August 3, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Online Editor Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2006 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of One |
First apartment, but I don’t want to be a grownup
If their motto is true, that “with bleeping cable and internet, your world is always on,” then I guess my cable situation is worse than I thought, because I’ve been cut off from the world for quite some time. No one told me that by growing up and getting my own apartment, I also had to deal with the incompetence we’ll call utility service companies. Some of the experiences I have had with one particular company make the anticipation and expectation originally felt over having my own apartment mere dreams of a Friends-induced fantasy. And luckily, when problems arise, each of these companies has customer service lines to call. Customer service? Ha. They do serve their customers … serve them a whole bunch of problems. Good one, I know. But it’s true. I have a whole new level of appreciation for my all-utility encompassing monthly rent after the debacle with the cable service. Side note, I’m sure that my experience is not unlike many others, and probably not extraordinary in any way. However, being a rookie to this whole “real world” living on my own thing, it was extraordinary to me. And the fact that the ordeal I encountered is utility companies’ average “customer service” makes me disappointed in the incompetence of humanity. Enough digression. After experiencing the body pain of having spent a day moving every piece of furniture I own to the third floor apartment (thank goodness for elevators), I settled into my apartment to enjoy the freedom of living on my own. I cracked open a beer, sat upon the floor of my balcony (whoops, no chairs yet), and gazed upon the white walls of my domain. Since all the utilities are cared for by the landlords, I decided to immediately attack the one we had control over – the cable. I had the phone number for the company; all I had to do was choose a program package and schedule the appointment. Piece of cake. And by cake I apparently meant a 50-layer cake maze of phone calls, missed messages and inconvenience. Apparently the tenant before us hadn’t closed her account. I was told by the customer service representative to have my leasers fax a letter saying I lived there now. The leasers weren’t around, so I left a message and checked the next day to make sure all was sent. It was. I called the cable company. The account still wasn’t closed. The customer service rep asked to whom I sent it. No one, I said. I was then informed that without a name on the letter, it would have been trashed. This would have been nice to know the first time I chatted with the “helpful” customer service reps. Thanks. I repeated the tag phone calls. Finally another letter was sent (with a name), and I patiently waited a day to call. I never got an explanation, but I called the company to learn that the letter was never received, and the previous account was still open. I had to call during regular business hours, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I had called at 5:08 p.m. Lovely. Next day, I have my landlord send the letter, again, but this time I don’t give a day to call back. I call right away, and make sure it’s done. I wait on hold while it’s all worked out. This is, mind you, two weeks of phone calls and missed chances. It’s not that I needed cable, but I would have appreciated Internet since both my roommate and I are in classes that make emailing from home and online research almost life-or-death (ah, the products of a technological-infused society, can’t live without it). The account was finally placed in my name. Fortunately for me (and yes, there is a touch of sarcasm there), the next week was the holiday week – Fourth of July – so there were no open appointments. I could have informed the representative that, had I been informed the first time about the simple necessary name on the fax, I could have made an appointment before that week, but I behaved and restrained myself. Hanging up the phone, I felt confident that I would easily have cable and Internet in a week and three days. I should have known better. When the big day rolled around, I was up early to await the arrival of the cable van between 8 and 10 a.m. When 9:04 a.m. rolls around, I am chowing on Cheerios and blueberries, unscathed by the delay because they still have 56 minutes. A phone call gives me confidence that they are on the way. At 9:33 a.m. the company calls again to inform me that I was supposed to have gone through my apartment complex’s cable company representative, we’ll call him Phil, for the installation of my cable. I inform Phil – who is now angry with me on the phone for NOT having gone through him – that I did not know and I had an appointment for today. Phil said I didn’t, but he had the wrong name in his file (and to his credit, that’s not too surprising since my roommate’s name is Kristen), and apologized. I hang up with an angry Phil. 10 a.m., no van. Surprise. But eight minutes later they roll up and I am unexpectedly delighted that it’s not noon. The man comes into the apartment and sets to work. Unfortunately, we only get one modem, and I give it to my roommate because I have wireless access that I “borrow” from my neighbors, when it works. Work takes about an hour, and I hand him a check, and he goes on his way. I finally leave for work, but stop by the leasers’ office to inquire about angry cable rep I received a call from earlier. As I chat with my leasers, the cable company calls again to inform me that the guy lost my check and would like me to return to my apartment to see if he left it there. He did. I return the check. Seriously, is this normal? I hope not, because then I have a lot of years ahead of me with aggravating mornings. Or maybe it just becomes expected and routine, but if so, and we accept this incompetence as normal, I would like to reiterate that I am incredibly disappointed in this “real world.” Epilogue: Unfortunately, I wrote this story the day I received my cable service, which was a Tuesday. That Friday, only three days later, my “glimpse” into the world via cable and Internet, I returned home to discover we had no Internet or cable. And since it was outside regular business hours, I was SOL. My roommate calls on Saturday, and after a half-hour wait they inform her a technician can come out in 10 days. Not within 10 days, but after 10 days. To me, that’s not satisfactory. I called on Monday, informed them of the past month of phone calls, half-hour waits on hold and inconvenience, and the rep ran off to her supervisor (I admit she was nice, and I was a total itch-with-a-b) to request that a technician come out within two to three days. I am still awaiting a phone call; fingers are crossed, but hope is low. |
