Comcast Sux: A Retraction

This morning I wrote an irate blog article about Comcast Mail.

Sometimes when I rant, it helps me to let off steam.  Then I can start thinking rationally again.

I know, it's just me.  Nobody else has such a warped personality.

After I vented,  I spent the next couple of hours comparing response time with two different browsers: Firefox 11 and Explorer 8.  I found that it took about 6 minutes to actually read an email, on Explorer; on Firefox, I still wasn't even getting the entire page-load when I wanted to look at my in-basket ... so after 7 minutes I gave up.

I also checked thoroughly on both browsers for the two emails which had been lost; they didn't appear.

And Comcast has a thing with its cable modem.  Sometimes, response time on internet access in general becomes untenably long.  I first ran into this several years ago, and called my local Comcast office.  They suggested that I follow the following procedure:

1. turn off the cable modem
2. UNPLUG the modem!
3. Let it stand for at least 2 minutes (a more recent suggestion on the Comcast "HELP" pages suggested at least 3 minutes)
4. Plug it back in, turn it back on, push the start button, and wait until all the little indicator lights come on.

I had done this a few times, including last week when THAT was bugging me.  I tried that again today, and I found that my internet access times were as fast as I had come to expect except from any URL with the word "Comcast" or XFINITY in it  ... recently.

But the email access was still hosed.

Then I found a link to a Comcast "HELP" resource which allows you to "chat with a technician".

I connected, and Priscilla came on the line.  She had me 'release' my Explorer session after I had reset it, and then I had to reboot my browser session.   When I asked how I would get back to my chat session, she said she would email me the URL but since my problem was that I couldn't reliably get email  she asked me for a non-Comcast email address.   I replied in a very snide manner that I had foolishly failed to provide myself with any other email resources than Comcast.  She agreed to send it to my Comcast email address, and hoped that I could read it.

She did, and I did read the email; so far, so good.

When I rebooted my browser and used the URL to re-initiate the HELP CHAT session, I wasn't talking to Priscilla any more, I was talking to Baby Jane (I swear I'm not making this up!)

Baby Jane worked with me for a while longer, and then suggested that I try sending an email to test the response.

So I sent an email to myself, and it worked.  And I was able to read the email.  Also the page-list of my inbasket loaded immediately.

Problem solved!

I was so elated, that I even agreed to complete their survey form.  I rated "HIGHLY SATISFIED" except for the question about whether I was overall satisfied with COMCAST performance;   I churlishly gave it only a "satisfied" rating;  I was still fuming over lost emails.  (If you've read this blog for long, and especially if I've ever sent an email to you, you're probably aware that I tend to ramble on whether I really have anything to say or not!   So I wasn't about to try to recreate the brilliance of those two lost lambs.)

Then I went about my business, and didn't get back online until this evening.  Checking my blog comments (via COMCAST EMAIL), I found a comment from a person purporting to be:
Mark Casem
Comcast Corp.
National Customer Operations
We_can_help@cable.comcast.com

I'm not revealing any personal information here; he left his message and contact information in the public COMMENTS section of my blog; you can still see it here.

Well, now I'm feeling a little embarassed.  As well I should be.

These people were really nice to me.   And helpful, and polite, and professional ... and technically competent.  They turned this Grumpy Old Man into Bert Lahr ("The Cowardly Lion" in 'Wizard of Oz') with grace and patience.   They never ONCE suggested that it might be my fault, or that I had to update my Explorer from V-8 to V-9.    Which was what I had expected.

And I never had the grace to go back and delete the extremely intemperate statements I made in my original post.

And I'm not going to delete the post, either.  I intend to leave it up both to underline my chagrin, and to provide the context which just might make THIS post understandable.

I am, however, going to leave the comments section in place, and I'll add an UPDATE link to the original post so that anyone who reads it and takes it out of context ... will be able to see that COMCAST may have the occasional technical problem .. but they will not allow it to stand uncorrected.if their customers only use the resources which they HAVE provided.

Thanks, Comcast.  You're a better provider than I am a customer.

But I'm still going to create an alternate non-COMCAST email address.  Just in case, you understand.