The Con Game of Shearing & Controlling the Consumer

The Con Game of Shearing & Controlling the Consumer

I just spend 2hrs of my Saturday morning with Comcast Xfinity Wi-Fi set-up...what a lousy process! When they hooked up my internet to my cable last Saturday and I asked the technician for my Wi-Fi password and he told me “Oh I am just supposed to hook up your router and not set up your Wi-Fi" I said to him but I specifically asked for high speed internet with Wi-Fi capability? He just shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, looks at me calmly while he is fidgeting with his cell phone and said “So do you want me to hook it up or not?” I had already waited 2 weeks for the appointment, and he had just arrived 2 hours late for the appointment time and I was entertaining visitors, so I was in a corner. “How long will it take to hook it up?”  I asked. He says “20minutes.” Commonsense kicks in - I could not wait for another 2 weeks for them to come back for a 20 minute job. So I let him do it! I have FIOS right now and I am pissed at them too that’s why I am getting Xfinity before I kick them to the curb site! Sure enough he is done in 20 minutes. After the tech is gone, it’s irking me that they did not have it together, so I call customer service to find out why the order they gave the technician did not have Wi-Fi? The guy tells me, “Oh your router is already Wi-Fi capable, if you can’t get Wi-Fi on your laptops when you hook-up your desktop call us back and we will walk you through it, by the way you have 30 days to try it and if you are not happy you can always call us back to cancel it!” I had visitors and could not hook-up the desktop from FIOS to Xfinity there and then so I said I will get back to you!!!

Today, exactly a week later to the day, I call customer service again to tell them, well all is set up and I still cannot get my Wi-Fi! The guy tell me,

“Oh let me transfer you to our Wi-Fi department they will set you up.”

“You people told me to call you back, why do you have to transfer me?” I retorted.

“Yes, Dr. Ndoro but it’s another department that sets it up”

By then its dawning on me that I am being ‘handled’ and from experience there is always some rude surprise definitely awaiting me. I was right. They do not tell you that when you set up for internet installation with Comcast (which is $59 bucks) you have to make a separate call to set up your Wi-Fi network to your laptops and charge you another $45! The guy on the phone starts explaining in a calm voice the rational for the $45 dollars, and I am like “I don’t care about your back office logistics and which department does what or how much it cost, as an end user I wanted my technology working to my expectations the day your technician hooked me up….I did not expect to make any other service calls and go through a learning curve about cost and who does what in Comcast!”

I am beyond annoyed at this rate and I could feel the yelling coming on! But I remain calm. I tell him, “My experience with FIOS is you do not get all this peace-meal service...when they are done all your gadgets and services are working and the only thing they hand you is your NetID password!!! So again I don't care how you do it in your back office or how much it cost...just hook me up and let me use the service”. He continues calmly, “Yes, Dr. Ndoro”. But they are shearing me like a sheep…that’s what we call it in public administration when we refer to how the government increases your taxes slowly but surely without the taxpayer realizing it, otherwise the taxpayer will riot at sudden obvious hike moves…vano nyangira!

When all is said and done,

He tells me “We are done with writing up the order and you also have  Xfinity Signature support for another $5.95/ month which will appear on your bill and I will now transfer you to our network technician who will set it up for your here is your ticket #.. ”

HOLD IT!!! My mind is still at the other $5.95/month statement I just heard…..!

I ask him “Why am I now going to pay another $5.95, that’s not what your deal offer said? That takes another 15 minutes of conversation.

He tells me “This is not mandatory and it’s not included in your deal, this is just that if you ever need any Wi-fi support in case something goes wrong you can call us anytime at no extra cost”

“So it’s like insurance?”

“Not exactly, its additional support” he says.

I ask “What does that entail and ‘what would go wrong’ with the service”

“Oh if you ever buy another computer and you want it hooked to your home network we can help”

I said but that’s just to add my netID and my password to the new computer and I have to pay you $5.95 every month????”

 Then he adds "well, other people do not even know how to hook-up a new computer so we also help them with that straight from the box.."

I say "really...well I am not other people I can hook up my hardware myself"...

then he says "things can go wrong and you can call us any time, if you do not have the support plan it can cost you $45 each time you call us for a tech to help you remotely!!!".

By this time they have made me so insecure and paranoid. So finally, I am signed up for the $5.95 and yet I am experiencing buyer’s remorse and thinking - ”why should I pay rich Comcast an additional 6 bucks!!!” But I am worn out and exhausted with the conversations and need to move on at this point. I am thinking I will call them another day when I have new energy! Not to mention that when I finally get the network technician to set up my Wi-Fi, he remotely enters my computer system and takes over my desktop and is now controlling it remotely!!!! What the F**king hell are these people up to!!!  They have the capability and power to enter my home computer system through their little black box from anyway in the universe!!!! Instantly, I forget my concern of having been sucked into paying $5.95/month for ‘support’…. I am more than insecure and paranoid…I am PETRIFIED at the realization of how much control and ownership they have over me and every consumer out there!