Good morning, world. Today is Friday, that most glorious of days. For the time being, the sun is peeking through the clouds. Our forecast for the day is calling for thunderstorms all day. One woke me up around 4am. If something other than my alarm has to wake me up, I’ll take a thunderstorm any time.
during our nightly call on Wednesday, Shawshank and I discussed the upcoming fiber installation scheduled for yesterday. He told me he had a prediction, but wasn’t going to say it out loud and jinx me.
I admitted I had a prediction as well. If the tech showed, we could compare our Nostradamus notes on Thursday’s call.
Unfortunately, our predictions were mostly correct. Mom asked the customer service rep several times during Tuesday’s call to make a note that whatever tech came out would need a bucket truck. Yesterday’s tech showed up in a van.
Because of course he did.
The tech said he had to call his supervisor. We could hear him on his phone explaining there is no way he can climb the pole. He can’t even see the pole- did he even look at the pics he just sent?
The tech sheepishly walked over to us and explained his supervisor had to come out and look at the tree.
Eventually, the supervisor showed up to. He and the installation tech looked at the tree. While they stared at the tree, a sales manager pulled up. She briefly talked to us about the service installation. Then she got down to what she was really there for, trying to sign us up for their cell service.
Listen, this is the third appointment we’ve had scheduled this week. We can’t get your people to reliably show up to install the service. I’m not sold on your amazing network, no matter how much you brag about your 20+ year contract with the government.
Sales manager took off, and the supervisor came back over. Our tech would do whatever work he could reach without the bucket truck, then leave to work on other appointments. When a bucket truck became available, they would come out. The bucket truck tech would do what needed to be done on the pole, and leave enough line to go to the house. Then, the original tech would return to finish installation. Sounds good to us. The Supervisor left, and the tech did everything he could. A bucket truck showed up an hour or so after the first tech left. He bucketed and left. The first tech came back.
At this point, it’s around 5pm. He does stuff outside for a while, then comes inside to work on the inside connections. Sometime after he started working inside, we lose the WiFi. I think nothing of it, since we’re supposed to be switching services.
Mom had held off on cooking dinner as long as she could while the tech was in the house. Consequently, we ate about 90 minutes late. Things were not pretty.
I was bored and it was dark, so I went outside to spin for a little while after dinner. Not long. I wanted to relax, since the whole installation process had been so fucking bad. The tech finished up and left. The first thing I did when I got back inside was try to reconnect to the WiFi.
By this point, this installation process has taken about six hours. Before he left, they asked the tech what they were supposed to do with the boxes were given for two of the TVs in the house. He told them they just plug them in, nothing but the wiring outside changed.
Well, that might be the case, but our network is gone. The password we have for the old network doesn’t work on any of the networks we can see. Brian insisted he could get it to work if he just manually typed the long-ass original network name into the TV to make it connect.
He gave up after the third time. Mom, either drunk or suddenly senile, asked the times if the Internet was out before I went into my room for the night.
No one is happy.
I’m calling AT&T after I assume a human form. It will be easier if I do it than if I set Mom loose on them.
We just had AT&t hook up fiber in our house. 1 GB for 80 bucks a month. It only took one visit that lasted about an hour and a half. The service claims no scheduled increase in price after a year.
I am stunned.