AT&T or the others?

With the passing of the IPhones 2 years of existance, many of the original IPhone owners had to justify continuing with the so called AT&T monster or move on to another carrier. The fact that AT&T had changed its policies on making the data plan MANDATORY (as of September of this year) and that the original IPhone owners could not unlock their cell phones (despite there right to do so on a device that is this old & purchased) made the unwanted decision to move on to greener and a different carrier. AT&T and Apple may wonder why the sales of the new IPhone did not even come close to what they did when they launched the original, well this maybe one of the many reasons why. I can't (in all honesty) bad mouth AT&T for their support of service or in any billing errors (like other carriers have done in the past) but its Achilles heel of a poor signal in both cell and data 3g network was its killer. It is really not much better with either Sprint or T-Mobile, they too have their flaws but Verizon (that poor carrier that I personally will not see many more years in business) is the clear winner in poor service dispite their attempts to change. So when push comes to shove, I miss my IPhones larger screen size and easy ability to use like most Apple products provide but I can not continue another 2 years of a contract under those terms so I must move on like so many other original Iphone owners have.

Comcast Update!

As many of you have read in my past posts, I have had issues with Comcast services and have tried to resolve them with Comcast customer service many times in the past with very few or no rational responses. They recently offered upgrade packages to their clients promising speed of up to 12-Mbps down and HBO for free (with extended cable) at an even lower price then what I was paying for before. Well the Digital transition was a mess but we all survived it without too much disaster and the speeds of the internet was at many times dismal. Now with the promise of so called double speed for free, I have began to notice an improvement. Yes I am actually saying something nice about Comcast as hard as many of you believe. I may have just lost my favorite kicking dog on Twitter but it is all for the best I hope. Let us see how long this good fortune will last and a big hi to Comcastbonnie and Comcast(others). 14 seconds ago

Comcast DigitalTV Deception!

Now that the deadline is over and whoever didn't get the convertors would know if they needed them, I finally see the error of my conclusion about needing a special box for Comcast subscribers. You don't need one andeven if you did, Comcast does not give out 2 free units to all Comcast subscribers. You have to be a premium subsciber to even be allowed those units and only if they have them avaible given the high rate of requested units by many confused Comcast customers. Like always mass confusion deliberatley made to trick clients like me into some fancy worthless Comcast scam. So of you are lucky enough not have fallen for this deception, good for you and forgive my inaccurate reporting based on my Comcast swindler reps. If in doubt call 1-800-srew-u or 1-800-NoSupport ......

New Comcast Upgrade better?

Looking at a video being presented by the Comcast people relating to the new move to digital, I was surprised to find out that even though I have cable I would still need to add a digital convertor box to at least 2 of my TV's despite the ads saying otherwise on regular channels. I was lucky to catch the video on a Digital only channel while scanning a friends TV for more channels something that I would not know by just seeing cable analog channels I receive. So I called customer support to ask about the convertors. Lucky for me (and other customers of Comcast) the cable company is offering 2 free convertors per household but I was intised to get even a better setup, faster Internet package & cable channel package that included HBO for a low rate to last only a year. It would cost me (so they said) less than what I pay now for a lesser setup so I took it hoping to see finally some real speed and performance on the Internet but that did not happen. Todays tests showed a whopping .168mbps or less then my other package when I had expected something close to the promised speed of 12Mbps. I am still convinced that my area as a whole had an issue that the Comcast people fail to recognize or even fix. I am still waiting for a responsible individual from comcast to explain previous issue causes but yet to get a response. I think I will even have to wait more fir the current issue which would not surprise me to hear them say it is caused by a picture frame in my home or some other ridiculouse explaination. I await to hear from someone not too chicken to explain cause and I hope fix to this issue, I will not hold my breath. I will continue to monitor this into it is fixed and explained.

AppleTV & lack of customer support!

Well here it is, my follow-up on the Comcast issue as I promised. To the left is a current rating of the ISP from DSLREPORTS as an ISP just in case you were wondering but there is more unfortunately. Readers of past posts on this issue are fully aware of the problems with the ISP's reliable downloading speeds or at least a rating average that is as close too the promised advertised 6Mbps (a shorfall from what we had before when Patriot Media had us a 8Mbps and, at a lower rate fee) have yet to be met. I am not sure why Comcast has suffered such a low rating as an ISP but the site mentioned above takes on many users input from a national level and I am really more concern with it locally in New Jersey right now.

The speed tests I perform on a daily basis (most of the times) reflect an inconsistant download speed at different times of the day, not attributting it to a heavy traffic time or day. The one site I was relying on true speeds unfortunetly now is experiencing java applet problems (only really true way to test without tricking the results with compression schemes) and I have had to rely on other sites and the dredded Flash type test. Even though I had to do this, the data still reflected an occasional fluke or mysterious drop in speed one that has yet to be explained or addressed by Comcast personel. Every time I try to contact Comcast about this issue locally or nationally, they seem to think it is related to me or my account in particular and it is not, it is affecting the whole area and it was proven time after time. Is it bad poll wires, servers, software, who knows but one thing I do know Comcast people in charge are ignoring the issue in my oppinion at least locally.

Now I come to my last point, follow-up by responsible Comcast personel. I have been promised, told, emailed, called about this issue stating that it will be looked into for some time both locally by customer service and nationally through the twitter thing by supposedly people in charge and I have yet to hear from them. All I get is a repeated querry of the the problem by the Comcast representative who contacts me and no explaination as to what was found or if it was fixed. I have repeatedly offered to post on all my sites there official response about what they are doing or what has been done but I have received no answer at all (total silence). The issue (to me) still continues to be a mystery on occasions and is an unknown as to if Comcast will address or fix it. Despite this situation, I still hold the hope that Comcast people will wake up and follow through on this, I mean does it really hurt them to at least issue a public statement? All I know is that the service is not free and the consumer must demand quality and accountability for services that are promised for a fee that is charged every month like clock work. I will continue to follow this issue and post more articles. Comcast, the invitation to issue a statement here is still open.

Changes to the Postings on this Blog!

Having seen a need to post more topics that were really not related to the topic of PC's, I had to create a new blog site so that the issues could be attended too without confusing it with this blogs topics. The topics that are related to special interests or other topics could be seen at: http://specialnewsfeeds.blogspot.com/. So please link up with that location from now on to get the latest news feeds related to many special interests issues from now on.

Warranties and Support a shorfall epidemic of companies.

It seems that in this time of economical unrest, many of the technology related companies are taking on the practice to cut back on their customer support services and even their warranty of their products. The government agencies that regulate them are absent at best in protecting consumers rights and at worst active co-consolidators in their actions. One state in particular seems to be enjoying this practice without fear of reprisals , the state of Indiana for example. In that state it seems that the Attorney Generals office and the Governors office will not act upon a complaint unless it is in multiple sources (more then 1 person) nor do they even look into such allegations when they are made, allowing these companies to enjoy protection by the state government while the consumer is robbed of their rights.

The normal approach for consumers to take are to put these companies to the fire by reporting them to the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs office, the Attorney General's office of the state where they are located, the FTC and others but they are all falling short and leaving the consumers out to dry. It seems to be a left over of the previous administration's policies but that time is over and a new one is in town now. Do not give up on an issue, that is what they want you to do. If you are in the right side of the law then you should put constant pressure until it's resolved not just for you but for others that may not have the ability to fight like the elderly. I have told friends that I have been bitten by the Obama bug of activism since even before he became our president, and now that he is, the illness I suffer from may have no cure (lets hope). Let us hope that finally the consumer will be protected against these past abuses and the companies in question are held accountable. If you have a question as to what are your rights, you should seek legal counsel (reference the ' Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act' of 1975 to your Attorney ).

Comcast ISP Mystery unexplained yet.

I have been following-up on Comcast's internet services unpredictable loss of signal strength for the past 5-6 months, an issue well recorded within the local Comcast customer support system (I am sure), even though they ask every time I call for the past history (an annoying problem after calling 10 times). Follow me on twitter as leoperez also on DSLReports.COM, VRPCWORLD.ORG, and Youtubes channel flemingtonnewjersey (just add that last thing to the www.youtube.com/ to see the channel). In the past I have allowed Comcast locally (Customer support mainly) to get away with its sloppy follow-up and not really fixing the issue or at the very least letting me know what they did to fix it, if they did anything at all. To their credit our cable channel's have been coming in much clearer and another issue with a few channels not coming in very well at all (latin ones in specific) in the basic line-up was finally addressed but they did I can only guess all I know is that they did something. Every time I had an issue that the local NJ customer service personel could not resolve, I had to resort to seeking outside help through the twitter thing, a factor that should not be a common place for NJ Comcast customer service people to allow to continue (management I am speaking to you). If they need re-training then it should be done, if it's a case of just left over bad attitudes and ill feelings from the Patriot Media days then they should seek another employer.

One time I had a cable technician visit me (not too long ago) that challenged my intelagence and just about called me stupid and would not allow me to question his actions and what they would do to fix the issue, insulting me as if he had authority in my home where I pay rent. I threw the idiot out on his tail (him and his 2 little years of expertise) then followed up by calling the main number to report the incident. I was lucky enough to have the same clown try again to come to another service call just the other day after the issue was raised to a top level management representative (Steve R). Needless to say he would not be welcomed into my home until his attitude changed and he was properley re-trained (everyone can always learn to be a better person and a technician, at least I would hope so in his case) although I was surprised that he was sent in the 1st place knowing his past history with me and the level of this issue.

Respect and how to treat people, if you are in a career like this one where you deal with them on a regular basis, is one of many required skills. I do not see much of a future for this young cable tech and self proclaimed expert with this attitude (thats if the company is not allowing this on purpose as a policy to keep customers from complaining, I hope not) if he does not change. As a previous Service manager and a store owner that serviced PC's, I know what it takes to handle the public (especially customers with issues that maybe agrravated) and some are just are not cut out for it. Well enough about this so called cable tech, let me see what is next on this issue and I will continue to follow up on this until this mystery is solved so keep posted.

Since the posting of this blog, I have yet to get a response from Comcast (Steve R.) top level management assigned to this issue and its progression, twitter contacted individuals (Bonnie?) or anyone else. I have also invited openly Comcast representatives to present their position either by text or a video they could supply me so that I can fairly allow my readers a fair and balance view of this (FoxNews,?) but I have yet to see any response to my invitation. This issue continues.