Time Warner/RoadRunner = Tech Support from hell

I would rate my latest customer service situation as one of the worst I’ve ever had.  And I was not surprised.  I dread calling Time Warner/Roadrunner for technical support.

The issue?  Cable modem stopped working.  The local network and router operate fine.  The cable modem is suspect.  May I exchange the cable modem?

Between my wife and I, over the past two days, we talked with over ten people, logged 5 hours on the phone, and spent another hour waiting in line at the local Time Warner office to resolve this situation.

The illogical approaches of the technicians were mind-boggling.  After my wife ran through all the level-one troubleshooting steps, I had to go through them all over again with a new tech since the original tech didn’t bother to mark the ticket to escalate to the next tech support level.

Each operator required a full description of the problem, calling back I had to run through the same decision-tree troubleshooting steps, the techs wouldn’t deviate from the script though the tasks were inane “unplug the cable, turn it around, plug it back in in reverse”

Tech: “Your NIC card must be bad”, Me: “the local network, wireless router, printer, etc. all work fine. The NIC card is fine.”  Tech: “You’ll need to install the drivers for a USB connection with your modem; you’ll need to contact the manufacturer of your computer.” Me: “The modem has worked for years with a CAT5 cable.  If connecting with a CAT5 cable is suspect, the modem is faulty; I am the manufacturer of my computer, there is nothing wrong with the NIC card, there is no need to use a USB connection”

I ended up waiting on hold for level 3 tech support the bulk of the time.  Finally, a tech agreed to schedule a service call…for four days away!  I asked if I could just visit a local store and replace the modem myself. Tech: “Yes, but it’s not the modem. the modem is fine”

After waiting in line an hour at the local store, I received my new modem with the instructions from the tech that I could simply plug it in and it would work.  Right.  I connected it.  Success – the modem can see both the internet and the local network.

But unfortunately the tech was wrong.  The modem had not been ‘provisioned,’ or registered with the local office, and I had to call tech support again!  Level 1 could not do this “We don’t have the tools to do this at the national office” and I waited another hour on hold to talk with a level 3 tech who ‘provisioned’ the modem and finally finally I am able to connect online.

Because I replaced the faulty modem.

I honestly don’t know why I continue to subscribe to any Time Warner or Roadrunner service.

I know without a doubt that any time I call Time Warner or Roadrunner I will be on hold a minimum of 30 minutes, my issue will not be resolved in any less that three calls or by talking to less than three different people, and I will always be upset after talking to tech support whether or not the issue is resolved.

Flickr as picture archive

This should be posted under the ‘duh’ category.  If you need a spot to upload pix for use on a web log, etc. you can link to the individual pix.  Came to me reading Lauren’s Library Blog - she’s got some interesting links to follow up on…

…which led to a picture posted in Dion Hinchliffe’s Flickr stream.  I’m familiar with his Web2.0 blog.