A New Cable Provider
Fri., May 22, 01:12 PM
How long have I been complaining about our cable television? In case you’re interested, writing to any of the so-called watchdog agencies was answered with a suggestion to try one of the others. Just lots of “it’s not our job…”
So I have been looking at alternatives for a while. Signing up for a satellite dish might make some sense, and I know that lots of people in the surrounding neighborhoods have them. (I see them when I’m out on the bike.) But I have looked at satellite pictures of my house, which is nearly invisible when all the trees have leaves, which would interrupt the signal. I am not about to kill trees. I knew that the Big Telephone Company was negotiating for the right to sell cable television, and the Local Provider was pretty angry about it. I checked it out on the web page, and it wasn’t yet available in our town. Did I want to be notified when it was? I requested notification. And heard nothing, even after I knew someone about a mile away had already signed up.
Eventually someone did contact us by phone, right at the time I was “doctoring” about this nosebleed stuff. All I could say was that yes, I was interested but, no, I could not make any commitment at that time. They could call me in May. They did, the day after my surgery. Sorry, guys, I am not up to it. By this time I seemed to be on two lists, because I got two calls in one day. I did, however, make an appointment to have someone phone me and talk it over. Husband was very excited — he would get back his lost channels — though he could not seem to understand the concept of a telephone interview.
The day came, and I talked to the representative, managing all the strange aspects of my/our account. The land line account is in Husband’s name, and that’s where the service would have to go. But we don’t put Husband on any new accounts these days, because we never know whether or not he is understanding what is going on. So the television service would have to be in my name, just as it has been ever since I signed up with the Local Provider. I would set up the appointment for actual installation and take responsibility for the bills.
Problem: they can’t locate my credit history, though I have an excellent rating. It must have taken an extra half hour to figure that one out. A few years ago someone “borrowed” my name and social security number to open a credit card account. Fortunately the credit card company notified me in time, we resolved that matter, and I placed a fraud alert on the account. Evidently the credit bureau — whatever designation it is using this year — is still looking out for me. That worked well, and it didn’t cost me anything.
Anyway, on Wednesday the technician came to install our new television/internet service. The internet appearance, incidentally, is prettier than the DSL we were using, even though it is the same company. Our new television sets look just fine. I printed up a list of the new channel numbers for Husband, and he seemed as happy as a pig in… He was still watching tv when I went to bed.
Thursday morning I clicked on the computer to see what the local temperature was, and I had no connection. Strange — it was working Wednesday night. I went into the kitchen and turned on the tv. No signal. I was ready for Husband when I brought him his pills, and my suspicions were enhanced because the pliers were still on his desk. “What did you do?” He isn’t quite sure; he was trying to add an extension(?). He doesn’t know how to undo whatever he did, and I can’t be sure I wouldn’t make it worse. Not even twenty-four hours and we’ve lost the new service.
It took several phone calls, but the Big Telephone Company actually did manage to send out a technician on Thursday night. It is my fault, you understand. I gave Husband the list of channels and showed him how to use the new remote. But I neglected to tell him not to fool with the wires, not to touch anything. It’s Please Don’t Eat the Daisies all over again.
Well, that problem is fixed, anyhow. I even lived through a day without internet. Mr. Ashamed-of-Himself will probably not try anything for a while, and Son will explain to him this weekend about why he can’t do those things any more. “The technology is different now…” Personally, I would like to take away his tools, but such drastic punishment would only be a last resort.
