Here is the rundown. Tivo was fucked up. Called Comcast because their cable cards a shitty, and they always go bad. Comcast sends out a guy that has never worked with cable cards before. We swap out the cards, still doesn’t work. Okay, maybe it’s the Tivo…for the second time in as many years. So the Comcast guy leaves, but he never switched the cable card numbers on my account, to match the original cable cards that I had, which is what he left me with.

This is important in a minute.

Okay, so Tivo sends me out a new box, which I found out is DOA when I plugged it in. I call Tivo and they send out another one which arrives a few days later. I plug in the new/new/refurb Tivo, and the cable cards don’t work right because the host ID’s don’t match. Each card has it’s own ID number that must be listed on your account for it to work. This is what the first Comcast tech forgot to do when he left. So I call Comcast again to see if they can change the ID’s so they match, and I can use my shit. Nope, gotta have someone come out to do it…which is fucking stupid because the idiots that show up at my house NEVER know anything about Tivo or cable cards.

So the next Saturday, they send someone out to the house to get it all squared away. I met the guy in the driveway, as I had to go to work, and I explained to him the situation. He immediately informed that he didn’t know anything about Tivo or cable cards. Fucking fine. All he has to do is match the host IDs on the cards, to the ones listed on my account, and test the fuckers. 1 out of 2 ain’t bad, right? He got the cards to match, and they seemed to work, so he left. I get home, flip on the Tivo, and I don’t get any of the premium channels. So the cards only half work. I call, again, and the first moron I talked to told me it was because the technician that was at the house that day, never closed the trouble ticket. He tells me that he has it set to close, and to try my shit again in an hour. I do, and I call back when it still doesn’t work.

The lady I got this time should get a raise. I wasn’t exactly pleasant by the time I had to call them again, but she was great. I told her all the shit that had gone on already, and told her that it looks like I STILL have the original cable cards that I started with, and that this was probably my problem. She agrees and sets up an appointment for yet another retard to come out and tell me he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

This part is for Joe….she also gave me a $71 credit on my bill. This covers each day of service since I first called about the problems, straight to the day that it should be fixed…which was the next appointment. Looking back, I got fucked out of a day, and here’s why.

Tuesday night, someone is supposed t be at the house between 6-9. As noted on my account, this person is also supposed to have cable cards, and cable card knowledge. Phone rings about 7:30, and it’s the comcast guy saying that he just looked at his next appointment…my house…and he doesn’t have any cable cards with him to bring to me. You believe that shit? At this point I was certain that I was being Punk’d by Comcast. Could a company really get as big as Comcast, with such absolutely fucking horrible service.

Sure can.

So I go basically tell the guy on the phone that he needs to get it figured out with his dispatch, and that this is just plain unacceptable. He agrees (yeah right) and says he’ll call me back. I was then going to call customer service to bitch some more, but lucky for them I got a work call that I had to take, and Kel called them instead.

I may have a different provider right now had I made that call. Last time this shit happened, by the time Comcast could send someone out to the house, I had WOW installed already. So I get a call back from the tech. He asks if tomorrow night would be okay, in the same time frame. I say yes, and wait for the next giant cluster fuck.

Wednesday rolls around, and the tech shows up a half hour early. First thing he says to me is “I don’t know anything about these cable cards, or Tivo. I hope you know what you’re doing”. Yeah, that’s right, I did all the fucking work.

But, after all that shit, miraculously I still have Comcast service, and my Tivo finally fucking works.