cluck...
Got my fiber internet connected today. Actually getting the modem/router/fiber installed and working was quick and easy. It's the details that'll bite ya on the ass. Salesman (ya know how you can tell when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving...) created the impression that the installer would take care of everything - port my phones over to VOIP, deal with DirecTV to switch from satellite to streaming, etc. etc. Yeah...no.
1. Port the phone number yes. Hook up ONE phone, assuming it's close enough to the modem. The other two phones and the answering machine are my problem. So when the techie left, the phone on the desk next to the computer was good. Kitchen phone, upstairs phone and answering machine all dead in the water.
2. DirecTV? Uh, no we don't fuck with that, you'll have to go through them.
So, two stories:
1. Like, I suspect, most older homes, our phone "system" evolved over a period of years. One phone, one line. Then a second line for the BiL that lived with us at the time. Then a DSL line. Then a second phone on the original line. Then a THIRD phone on the original line. Then an answering machine. So, the basement was a rat's nest of wiring that sort of grew in place. All now obsolete. 2 or 3 old wires that didn't go anywhere any more. A patchwork of wire, connectors and receptacles of varying ages and styles. Anybody else looking at it would thinks "What fucking idiot cobbled this mess together?" Uh, well, that'd be me...
What I more-or-less did was rip everything from the Telco box to the far side of the basement out and start over. The point of origin now is the fiber modem. Dropped a line into the basement, put together a landing zone on one wall and ran/reran wires to the various terminations. Still not pretty, but it works.
2. Converting the DTV from satellite to internet was also a clusterfuck, but in a different way. Based on past history, working with DTV customer service has NOT been a pleasant experience and I was dreading playing phone tag for a day or two. While it was difficult and frustrating for reasons I'll elaborate on momentarily, it was as pleasant as possible because the actual human being I worked with was a) pleasant, b) knowledgeable and c) SPOKE ENGLISH! (With a cute Southern Drawl, I might add...)
Frustration #1 was because their system did not recognize my physical address. It hasn't changed in the 10 or 15 years I've had service with them, but it's also not unusual as Maine operates on a Country/Town/Village system. I live in the TOWN of Gouldsboro but in the VILLAGE of Prospect Harbor and their are two different ZIP codes involved. I usually have to swear a mighty oath that UPS (or FedEx) know that the physical address I gave to whomever I'm ordering from is valid. DTV wasn't having it. The rep jumped through a dozen hoops to get around it.
Frustration #2 resulted in part from #1. Because I was switching from satellite to streaming I had to create a new account. Because it was a new account, it required a credit check. Because of the same address fustercluck, the credit check wouldn't go through. Again with spending half an hour figuring out a work-around.
I must say the rep busted her ass getting it done and overall it was the most pleasant experience I've ever had with DTV in spite of the problems.
Oh, and gigabit internet is FABULOUS!
Got my fiber internet connected today. Actually getting the modem/router/fiber installed and working was quick and easy. It's the details that'll bite ya on the ass. Salesman (ya know how you can tell when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving...) created the impression that the installer would take care of everything - port my phones over to VOIP, deal with DirecTV to switch from satellite to streaming, etc. etc. Yeah...no.
1. Port the phone number yes. Hook up ONE phone, assuming it's close enough to the modem. The other two phones and the answering machine are my problem. So when the techie left, the phone on the desk next to the computer was good. Kitchen phone, upstairs phone and answering machine all dead in the water.
2. DirecTV? Uh, no we don't fuck with that, you'll have to go through them.
So, two stories:
1. Like, I suspect, most older homes, our phone "system" evolved over a period of years. One phone, one line. Then a second line for the BiL that lived with us at the time. Then a DSL line. Then a second phone on the original line. Then a THIRD phone on the original line. Then an answering machine. So, the basement was a rat's nest of wiring that sort of grew in place. All now obsolete. 2 or 3 old wires that didn't go anywhere any more. A patchwork of wire, connectors and receptacles of varying ages and styles. Anybody else looking at it would thinks "What fucking idiot cobbled this mess together?" Uh, well, that'd be me...
What I more-or-less did was rip everything from the Telco box to the far side of the basement out and start over. The point of origin now is the fiber modem. Dropped a line into the basement, put together a landing zone on one wall and ran/reran wires to the various terminations. Still not pretty, but it works.
2. Converting the DTV from satellite to internet was also a clusterfuck, but in a different way. Based on past history, working with DTV customer service has NOT been a pleasant experience and I was dreading playing phone tag for a day or two. While it was difficult and frustrating for reasons I'll elaborate on momentarily, it was as pleasant as possible because the actual human being I worked with was a) pleasant, b) knowledgeable and c) SPOKE ENGLISH! (With a cute Southern Drawl, I might add...)
Frustration #1 was because their system did not recognize my physical address. It hasn't changed in the 10 or 15 years I've had service with them, but it's also not unusual as Maine operates on a Country/Town/Village system. I live in the TOWN of Gouldsboro but in the VILLAGE of Prospect Harbor and their are two different ZIP codes involved. I usually have to swear a mighty oath that UPS (or FedEx) know that the physical address I gave to whomever I'm ordering from is valid. DTV wasn't having it. The rep jumped through a dozen hoops to get around it.
Frustration #2 resulted in part from #1. Because I was switching from satellite to streaming I had to create a new account. Because it was a new account, it required a credit check. Because of the same address fustercluck, the credit check wouldn't go through. Again with spending half an hour figuring out a work-around.
I must say the rep busted her ass getting it done and overall it was the most pleasant experience I've ever had with DTV in spite of the problems.
Oh, and gigabit internet is FABULOUS!
