Cox Communications: A Chronicle of Ineptitude

Date	Incident
August 23, 2002: Afternoon	Called to sign up for new high speed Internet service. I was told to call back to the business line. Called the business line. I was told the only way I could sign up for high speed Internet was to use the online sign-up, so he could not help me. Called back and mentioned I could not sign up over the Internet for Internet without Internet The man took my information and said I would get a confirmation e-mail as to when a technician would be scheduled to do the installation.
August 26, 2002: Afternoon	Received a message from "Alex" of the business division stating Cox could not verify my home address, asking me to call "Jennifer Nicholes" and confirm my address. Called Jennifer Nicholes, but only reached her voicemail. Left the correct address and my cell phone number..
August 28, 2002: Afternoon	No response from Jennifer and no confirmation e-mail. Called Jennifer again, still only reaching her voicemail. Left another message asking about confirmation of first message and requesting a callback with the anticipated installation time.
August 29, 2002: Afternoon	No Jennifer. No e-mail. Called Jennifer again, still only reaching her voicemail. Left yet another message asking about confirmation and installation date.
August 30, 2002: Afternoon	No Jennifer. No e-mail. Called again, still no Jennifer, but what the heck, I left a third message for good measure. Called the business department to ask if I could do a self-installation to bypass Jennifer, but they stated for university students, the technician actually had to install the VPN himself. I was told that any other questions would have to be fielded to Jennifer directly.
September 3, 2002: 9 AM	No Jennifer. No e-mail. Called again, and behold, I reached Jennifer. I explained who I was, and she responded, "Okay..?". She flipped through papers for about two minutes and found my application, stating the problem was that the data entry clerk had keyed my address in as "Drive", not "Road". I asked when I could expect installation, and she responded, "Well I'm really busy, I'll put your application in now and I'll get to it whenever my current ones are finished; maybe two weeks." Irritated, I stated, "I left three messages for you which you never returned, and the error was on Cox's behalf. Are you telling me I am going to have to wait at the back of the queue because of your mistake, even though I left you multiple messages about how to correct the problem that you did not return?" She replied, "Yep."
September 3, 2002: 9:30 AM	I called Cox's administration offices to file a complaint against the business division and Jennifer's handling of my application. I am told I need to speak to "Joe". Joe turns out to be a nice person, hears me out, and apologizes for the treatment, which he concedes is not what anyone should experience from Cox. He states he will find my application and get me installed as soon as possible. Joe takes my cell phone number and says he will call me back.
September 4, 2002: Afternoon	No Joe. No e-mail. Called the administration line I called to eventually get Joe, but it transfers me to technical support when I press the menu option to speak to a real person. I call again, and the system then explains that '3' is not a 'valid social security number' and transfers me to customer support.
September 5, 2002: Afternoon	No Joe. No e-mail. Called again but get technical support when I press '3' for a real person.
September 6, 2002: Afternoon	No Joe. No e-mail. Called again but got technical support when I press '3' for a real person. Technical support tells me they know Jennifer, but not Joe. I'll be darned if I talk to Jennifer again.
September 7, 2002: 10 AM	Cable contractors arrive to bury a rogue coaxial cable on my property, unrelated to the VPN application, but in the process, they sever the phone cable. I ask them to fix it, but they say another Cox technician will have to come to do that. I stated it needed to be fixed that day, so they radioed Cox about the problem. They said they could sign me up for Cox telephone service since they cut my SBC line. I declined -- why would I be strong-armed into switching services to Cox because they cut my SBC line?
September 7, 2002: 11 AM	Suspecting the same incompetence I have come to expect, I decide to call Cox myself to confirm a technician will arrive to fix my phone cable. Customer support apologizes, but states they did not even know about the problem until I called. Figures. They state a technician will arrive at sometime 12 PM - 3 PM. For fun, I ask when my VPN service will be installed, to see if it has been arranged without my knowledge. Why yes, she replies, I am "scheduled" for installation on September 16 sometime 8 AM - 10 AM. Nice to know. That makes the totals 24 days to get an installation, and 15 days just to find out when it is.
September 7, 2002: 2 PM	Charlie, the Cox technician arrives. Actually a really nice guy, he looks at the situation and says the contractors made a huge mistake, cutting through clearly-marked phone lines in multiple places, potentially disconnecting services to multiple residences. He said he could not splice me a temporary line because the damage was so great, so I would need to call SBC. I call SBC, and they state it will be probably August 8 or 9 before they can fix the issue. For fun, I try to call Joe again. The administrative secretary has not even heard of a Joe before, even after reviewing the company directory, and suggests I talk to Jennifer. I ask to speak to Jennifer's supervisor, and she transfers me to the voicemail of "Greg". At this point I don't waste my time by leaving a message. I think Cox's voicemail is but a ploy to placate customers.
September 7, 2002: 3 PM	After calling SBC and learning it could be days before the lines are fixed, I call back to Cox, furious, to register a complaint. I state I'm not even a customer yet, and they have managed to be extremely rude through neglecting to do anything they claim they will in addition to destroying my phone service. The customer support person asserted it was not Cox's fault that the lines were not working and that I should call SBC. I stated it was their fault - they cut my lines. He replied, "Oh, that's our contractors. Well, we still can't help you, you'll have to call SBC." I ask to speak to a manager. He responds, "A manager will not help you." REALLY? I demand to speak to a manager. I speak to the shift supervisor at the call center about the line issue. She states SBC is under FCC and OCC obligation to repair lines within a few hours after them being cut, so I need to take up the issue with them. I acknowledge that information is helpful, but it does not solve my problem - my predicament is due to Cox. She agrees but refers me to SBC.
September 7, 2002: 4 PM	I wanted Cox to get me cable Internet. They've all but refused, and seemingly have cut my phone cord for asking. I sit here now waiting for SBC to restore that. Other than the online assignments I need to do for class, it isn't so important. It's not like Jennifer or Joe are going to call.
September 12, 2002	No Jennifer, Joe, or e-mail. I did not really expect anything by this point, but just to document.
September 16, 2002: 9 AM	The technician arrived to install the cable internet, and was pleasant about everything. Guess what his name was? Joe. I wonder...
September 23, 2002: 6 PM	Suddently Cox's SMTP server stopped responding. Called technical support: "We know about the problem, we're working on it.
September 23, 2002: 11 PM	SMTP still not working. Called again. The support person said everything is working fine. I explained my problem, and he said that they 'probably knew about it then' and are 'probably going to work on it'. ETA? 'I'm not sure'.
September 23, 2002: 1 AM	Accustomed to the usual Cox incompetence, I reached 'Michael' via the online technical support chat. He was very informative, but unforutnately, could only report stupidity on Cox's part. Apparently the engineers decided to block legitimate SMTP connections for VPN university students without notice. Of course, no one can help me, because this is a 'policy change' from the idiots on high. The only solution offered is to pay the premium for business-class SMTP access. I assert I am not going to start paying for functionality I should have anyway, and I'm told to consider quitting the service.