dead landline

I think at the corporate level Cox sort of mails in their customer "service" effort.  Sometimes you can get amazing service and sometimes you get formulaic responses that effectively prove to be strategies to keep the customer busy chasing his or her tail to delay actual service.

I just went through a very telling process relocating services as a relocation culminates.  The install appointment had been arranged a couple weeks ago and I was able to land a convenient time window thanks to a very helpful representative and for the record, the technician was prompt, professional. and courteous.

The process itself was another matter.  First, I returned from work on the night before that among other things, notified me that I would receive a call from the technician when he was en route (paraphrasing the call)... I have no alternate phone, just my Cox land line.

Fast forward to moving day... I realize amid final packing and dismantling of electronics, that it might be better for the tech to just meet me there so I deide to notify Cox of that and to forego the phone call notifying me... I picked up my telephone...

dead....

I scramble about trying to determine if I had inadvertently disconnected my own phone- effectively putting my packing and loading on hold... no avail.  I am without any communications whatsoever because my computer is already packed to go... though that may have been irrelevant anyway.  A friend arrives to help the move and I use his cell phone to call Cox... got past the supremely annoying and insistent automated system to reach a very helpful Beverly who informed me that Cox, following standard operating procedure, had already shut off my services...

... the very same services I'd be needing to receive my call from the technician who would be installing them at my new condo.

Genius...

Fortunately Beverly was able to contact the tech and inform him that in its infinite wisdom, Cox had disabled my ability to receive the call I was to get from him and to simply proceed to my installation without attempting to call me.

I do not believe that stupid people coordinate and administer service logistics, I simply expect that, without any real competition as afforded by a decades old agreement between the federal government and the cable industry,there's no real motivation to think things through and to offer thoughtful and meaningful SERVICE to paying customers because most of them have no choice

The results of this type of SNAFU service precipitates the angry customers that customer service reps have to deal with.  I try to remember this when talking with a rep over the phone or dealing with a technician... but it isn't always easy.

Interestingly I received a new phone modem (working) with the new installation.  The old one (different style) had a battery installed.  I need to buy my own battery ($20.00) for the new one to offer phone service during a power outage.... the tech told me to turn the old, working one into Cox.  Interesting.  Classy.

I have had the same trouble with dead landline, especially just after I hang up from a call.  It even goes dead in the middle of a call.  I lose internet every time I receive a call and as for WiFi, only works about 1/9 of the time. They have come to check it out in the past, but of course, it doesn't do it while they are here.  I am sick of resetting, unplugging, rebooting and what ever else I have done.  My contract is up with them and I am moving on to another. And I also wondered, what if it were an emergency and I couldn't call out.  I had better luck with dial up where I used to live.

TiffanyR said:
Hello Stinkfoot63, 

I am truly sorry to hear that you had this experience. Thank you so much for providing this feedback to us. We want to help prevent these type of problems from arising in the future. 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond... my situation was resolved with the help of some fine individuals working for Cox.  What I find astounding is that these situations exist in the first place... if I'm to be contacted via my Cox phone would it not stand to reason that Cox should contact me before cutting off services at the old address?

f course Cox doesn't actually bother to communicate important account information- what, with being an email and phone service provider I can certainly understand how unfeasible it is for them to do this.../sarc

This incident is processed by and becomes part of a big picture that had Cox making the unilateral decision for our bills to go paperless (I had to change this) without our requesting, yet I receive a weekly bill-looking envelope with "important account information" visible in order to try tricking me into opening a sales pitch for the latest bundle... something I'd like to never receive.  Of course it apparently isn't a Cox policy to forewarn of rate increases... another important bit of account information.  Scheduled maintenance that will require the network be taken down?  HA!  Figure that out when you find no services and guess what the problem is.... I've had my phone cut off in this manner... good thing I didn't need to call 911 -eh?

These are not actions of a business that respects its customer base notwithstanding the attitudes of individuals like yourself who have to deal with the results of what can only be characterized as a culture of contempt.  As aggravated as I sometimes get with Cox, I do try to avoid taking it out on the folks I actually deal with.  I'm quite mindful of the fact that until such a time that the cable backbone is opened up to other companies to use in a level competition I'll be dealing with the product of the disincentive to customer service and competitive pricing and must look at it as a blessing in that I have an opportunity to practice patience, an asset that does not come easily.

Good post. Almost wish I could share my horror story, but this forum isn't ready for it. Would get too much kick back from the moderators. 

One thing I wanted to comment on;

stinkfoot63 said:
  I'm quite mindful of the fact that until such a time that the cable backbone is opened up to other companies to use in a level competition

I don't think this is going to happen. Even Cox is looking past cable toward fiber. I think THAT will provide the competition your looking for, and if you look at Gigablast, it already has.