Comcast Doesn’t Believe in Comcast

On the way home from work yesterday, we saw the Comcast vans parked adjacent to Node 53. As my progress with the official process had resulted in nil gains, I got out of the truck and walked over to them to set things straight…

…First off, I had to ascertain who they are and why they’re on this same node nearly every day. The answers made sense. They were Line Technicians and they were replacing a module in the node. As for why they’re always there? The answer saddens and infuriates me.

And I quote, “We’re certain it’s a problem on the Head End, but we gotta go through the courts first”. By courts, of course, he means Comcast’s internal red tape superstructure. That means they have to replace everything in the node, one module at a time, until the entire node has been rebuilt; before Comcast will allow them to move onto the next step.

The next step isn’t even the Head End, it’s Rattlesnake. Rattlesnake was a Head End once upon a time. Comcast’s engineers have been roaming the countryside as of late, replacing “Spans” of fiberoptic cabling; which, of course, is why you’ve likely noticed a Comcast truck or two with a big-ass spool of orange cable on the back. That’s fiber.

Rattlesnake was basically converted to a “Giant Fiber Splice” (Their words, not mine) a year or two ago. Thus it becomes the next troubleshooting area after this node. After that will be the Head End. Could be a year, could be tomorrow. Though I’m glad they have such communication skills, so the previous 20+ technicians that went to my house never understood this or never told me.

So I asked if I can do anything as a customer to expedite the process. The answer was, and I quote, “Keep calling the Comcast office; keep having guys come out to your house and fixing nothing.”

So I peek inside the Comcast van. What are they doing? Watching TV, of course. They have a coax running straight out to the Node. Not only are they utilizing a flawed methodology, they’re stealing cable. The problem isn’t with the TV service, it’s with the Internet connectivity. My TV never goes out, for all the good it does me.

I wonder if I’d be justified in getting angry yet?