Why Mediacom Vexes Me…

   Yesterday, out of the blue…a Mediacom Truck Pulls up.    No big deal,   we are paid up for next month….so there is no reason to go outside and bother the Tech…

Remembering what happened before,  they simply shut off our service without asking us or warning.   It took seven long days to repair the damage to both our business and our Psyche.  With this in mind, I had been going outside to harass the tech and make sure he did not shut our cable off.   Except yesterday….

Cheryl even was thinking it…even though I thought she disapproved of me engaging the Mediacom person….She actually thought that I should go outside and talk to him….I checked the Internet to see that it was still on…it was…and then…

As he pulled away,  Cheryl asked if the internet was still lit….One look and BOOM!   NO!   I was in shock!   How can this happen yet again?

Had we been faster, I would have run down the driveway after him…But instead I immediately called customer service.  They informed me that no one was scheduled to be in the area at all that day.   So who was this?   Who has keys to our box and tools to the cables to just randomly shut things off ( OH!  AND DRIVES A MEDIACOM VAN?????)  Without a positive ID on the guy,  or a license plate number,  I was of little help.   The Customer service Rep told me that it would take until Tuesday to turn the internet back on.  Tuesday!   That is 6 days!   They were JUST HERE!  

So…I have a theory.    Mediacom says that there are no “jobs” in the area for the local techs…so the Local Techs are “creating” their own jobs….by shutting off random cable subscribers.   They get a call a few days later  ( After the customer has settled down AND forgets their faces of the perpetrators…) to take a look at the box for some customer out in the boonies of Wellman. And BOOM!   Instant payday! 

Next Theory is that Mediacom knows that there are people out in the boonies that refuse to upgrade their service to the “PREMO-EXPENSIVE-ALL-YOU-CAN- EAT-BUFFET CABLE SERVICE” and thus they shut off the power  ( or “allow” the techs to pull these shenanigans..) forcing the customer to call up and then they can deliver a sales pitch. 

Either way,  I DO NOT believe Mediacom has made a “simple mistake” and “accidentally” cut off power to the wrong customer.  I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt before, but not this time.  And I think that this may become a persistent problem in the future.  It is never convenient to have your internet cut off…..especially when you PAY FOR IT!  Perhaps we need to pursue other options…like a new service provider.   We have seriously been looking up how well the local telephone company works out.  It may be about the same price now that Mediacom increased their rates.  Cheryl wants two months FREE!  I would be happy with 6 days of service REFUNDED!   And possibly have a tech fired…. We shall see. 

In the mean time, Looks like the Library or Panera or the Book Store will have to be the place we hang out.   The Free stuff is not as good as the stuff we buy at home ( When it WORKS!)  but it is a temporary lifeline as stocking sales begin to increase.   ( We sold 6 today, and finished off the Gallery’s order!)  Monopolies are a pain to work with…I now understand why Teddy Roosevelt was so militant towards “Trusts.”  Teddy is one of the few presidents I admire.   And now I have a better understanding why Monopolies without competition are bad for the consumer. 

Cicada Emerges, And Mediacom Ticks Me Off!

This weekend has been full of fun little episodes that wear down your endurance with humanity!  I’m speaking of Mediacom And their TERRIBLE customer service.

First:  The situation.  Friday morning, a Mediacom truck pulls down our driveway not once, but twice!  No Biggy, we are paid in full and have no issues.  They leave, we have no service.   we spend THE NEXT FIVE DAYS trying to get the problem fixed.   We travel to Iowa city to get a new router.  Not the problem. 

The Problem!  Mediacom RANDOMLY switches people off!  ON PURPOSE!  WHY?   Even they do not know apparently!  I guess there are it squads that roam the country side looking fro pirated cable and they disconnect them.  Unfortunately, they MOSTLY get it wrong according to the technician.  Despite the cable box has not one, not two, but THREE security measures to prevent the random Joe from Hooking up some coat hanger with aluminum foil to syphon off free adult movie channels;  They still have the “cable police” out there messing up paying customer's service.

And then there is the “customer service”.  First  I did manage to get one person…in addition to the computer, who was the most helpful.  Grant, I think his name was.  Everyone else was TERRIBLE!   They misspelled my email,  Kept pushing the “EXPENSIVE PREMIUM PACKAGE” and asked me random stuff that had no bearing what so ever on the problem at hand.  Grant was the ONLY one who could see that there was a disconnection in the signal.  Everyone else either did not want or know how to do their job. 

Finally, today,  we got our service back.  It took about 3 minutes and most of that was the guy fixing the misspelled password and other SNAFU’s the customer service rep’s messed up.  I could theorize that this was a vast “BIG CABLE” conspiracy to get me to call and have them try to upsell me from $20 a month internet to $190 a month Internet, cable TV, phone, payperview, movies, streaming news, and Email.   All things I DO NOT NEED or WANT. I mean, they send me numerous leaflets and brochures asking me to give up more money than I can afford.  Why not force me to deal with incompetent customer service reps/ salesmen for five days while they neglect me the “bargain Package” .  I can hear it now

“Sorry to hear your service was randomly disconnected by our service team.   While you are on the phone…how would you like to pay almost 10 times what you are currently paying and get more stuff than you can possibly use or need.”

My answer is” If you guys can’t keep the $20 version up.  How am I going to trust you can keep the $200 versions running?  And how will I be able to call if you shut off the phone randomly?”

Anyway,  It has been a long time wanting to vent to my blog.  But there were moments of Zen.  The weather has been quite nice as of late.   And a Cicada graced us with his metamorphosis just outside our window.  It was fun to watch..even the cat got into it. 

MediaCom Irritation!

A quick blog post for my future self who reads this to alert and remind myself that this has happened before.

Here is the Gist...  MediaCom has been cutting our service for the past 4 weeks.   ( Roughly every Thursday or Friday.   To be fair...  it is not MediaCom.  But rather, their little techies that hook people up.   They show up and randomly disconnect you, causing 5-6 days of trouble.  The Center in Iowa City, does not like their product interrupted, so why would they disconnect us?  PAYING CUSTOMERS!?!?!

After grilling the guy the last time this happened,  I learned how to reattach the cable and solve the problem so I would not have to waste 5-6 days waiting for the tech who is extorting us to return.   (Deep Breath!)

But he does continue to return...  Until we call the company and schedule a "Tech Support" visit...  where he gets paid.   It is the perfect crime!  Done out in the open, in broad daylight, and no one knows that it is the Tech who is doing the sabotage.  Except for  me....

So last week,  he actually cut the cable.   SNIP!   With the end of the cable physically cut off,  I was not able to easily reattach it like I normally would do.   So I had to whip out my MyGyver tools and do what the tech is "supposed" to do.

Finally, today, the scheduled appointment came through and the company sent the guy out.  He knew just what to do...  surprise surprise!   However, he did not physically hook up our cable.   So I had to actually do the physical attachment once again.  And this time,  he left me a note!

We will call the Police!

I know Cheryl is ready!

Is this guy for real?    I showed Cheryl and she told me to put it back.    I was thinking of adding on to it :   "We'll call the Police too!"    But Cheryl does not want to rock the boat.   What can I say about that?

An alternative to Cable?  With less Harassment?

So we finally have cable again.   And they are still employed by us.  For now.   I want to switch to Satellite Dish. Perhaps I will do a little research.

Scary Fall Spiders and Falling Telephone Poles

Monster in the Kitchen!

Cheryl's quick thinking...and snack dish

With the cooler weather, certain outside creatures are looking for a place to hold up and hide out for the winter.   Usually, these are ladybugs and Box-elder beetles.    But last night,  Cheryl noticed something slightly larger in the middle of the kitchen floor....

Look at the size of that quarter!

Cheryl takes it a "safe" distance away.

I'm not sure what kind of spider this was,  but BIG sums it up nicely.  After covering it with a dish...  and doing the "creepy crawly dance" for a few moments,  both of us mustered up the courage to bundle it up and release it outside.   As a rule of thumb, we try to not kill spiders.   Maybe it is that human biologist in me...or the fact that bug guts are disgusting.   Whatever the reason,

Hurray for  plastic protection!

Cheryl and I both headed outside to the removal.   Cheryl selected a "far enough away from the building" location so the spider will "recognize he is not welcome"... and hopefully pester one of the unsuspecting neighbors instead.

Cheryl and Hiro run to safety!

After we released him,  Cheryl fled to a house with Hiro providing security.   Everyone knows cats are good protection from spiders...

Old and rotted,  this pole is history.

I wonder what caused the issue?

The other thing that is notable today was that the Sewer guys knocked down the power/cable line to the apartment this morning.  My suspicion is that the excavator bumped one of the lower lines while digging the trench.  Add in that the pole was ancient and rotted...and you have a recipe for disaster.

Our "New" power pine pole!

With the new pole up.  time to string up the wires..

The power guys were swift and agile.   They got the power back up before 1:00 PM.   Then the Cable guy moved in...

Now to connect to the grid!

And now Mediacom get to it.

This looked like a two man job...  but there was only one guy so it took a little longer.   The good news is that we finally have the Internet up and now have a new pole with new lines.   The bad ( -ish) news is that we were both supposed to score today for ETS....and with our internet... quite literally DOWN down,  we were unable to begin on time and thus..unable to participate today.  I only say this is kind of bad because after three weeks of scoring for Pearson....I was not particularly eager to get back into the fray.

I'm impressed with MediaCom.   They actually came out on the day of the emergency!   Usually there is a five day waiting list for things like this.

More Trenches, Dogs, Utility Disruptions, And Stockings! ....Time for Another Run!

Digging across Don's Yard

Adding new pipes...again!

The city sewer project continues to tear up the environment around us.   The trenches have moved...ever so slightly, over to our neighbors back yard.   The line cut through his small victory garden and into the other neighbors dog pen.

This upsets the dogs...

Unless they get a rawhide treat!

This causes the two Papillion dogs located in the fenced  in area to go crazy!   I'm somewhat of a dog guru here.   Not to pat myself on the back, but I bribe the dogs to keep quiet.   It works most of the time.

More Trenches along the driveway

And more pipes!

I find it interesting that these guys have been digging, burying, and re-digging up the same areas over and over.   Each time they drop in something "new" into the hole and cover it up again.   And,  of course,  they continue to hit the utility lines.   They have hit the water three times now, and finally,  they hit the gas!

The temporary gas line fix.

The guys test the gas line before re-hookup

Luckily,  they knew there were going to cross it and took precautions so they would not blow up our house!    They disconnected our apartment as well as the neighbors before cutting into it.   This caused the gas to leak out into the air and stink up the yard with the fragrance of sulfur.  Similar to the smell  the pig farmers spread when they fertilizer their fields around here.

A small side note on the utilities. Mediacom came today to fix the broken cable from the downed  telephone pole. From   OCTOBER 27!   Talk about prompt service!   I'm not sure what is going on down at that place, but I knew we were VERY  fortunate to have the cable fixed the same day the damage occurred.  I just didn't know HOW fortunate!   Seriously!   Two weeks?  I'm just happy that the city guys were able to flag down a nearby tech to fix it the same day.  I guess he must not have told anyone at the office that he already had the job done.
MediaCom came today, offering to fix the broken cable line... the one that was damaged when the telephone pole was knocked down by the sewer guys!    That was

Cheryl and stockings

Lots of Designs today

And finally,  the stockings are picking up.   It's about time.   We did another 14 today in addition to the 31 from yesterday.   The familiar scene of Cheryl and Ethan dropping off a HUGE satchel of packages at the post office was witnessed again.  The post office actually like us for taking care of all of the orders in advance.  Just like the good old days.

And cool cat names!

All this business around here causes Cheryl to want to run again.  And Lucky for her!   There is a race in Madison Wisconsin this weekend!   Another Half-Marathon in the fall...  What could be better?   We were supposed to drive to IKEA to finish up our redesign of the apartment.

Beer and Brats for Breakfast!

 But with all this stress around here,  we decided we needed another chance to release some steam.  So...Off to Wisconsin..again!   Perhaps we will score some more beer this time.   Different beer, but still from Wisconsin.   Oh,  And some Brats!   How can you go to Wisconsin and  not have beer and  Brats?