Nightmare: Stay away.
Written: Apr 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Worked great (very fast) for the one day it worked.
Cons: Customer service: Useless, incompetent, and they lie to you. They don't seem to understand the concept of 'appointment'.
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| DrKra's Full Review: RCN Cable |
I tried RCN of New York. I live in Manhattan.
Here is a letter I wrote to the president of RCN.
None of this is exaggerated. Honest.
After the letter I did get a phone call with an apology and my bill was finally corrected.
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Dear Mr. McCourt,
In mid January I called your company to inquire about a cable modem. I spoke to Jo Anne, who told me the installation and first month were free. After that, $39.95/month. Great, I said, can I make an appointment for a weekend? She replied that I couldn’t, but that I could make an appointment for a weekday and then reschedule for a weekend. She conferenced me with a woman who made my appointment and then hung up. I called Jo Anne back and said, “I thought we were going to reschedule my appointment?” “Oh, yes,” she said. “I’ll do that and call you back”
She did not call back.
The next day I called her and she said she was on the line with another customer, she would have to call me back.
She did not call back.
The next day I called her again, and she made the new appointment for Saturday, January 29th.
Saturday: Two technicians come and hook up my new cable modem. They input my ‘e-mail preferences’ wrong and I must call Tech Support to straighten it out.
The first day my cable modem works great. It gets progressively worse every day for two weeks until I finally call Tech Support. The technician I reach suggests I go online and do what I usually do. He will monitor me and he will know when I go offline and call me.
He does not call me.
Hours later I call back and get another technician. He tells me he knows nothing about the first technician but he knows what the problem is. The fax modem and the cable modem must be synchronized. They must be turned on and off at the same time. (I wish someone had told me this.) I point out that the cable modem doesn’t even have an on/off switch. He says I will have to unplug them from the outlet when I go offline and plug them in when I want to go online. I try this and it works.
Thursday, February 17th, RCN representatives are in the lobby of my building. They are there to herald the fact that my building has been converted to fiber-optic (It was formerly microwave). I say, “Great , now I can get a two-way cable modem.” “No,” I am told, “Maybe in six months or so.”
The next day I turn on my computer and find I have no access to the internet. I call up Tech Support and am told that the signal needs to be boosted. If it can be done remotely I will have service by the end of the night. If not, someone will contact me within 48 hours.
Nobody contacts me.
After three days I call back. I explain what happened and this time I am transferred to someone who can help me. I am told that now that the building is fiber-optic I must have a two-way modem. I point out that I was told that I can’t have a two-way modem. She says, “No, a one-way modem will not work.” I ask to make a weekend appointment to install a two-way modem. She says that there are no weekend appointments and that I must make two weekday appointments. The first to ‘check my apartment’, the second to install my modem. “That’s ridiculous,” I say, “What do they have to check?” “That’s not my department.” she replies. I make an appointment for Tuesday, the 22nd, between 1 and 6 p.m. and Wednesday, the 23rd, after 6 p.m.. I work half a day Tuesday, and subsequently get paid for only half a day Tuesday.
Tuesday: Nobody shows up.
Wednesday: Nobody shows up.
When I get home Wednesday there is a message on my answering machine confirming my appointment for Thursday. I do not stay home Thursday. I don’t know if anyone ever came.
In the beginning of March I get my bill from RCN for $101.51. $19.03 of this is my usual cable TV bill. The rest is cable modem service for the months of Feb. and March.
Tuesday, March 7th I call to complain. After a 30 minute wait I get cable modem support. The technician there can’t help me. He transfers me. After another 20 minute wait I get the same department, different technician. He can’t help me either. He transfers me to billing. After another 20 minutes I get Jennifer in billing.
I explain that my service was cut off three weeks into my free one month trial period and that I haven’t had service since. She says that she doesn’t know anything about any free trial periods. She puts me on hold and checks with sales. Sales confirms what I said. She tells me she will have the cable modem charges on my bill erased. She will call me back to confirm that it has been done. I ask for her extension, just in case anything goes wrong.
She never calls back.
The next day I call back. I ask for Jennifer at extension 4317. I am told there is no Jennifer there. Instead a woman named Valerie takes care of me. I explain the whole thing to her and she agrees that I should not have to pay for no service. She says she will straighten out my bill and call me back with the new total. She calls back that night and leaves “$101.51” on my answering machine. This is the same total as my original bill.
The next day I call back and can’t get Valerie. I do get Sarah. I explain everthing to her.
She calls up my account and says that I am scheduled to have my modem picked up that day. (I made no such appointment!) I ask her if they have come already (It’s 4:30 at that point). She checks and says, “No, they haven’t come yet. They will be there by six.” Then she says that she will take care of my bill, but that a supervisor has to approve any credit over one month. She will call me back.
Nobody comes for the modem.
Nobody calls me back.
I go downstairs and ask my doorman if RCN came. He checks his log and says, “Yes, they came at 8:50 a.m.”
The next day I call again. This time I get Dan. He tells me that my bill can not be adjusted until my modem is picked up. We make an appointment for the following day for it to be picked up from my doorman. It is. I have the receipt. Dan also tells me that my new bill will be for $19.03.
Monday, March 13th, I get home and my doorman tells me that RCN came to pick up my modem. “Didn’t they already pick it up?” he asks me.
Yes.
I write this letter to tell you how much I am enjoying RCN’s crazy antics. Might I suggest that you get out of the ISP business and move into comedy. Your ‘wacky stunts’ and ‘wild mix-ups’ would be great fodder for a new sitcom. I bet the FOX network would be interested. I am anxiously awaiting the next episode in my own personal dealings with you. Will my bill ever be adjusted? Will it be increased? How many more times will RCN come to pick up my modem? Will anyone ever call me back? What fun.
Please do not respond to my letter, as it would ruin a perfect record of unresponsiveness.
Yours truly,
A fan
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
DrKra
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 3 members
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