Nonsensical is not good service - Shaw Internet Blues
Posted Aug 27 2011 12:00am
I awoke at my usual Saturday morning time today (around 6am -- I am a terrible sleeper-inner) intent on writing my blog, reading and posting and getting caught up in cyberland.
Shaw Internet had other ideas.
No service.
Can't connect to Internet.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
I tried unplugging. The modem. The router.
I waited. Sometimes Shaw goes out (one minute. five minutes. fifteen -- it's variable and mercurial in its outages) and comes back of its own volition.
No luck.
I find my cellphone. Go online and find the number to call for service.
I wait online.
I wait some more (not long this time -- last time it was 52 minutes and then they dropped my call).
Finally, a human voice connects. I tell her my problem. Let me check your account, she says. (I know it's current). Yes. I see it is current, she confirms. I'll put you through to service.
I wait some more.
A friendly man seems surprised to find someone waiting on the end of the line when he answers. No -- Hello, my name is Patrick, or Jane, or Bobby-Sue. The question mark on the end of his "Hello?" tells me he wasn't expecting someone to be on the line -- maybe they assume that people hang up if they keep them waiting long enough.
Score one for the customer -- I am persistent and Will. Not. Hang. Up.
I want my Internet service. Now.
I keep my voice, light. Friendly.
I tell him my problem. I tell him what I have already done to try to fix the problem.
He tells me to unplug my modem.
I've already done that. Twice. I remind him.
Oh. Right. Hmmm.... Well, let me check your service feed. It could be your router. He quickly adds, or it could be our modem. It does happen that sometimes our modem isn't working properly.
And as he checks, the little yellow triangle showing me something's not working disappears and my Internet resumes its connection.
Hah! It did this last time and I told the technician it was fixed and we hung up without any further conversation.
Not this time.
I wait.
His voice echoes through the phone. Oh. Hmmmmm.... Interesting. It seems you have lots of outage sprees in your neighbourhood. Could be some quirk in the network just in your area. I see you had a whole bunch of them for a couple of weeks ten days ago, and then none, until yesterday.
That would be correct, I tell him. It happens. A lot.
Oh. Hmmmm... Well, it's pretty sporadic. You have outages and then it comes back steady for awhile and well, it's just one of those faulty little connections somewhere. Not worth sending a technician out at this point because it's working fine now.
Hello? The question marked hello is in my head -- I do not say it aloud. -- It may be working fine now but it goes out like this regularly.
Oh. Hmmm... Well, if it does it some more definitely do give us a call and we'll see what we can do.
Why can't you do anything now?
Because it's working just fine now.
Hello?
Good-bye. Thanks for calling Shaw. We value your business.
Harumph.
I hang up.
If they value my business why don't they give me consistent, dependable, reliable service?
Harumph.
And now, the day awaits. it's gorgeous outside. I'm off to the Farmer's Market and then Ellie and I are off for a walk. My mother's 89th birthday dinner tonight and good-news -- my mouth is not hurting as much.
Just my head.
And that's only because I don't understand why working now but not working then doesn't result in better service! :)
Ahhh.... no sense in letting nonsense disrupt the beauty of my day.
Note to self -- check into a new Internet service provider.
Shaw Internet had other ideas.
No service.
Can't connect to Internet.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
I tried unplugging. The modem. The router.
I waited. Sometimes Shaw goes out (one minute. five minutes. fifteen -- it's variable and mercurial in its outages) and comes back of its own volition.
No luck.
I find my cellphone. Go online and find the number to call for service.
I wait online.
I wait some more (not long this time -- last time it was 52 minutes and then they dropped my call).
Finally, a human voice connects. I tell her my problem. Let me check your account, she says. (I know it's current). Yes. I see it is current, she confirms. I'll put you through to service.
I wait some more.
A friendly man seems surprised to find someone waiting on the end of the line when he answers. No -- Hello, my name is Patrick, or Jane, or Bobby-Sue. The question mark on the end of his "Hello?" tells me he wasn't expecting someone to be on the line -- maybe they assume that people hang up if they keep them waiting long enough.
Score one for the customer -- I am persistent and Will. Not. Hang. Up.
I want my Internet service. Now.
I keep my voice, light. Friendly.
I tell him my problem. I tell him what I have already done to try to fix the problem.
He tells me to unplug my modem.
I've already done that. Twice. I remind him.
Oh. Right. Hmmm.... Well, let me check your service feed. It could be your router. He quickly adds, or it could be our modem. It does happen that sometimes our modem isn't working properly.
And as he checks, the little yellow triangle showing me something's not working disappears and my Internet resumes its connection.
Hah! It did this last time and I told the technician it was fixed and we hung up without any further conversation.
Not this time.
I wait.
His voice echoes through the phone. Oh. Hmmmmm.... Interesting. It seems you have lots of outage sprees in your neighbourhood. Could be some quirk in the network just in your area. I see you had a whole bunch of them for a couple of weeks ten days ago, and then none, until yesterday.
That would be correct, I tell him. It happens. A lot.
Oh. Hmmmm... Well, it's pretty sporadic. You have outages and then it comes back steady for awhile and well, it's just one of those faulty little connections somewhere. Not worth sending a technician out at this point because it's working fine now.
Hello? The question marked hello is in my head -- I do not say it aloud. -- It may be working fine now but it goes out like this regularly.
Oh. Hmmm... Well, if it does it some more definitely do give us a call and we'll see what we can do.
Why can't you do anything now?
Because it's working just fine now.
Hello?
Good-bye. Thanks for calling Shaw. We value your business.
Harumph.
I hang up.
If they value my business why don't they give me consistent, dependable, reliable service?
Harumph.
And now, the day awaits. it's gorgeous outside. I'm off to the Farmer's Market and then Ellie and I are off for a walk. My mother's 89th birthday dinner tonight and good-news -- my mouth is not hurting as much.
Just my head.
And that's only because I don't understand why working now but not working then doesn't result in better service! :)
Ahhh.... no sense in letting nonsense disrupt the beauty of my day.
Note to self -- check into a new Internet service provider.
Namaste!