Sorry if this post is a little lengthy, to accurately describe my situation it is important to not leave any details out.
About three weeks ago my significant other and I decided to move to Iowa City where we had found some beautiful new construction town homes. Before moving I checked Mediacom's availability on their website where it stated that the area was serviceable but would need to get in contact with a customer support rep to find out pricing and specific availability. On September 11th, while on my lunch break I called and the first rep told me it didn't look like they serviced that area and left the conversation there. I proceeded with asking him if there was anything he could do to find out more and he said no and that is where the conversation ended. Feeling very displeased and thinking there must be some sort of solution (they don't just build new places without being able to get internet out there right?) since the website indicated that the area was serviceable, I decided to call again. This time I got a very pleasant phone rep who called around and said she was going to see if she could get someone out there to check on the availability. While on hold the phone got disconnected and I decided to wait for a call back since I did give the rep my number in the event we got disconnected. 15 minutes later I had received a returned phone call so I called back for a third time. This next rep was the exact same as the first one. I informed her of the address and she said no we don't service that area. Knowing now there was more she could do I explained to her that I had just been on the phone with a rep who was scheduling a technician to check out the availability. She then stated that she now saw the note on the account and instructed me that I would have to wait to hear back about availability. At this point I was frustrated since two separate reps put zero effort into helping me acquire Mediacom services and the other never called me back.
Several days went by and I checked again via the website and this time it offered plans and pricing. Initially I was thrilled thinking that internet was going to be readily available. To be certain, however, I called to confirm that the tech sent out to check availability did indeed confirm that services are immediately available. The rep on the phone assured me this was true and scheduled a technician to come out on Friday to hook up the internet. Friday came around and after 4 hours of waiting I finally called in to which I received a response that the technician had called my significant other's cell phone and since she didn't answer (she was working) he didn't come. Admittedly, I became upset since I had informed the phone rep when I called to setup services that my significant other would not be available on Friday but I would be there and he never once mentioned that 1. you must answer the phone in order for the rep to show up and 2. he never asked for my phone number as the number to call. And yes, he knew the account was setup in her name and not mine. Additionally, I had taken a half day of unpaid time off to be there for the installation. Furthermore, the rep who I called to see where the tech was told me she couldn't release any information to me since I was not authorized on the account. I calmed myself down and called my girlfriend who managed to take a quick brake from work to call and authorize me and to setup a new appointment. The rep she spoke with told her of the soonest they could get a technician out there would be that following Tuesday and there was nothing else she could do. Now, my girlfriend is in grad school and needs internet so getting internet in a timely matter is very important.
Struggling to believe that was the soonest they could get out there and still being upset from having lost half a day of pay and wasted 4 hours of my time I called back to see verify. The rep I spoke with said she would call the local service manager to see if there were any time openings before then. She informed me that she couldn't get a hold of him and would give me a call back shortly. After an hour and 15 minutes I still had not heard anything so I called again. Again I got the same story but this time the rep told me that she could put us on the "move up" list where if an opening comes up they would give us a call. I told her that would be great but having had such a poor experience I asked to speak with a supervisor. Speaking with the supervisor didn't get me anywhere, however, I did get her employee ID number and a minimal credit added to my account.
Saturday rolled around and amazingly about mid afternoon I received a calling saying a technician was on his way. After all my time wasted and spent on the phone we are actually going to get internet. Wrong. The technician showed up and began by checking the lines for a signal. After not getting anything he checked the building and told me that the lines had not be ran yet. To be honest, I wanted to lose it but I understood it wasn't this guy's fault. He showed me the piping in which the construction crew left for line techs/Mediacom construction to run lines through.
Now that I had an understanding of what needed to be done I called to setup. The rep told me the most they could do was call the local service manager and wait to hear back. This time around I specifically asked that a note be installed to call me on Monday and inform me of how long it was going to take. To no avail, Tuesday rolled around and no one from Mediacom had called so I called back. According to the rep on the phone the construction crew was out the previous day and everything was good to go and we setup a time for a tech to come out. Upon returning home from work I checked the pipes that the tech had showed me and sure enough nothing had been done yet. The next morning I called two separate reps and explained to them that the pipe that was used to run the wires was still empty and that nothing had been done. Neither of them were willing to call and confirm that the lines had be ran despite having explained to them the lines had not be ran. Having no other option I took their word for it and left work early again to meet a technician at our place. Once the tech arrived I explained to him my concerns and he went and checked the lines. Sure enough, the tech came back told me what I already knew: The lines needed to be ran. He called and put in a ticket for me. Both techs were actually very nice and helpful.
The next morning I called back and this time asked for supervisor whose employee number I had. She appeared to feel bad and got a hold of the local service manager. She told me he was going to personally go out there today and see what needed to be done and that he would call me later that day. Yet again, morning turned into the afternoon which turned into the night and I still had not received a phone call. The next day I called trying to get in touch with the supervisor. The phone rep said she had tried to get a hold of her but she must be busy and offered to send her an email asking her to call me. Being on a small break at work and short I time I agreed to have her do this. 5 O'clock rolled around and I had not heard anything so I called to which I was told she had went home for the day. With it being Friday I decided to give up for the weekend and hope that my call would be returned Monday.
Monday morning as I was leaving my parking lot I glanced over where the piping used to exit the ground to see that the pipe has indeed been laid and a box of some sort was now coming out of the ground. Filled with excitement, I thought this was it. The lines had been run and everything was good to go. My 10 minute mid-morning break came around and I called to set up an appointment to have service setup. I informed the rep on the phone of the newly installed box where the pipes used to be and she said there were no new construction notes but not to worry and called the local service manager. Twenty-five minutes later she finally got back on the phone and told me they knew nothing of the box and didn't know when someone would be out. Not having any more time and she clearly did not have any more answers, I returned to work. When my lunch break rolled around I decided to try calling the supervisor who was supposed to call me back. Again, she wasn't available and this rep (who was very pleasant) offered to call the service manager and get a timeline for me and to see what exactly needed to be done. Thirty-five minutes of being on hold later, this is what I was told:
Instead of going out to my place and checking it out for himself, the service manager sent the ticket to the line tech department, who sent it back to construction.
Essentially, the inquiry had just been sent around in a giant circle quietly being avoided. The rep also found out that getting services to my new place would take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months. Far from what I was originally told. So despite my best efforts Mediacom has made it very difficult to buy their services from them.
My question to anyone who has taken the time to read all of this (and if you have thank you!) is there anything I can do to help speed up this process or could someone fill me in on this process? At this point I am getting ready to give up entirely and go with CenturyLink which I have been trying to avoid as I would prefer faster internet speeds.
Note: I live in a string of townhouses totaling 24 units and in the last week 5 new residents have moved in so Mediacom's efforts wouldn't be for a single account. And yes, I explained that to them too.
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