Speed kills!

 

It took the installer just over 6 hours, and he had to borrow my 26' extension ladder, but it's all done and works well.

The new TV menu will take some getting used to but the picture looks great.

It was all worth it to get rid of the Time Warner internet cable.

 

I'm starting to get the hang of the viewer guide, DVR, remote control, and how to best use it all. After using Charter for years, it all works differently. Some of it I like better. Not quite comfortable with the DVR functions yet.

We've got about double the channels now, and we have to learn the numbers all over again. That makes the Favorites function very important. It's actually got Favorites 1 & 2, so wife and I can each have our own list.

My TV's have never looked this clear!

 

Bringing this back up to say, after 3 weeks of no telephone service, it is finally all working again. It has been a journey from here to there, and I have learned that Verizon is without a doubt the most incompetent company I have ever dealt with.

Timeline:
Feb 14, I posted a question asking for opinions on Fios television service.

Feb 20, I placed the order for television video only. Phone and internet to remain on copper. Scheduled installation for Mar 13. Sales lady says ordering ala carte is no problem.

Mar 11, Verizon cancels my install date without explanation.

Mar 12, I call to inquire and place my order again, video only. Salesperson thinks they cancelled it because they don't want to do video only, but assures me that they will do video only - no problem. Reschedule install for Mar 20.

Mar 20, take the whole day off work for the install. Installation goes smoothly enough, takes 6 hours. The video and DVR are outstanding. Loving it. Thinking I'm home free.

Mar 21, Sat morning find that I have no dial tone. Internet still works, which is the same copper wires, but no phone.

Mar 21 through today, spend countless minutes on my cell. My account number is keyed to the fiber department, and calling gets me no where for a copper wire problem. Fiber folks cannot help me because the phone is on copper. Copper folks cannot help me because my account says it is fiber. Finally threaten to cancel the whole thing and get a bundle from Charter. That gets me to a "Retention Specialist". I forget the date, but it's about a week into the ordeal, and she actually sounds like she is interested in helping me. I still believe she was trying, but incompetence is slowing her down.

She finally tells me that to get this done, she will have to cancel my video service, reinstall it on a separate account, and then put the phone back on my original account. This is done in one day, so now I apparently have two accounts and will get two bills.

I won't bore you with anymore dates, but I've had three follow up service visits, each one was supposed to be a copper technician, and every single time a fiber technician showed up. The first two visits were contractors. They only have the same phone contacts that I already have, and they cannot help. Finally today, 2 guys in two trucks show up. Yes, they are also fiber guys. One says he hasn't worked DSL in 8 years. But the good news is they are Verizon employees and have contacts that can actually get things done.

So they get my phone back up, but it's on the wrong copper pair. But hey, it's progress. Except my DSL is on the other original pair. So that takes another hour to get them to rebuild the two on the same line. These guys were great. Amazingly, their work order was to install a fiber phone line. Duh, incompetence again. But they hear my 3 week tale of woe and roll up their sleeves to fix the problem. These guys actually accept the challenge to satisfy the customer, even though it is not their department. They fumbled around a bit with the wiring, switching between the two pairs, but in the end they got it fixed. They went above and beyond and I am grateful, while also pissed off that it was ever an issue. But it was not at all their fault.

The sad thing is, there was absolutely nothing that needed to be done at my house. It was all done at the switch in the business office, and was probably a 5 minute job total.

 

Wow.


At least the nightmare is over.