Friday, July 30, 2010

Comcast Customer Service Chat

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chat id : 3a730457-1607-4a76-8286-33d09cb41a6a
Problem : last chat stalled, Talk to me, comcast!

bruce > last chat stalled, Talk to me, comcast!

Desiree > Hello bruce_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Desiree. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Desiree > How are you doing today?

bruce_ > I'm not pleased with comcast today, Desiree.

Desiree > I am so sorry to hear that. As your service representative today, I want you to know that your satisfaction is of my topmost priority and I assure you that we can resolve this issue together on this chat.

Desiree > May I know what seems to be the issue?

bruce_ > I was unable to access audio. After 30 minutes of trying to speak to somebody about my problem, Zyrene helped me out. I had inadvertantly pressed the wrong button on my remote. I'd still like to not pay for my cable service for today. Can you verify a rebate on my next bill, please?

Desiree > I am afraid that a credit is not applicable with this kind of issue since it is not an outage or interruption on the service due to Comcast End. But I will check on the account if there were any credits applied

Desiree > To ensure the integrity of your account information, may I please have your full account number or the last 4 digits of the SSN on the account?

bruce_ > SS# last 4: xxxx

Desiree > Thank you.

Desiree > Please give me a moment or two while I pull up your account.

Desiree > By the way , while waiting for your account to pull up, I will share you a feature of Comcast that you can truly benefit. And that is our Self Help at comcast.com and comcast.net.


Our website has an extensive series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that cover all of our products. You do not have to sign in to access the FAQs. Quick steps to do it...Open a web browser window and go to http://www.comcast.com/ or comcast.net . On the home page, the navigation menus are on the left side of the window and click on Customers then Help and Support.

Desiree > I have it up now

Desiree > Thank you for patiently waiting

Desiree > I see here that there has been no credit applied on the account

bruce_ > thanks, Desiree. I'm here for a refund for loss of service, not a sales pitch.

Desiree > We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you however, we cannot really apply any credit because, this is not a Comcast service outage affecting all the TVs at your residence.

Desiree > You hit the wrong button on the remote that is why Cable didn't have audio

Desiree > We can apply credit on it if the service was out for the entire day

Desiree > Because there is something wrong on our end

Desiree > If you are having any issues with your service, please contact us immediately so we will be able to provide you solution right away

bruce_ > Right. I'm not talking about my service area. I'm talking about my own tv, the one that I pay my cable bill on every month. I wanted to see (and hear) a tv show. I couldn't, because my thumb slipped. I missed my show. there was no way for me to recover from this error without spending an hour trying to contact comcast. I'd call that faulty design. I'd think that your corporation would be concerned about my displeasure with its service. Have you tried twittering #comcastsucks, Desiree? I just did. It looks like there are a lot of people who are dissatisfied with the service that comcast provides. You're really not going to cut me a discount? Is that what you're selling me? Seriously?

Desiree > Yes, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. All buttons on the remote are design with special functions. LANG button is for you to switch between language but if that station doesn't have any language version you won't have audio.

Desiree > I would really love to apply credit on it however, we also have to follow certain rules before we can apply one..

Desiree > First, this it did not affect all TVs at your household

Desiree > Second, it is not the remote that is malfunctioning either

bruce_ > It's right below the mute button. There's no indication that it's been pressed. Now I'll know, of course. But I did miss the programming that I wanted to see tonight. Can you see where I'm coming from?

Desiree > Yes, I certainly understand how it feels missing your favorite show because something is wrong. It would really be very frustrating and yes, I would feel the same way being in such situation. But Bruce, this is not something that is created by Comcast. We did nothing on our end to interrupt the service. And if in case we did, we will surely put applicable credit on it for interrupting your service, and for not providing your the service that you are paying.

bruce_ >
Desiree(Fri Jul 30 2010 23:50:15 GMT-0700 (PDT))>

First, this it did not affect all TVs at your household >Well, yes it did, actually. It affected my only TV

bruce_ > I am not satisfied with this response to my complaint, Desiree.

Desiree > I am seeing 2 TVs on your account

Desiree > Only 1 DTA

Desiree > So only 1 remote must have LANG button

bruce_ > Your information is incorrerrect. I have one TV. How long have you been billing me for 2? What id

bruce_ > What is DTA?

Desiree > The small black box with green light indicator

Desiree > Only DTA remote has a LANG button

bruce_ > yes. i have one dta.

Desiree > Let me double check

bruce_ > Still not satisfied with response to complaint.

Desiree > With regard to your complaint, we will not really be able to apply any credit as it happened because you press on the wrong button. It is not us who initiated it. You can check with the manual to know what are those buttons for. You do have the option to check the FAQs to know what seems to be the problem. You can also contact us right away to have this issue fix

bruce_ > That's not going to do it for me, Desiree. Look at my account. How long have I been a customer? Comcast wants to jeopardize that rivulet in its income stream rather than cut me one stinking rebate for a reasonable complaint? Really?

bruce_ > Hello?

Desiree > Yes, I am still here

Desiree > We appreciate your loyalty but the issue here is your service was out because you press on the wrong button.

Desiree > Again, it is not because of Comcast

Desiree > The issue is not on our end

bruce_ > i think the issue is on your end

Desiree > A manual for the remote is available for you to familiarize the function on the remote

Desiree > The LANG button was not design by mistake

Desiree > It comes with a purpose

bruce_ > I dont think I'm being treated fairly. I am not satisfied with your response to my complaint

Desiree > I am not just thinking about Comcast side here, Bruce. And as what I am understanding with your concern, it is not also fair if I will submit a credit because Comcast thinks that it would be best if you have LANG button so that other customers, if they don't understand English also have the option to switch between language

bruce_ > The LANG button was not designed by mistake. It was designed poorly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had this problem. Unless you believe that I'm not intelligent enough to watch TV. Is that what Comcast believes?

bruce_ > STILL not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint

Desiree > Okay, that is your opinion and I do respect that. We would appreciate if you can give any suggestion on how we can improve the remote to satisfy your need.

Desiree > But then again, I will have to stand that the credit is not really valid for this issue.

Desiree > I am sorry, however, I cannot apply any credit on the account for the issue that is not created by Comcast

bruce_ > I think the problem was created by Comcast. I am not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint.

bruce_ > I don't think that I'm being unreasonable here.

Desiree > I am sorry, Bruce, but there is really nothing more that we can do about this issue . I will be forwarding your complaint regarding the LANG button so we can think of ways on how to improve it that way you want it to

Desiree > That is the least that I can do regarding this matter

Desiree > Do you have any other concerns for me today? I will be glad to further assist you.

bruce_ > That is the least that you can do. It falls short of adequate, or satisfactory. Tou could further assist me by cutting me that credit on my bill.

bruce_ > STILL not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint

Desiree > If it is possible for us to do so, I would have done it without taking too much of your time as it is

bruce_ > STILL not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint, I don't believe that a credit is impossible

Desiree > For this issue, yes, credit is not really valid as it is not Comcast's fault that a wrong button was press resulting the trouble that you had ealier.

bruce_ > STILL not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint. How long have we been talking now, Desiree? I make it out to be about an hour now

Desiree > We do apologize for taking too much of your time as it is but we cannot really apply any credit on the account

Desiree > If you want to view the manual of the DTA remote ,you can click on this link

Desiree > http://www.comcast.com/corporate/customers/customer_support/remotes.html?INTCMP=ILCCOMCOMAL20642&fss=remote

bruce_ > I am not satisfied with Comcast's response to my complaint.

bruce_ > You can click on this link: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23comcastsucks

bruce_ > dish tv, hulu, netflix...

bruce_ > one day's credit?

bruce_ > http://www.firstcoastdns.com/TheySuck/Comcast/

bruce_ > http://amplicate.com/hate/comcast

bruce_ > http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/06/02/why-comcast-sucks

Desiree > Thank you for that information

bruce_ > I'm kind of enjoying this. Please understand that I harbor no animosity toward you.

Desiree > We have a department that handles those complaints online.

bruce_ > It's the corporation. Are we done here? You're not going to change your mind, are you?

bruce_ > What is that department?

bruce_ > hello/

bruce_ > ?

Desiree > Yes, I am still here. Sorry , the chat was disconnected earlier

Desiree > Yes, we will not really apply any credit for the issue that is not created by Comcast

bruce_ > That's okay. Just weighing my content-provider options here. How can I get in touch with the department that handles those complaints online?

Desiree > Those are reprenstative working offline. If you have notice, there are also responses posted from one of our reprentative. And there is no way for me to escalate you to them. If you wish to send your feedback or complaint, you may do so through this link. http://www.comcast.com/customers/feedback/default.cspx

bruce_ > okay, thanks Desiree. have a good weekend. bruce out

Desiree > You're welcome

Desiree > Should you want to watch full TV shows and movies online, Simply go to http://www.fancast.com.

Desiree > Thank you for choosing Comcast as your cable TV provider and have a great day! Comcast appreciates your business and values you as a customer. Our goal is to provide you with excellent service. If you need further assistance, you can chat with one of our Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at http://www.comcastsupport.com/videochat. To close this chat, please click the end session button at the top of your chat window.

Desiree > Analyst has closed chat and left the room

You're Invited To The Melissa Shoes Summer Event

Melissa Shoes and Scoop Beach will be hosting their summer event in East Hampton, NY. Cocktails, Food and SHOES... spend you afternoon in Rio as Scoop and Brazilian Shoe Collection Melissa treats you to the perfect tropical getaway!

Join us on FRIDAY August 6th from 4:00pm - 6:00 pm




Scoop Beach East Hampton
51 Newton Lane
East Hampton, NY 11937

Monday, July 26, 2010

Drinks With Mary & Cathy at the Lake Chalet

Faux wicker. Faughicker.

The First Poignant Lonely Harbinger of Autumn

Outside of Los Cantaros

Deco Clock


Deco Clock, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

11th & Mission SF

Hall of Justice


Hall of Justice, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

behavior court field trip

SF Police Impound


SF Police Impound, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Surveillance, anyone?

Aquaman


Aquaman, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Zach Efron wears EUBIQ to St. Cloud Screening

Check it out! Zach Efron goes casual for a recent screening of his new film "Charlie St. Cloud."




Fitting that the young budding Hollywood front man wear Eubiq's lion cub tee. It looks great on him!

Featured in OK! Magazine:
http://www.okmagazine.com/2010/07/zac-efron-says-cheese-for-all-his-charlie-st-cloud-fans/zac-efron-july-22-8/

Sunday, July 25, 2010

New Office at BAART


New Office at BAART, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

7/20/10 Begin Tues/Thurs duty at BAART. Computer in Exam Room 2 is gone. Dan Graney brings me my keys! Change offices, move across the hall to David Vergi's old office, where computer had been moved to. Switch out desks w exam room 2.


Sharkey


Sharkey, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Potholder/puppet



Wednesday, July 21, 2010

For the Win


For the Win, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Dear Cory

I ordered a hold on For the Win from the Oakland Public Library, where I had donated a copy via Amazon. I just got notice that it's waiting for me there. I'm not going to keep it for long, as I just finished reading it on my phone, and I got it for the library so that it can circulate. Loved it! I thought it was a great socioeconomic manifesto and a rollickin' good yarn, too. I can almost understand derivatives now. I'm afraid I'll never understand games.

Now. I have a request. I was wondering if I could get you to sign this copy. Not physically. If you send me a jpeg of your book-sig, I'll print it and paste it into the book, wherever you'd like. I've got a small history of defacing library books, and if you'd like to participate, I'd be happy to co-conspire with you. If you'd prefer not to, that's cool as well. Just thought it might be fun.

Your fan,
Bruce Bortin
___________

Hey, Bruce! Sure!

Cory Doctorow
___________

Awesomeness squared! Thanks. You're a sport!

xxBB

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Jessica Biel Loves MELISSA shoes!

Jessica Biel Loves MELISSA shoes! Comfy, casual, chic Jessica!

Joey Showroom on "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD"


Joey Showroom was mentioned on Access Hollywood's Star Sightings alongside two Joey Showroom collections: Black Halo and Jay Godfrey!

It was a "week's best" item:

"And in NYC — “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice previewing the latest in fashions from Black Halo and Jay Godfrey at Joey Giuntoli’s New York Showroom."

http://www.accesshollywood.com/access-star-sightings-july-10-july-16-2010_article_34683



NICE!!

Giuliana Rancic at the Lia Sophia Preview show in Black Halo

Giuliana Rancic at the Lia Sophia Preview show in Black Halo....

SMOKIN.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Catnip Blanket


Catnip Blanket
Originally uploaded by dumbeast
Judy thought it would be good for Ray to have something new that doesn't smell like Pearl. He REALLY likes it. Thanks, Judy.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Carrie Underwood Wears MELISSA...Again!!

Carrie can do no wrong!

This simply-stunning-stylin'-southern-singer loves Melissa shoes!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Pomeriggio di Domenica Expense Account

  1. Eat half a slice of bologna.
  2. Ride to Piedmont.
  3. Buy sandwich at grocery store $5.99, 2 skeins of wool @$6.99, ticket to movie $8
  4. Eat half of sandwich on park bench. That bologna was piccante.
  5. Devise design of new woolen oven mitt.
  6. "Crochet shark oven mitt, batik-bleach belly"
  7. Buy an espresso $2.
  8. Go to theater way early.
  9. Text Mary.
  10. Talk to Mary in lobby, losing bike rearview. Was that mortadella?
  11. Usher comes into theater: "Anybody ride a bike here?" My heart skipped a beat. "Missing a little mirror?"
  12. "Yeah! That's me. Thank you so much!"
  13. Watch a bunch of much too loud ads, then Cyrus, which if it was a book, I would have stopped reading at page 100. About a dysfunctional mother/son & John C Riley triangle situation.
  14. After movie, thank wrong usher.
  15. Go outside, aak! sunglasses
  16. Being from Genoa makes me a much less macho bicyclist. Ride most of the way home on sidewalk. Ciao. Guido una bicicletta come una donna sposata anziana.
  17. Buy quarters at BART $1
  18. Buy more quarters store $3
  19. Come home, switch the glasses that I repaired with their nearly identical mates, in attempted gaslighting of the Missus.
  20. [ride in un modo clandestino]

Sunday, July 11, 2010

How can I bleach wool?

The page at http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=74104 says:
1. NEVER use chlorine bleach on wool or silk. Both are dissolved by sodium hypochlorite, the active ingredient in Chlorox.
2. NEVER mix chlorine bleach with any other chemical. You may release chlorine gas which is toxic and could cause death or permanent damage to your lungs.
3. Do not add chlorine bleach to any garment which has been soaked in vinegar without throughly rinsing out the vinegar.
4. The proper bleach for wool is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is never found in chlorine bleach. You can use first aid strength H2O2, hair bleach strength H2O2 or 35% H2O2.

The strength of the H2O2 will determine the length of time the fabric needs to stay in the solution. A small amount of plain Tide detergent or Synthropol added to the solution will help wet the fabric. A dark fabric like navy will probably never bleach white and may not even stay blue depending on what color it was before it was navy.

Vinegar is used in wool to set dyes, not remove them.

The page here http://www.prochemical.com/directions/BleachingWool.htm is also instructive.

Sunday Afternoon Expense Account

  1. Eat half a slice of cheese.
  2. Ride to Piedmont.
  3. Buy sandwich at grocery store $5.99, 2 skeins of wool @$6.99, ticket to movie $8
  4. Eat half of sandwich on park bench. That cheese was pungent.
  5. Devise design of new woolen oven mitt.

  6. "Crochet shark oven mitt, batik-bleach belly"
  7. Buy an espresso $2.
  8. Go to theater way early.
  9. Text Mary.
  10. Talk to Mary in lobby, losing bike rearview. Was that limburger?
  11. Usher comes into theater: "Anybody ride a bike here?" My heart skipped a beat. "Missing a little mirror?"
  12. "Yeah! That's me. Thank you so much!"
  13. Watch a bunch of much too loud ads, then Cyrus, which if it was a book, I would have stopped reading at page 100. About a dysfunctional mother/son & John C Riley triangle situation.
  14. After movie, thank wrong usher.
  15. Go outside, aak! sunglasses
  16. Being from Wisconsin makes me a much less macho bicyclist. Ride most of the way home on sidewalk. Ugh. Like squaw.
  17. Buy quarters at BART $1
  18. Buy more quarters store $3
  19. Come home, switch the glasses that I repaired with their nearly identical mates, in attempted gaslighting of the Missus.
  20. [snickers]

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Straight from the Bog


Straight from the Bog, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

I wonder how this campaign is doing in the Great Britain market.

From Urbandictionary.com

bog: a toilet "I need to go to the bog."

Pulpo Paul with Flags


PAUL with Nato & Taliban, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Put that clairvoyant German octopus in a tank with a NATO flag and a Taliban flag. Any bets?



Big ups to MJF for helping me tighten up on the punchline.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Office Mechanix

From: bbortin@sfbar.org

To: HAP

Re: How to Fax GA

You can now fax to the GA fax machine (558-4104) by pressing “Coded Dial” and then 000 (those are zeros, folks)

How to Fax GA, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Stressed

Last night, I barely made it off BART before movement in Oakland became impossible. We had planned to take Ray to the vet, but there weren't any cabs at 13th street. I called Al to beg a ride, but it turned out that the streets were so clogged that he couldn't get to our house. And we had no idea whether we'd be able to get home from the vet. So we rescheduled.

Note to cops: maybe the day of the riot, you could see to it that the staging area gets cleared of dumpsters filled with kindling? All night long there were big explosions coming from downtown.



BART was crawling with cops this morning. Mary had to restrain me from going up to them and administering a quick quiz: "Pronto, Officer! Which one's the taser? Which one's the gun? Could be important some day...."

In San Francisco, walking down 24th street, every firetruck and heavy rescue vehicle in the city came screeching past me and then deployed smackdab in my path a block ahead of me. I had to crawl over EMTs & firehoses to get to work.


Anybody know where there's a place where you can sell your cortisol? The stress bank? I could make a killing there.

So glad I don't live in Basra or Kandahar.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Joey Showroom Store of the Week is.... WiNK NYC !!!

WiNK NYC is one of our favorite shops! With locations in New York's hottest areas- SoHo, Columbus Ave, and the Upper East side - the assortment never disappoints. WiNK currently carries Joey Showroom collections House of Harlow and Rich & Skinny.

Not Surprisingly, their buyers are just as chic as the store! See if you can spot them on recent episodes of "The City." They appear alongside Whitney Port at Coterie - Joey Showroom's favorite tradeshow.

Check out Season 2, Episode 9 here:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/the-city-season-2-ep-9-one-girls-trash/1642062/playlist.jhtml

Now start shopping their latest trends:

www.winknyc.com




Don't forget to visit the blog next week for the latest store of the week!!! We will be picking one located in sunny Los Angeles - It might just be one of your favorite shops :)

Ray's Protest Sign



Ray's Protest Sign, originally uploaded by dumbeast.
He's had just about enough getting stuff squirted into him here and there. Too bad. We're taking him back to the vet today for xrays and a psych intake. Has anybody noticed that this blog has become about my cats and nothing else, really? I guess I've turned into that guy. Cheez.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Still Missing Pearl


But aside from some blockage, Ray's doing ok. Thanks Mary, Cathy, Silka & Cheshire for stepping up and sorting that.