The Comcast technician came out last week to get our wireless cable Internet hookup working again. When he finished, he tried it out on my laptop. He was able to get online, so he said the problem was solved and left. Unfortunately, he never bothered checking on the other three computers in the house, and they still couldn't get online. So I've been relegated either to using the laptop -- which is brand new and doesn't have a lot of stuff loaded onto it yet, and which for which there is no desk space in my office -- or to going online on my desktop system via a maddeningly slow dial-up connection.

We (meaning mostly my computer genius husband, Bob) had been trying since then to diagnose and fix the problem. Finally, Bob gave up in disgust and began hardwiring all three of the desktop computers, a process involving cables strung around the basement and holes drilled in the floors, because the computers are scattered throughout the house.

It worked! I'm now sitting at my desktop computer in my office, and I am on the internet but not tying up a phone line. He still has our little boy's computer to tie in this weekend, but two out of the three are set. One advantage we're noticing: I have a ton more memory free than I used to. Apparently the poor computer was straining itself, trying to talk to a wireless router that was too far away and too obstructed for it to connect to easily.

I received an overdue notice yesterday from Comcast. This surprised me, because I paid the bill three weeks ago. So I called the customer service number to find out if my last payment had been posted. The recorded voice gave me the current balance -- the same as on the statement I received. But it did not tell me what my last payment was, or when it was posted. Then it asked if I wanted to speak to a customer service representative for further information -- and informed me that it would cost me $4.95 to talk to someone. Is it just me, or does it take a lot of nerve for a company to charge me $4.95 just to let me know whether I actually owe it money?

So I got online, wondering if such information was available for free on the Comcast website. For free, the website told me I owed the same amount that was on my printed overdue notice. A list of links to past payment information was included. That seemed to be what I needed, so I clicked on one of the items to see whether the last check I wrote was there. And an error message informed me that a processing error made it impossible to reach that information. Same for every other item on the list.

In other words, Comcast tells you to pay, and you're supposed to accept it on faith that you really owe the money. Any attempts on the customer's part to find out for sure will be stymied. Unfortunately, everyone I know in my area who uses Verizon, really the only competition (and not currently available for all services in my neighborhood) says that Verizon customer service is just as bad. I really hate Corporate America.

I'm having connection problems today. Thank you, Comcast. So I'm currently on LJ via a dial-up connection. You can imagine how much fun that is. I was hoping to post about the snarfari I went on yesterday. A snarfari is a historical-landmarks hunting trip. Each landmark you visit and photograph to log later onto the Markeroni website is called a "snarf." As I said, I had planned to post about it now. But this Internet connection is driving me crazy, so I think I'll wait and try again tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, if you're a Virginia resident, don't forget the Democratic primary for Governor, which takes place Tuesday. Voter turnout is expected to be low, so every vote makes a big difference. Get to the polls and vote! Haven't decided on a candidate? I'm supporting Brian Moran.

Fingers crossed....

Recently I received a slick, color brochure from Comcast. The front read something like, "Good News About Your Comcast Cable TV Service!" I opened it up to find a headline about changes in the lineup for customers who have a higher-priced subscription than mine. The changes consisted mostly of re-assigning channel numbers. None of this was relevant to my tier of service, so I nearly threw the thing away. Then a line of tiny print near the bottom caught my eye. In a 6-point-type footnote, I was informed that customers with my subscription would no longer receive MPT, one of our three PBS stations, and that the change would take effect the very next day.

I was ticked off. Losing a PBS station really hurts. And this was coming soon after another PBS station, WETA, had gotten rid of its afternoon kids' programs and moved them to a new WETA-Kids station -- which, naturally, was not available with my tier of service. The following day, MPT did fade to black. At the same time, though we hadn't been warned about it, TCM, one of my favorite stations, was also affected. I could still get a picture, so I could see the classic movies, but there was no longer any audio.

For several years now, Comcast has been cutting our service and/or raising our rates on a regular basis. But MPT and TCM? This was the worst. But then I learned (in the fine print, again) that we did have an option besides giving in and paying for a higher-priced subscription. (All you satellite TV watchers are now talking to your computer screens, telling me I could switch to the Dish, but we weren't ready for that, either. I guess we could go back to an antenna, but there are too many stations we want to watch that we can't get that way.) For customers like me, Comcast was offering a special box, free for one year, that would giveth back the stations it had taketh away. I heard various concerns about this box on my neighborhood listserve, but I didn't see another good choice, so I trooped down to the Comcast office and got myself a box.
 
We hooked up the new box a few days ago, and now we are amazed. Not only do we get MPT and TCM, but we also get all the alternate WETAs, including the one for kids. And Hallmark and Travel, which disappeared from our service in the fine print of the last brochure we received from Comcast. And HUNDREDS of other stations. Comcast just doesn't give free service upgrades, so I'm mystified about why I'm getting all these channels. Maybe it's a temporary thing, to show us what we're missing so we'll decide to pay for the more expensive service. I'm half expecting to get my next bill in the mail and discover that they're charging us a higher rate for the privilege of having this FREE box.

I don't really want hundreds of channels. My family would be just fine with 40 or 50 -- if we could choose WHICH 40 or 50. (For me personally, the number would be much lower, but I do have to share the TV with my husband and son.) On the other hand, it's nice to have more options. Now if we can just get them all to show something worth watching....

I just got an annoying phone call from Comcast, one of my least favorite companies on the planet, but nonetheless a company that seems for us to be a necessary evil.
 
It's a recorded voice telling me I have "an important message from Comcast" and instructing me to remain on the line to hear it. Then it dumps me into the interminable "hold" queue, where every few seconds another recorded voice comes on to tell me how my call is important to Comcast but all operators are busy and one of them will answer my call in the order in which it was received.
 
Hello! YOU called ME!

I did not wait. If it's so important, let them call back.