Open letter of frustration to Comcast

After, again, being slighted by yet another Comcast call-center rep I decided to tweet the issue. Read the tweet HERE.


@ComcastBill replied immediately. Great! I can't get help from calling in but I can get it from Twitter. I don't care, as long as I get help!  He then asked that I email him the specifics of the issue.


Here's my email to we_can_help@comcast.com:


On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 3:04 PM, Ernie Ayres  wrote:

Bill?

I'm sending this email as per the request from @ComcastBill on Twitter.

ACCOUNT INFO REMOVED

I called on 10/21 to start my address change for our move on 10/28.  Since the previous occupants didn't have cable a "sight survey" would need to be done which takes up to 10 business days. 10 BUSINESS DAYS!!! It takes that long to drive to a house, look at the neighbors around us that have cable and say, "Gee, I guess we CAN put cable here."??  I was told that it probably wouldn't take that long and he would call me back as soon as it was completed.  

After not hearing anything I called back on 10/31 and explained my story.  The operator had me verify all the information again and I was told it hasn't been done yet and, again, I'd get a call once completed.

Since we've been moved in for almost a week now and still don't have cable (which we're still paying for by the way) I called a few minutes ago to see if there is any update.  The operator tells me that I initiated the call on 10/31 and it's 5 to 10 business days from that start date. Huh? I called on the 21st. She wouldn't acknowledge that and just kept reading the same line from her script. "It takes 5 to 10 business days to have the site survey done."  Due to my blood pressure issues I figured it was just better to hang up rather than listen to the broken record routine.

If I don't have cable to my house by tomorrow (again, my neighbors around me have cable so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal!) I'm canceling my service with Comcast and switching to AT&T.

Another issue we've had constantly is that the DVR is ridiculously unreliable.  While watching live TV, sometimes, pressing the pause button on the remote shows the progress bar on the screen but it doesn't pause. That really cute thing comes on that my wife wants me to see (because I'm apparently attracted to cute things) so she tries to rewind live TV and nope. Nothing. Every time we call in...guess what? "I need you to unplug the DVR for one minute please. You'll lose all programming guides for approximately fifteen minutes." Not mention the fact that we might be recording something on another channel because that's what DVR's are for, right? Recording!?

We're just tired of being yanked around. You didn't enter my order? Fine. Acknowledge that when I call to check (on the 31st would have been great) and try to make it right. Customer calls for the umpteenth time with a DVR complaint? Send that customer a new (not reused refurbished DVR...a NEW one because we are now on our third USED DVR and it still doesn't work reliably) and, again, try to make it right.  And for the love of Pete, STOP READING FROM A SCRIPT! Your reading the same line the fifth time doesn't help me to feel like you care or that you want my business.

The customer.

Please feel free to call me a the number below.

--
Thank you,

Ernie Ayres
http://www.ernieayres.com

(XXX) XXX-XXXX

We'll see what happens from here.  I'll post any updates.  The big question is "What is it going to take for companies to start caring up front instead of playing clean up?"


Maybe Gary Vaynerchuck's The Thank You Economy should be required reading at Comcast. 


Hey Comcast, if you do decide to buy everyone in your company a copy, please use my affiliate link! Pay me back for some of the frustration.

Slow plus sure equals fast

I had a manager several years ago that freely gave me much needed advice.  He told me stories about people he knew, family members, even fellow co-workers.  Each story had a purpose.  It was to teach a lesson or share a bit of knowledge.

Now that I'm in a management position, I find myself constantly going back to certain nuggets he would impart.  One such gem is "Slow plus sure equals fast."  Simple, precise, easy to remember.  I find myself saying that phrase to myself at least once a week, if not several times a week.

One such time was during a server restore.  Sometime during the day a critical database server crashed.  I was rushing around trying to hurry up and fix the server.  People were calling me and out of nowhere, the company VP walked into the server room to see if he could "lend a hand."  I knew that meant it needed to be fixed soon and that time is now!

As soon as he left I found myself panicking.  I'm not a DBA (Database Administrator) nor do I have any clue as to the procedure of restoring this server to working condition.  Then it hit me. Slow + sure = fast.  I may not have it back up in five minutes, but by slowing down and paying attention to what I was doing, I could be more accurate.  I then remembered that we had paid DBAs on-site so I got them in there to help.

I also use this mantra all the time in dealing with ADHD.  I've come to realize that if I focus on one thing, I may be moving slower but at least I'm getting something done.  If I had a nickel for every time my mind started to wander and I spent the afternoon trying to do five or six things at once and actually got nothing done!  By keeping a stack of index cards with me at all times, I can write down random thoughts that pop into my head and address them later.  Oddly enough, just writing the erroneous thought down lets my mind forget about it.  ADHD 0 - Ernie 1.

Here's a great article from Success.com that roughly relates to this.  It's short so take a minute and read it.
http://bit.ly/oKMHat

Let me know what you think about Slow plus sure equals fast.  I'd love to hear from you with examples of accomplishments by using this, or ways to make yourself slow down.

The Four Hour Body and how I rock it

I've been on the 4 Hour Body plan for about 2 months.  So far I've lost 24 pounds and several inches.  People ask me, "How'd you do it?" or "What's involved with that diet?" a lot.  Several times I've had the same person come back to me asking me to explain it again!

Here's how I rock the 4 Hour Body program. 

Breakfast:

I start with 4 brazil nuts and a  handful of almonds washing them down with a cold glass of water.  Next I move on to 3 huge forkfuls of sauerkraut. I usually eat the sauerkraut while I'm preparing my omelette. My omelette is 1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, 1/2 to 1 cup black beans, 4 eggs with 3 yolks, and 1 medium sized chicken strip or 1/3 of a can of chicken (consistency is tuna-like).  Before I eat the omelette I drink a small glass of water with 3 Tbsp lemon juice and I do 30 wall-presses and 15 air-squats,referred to as GLUT-4 exercises in the 4HB book. I also have a cup of coffee with a little less than one tsp Saigon cinnamon while eating breakfast. *I do the wall-press/air-squat routine before and 1 1/2 hours after every meal.

Tim talks about using AGG/pAGG also throughout the day.  I don't use it and I think I'm doing very well.  However, several have told me I would be doing even better if I did incorporate the AGG/pAGG stack so I'm still considering it.  More of his recommendations are Cissus Quadrangularis and probiotics via Sedona Labs iFlora.

After breakfast I take a shower and end it with the water hitting my shoulders turned as cold as it will go for 5 to 10 minutes.  If I'm in a huge hurry I will only run the cold for two minutes.  This is something I never do without.  I started seeing huge weight loss by doing this one thing so I'm sticking with it.

Once I'm out the shower, dressed and ready for work I'll have a tall glass of water with one heaping Tbsp of  Vibrant Health Green Vibrance.  Tim Ferriss recommends Athletic Greens but I find AG to be too pricey and VHGV to be very similar in composition and ingredients.

As soon as I get to work I'll fill up my 24 oz water bottle and get started on that.  Usually, I also bring a 16 oz coffee cup (with Saigon cinnamon) from home as well. By the end of the workday I try to have filled and emptied the water bottle 3 times.

Lunch:

Lunch is usually 1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, 1/2 cup black beans, and either 3 chicken strips or a can of tuna in water.  Boring, I know...but effective and easy, easy, easy to remember.  Again, lemon juice before and wall-press/air-squat routine before and 1 1/2 hours after every meal.

Snack:

None.  That was easy.  Rarely am I even vaguely hungry so I don't usually need or want a snack.  However, by 5 or 5:30pm, I'm ready to eat a small calf...or large pig.

Supper:

Supper looks almost exactly like lunch with one change.  I've been eating a Tbsp of almond butter before eating anything else.  I'd prefer it after supper just because it's a little sweet but before hand is OK too. Lemon, GLUT-4s, yeah yeah.

One thing I really like about the Four Hour Body plan is that I can have up to two glasses of red wine per day.  I usually have one but two does happen occasionally with no weight gain yet.  I've even had a pour of Bourbon (to review on WhiskeyNose.com) on a Wednesday night one week and a bottle of beer another week with no ill side effects (read "weight gain").  If I do go off the reservation it's only one drink and only one night per week other than my Binge Day (see below).

Binge day!:

The main thing that I love about the Four Hour Body is that one day per week you have what's called a Binge Day, or some refer to it as a Cheat Day.  Most of us save this for Saturday.  I've got a friend that does his on Friday because people bring a lot of food into work on Fridays and he's not saying no to goodies on Friday!  Why should he?  Changing the day is fine as long as it's consistent.  I've moved mine a couple of times from Saturday to Sunday but that's as far as I'm moving mine.

Binge day starts as any other 4HB day would.  Large breakfast with 30 grams of protein, lots of black beans, coffee with Saigon cinnamon, lemon juice, GLUT-4s, etc.  However, around one hour after eating breakfast...let the fun begin!!

My next post will talk about my binge days and how I've been able to track what I'm doing to minimize the weight gain per Tim Ferriss's  recommendations.

Questions?  Comments?  Post a comment!

Justin Bieber's show last nite

Yes, I did it.  I took my 14 year old daughter to see Justin Bieber on the My World Tour because, of my wife and me, I pulled the short straw. Plus my wife took her to see Aly and AJ a few years back so it was my turn.  Since my daughter was so excited beforehand, I was getting excited for her.

I'll get right to it.  All of the acts were talented with the singing and the dancing. Sean Kingston had most of the recognizable songs (to me) and was quite good for a mainly studio/video performer.  The scariest part of the night was when one of the opening acts told everyone to stand up and jump on the count of three until I realized the average weight of everyone there had to be roughly 68lbs, except me of course, but I wasn't jumping anyway.

By the time Justin Bieber came out you could cut the tension/excitement with a knife. They did it right by putting a timer up after Sean Kingston to let everyone know that, in 15 minutes, "the Bieb" would be taking the stage. By the time it got down to one minute I wasn't sure if people were going to start passing out or screaming or jumping off the balcony. Unfortunately, they all started screaming. And guess who forgot to bring earplugs?

By the time it was all said and done, I was impressed with Justin's (can I call him Justin, or should I say Mr. Bieber? I'm sticking with Justin) overall talent. He dances ok, he sings quite well when he's not singing over a sing along track, he plays guitar well, he plays the drums ok (I'm a drummer so I'm trying to not be too critical here). All-in-all, I was impressed with the overall quality of the show.

Would I recommend this show to my friends? Uh...no. When I was 14 or so, probably not then either. It's just not my type of music. I have sat through several JB songs on the computer while my daughter was listening but I can't see myself searching out his music. He did have one song called "Never say never" that I thought I might like to download.  After listening to it online this morning, I changed my mind...just couldn't do it.

If this review was for the Sean Kingston part alone, yes, I'd recommend it.  And Sean's drummer was pretty close to the best live drummer I've ever seen.  And I've seen quite a few.

Oh yeah, who's this "shawty" that everyone keeps singing about?

Preplogic just lost me as a customer

There's almost nothing that I hate more than false advertising, whatever the form. Making a deal with someone for X, then only providing Y... or charging X instead of Y...etc...

I received an email from PrepLogic as I do most every day about the new fantastic deal they have. **If you're not familiar with PrepLogic (Preplogic.com), they provide video training for the IT industry from Microsoft to Cisco to CompTIA** Since I LOVE video training I thought I'd at least check out the ad. This is the email I received:

---

Unlimited IT Training, Just $99 Today

ENDING SOON

What's keeping you from getting your certifications? Is it the right timing, the right price? PrepLogic's Unlimited Access program gives you the chance to get started today for just $99. Ultimately, this is your best price and last chance to overcome the one, final hurdle- Procrastination!

Unlimited Access is PrepLogic's "Netflix-style" training program that comes with everything you could possibly need to get certified, including unlimited video training, practice exams, and study guides! With more than 75 certification titles to choose from, Unlimited Access meets your every training need and is flexible with your personal life too. Go at your own pace, explore different types of certifications hands on and become an expert in the specialty you've been talking about pursuing.

Unlimited Access: Get it today for only $99 - Ending soon!

http://links.preplogic.com/et/us.asp?LC=1&E=yourmom@gmail.com&LID=245815

We created the Unlimited Access program so you can get our complete line of training without putting out a lot on your part. $99 is nothing compared to the high cost and time commitment of classroom courses, boot camps, professional trainers and any other training you've considered. Short of a magic wand, this is your best shot at putting your certification goals into action!

We can give you the tools at a great price, but you must still make the decision. Don't put off getting certified another day. This special price is available right now through our 128-bit secure online shopping cart. It's time to think about the direction your career is moving, and take it to the next level!

Sincerely,

PrepLogic

Smarter Training

US/Canada: 1-800-418-6789 Opt 1

UK: (0) 20 8816 8036

South Africa:(0) 11 083 9973

Australia:(02) 8003 3878

Int'l: +1 813-769-0920

---

Several times I'm told that for $99 I receive 2 years of UNLIMITED video training for every certification training they offer. Since I manage a small IT department, and I like video training, I thought this is a great deal!

I clicked on the link in the email to get started. I entered all my credit card info, address, etc. Right I was about to hit send I noticed small print under the"Get it Now!" button. Take a look:

I've circled the hard to read print for you, because you may, as I almost did, miss it!  $99 today, $2,9896 due in 31 days. **I have not altered this photo other than adding the red circle around the fine print!**

WHAT?!?!?  That's right!  It's starts with $99, but it's actually almost $3K.

I thought that maybe I was missing something, or overlooked this price *at least* being referred to in the email or on the website so I double checked both. Nope. Then I called them to speak to an agent. After asking him if he realized this was misleading information, he tried to tout the benefits of video training and that Preplogic will work out a deal because the final $3000 price is negotiable. Hmmm.... After explaining that I already know the benefits and I'm calling because I feel misled, the rep got short and a flat, almost demeaning tone. I asked him to send it up the flagpole that because of the misleading advertisement that I would never purchase anything from Preplogic. He assured me that my message would be passed on.

Here's the thing. Again, I'm a manager for a small IT shop. I value video training that's decent. If this was priced at $2000, I would seriously consider it. At $2500, I'd have to kick it around quite a bit. $3000...I'll pass for now, and I may come back later. But to be lied to...what's that worth? I'll never do business with Preplogic, that's what it's worth. And it's unfortunate for both of us.