Chris 313Because It's Geekier Premium Member join:2004-07-18 Houma, LA ·AT&T FTTP ·Comcast XFINITY
1 recommendation |
to JohnShade
Re: [Price] Re: A little OUTRAGED !said by JohnShade: Check out Cable Labs. They are to the cable industry as Underwriters Labs is to the electrical industry. Cable Labs certifies a download speed via Ethernet only. Due to the number of different factors that can affect wireless communications, they do not certify wireless (as far as I know). The reason for the wording is that standard cat 5 ethernet cabling going to a standard 100 Mbps network card cannot actualy sustain 105 Mbps throughput. So that's got to be right. If there are any siganl issues in the cable, you won't get your 105 throughput. That's why the verbiage "the premium installation fee guarantees a speed of 105 Mbps." That is also why there is the caveat about a rental vs owned. If it's a comcast rental, then if any comast specific network firmware updates are necessary, it will be pushed to rental units only, !not any customer owned units!. That avoids any liability issues if a modem decides to go out after a firmware update. If it's a Comcast unit, then it's on Comcast to replace it. If the manufacturer of the unit pushes out a firmware update from their side for a particuliar model, then that would be applied to all units of that model on the network, both rented and owned. When I looked at the document, all of it came down to "if it isn't Comcast gear and we did not install it, we cannot guarantee your speeds". Considering the pricing and the litigation culture, it makes sense to me You bring up a few good points, but the way I see it personally is that if a device is approved to work on Comcast, whether it's rent or owned, shouldn't matter. It should all work the same. And this agent certainly didn't get that. |
|
|
True. if it's on the approved list, that means that type/model has been tested on the network. No, you do NOT have to rent a modem from us. usually the issues start when the modem is incorrectly added to the inventory system. If it's yours, then it suppoesed to be flagged as "owned/purchased". If the person adding it misses that (standard human error) then the system (which is a computer!) will assume that you need to "return" it. I agree that the agent didn't understand the actual issue |
|
|
63475675 (banned)
Member
2014-Apr-8 7:09 pm
said by JohnShade:True. if it's on the approved list, that means that type/model has been tested on the network. No, you do NOT have to rent a modem from us. usually the issues start when the modem is incorrectly added to the inventory system. If it's yours, then it suppoesed to be flagged as "owned/purchased". If the person adding it misses that (standard human error) then the system (which is a computer!) will assume that you need to "return" it. I agree that the agent didn't understand the actual issue Seems like this problem happens an awful lot for something so basic when completing an order, accident, maybe not, with Comcast it's likely an as Judge Judy says, an "on purpose". |
|
DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade:True. if it's on the approved list, that means that type/model has been tested on the network. No, you do NOT have to rent a modem from us. usually the issues start when the modem is incorrectly added to the inventory system. If it's yours, then it suppoesed to be flagged as "owned/purchased". If the person adding it misses that (standard human error) then the system (which is a computer!) will assume that you need to "return" it. I agree that the agent didn't understand the actual issue Then they should have two separate inventory systems as a CSR should never be adding Comcast owned modems to the inventory only the shipping/receiving dept so a CSR should only be marking a modem as applied to the account If said modem was added by shipping/receiving then it should be in a Comcast owned modem DB and if it wasn't added by shipping/receiving then it should be in a customer owned DB. then when the CSR applies a modem via the serial number with MAC it should query the DB's and if its found in the Comcast owned DB vs the Customer owned DB then it were apply the rental flag. |
|
|
As a CSR, I cannot add a comcast device to the inventory system, that's already done by warehouse. The problem is when you purchase your own modem. How is it going to end up in the inventory system? It has to be added. As the most common method that customers use to communicate with us is by phone, it falls to the CSR's to make sure that it is entered correctly. If it is added to the system as "leased" then that is how the system puts it into the inventory system. Your idea is solid, the problem is implementation. Modifing the existing database structure would be very expensive as you have to ensure that the new inventory db/system correctly works with all the other software that we use. Since some of what we use is proprietary, we would have to pay a company to modify their software(which we use) so that everything works together. It's a great idea. Had it been implemented 20 something years ago when these huge db's were designed, it would be a walk in the park. |
|
JohnShade |
When I add a cst owned modem, I always put a permanent note on the account that reads "cst owned mdm add//"manufacturer", "model", "MAC address". That way, if there are any questions as to whose modem it is, it's a permanent note. |
|
NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands Premium Member join:2004-06-24 The Boro Netgear CM500 Pace 5268AC TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
|
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade:As a CSR, I cannot add a comcast device to the inventory system, that's already done by warehouse. The problem is when you purchase your own modem. How is it going to end up in the inventory system? It has to be added. As the most common method that customers use to communicate with us is by phone, it falls to the CSR's to make sure that it is entered correctly. If it is added to the system as "leased" then that is how the system puts it into the inventory system. Do you really not see the inconsistency in the above two statements? You can not add a leased Comcast device to the inventory, but you can add a customer owned device as a leased Comcast device? Tell me again how this is not a deliberate scheme by Comcast to steal customer owned equipment; there is no other explanation for the scenario wherein you can not add a Comcast owned device to Comcast's inventory (because that is automated), but you can a customer owned device to Comcast's inventory. What other reason could there possibly be for adding a customer owned piece of equipment to Comcast's inventory? |
|
DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
to JohnShade
if you read my post I describe how it should be done. |
|
|
to NetFixer
When the systems were originally designed, cable modems were only available from cable companies. The most common form of Internet access, at the time, was dial up. That is why the systems were not designed as Dark Logix suggested. It was only later, as cable access to the Internet became more common, that cable companies started allowing customer owned equipment - cable modems- on the network there is no inconsistency. The original systems were designed based on the assumption that the only modems in inventory would be company owned leased units that would be added by the warehouse group since those were the people who would be actually receiving the units direct from the factory. Once customers were allowed to add their purchased modems, it was easier and cheaper to add a process allowing people other than warehouse to add the unit into inventory. It is not a "deliberate scheme" It is simple human error compounded by people not actually understanding how and why the systems work that way. When I add a modem, there is a field labeled "type" which has two choices, "Leased" or "Owned", in the drop down. As the majority of modems are added by warehouse, the top choice is "leased". If a CSR just clicks through, it will show as "leased" not "owned" That's why I ALWAYS put the note I referenced on a customer's account. Permanent notes cannot be removed or altered. They can only be archived from an inactive account. |
|
|
JohnShade |
to DarkLogix
I did read the post. It has nothing to do with how it can be done, it is the scope and the cost of altering long established legacy systems. Every business in America operates like this. Any change, no matter what, must have a solid economic reason for being made. Businesses that do not follow this on a regular basis have a nasty tendency to go under. |
|
DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
to JohnShade
And that's a problem systems need to be kept up to date with reality. |
|
DarkLogix |
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade:I did read the post. It has nothing to do with how it can be done, it is the scope and the cost of altering long established legacy systems. Every business in America operates like this. Any change, no matter what, must have a solid economic reason for being made. Businesses that do not follow this on a regular basis have a nasty tendency to go under. Ya, and my idea would save time on the CSR's as it would fix the problem and thus remove long annoying calls about why a customer has been being charged wrongly. Sure they would lose money they should have never had but that's not something to be worried about. |
|
NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands Premium Member join:2004-06-24 The Boro Netgear CM500 Pace 5268AC TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
|
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade:It is not a "deliberate scheme" It is simple human error compounded by people not actually understanding how and why the systems work that way. When I add a modem, there is a field labeled "type" which has two choices, "Leased" or "Owned" It is a deliberate scheme by Comcast management to ensure that Comcast profits from the inevitable human error (and laziness...since you say that the default value is "Leased") of their CSRs. A company that put its customers first (instead of considering them to be adversaries) would make declaring that a modem belongs to the company during the modem registration/activation process something other than the default process (and would require a validation from Comcast's actual inventory records before it would be allowed to happen). It is not a coincidence that Comcast finds itself on the most hated company list. |
|
ropeguru Premium Member join:2001-01-25 Mechanicsville, VA |
to DarkLogix
said by DarkLogix:And that's a problem systems need to be kept up to date with reality. But that takes research, development, and money which is less bonus money for the CxO's. That is reality. |
|
train_wreckslow this bird down join:2013-10-04 Antioch, TN Cisco ASA 5506 Cisco DPC3939
|
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade:When the systems were originally designed, cable modems were only available from cable companies. The most common form of Internet access, at the time, was dial up. That is why the systems were not designed as Dark Logix suggested. Sounds like the system needs an updated design, then |
|
Zoder join:2002-04-16 Miami, FL |
to JohnShade
said by JohnShade: As a CSR, I cannot add a comcast device to the inventory system, that's already done by warehouse. The problem is when you purchase your own modem. How is it going to end up in the inventory system? It has to be added. As the most common method that customers use to communicate with us is by phone, it falls to the CSR's to make sure that it is entered correctly. If it is added to the system as "leased" then that is how the system puts it into the inventory system. Your idea is solid, the problem is implementation. Modifing the existing database structure would be very expensive as you have to ensure that the new inventory db/system correctly works with all the other software that we use. Since some of what we use is proprietary, we would have to pay a company to modify their software(which we use) so that everything works together. It's a great idea. Had it been implemented 20 something years ago when these huge db's were designed, it would be a walk in the park. They need to spend the big bucks designing a new database. All of the problems I run into with Comcast is because one guy doesn't know what the last guy did, prem techs don't know what was discussed on the phone, they can't track inventory on the trucks in real time, and on and on. If they want to stop rating at the bottom of service surveys the top brass is going to have to give the go ahead to invest in the backend |
|
|
said by Zoder:They need to spend the big bucks designing a new database. All of the problems I run into with Comcast is because one guy doesn't know what the last guy did, prem techs don't know what was discussed on the phone, they can't track inventory on the trucks in real time, and on and on. If they want to stop rating at the bottom of service surveys the top brass is going to have to give the go ahead to invest in the backend Why do that, when it's so much cheaper and thus more quarterly-profitable to put it off and keep potential competitors at bay through regulatory capture and bribing legislators? Extracting monopoly profits: nice work if you can get it. |
|
|
Zoder join:2002-04-16 Miami, FL |
Zoder
Member
2014-Apr-10 5:12 pm
But I watched some of the hearing last night and David Cohen is very sad about their poor customer service. Don't tell me he was being insincere. My faith in lobbysits would be ruined |
|
|
Oh, he's sincere alright...about how badly he wants the 85 million bucks he stands to get if the deal goes through. |
|
tshirt Premium Member join:2004-07-11 Snohomish, WA |
tshirt
Premium Member
2014-Apr-10 5:31 pm
said by Papageno:Oh, he's sincere alright...about how badly he wants the 85 million bucks he stands to get if the deal goes through. It's not like you'd every do your job for money, right? |
|
Zoder join:2002-04-16 Miami, FL |
to Papageno
That's the payday for the TWC CEO. Cohen is Comcast's top lobbyist. I'm sure he'll get a nice bonus but not that high. |
|
|
to tshirt
Well, I am rather fond of eating regularly, and having a warm bed to sleep in at night. |
|
Papageno |
to Zoder
Oops, my bad. I thought the Comcast CEO (I mistakenly thought that was Cohen) also stood to make a bundle. |
|
DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
said by Papageno:Oops, my bad. I thought the Comcast CEO (I mistakenly thought that was Cohen) also stood to make a bundle. I'm sure the Comcast CEO does stand to get a bonus and Comcast does stand to have more revenue (and greater profits) |
|