topic Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round in Community Chat

Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 21:51:24 GMT

Anybody ever try to deal with Xfinity over the phone when you have a technical issue? Once again last night and this morning I had to deal with them to no avail. Not only was I disconnected three different times which required me to go through the whole automated voice thing each of those times, but the problem is not solved. Suppossedly they are sending someone to my house tomorrow, which is what i asked for in the first phone call, but when their dispatch called to confirm, I answered and there was blank space on the other end. I now have a phone that doesn't always work correctly and a replacement cable box that cannot be activated. Am I the only one who has made five different phone calls for one issue and three for another issue with no real results? Sorry, just venting.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

sunshine45 — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:00:43 GMT

i have had xfinity/comcast since the 1990s and i have had few and far between problems, but when i have had to call i can NEVER just request someone come to my home. they (the customer service in india) always try to help me fix the problem over the phone FIRST. if they cant do it sometimes they transfer me to another person. finally, if they cant get it done (and by this time i have been on the phone for 45 minutes to an hour) i THEN get an appointment. the last time they missed the appointment and they guarantee it now, so i got a 20 dollar credit on my bill......they gave me the next available appointment and that person did come to fix the problem.

sometimes instead of calling i just go to comcast and change out the box, remote, and wires......and that takes care of the problem easily.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:13:41 GMT

@sunshine45 wrote:
i have had xfinity/comcast since the 1990s and i have had few and far between problems, but when i have had to call i can NEVER just request someone come to my home. they (the customer service in india) always try to help me fix the problem over the phone FIRST. if they cant do it sometimes they transfer me to another person. finally, if they cant get it done (and by this time i have been on the phone for 45 minutes to an hour) i THEN get an appointment. the last time they missed the appointment and they guarantee it now, so i got a 20 dollar credit on my bill......they gave me the next available appointment and that person did come to fix the problem.

sometimes instead of calling i just go to comcast and change out the box, remote, and wires......and that takes care of the problem easily.

I can understand why they would want to trouble shoot first, but after several phone calls on the same issue, I don't see why they can't just make the appointment. As to changing out the box. That is what caused the problem in the first place. My old box relayed a written message on screen that I needed to update software, but when I attempted to update, the whole thing froze up. I then made three separate calls, one of which I was disconnected and had to start all over. They couldn't fix it, so they mailed me a new box. I got it all set up, and I called to activate it. It wouldln't activate which has led to several more calls and at least two more disconnects. That led to an appointment and a phone call from them to verify only to have my phone ring and then go blank three times. That led then to a phone call about my phone....and another disconnect from them. I've been without my On Demand box for 5 days now, so they had better credit me on my account. This is basically a monopoly, and my only alternatives right now are two other unreliable companies. You know it's getting to me when I find myself yelling at the non human Faux Siri in the automated part of the call. LOL.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

PinkyPetunia — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:18:30 GMT

@RainCityWoman I have Comcast/xfinity and your ordeal sounds like standard operating procedure.

Don't assume your appointment still stands as they are notorious for cancelling appointments. You can confirm appointments by checking your online account or by phone. The automated response should mention your appointment right away, otherwise I'm afraid you may not have one.

You might try calling them again on Monday to activate your equipment and ask to speak to an experienced technician. The newer/lesss knowledgeable staff seem to work the off/hours. Good luck, I hope you get your issue resolved.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

jlkz — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:32:46 GMT

and the bad service continues across the country:

Last January we got 3 Xfinity cable boxes for the Naples, FL condo. DH picked the boxes up at 6:30PM and started to install the first one. Big trouble: he was on the phone just as an earlier poster described. When I heard him raising his voice, I knew he had demanded to be transferred to someone who spoke English and knew what they were talking about. Forty or so minutes later, they are now questioning his prior service in NJ which we had discontinued after the last renter had left. Transferred again, but this time to someone in Delaware who could not figure out why he got the call since he was in marketing and only handled DE accounts.

He had pity on DH and gave him the direct# of the guy in Sanibel, FL who could send the signal to get the box activated. Let's see: went from Naples, to an India call center, back to the States, to NJ, to DE, to Sanibel,FL to get a signal to Naples, FL.

This took at least 2.5 hours.....dinner was very late that night!!!

Had to laugh when they asked DH if he wanted to go on and activate the other two boxes. No, that would be tomorrow's thrilling project. They went smoothly.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:27:06 GMT

@PinkyPetunia wrote:
@RainCityWoman I have Comcast/xfinity and your ordeal sounds like standard operating procedure.

Don't assume your appointment still stands as they are notorious for cancelling appointments. You can confirm appointments by checking your online account or by phone. The automated response should mention your appointment right away, otherwise I'm afraid you may not have one.

You might try calling them again on Monday to activate your equipment and ask to speak to an experienced technician. The newer/lesss knowledgeable staff seem to work the off/hours. Good luck, I hope you get your issue resolved.

Thanks for the advice. I just went online to my account, and it lists my appointment, so I figure they will show up. Unless they don't. Glad to know I'm not the only one who has experienced these shabby business practices. I'd be happy if I could just talk to someone that I can understand. Some have very thick accents that I can't comprehend.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:29:20 GMT

Thanks Jlkz. At least you made me laugh at this silliness.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

KailaS — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:10:48 GMT

I feel your pain. The company, despite its lack of reasonable customer service, continues to grow and to prosper. Good luck with your appointment.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

millieshops — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:13:49 GMT

Over and over and over. To the extent that I now keep a log so I know how much time I've spent with them.

Last spring they had me convinced my laptop was the issue and that I needed a new one. Yes, mine is fairly close to the average age leptops seem to live, but, being a snowbird, I decided to wait to buy until I could deal with the techie I've used for years up north, but, surprise, surprise- as soon as I attached my laptop to my Cablevision set-up, all the problems disappeared!

And when I retruned to Florida and Comcast? Oh, yes, it's my computer's fault that instead of accessing my home wifi, it always first accesses a public (unprotected) wifi. An houyr with the tech couldn't solve the problem, but from various things we tried, I've found a solution. It requires my vigilance and 2 extra clicks each time I sign on, but at least I can once again pay my bills with less fear - not really any kudos to Comast though.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

Mz iMac — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:18:51 GMT

@RainCityWoman

"Not only was I disconnected three different times which required me to go through the whole automated voice thing each of those times"

Stay on the line as if you have a dial wheel phone & keep saying "agent" until a "human" answers.

Or at the very beginning of the auto voice prompts, dial 0 (zero). A human will answer.

"I've been without my On Demand box for 5 days now, so they had better credit me on my account."

Make sure you have/get a CASE NUMBER!!!!! Call the billing department, give them your case # along w/the DATES that you were without service.

Comcast/Xfinity will NOT voluntarly give you credit unless YOU request it.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

123SuzyQ123 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 00:00:20 GMT

I want to add my vent to your vent about Xfinity.

I've been with 4 different cable companies over the last 20 years, and Xfinity is the worst. Not to mention they are the most expensive!

When we started with them 3 years ago, the monthly cost was around $125. It is now $174 and as the OP mentioned, the technical problems are beyond ridiculous! At least once a week the cable and/or internet goes down. And don't even try to get reimbursed for the whole day that you were without your internet service!

And when you do have a question, you have to give your LIFE STORY before you can even ask the question!!!!

And you cannot understand half they are saying! The last lady who helped me sounded like an Indian accent, I never did understand what she was saying! I finally just hung up and did without my cable for a whole day before I tried calling again!

Anyway, I feel much better now!! Whew. Thanks for letting me vent!!!!

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 00:06:53 GMT

I feel your pain.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

sunshine45 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 00:19:59 GMT

they are all pretty much terrible.....that is why i stick with comcast at home......i already know what i have been dealing with all of these years. LOL

they ARE pretty good about adjusting your bill when services go up. there is usually another promotion that they can apply to your account. it is incredibly expensive, but they all are. we have our internet/cable/phone services. we use verizon for our business services and they are just as bad and just as expensive.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

OnlyShopsOnline — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 00:28:11 GMT

@RainCityWoman Do you have an Xfinity/Comcast walk-in customer service center in your area. Going in person, to get any issue resolved, is your best bet. I had to do that a couple of months ago. And, they were the first to admit that their call centers are horrible.

I did have to have someone come to the house. But, they arranged it. And, because I had so many problems dealing with their phone reps, I got a month's free service.

Also, when it comes time to renew your price, you'll get a better price, if you can go in person.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

Reba055 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 02:04:54 GMT

I've had Comcast forever and ever. Luckily we've experienced very few problems in recent years, but when you have one that is not a simple fix, good luck. I agree with another poster that suggested taking your box in and exchanging or dealing with them in person if possible.

If you are having connection or speed issues, or something that might be related to a problem with the actual cable lines, hope and pray you get a good technician. That was the last problem we had and the first guy they sent out made things worse. Keep calling, several times a day if you can stomach it. Ask for super after super. Document everything and every name. Make them transfer you to billing EVERY DAY to adjust your bill. Be the biggest pest you can be. You have to be strong and conquer!! Haha.

If you still don't get it resolved, tell them you are contacting the FCC and attorney general to file a complaint. Then send a letter to headquarters stating the same. Our service/connection/speed has never been better 😄

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

RainCityWoman — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 20:23:19 GMT

Okay, I am feeling a little like Emily Latella from Laugh In who would do a guest editorial on the Chevy Chase news skit, until he told her she misunderstood the word she was using, and then after her big rant she would say, "Oh, well that's entirely different. Never mind"

The original problem occurred when I suddenly got a huge message on my screen, white letters on a black background that told me I needed to update my software. I assumed it was from Xfinity. So I used the Xfinity remote to program the update. It didn't work. When I called Comcast about it, they told me to do this and that on their remote...to no avail. So they sent me a new cable box. I was still getting the software message, but nothing else worked. They were scheduled to come out tomorrow to my house and charge me for the visit. So I'm sitting here fuming about the charge, and suddenly it dawned on me that MAYBE the software message was sent to my television by Sony. I went in and grabbed the Sony remote, and sure enough I got it to update. Then I messed with the Comcast remote trying several things to get the light to come on, and sure enough it allowed me to change channels, etc.

I feel very sheepish that I blamed Comcast when it really wasn't their fault this time. I feel as if I should send them apology flowers or something. Is my face red. I cancelled the service call. So basically, I'll just end this by saying, NEVER MIND.

PS On the other hand, shouldn't Comcast have known that the software message on my TV screen wasn't theirs? They had me read the whole thing to them and still told me to use their remote to update. Maybe I don't feel so bad after all. LOL

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

chlema — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 02:30:41 GMT

It's pure luck to get a service person to come to your house that is actually able to fix the problem. After weeks of losing the use of the tv, internet and telephone last year we finally had someone that actually knew what he was doing.

First guy came, played around with the boxes for the tv's, had to call a "special" guy in a far away place for help, said it was all fixed and left. Worked fine for a short time.

Second guy came, said we needed a power booster, decided to install it using our outside electrical outlet, broke cover off and darn thing took up the whole outlet. If we unplugged it everything would go down. Worked for a short time - again. Oh, and he looked at our outside wires while standing on the groundand said they looked just fine.

Finally after many phone calls, we got a winner! Seems the cable wiring inside our house was obsolete for today's modern equipment.

and he installed all new wiring (no charge since we had the protection plan). He also said many of the repair men just want to do the bare minimum. He also left his card in case we had a problem. And he took out the darn power booster too, not necessary. Not had a problem since (fingers crossed lol_

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

AngelPuppy1 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:04:38 GMT

Oh, boy. This is sore spot with me. We continually have trouble with this company. Serivce is always messed up. And the bill is going up - yet again. It's a good thing that DH deals with them and it primarily because I haven't a clue. I just know that the system is not that great or dependable. It's either the t.v. reception, the phone, or the computer all the time. Our last big problem went on for weeks and they came 4 different times and didn't seem to know what to do - at all. Trial and error.

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

CelticCrafter — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:59:55 GMT

When we had Cablevision I found the best way to contact them about a problem was to leave a negative comment on their Facebook page.

Now we have Fios and we were having a problem with one of the boxes constantly rebooting itself and freezing up. They want you to keep troubleshooting over and over again even though you are getting the same results or non-results. All this is being done through a call center in some other part of the world.

After 3 weeks of this I finally told them, I was done doing their job while paying for a service we weren't able to use and wanted a service tech sent out.

They told me he would be here on whatever day it was, when I kept asking when as in a specific window of time he kept repeating the day, expecting one of us to sit home all day waiting with baited breath for them to show up any time between 8AM & 8PM!

Finally got it resolved but man do they try ones patience.....

Re: Xfinity Merry Go Round

Reba055 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 21:33:01 GMT

@RainCityWoman Your post made me laugh! And yes, the goofballs should have known. Guess it's not on the card that they're reading from.