Now You're Just Pissing Me Off - Part II

Where were we...ah yes, Comcast has been courting me for "Triple Play" service. I begged the sales person not to use that phrase when talking to me, but a script they must follow and follow it he did.

After an initial conversation with Mr. Sales Person it truly appeared that high speed internet access was within my grasp. I dreamed of spending [wasting] hours cruising You Tube, ITunes and adding music/video to my blog. I was giddy!

Assured that service was now available in my area, Mr. Sales Person asked if he could draw up a contract for my approval. I had butterflies in my stomach just like the first time my boyfriend in the 6th grade held my hand! Let's face it folks, I've been here before, only to be rejected. But he seemed so sincere. We'd had light conversations. He laughed at my jokes. He was ready to make a commitment with this contract. Was it really this easy after so long a wait? Still, I wanted to see it in writing so agreed and waited anxiously for the contract to arrive.

While we're waiting for the contract to come in, let me backtrack a little. I had called in the services of a wonderful tech-savvy volunteer at the beginning of my quest for high speed internet access. Being a small non profit where every penny counts, we needed to do some comparison shopping to ensure we were getting the biggest bang for our buck. She did a great job not only assessing our internet needs, but phone/long distance and cable too.

She made a recommendation accompanied by a color-coded matrix of cost vs. service. I was ready to make a decision and sign the contract. As promised, Mr. Sales Person sent it over and I read every word, which not only meant reading the contract, but all the hyperlinks to their website that contain the "fine print" they no longer include in said contract. I'm nothing, if not thorough. Everything seemed to be in order.

My call to Mr. Sales Person was promptly returned during which I posed one final question, "Are you SURE service is available at my location?" His response, "Yes, I'm sure, but if we get out there and find out it isn't, you have 30 days to cancel the contract." My retort, "Why would Comcast go to the expense of sending a crew out to install cabling if it wasn't available?" I believe his reply was a cross between a snort and a guffaw.

Hmmm...giddy me and jaded me are now having a fist fight in my brain. I end the brawl by agreeing to go on line to Comcast's website and do a little recon work. You see when I had been on line earlier to read the "fine print" for the contract, I noticed a handy search tool whereby you can enter your address and determine if you are in their service area. With trembling hands, I typed in the address and waited for the reply. I must have been holding my breath because suddenly my lungs began to burn. As I exhaled and drew in life-giving oxygen, the screen flickered and the following message appeared...

NO SERVICE IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA

7 cold, cruel words. I couldn't dial the phone number to Mr. Sales Person fast enough. Upon hearing the news, he was shocked, aghast with disbelief!!!! I asked him calmly if he would check with the engineering department to confirm whether he or the website search result was correct.

I few days later an email popped up from Mr. Sales Person. After inquiring with the engineering department, he was wrong, the website was correct in that NO SERVICE IS AVAILABLE IN MY AREA. He'd sent an email...couldn't even bother to call. Of course, why would he since I was no longer a potential sale?

The post card, the solicitation calls, the contract, all hollow gestures. I felt as if I'd been jilted by a lover. I was not going to take this lying down. My next call was to the Director of the Office of Economic Development for Cheatham County. You see, Comcast does serve PART of the County, just not ALL of the County.

...at least not yet.

Installment 3 tomorrow