A Day in Paris

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

The Cable Guy

Ok, so I rush home from my son's golf lesson to get back in time for the computer cable guy. He's supposed to show up between 3pm and 6pm to fix the computer. I get back at 3:05pm and the phone is ringing -- the cable guy is here. I send him up and that's when I notice it.... the computer cable light that has been blinking on and off for three days, indicating it wasn't working, is now a bright, shining beacon.
I get this sinking feeling. I start wishing for the computer not to work when the cable guy turns it on... but of course, it works perfectly. I tell him I swear it hasn't been working. He just smiles. He calls up his manager to tell her. She asks to speak to me to verify the situation. I hear him tell her "well she speaks English, so speak simply." Does it get any worse? I confirm that indeed, the computer is miraculously working again. Before he leaves I ask the cable guy if it's normal for the computer not to work for a couple of days. He says maybe it's a network problem in the area. I ask, hopefully, if he's received other calls. "No."
Maybe the computer is smarter than I think... it breaks when my husband leaves town and fixes itself right before the professional comes to fix it.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
3:19 PM

3 comments

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Comments:

Oh, the problems we had with our Noos Internet service. At first, it started off just being intermittent. We would call and complain. Of course, they would tell us that NO ONE else was having any problems and it was just us. Then, they would schedule an appointment for five days in the future, because that was the earliest they could get to us and by the time the guy would arrive, things would be working beautifully.

Finally, the straw that broke the camel's proverbial back was when the system went down for three weeks, before we totally gave up. We finally had an honest technician who arrived and told us that there was nothing wrong with our system and that there was a network problem in our neighborhood and many other people were having the same problem. We even had the guy put it in writing. Of course, when we called the Noos customer service, they kept trying to tell us it was something with our computers or the wires in our apartment or the building, but that it had nothing to do with the network.

It was causing a lot of tension between my partner and I, because he had to keep making the phone calls to customer service. I tried to call myself and I asked to speak to someone who could speak english, but that person was "not available."

So, we finally switched to Wanadoo. I just hope it keeps working.

Jason
http://jasonstone.typepad.com

# posted by Anonymous : 11:19 AM

Talking to Noos is a frustrating act! It definitely puts a layer of tension in a relationship where one person speaks French fluently (my husband) and the other doesn't. That means, unfortunately, I'm relying on him to make all the calls to Noos everytime there is a problem. I also have tried calling Noos, but the questions they ask, e.g., while you twist the white cable, press the control button and read the third blinking number. At least I imagine that's what they are asking because it seems so complicated. Has Wanadoo served you well?

# posted by Auntie M in Paris : 12:18 PM

No, if your lights aren't solid it means your borderline on SNR (signal to noise ration) on the return path and that's why it kicks off and on. However, if it only did it this once, they could have had some problems with thier equipment, or your modem was not provisioned correctly on your account.

To summarize, if the problem countinues it is a signal issue or faulty modem.

# posted by Anonymous : 3:58 AM