My Comcast Strugglefest: Kumar screwed everything up.
It only took 15 days, but I finally have access to cable television on my desktop. And let me tell you, my Comcast customer service experience has been a bipolar rollercoaster ride filled with more disinformation than a presidential race.It began on 3/13, when I used the online chat to talk with Kumar about getting a CableCARD to use in an external TV tuner I bought for my desktop. After telling him 3 times I already had a DVR and that I only wanted the card, I thought we had come to an agreement. He said he'd have a "self installation kit" mailed to me within 3-4 business days.I waited patiently, and with classes and other things on my mind, paid no attention to the calendar until yesterday. The 27th. Whereupon I finally summoned the rage to click "Contact Us" on the Comcast support page to politely inquire as to where my package was. I was given a tracking number (not sure why Kumar didn't forward this to me from the get go), and found out that the package had been delivered 2 days ago. UPS hadn't given me the heads up... Wonderful.I retrieved my box this morning and thought: "Uh oh, this is a little large for a CableCARD..."Inside, I found a cable box. WHAT. I still have the chat transcripts showing Kumar agreeing to send me a CARD and not a BOX. So that's fail number one. Oh, he also told me I couldn't just have picked this up at the local Comcast office.I went back to Comcast's Live Chat, and talked with a rather courteous Angelica Faith, who agreed to refund me the $10 for the useless self-installation kit, and told me I could have either a technician install the card for me or I could drive to the office to pick one up.I was feeling lazy, so I opted for the technician. She transferred me to Sales, where I met Honey. She informed me it would be $20 for the installation fee, and that she'd already cut it down from $50. Can someone say: OVERPRICED B.S.? I asked her about going to the Comcast office and just picking it up myself, and she said it wasn't allowed. -->CONTRADICTION ALERT!I pasted a direct quote from Angelica, whereupon Honey said she was a mere online sales rep and perhaps didn't have all the information. I feel like she worked on commission from useless fees. She then told me she doubted the Office would give me a card, but I was welcome to try. So I did.Stephanie at the Cc office, upon hearing my story, promptly asked one simple question: "Would you like to exchange your cable box for a CableCARD?"DING DING DING! Simple solution found! Didn't take a rocket scientist, but it did take a real person. I triumphantly returned to my apartment to install my horrible monopoly-enforcing DRM-laden TV-enabling "M-Card".... To be continued.