Voice Service and Equipment

[swmeader]

There was a total meltdown of my "bundled" package yesterday which could have be deadly.  Comcast's technician, Dwane, encouraged me to draw the company's attention to it.

Sometime in the morning everything ceased functioning . . . including my phone.  Such a complete stoppage would surely cause a red button to go off somewhere.  That's what I thought for the rest of the afternoon.  I had calls to make to my pharmacy for renewing prescriptions, a dealership that wanted authorization to continue repair of my car, etc.  And I waited.

At 3:00 pm, I went across the street to ask my neighbor if I could use her phone . . . because I don't have a separately supported cell phone.  I called Comcast and was told by the agent that she couldn't "guarantee" a service tech could get out to me so late in the day, even though she acknowledged she could "see" I was dead in the water.  I became irritatingly firm in my demand that she find someone!

And speaking of "dead in the water",  it's inconceiveable that Comcast presumes that all customers have separately supported cell phones should their system crash.  I am a senior citizen under the care of a cardiologist.  Had I experienced a heart attack during that time, I would be dead.  There was no way to call 911 like there was no way to call Comcast.

Your phone agent told me I should have taken my wireless phone and plugged it into the back of my modem.  The tech said that wasn't true!  And if a senior citizen was flat on the floor with a broken hip or heart attack, Comcast expects us to crawl to a phone extension, grab it, crawl to the modem, reach up and find the right plug and insert the contact?

Dwane mentioned that should phone service go out, Comcast sends a tech out immediately 24/7.  Clearly, that didn't happen!  The phone agent didn't even mention that protocol.

So I'm spotlighting a Comcast process that could kill by omission.  Should such a "situation" happen again.  I would cancel my relationship with Comcast because I don't want to die.

[USAF_E-8_RET]

Notified admin of your situation and asked for elevation to prevent reoccurrence.

[Barmar]

While it doesn't excuse shoddy support, more than 90% of US households have cell phones these days. So it's not like their expectations are far from justified.

And since your life depends on it, maybe you should get one, since you obviously can't depend on Comcast. If you get a pay-as-you-go cell plan, and only use it in emergencies, it can cost as little as $5/mo.

[Queen-Evie]

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Barmar wrote:

And since your life depends on it, maybe you should get one, since you obviously can't depend on Comcast. If you get a pay-as-you-go cell plan, and only use it in emergencies, it can cost as little as $5/mo.

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In theory a great idea. However, it could prove to be useless.

911 is set up so the dispatcher sees addresses and phone numbers. If someone is not able to talk to the dispatcher someone WILL be sent to the address to find out what's going on.

If you use a cell phone and can talk, you can give the dispatcher the address and a description of the problem. If you can't talk, some 911 systems can do a trace to find out where the caller is but that takes time and in a true life or death emergency time is of the essence.

In my case, I passed out just as I hit the second 1. I came to and just happened to look at caller id on the phone, and saw a call from the police dept. I called back and was told a police officer was being sent because it was a "no response from caller" call. I was able to tell her I needed medical help which was promptly sent.

[Barmar]

Are you saying that it doesn't take as long for the 911 service to trace a Comcast phone than a cell phone?

Many cell phones now have GPS in them, so they can tell the 911 service exactly where they are (earlier cell phones relied on triangulating from the cell towers, which only provides an approximate location).

[Queen-Evie]

GPS would work, but it still takes a moment or 2 to pull up the info. AND it might not be totally accurate-they can get an approximate location. It also can take time to get the location-anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds. In a life-threatning emergency, 30 seconds is a long time. 

Another point, when you use a cell phone, the call hits the nearest tower of your cell phone provider. Suppose you are in one county, but the nearest tower is in another county. The call has to be transferred to the correct agency. This is more likely to occur when you are traveling.

Also, some pay as you go phones may not have the updated technology for GPS.

Yes, I am saying it doesn't take as long to find out where a caller is when using a Comcast phone or a landline phone. If a 911 center has E-911, the address pops up on the screen automatically. No tracing needed because the info is right there in front of the dispatcher immediately.

The bottom line is that phone service access to 911 is vital. We want to be able to call 911 and get the help we need quickly.  I'm proof that even a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

My heart stopped just as the ambulance pulled up to the emergency dept. doors. In my case,  3 or 5 minutes longer during the process of getting medical help could have caused me to NOT survive.

I'll keep my AT&T home phone service. It's stories like the one from the OP and ohers I've seen in the forum about the flakiness of CDV that keep me with AT&T. When I need 911, I know I can pick up the phone and it wil work.

I've only had 1 time, about 2 years ago, where my phone wasn't working properly. I called AT&T. When I told them that we need access to 911 at all times because of my elderly mother and me, a technician showed up 30 minutes later and resolved the problem quickly. 

And if my power goes out, no problem. I can use the corded phone in the kitchen.

[Milkduddz]

Not everyone has their cell phone in the same room they happen to be in when there's an emergency. I've known older people who kept their cell phone in the car in case they have to call AAA.

Half the time my phone would be downstairs when I was upstairs, or vice versa. I've had several conversations with Comcast reps when my service has gone out. Whenever I ask what would happen if I needed to call 911 and couldn't get a dial tone, no one ever has an answer for me.

So now I try to make sure I always have my cell phone within reach. And I'm planning to port my Comcast phone number to another cell phone because it's easier to carry a little basic cell (my own version of "Life Alert") and know that I will be able to call for help if I'm conscious.

It would be nice if more women's clothing had pockets. It's a lot easier for a guy to keep his phone with him all the time.