[ale] comcast static IP?

[George Carless]

> **  "dis-service persons" <-- I see you share that very same attitude
> problem.  Perhaps the resolution of a technical problem is being held
> hostage by an attitude problem.  Customer service is a two-way street.
> No CSR likes an a**hole for a customer, just like no customer likes an
> a**hole for a CSR.  When either delves to that level, the onus is on the
> other to move on and get over it so that the *real* problem can be
> solved.

What's with the apologism?  The CSR is being *payed to do a job*, and 
frankly I couldn't care less if someone I speak to when I'm unhappy 
about a service doesn't like my 'attitude'.  The onus is NEVER on the 
customer; it is always on the company and on its representatives.  
Now, of course it is often helpful and prudent to be polite to 
people--but, nonetheless, I tire of the attitude that seems so 
prevalent in the USA that it's okay for customer service people to be 
rude, flip, unhelpful.  And when they *are* those things, people 
should vote with their wallets and take their money elsewhere; and, 
furthermore, there's nothing wrong with telling other people about 
the poor service that has been experienced, so that those people can 
avoid having problems of their own.  

> Ok, you indicated you might leave BellSouth, what kind of "customer"
> response do you expect at that point?  What can you possibly expect for
> paying a few lousy dollars per month?

If people are paying money for a service--and 'a few lousy dollars 
per month' from thousands of people adds up to a lot of money--they 
have every right to determine for themselves what level of service 
they feel they have a right to expect, and I find it frankly rather 
rude, and quite baffling, that you should be arguing that their 
complaints are misplaced because, what, they're only paying a 
relatively small amount of money?  Now, it is fair to say that 
the consumer *can* sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what he 
or she is getting, failing to read the fine print and the terms of 
service etcetera.  But this should not be seen as an excuse for 
companies to treat the customer rudely; and if they do, they should 
not be surprised if the customer leaves them.  I think businesses in 
America could and should do a lot more in the way of training their 
customer representatives; I suspect that people *do* care about good 
service, and I think that bad attitudes cost companies money.

> > 5. I recently had a client move to a new location.  BellSouth screwed up 
> > one of their voice lines when setting up the dsl.  At the time, that 
> > line was their connectivity to the internet.  Dial tone gone, no 
> > internet.  The next BellSouth tech told me that who ever tried to setup 
> > the dsl was an idiot (his words).  He'd swapped the trans./rec. and had 
> > left some hardware completely out of the dslam.  He said it would never 
> > have worked.
> 
> That problem isn't unusual, nor unique to you, BellSouth, nor DSL.

And so shouldn't be addressed?

> At some point you wind up getting labeled as a perpetual complainer.  Be
> known for something better than that.

As an apologist for poor service?  As a fool who will accept 
ill-treatment because "that's just how it is"?  Monopolies are a 
problem because they don't give people much of a choice; but we 
should still be willing to stand up and complain when problems do 
occur--and, sadly, I think that many of these companies are poorly 
run, provide a poor service, and get away with it because there is no 
viable alternative.

--George

--------------------------------------
George Carless ... kafka at antichri.st
Words are just dust in deserts of sound