy.
The solution to our alarm problem is cancelling the eighteen buck a month ATT phone and setting the alarm to use the Comcast cable.
We still are not able to use the cordless phones on the Comcast system. A technician who will "solve this problem" will be out Saturday between 10 A.M. and noon. When I first discovered the phone problem, obviously I couldn't call so I used the on line chat help. After a little over an hour we thought it was fixed, it wasn't, so I tried again.
PS: It's a little confusing I know, since I started this Friday and am finishing it Saturday. As of this posting it's 12:50 Saturday afternoon. The Comcast guy was here, a nice man named Jim. He checked everything and discovered it's an outside "Network" problem. It should be fixed, by someone else, later today. Hey, anyone remember the movie, "Network?" "I'm mad as Hell and not going to take it any more."
I don't expect anyone will actually read the chat transcript in it's entirety. I thought it was pretty funny and frustrating, so give it a try. Remember, this was the second time I was on line with Comcast, it over an hour the first time.
The "Help Chat Round Two" Begins:
chat id : cdf84247-44df-4455-a926-3851e15510ea
charles > phone dropping calls already spent time on line with agent....it's intermittent
Leoriza > Hello charles_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Leoriza.Please give me one moment to review your information.
Leoriza > Welcome to Comcast! How are you doing today?
charles_ > lousy
Leoriza > I am sorry to know that, Charles.
Leoriza > I understand you are getting intermittent connection for your phone service.
Leoriza > I know that can certainly be frustrating. Let me try to pinpoint what the problem isand work on getting this fixed for you.
charles_ > yes
Leoriza > My apologies for the frustration this issue has caused you. I'm going to do everything I canto resolve this with you today, Charles.
Leoriza > I will personally take care of this for you.
charles_ > ok
Leoriza > For security purposes, would you please provide the following information:
Your account numberYour Billing Phone NumberThe last four digits of your Social Security Numbercharles_ > i don't have all of that,,,,,,,,can you just look at the last persons notes?
Leoriza > That's fine.
Leoriza > Thank you for the information. Please give me a minute or two while I pull up your account.
Here they snuck in a commercial
Leoriza > Protect your computer, files and your identity without slowing down your PC (or Mac).Get Norton Security Suite, a $160 dollar value, at no additional cost with your Comcast High-Speed Internet subscription. While waiting, why not check out www.comcast.net/security for more information.
Leoriza > Charles, can you access the phone modem on your end?
charles_ > yes.....i already did a power up like 30 minutes ago
charles_ > power
Leoriza > Can you please check if the telephone lights on your modem is solid or blinking?
charles_ > hang on right now it's solid on
charles_ > hello
Leoriza > Okay, thank you for checking.
Leoriza > Is your phone unit a corded or cordless unit and is it directly connected to the telephone port on your modem?
charles_ > it is a cordless phone....I have two modems....there is a telephone plug into the port that is 1/2
Leoriza > The Motorola SBV5220 modem is for your phone service
charles_ > yes.....I know that
Leoriza > The Motorola SB6120 is for your Internet service.
Leoriza > Let me go ahead and do a line reset on your Comcast phone line.
Leoriza > I may be resetting the phone modem, will that be okay with you?
charles_ > yes
Leoriza > Thank you Charles.
charles_ > ok
Leoriza > Please stay on chat while I work on your modem.
charles_ > ok
Leoriza > Thank you for patiently waiting.
Leoriza > Did you see the modem reset on your end?
charles_ > i am not in the same room with it
charles_ > i didn't know I was supposed to be watching it
Leoriza > That's fine.
Leoriza > I am running a health check here on your modem and i am waiting for the new signals that i sent to stabilize.
charles_ > ok...do i need to go into the room where the equipment is?
Leoriza > No need for now.
charles_ > ok
Leoriza > Do you have a spare corded phone that you can connect directly to the telephone port on your modem?
charles_ > yes....BUT, i am not sure if the phone itself works......long story
charles_ > but I can try it?
Leoriza > Yes, please.
Leoriza > It is now showing good signals on the system.
charles_ > ok.....you'll need to hang on
Leoriza > Sure, I will be here.
charles_ > ok....I have the cord phone plugged in, i have dial tone, I also have the light on the modem
Leoriza > That's good. Can you please check if the outbound call is working fine.
charles_ > ya...hang on and I will try to call my wife's cell phone.
Leoriza > After you check on the outbound call, we will try to contact your Comcast phone line to checkif inbound is good as well.
Leoriza > Okay, thank you.
charles_ > OK....I had a dial tone, picked up the phone and as I was dialing the light on the modem started blinking.the call I was trying to make did not go through.
Leoriza > Thank you for checking.
Leoriza > Will it be fine if we try to call your comcast phone line?
charles_ > yes sure
Leoriza > Thank you, please stay on chat.
charles_ > we got caller id on the TV but no ring on phone
Leoriza > Can you please try to plug your phone unit directly to the other telephone port on your modem?
charles_ > it is plugged into the telephone modem
Leoriza > There are 2 ports for the telephone.
charles_ > i mean I think it is....it's into the rear port marked as 1/2
charles_ > yep...see above
Leoriza > One is TEL 1 and the other is TEL 1/2
charles_ > yes.....it's 1/2
Leoriza > Can you plug it this time to TEL 1?
charles_ > sure....hang on
Leoriza > Thank you.
charles_ > oh...sorry...I just took another look, I have 1/2 and 2
charles_ > do you want me to use the 2?
Leoriza > Yes, please.
charles_ > ok hang on
Leoriza > Sure.
charles_ > ok...it's in the port marked 2, there is no dial tone, no light
Leoriza > Okay, please plug it back to TEL 1/2. I will check on the provisioning status of your modem.
charles_ > ok be right back
Leoriza > This may take me a few minutes, i hope you won't mind staying on the chat room.
Leoriza > Can you please provide a reliable contact number, Charles?
Leoriza > And also we need the number that you are trying to call out earlier but the call did not go through.
charles_ > ok, I plugged it in to the 1/2 you can use 925-890-6185 cell
Leoriza > Thank you.
Leoriza > Charles, did you get any error message earlier when you try to call out?
charles_ > no
Leoriza > Just dead air when you try to dial the number is that right?
charles_ > yes
Leoriza > Thank you for verifying.
Leoriza > Please do me a favor.
charles_ > but....like i said upfront...it seems to be intermittent
charles_ > ok what?
Leoriza > Please do a hard reset of the modem phone modem on your end.
Leoriza > Yes, i have that noted.
Leoriza > The modem can be reset by using the "reset" button located on the back of the unit.Get a pen, paperclip or other pointy object and depress the reset button until you see the lights on the front of the unit go off. Release the reset button and wait for the unit to cycle up. It may take up to five minutes for the unit to reset.
charles_ > you know I have already done this once...but you tell me exactly what I need to do and I will try it again
charles_ > ok.....hang on
Leoriza > Thank you.
charles_ > ok....I did that....now would you like me to go in there and come back to let you know when all the lights are on?
Leoriza > Yes, please.
charles_ > ok......be back whenever
charles_ > here is what I have now...
charles_ > power...on....DS on US on
charles_ > online on link off
charles_ > tel 1 on tel 2 off batt is orange standby off
Leoriza > Thank you for checking.
charles_ > is that it?
Leoriza > Are you still getting dial tone?
charles_ > forgot to check brb
Leoriza > I checked on the modem status and it is still resetting.
Leoriza > Give it a minute more please.
charles_ > oh.....well I have a dial tone
Leoriza > Try to check outbound again please.
charles_ > ok hang on
Leoriza > Sure, thank you for your cooperation.
charles_ > hi.....same thing is happening...i called wife, was breaking up out of my end
Leoriza > Okay, but the call went, it is cutting off, correct?
charles_ > yes, that did the call went though
charles_ > but voice was cutting out
Leoriza > Good, let me work on the provisioning part.
charles_ > ok what do you need from me,, just wait?
Leoriza > Yes, please stay on chat while I am working on it.
charles_ > ok
Leoriza > Provisioning is all good on the system.
Leoriza > Do you another phone unit that you can use for testing purposes?
Leoriza > If the same thing happens, I will be sending a technician to fix it on your end.
charles_ > I used the cord phone......I guess I can try to put the cordless back in? do you want me do that?
Leoriza > Yes, please
charles_ > ok hang on for a minute....I am going to unplug the cord less in the front of the houseand just try the one in the back
Leoriza > Okay, I will be here.
charles_ > i'll let you know when I have done that with both phones, one at a time
Leoriza > Sure.
Here there was about a 3 minute pause, I kept getting a prompt that "The agent is not on-line Please continue to wait while they reestablish the connection. As you can see below I got a new agent.
Maria Cristina > Welcome to Comcast! I hope your day is going well. How may I help you?
charles_ > are you kidding me?
charles_ > I have been on line with you guys for like an hour
charles_ > the last agent dropped off
charles_ > yes i am here
Maria Cristina > Hi Charles, just give a minute to read the transcripts.
charles_ > ok
Maria Cristina > Charles, if I got it correctly when you receive a call the line is cutting in and out, right?
charles_ > both in and out....dropping calls, voice cutting out
charles_ > can you make arrangements to get someone out here?
Maria Cristina > Definitely, but if you want we can try to perform some trouble shooting stepsand check if there is improvement.
charles_ > well....I have been on this for over an hour, maybe morealso have worked with two agents....i really don't know what you can do? I was almost done with the last agent when theydropped out. I am sort of tired right now
Maria Cristina > Oh! I understand that might be quite frustrating, Charles.If that is the case I will send our technician . I know we already taken so much of your time, I can assure you that our technician will be the one to do the job for you, Charles. I really do apologize for the inconvenience .
Maria Cristina > The previous agent noted the account with all the steps that you have perform awhile agothis will help our technician isolate the problem.
Maria Cristina > Are you available for tomorrow, 3/26 10-12 noon?
charles_ > ok and I have seen the comcaast called id come up on the TV but nothing was ringing on our end
charles_ > yes
Maria Cristina > That would be great, I already set the appointment for you.
charles_ > thanks so much
Maria Cristina > You are welcome, Charles and I really appreciate your time and cooperation.
charles_ > no problem, think we are done?
Maria Cristina > If you do have some time, we can perform again some steps and let is if there is progress.
Maria Cristina > ** and let see if there is progress.
charles_ > honestly, it would be the third time, we can live with the cell phones until tomorrow
Maria Cristina > Oh! I understand, that is fine, Charles, just rest and wait for our technician tomorrow,I will make sure the tech will call you for the estimated time of arrival.
Maria Cristina > By the way what is your cellphone number?
charles_ > good point.....925 890 6185 is one
charles_ > 925 331 7009 is the other
Maria Cristina > Thank you. The alternate phone number is already added on our technician work order for tomorrow .
charles_ > great...thanks
Maria Cristina > We apologize for the inconvenience and I do hope that you would still consider thischat resolved when taking the survey since we are able to escalate the issue to the higher technician in which, I assure you that this problem will be resolved once the technician sees your equipment.
Maria Cristina > Thank you so much, Charles
charles_ > ok, thanks
Maria Cristina > You are welcome, aside from this will there be anything else that I can help you with?
charles_ > no thank you
Maria Cristina > It is with gratitude to have you as my customer on this chat and I appreciate the opportunityyou've given us today. Enjoy the rest of your day and take care.
charles_ > you too bye
Maria Cristina > bye for now.
Maria Cristina > Thank you for choosing Comcast as your service provider and have a great day!Comcast appreciates your business and values you as a customer.
Maria Cristina > Our goal is to provide you with excellent service. If you need further assistance,you can chat with one of our Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at http://www.comcastsupport.com/chat.
Maria Cristina > Please click on "End Session" button to properly close this chat.
No comments:
Post a Comment