A bit more about the technician who came to my home

There were a few things that were actually comical about my tech visit today.  I left them out of my previous entries from today in trying to keep my rambling posts as short as possible.

The first thing that I found really funny was his suggestion that I get rid of my wireless network.  He said that I should wire my house with Ethernet outlets.  Perhaps that would solve my problems.  Yes, 30 minutes into his visit – the same one where he said there was nothing he could do about my constant connection drops – he suggested that the wireless signal might be to blame.

Let’s break this down.

I have a router attached to my cable modem about 10 percent of the time.  It generally only serves to provide my two TiVo boxes with a way to get updated programming information.  I make sure the router is hooked up at least once every two weeks so that my TiVos don’t quit working.  Most of the time, however, I keep it unplugged because it’s one less thing I have to reset every time the signal drops.  Plus, when I call the tech support folks they get distracted when I mention the router.  It’s always the first thing they blame.

My computer – the one where I keep losing my Internet connection to – is hardwired to the router even during the 10 percent of the time when the router is hooked up.  I’m not sure how he thinks the cables running upstairs to the TiVos would somehow be able to pull a non-existent signal out of the Ethernet cables any better than through the wireless signal.

The other thing that I found hilarious was what he called “the best thing I can tell you.”  His final suggestion before driving off was to switch to BellSouth.  I said that I’d rather not pay for a phone line that I don’t need and BellSouth won’t let me have DSL without a voice line.  Besides, BellSouth is horrible.  He agreed, but said his neighbor has BellSouth and never has any drops.  He, on the other hand, has Comcast and his service is terrible.  And he said that if you worked for Comcast it was worse because you couldn’t really complain.

Who knows whether any of that was true, but I thought it was pretty funny coming from a Comcast technician.