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Posts Tagged 'Support'
Ok so my home Internet is still down. Fortunately I have some posting ability at work.
Here’s the scoop as it were.
For the last year I have had HughesNet. I have a download limit of 350 Meg every 24 hours. I exceed that, either via E-mail, video, downloading, or what have you and they knock me to “dial up comparable”
Right.
It was supposed to be 1.5 meg down. I never came close to seeing that speed. But I will admit what I had was better than dial up. Credit where credit is due. However the Turbo gateway constantly went down, we experienced outages in all sorts of weather, and several network related outages as well.
But this past weekend it went out. And when my Dish Network came back, the Internet didn’t.
So I called’em up, to figure out what was going on.
Right about here is where the bobsled to hell started.
They wanted to charge me $150 to come out just to find out what was wrong with my system. Seems they could not figure out what it was over the phone, and all of the fancy lights that they have in the modem wasn’t telling them anything.
I was paying almost $90 a month for the last year for this service.
In any other ISP broadband, DSL, cable, etc. folks will come out and trouble shoot your system and it is all part of the plan. I worked for AT&T and I worked on U-verse. I know how that goes. Unless the customer lit the modem on fire and used it for polo practice, we fixed it. Customer abuse versus wear and tear of faulty equipment, all understandable. Not so here.
Here we have absolute disregard for keeping a customer, just a desire to sell their equipment with a massive start up cost, a installation charge that warranties nothing and no maintenance of any form save yourself.
So after over an hour of arguing with a tech support rep who tried to tell me there was no way to test coax (It was at this point I asked for a supervisor) I was told that it didn’t matter what I did or said, the only thing HughesNet was willing to do is give me 30 days free. Which means I would still be out $50 for the repair.
By this time I confess I was hoping mad. Between being treated like an idiot (TSR: “Sir, I don’t know who you were working for before but there no way to test the integrity of Coaxial cable.” Me: “Your joking right? How do you think Cell towers work?” TSR: “Uhm……”) and finding out that absolutely none of my equipment or installation was covered in my obscene cost per month with the ridiculous amount of restrictions: I canceled the service.
I was then sent to a CSR who tried to convince me to stay with them, and who told me if i canceled I would be subjected to a $79.99 fee for disconnection. (Me: “Let me get this straight, your going to charge me $150 to send someone out here to find out whats wrong with a service that doesn’t work yet your going to charge me $79.99 to flip a switch on a service that already doesn’t work? And you have the audacity to ask me why I’m canceling my service?”)
Within 4 hours of cancelling my service I have a MiFi unit on the way from Verizon. My wife and I have had their cellular service for over ten years now, and I know from first hand experience what to expect not only from their Customer Service but also from their technical support. Having worked on their towers I know how their coverage is as well. I feel confident in this choice.
I also feel confident in knowing I’m saving about $20 a month and I don’t have that 350 meg limit looming over my shoulder like a Gorilla.
So if any of you rural folks out there are considering going to a Satellite ISP, take some time and research some other opportunities first.
If you have ever been on a Army installation you know that we call the liquor store the Class VI. Has to do with the government nomenclature of the items contained within.
You also know that folks put together care packages for the troops. Not as well known is that there are folks who regularly put together Class VI or “Sin” Packages.
Sometimes we can ship booze, however there is another item that the Class VI sells that is not as well known.
Tobacco. If you have served on the tip of the spear you know that dip, and tobacco in almost any form becomes as valuable as gold.
Here’s the deal.
Anyone who wants to help with some “Sin” packages for the troops let me know. Cigars, Dip, Duct tape etc. Got a group of fellow cigar enthusiasts who send out regularly and thought it might be cool to reach out to my friends and fellow Milbloggers for some items.
Things we are looking for:
- Cigars
- Cigar cutters
- small humidors (yes that little one that barely holds 10 cigars will work fine)
- Beechnut, Levi Garrett, Red Man, etc. Any flavor
- Copenhagen, Skoal, Kodiak etc. Any flavor
- Lighters, matches, Zippo’s etc.
- 100 MPH tape in OD Green or Black NO SILVER
- Gatorade powder, Water flavor packs like from Wal mart, any flavor
- Heavy duty rubber bands (sometimes called Ranger bands, or Airborne bands) in black
- Pocket knives, boot knives (don’t care if its made in China or Germany)
- Batteries, in any size or shape. Anyone who has ever used NVG’s know how valuable these things are.
- other assorted items that would be applicable to a “sin” tax (hence a “sin” package)
These are not to be party boxes.
We don’t want to have the DOD come hammer us for shipping 3 kegs and a crate of Scotch. While they would greatly appreciate it the logistics and liability factor is just too high.
What we are doing is supplying items that will not affect how they do their job. So smokes and chaw versus booze.
Everyone sends baby wipes, etc. We are doing something thats specifically different with a vastly different goal. Everyone wants to help them do their job, we want to help them take their mind off it.
If you have an issue with folks using smokes, etc. keep in mind: They are being shot at. They are being bombed. They are being ambushed. Who are we to tell them they can’t use tobacco? Next question please.
And here’s some food for thought on what Not to send.
All that said? Leave a comment or E-mail us at staff -at- registeredevil.com We’ll work out the details from there.
Fellow bloggers do me a favor and pass this along please? Thanks
We’ve been talking about it all last week.
We’ve been working like a couple of used horse salesmen at a roadside auction.
The Countdown begins today.
Thursday is the last day of our fundraiser.
This is your last chance to get some pretty damn cool gifts, and help wounded troops at the same time.
I could have used Valour-IT ten years ago. It would have been nice to have been able to E-mail my family and tell them what was going on. It would have been nice to have sent an E-mail to my friends.
I didn’t have that ability. We didn’t have the technology and we didn’t have the support.
The technology is here now. The support is coming in, support like yours and mine.
Don’t miss out!
From Castle Argghhh!
RESTREPO mini poster signed by the filmmakers 05:45:33 “Restrepo plunges viewers into the experiences of soldiers on the front lines of the Afghan War” – a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you. “RESTREPO mini poster signed by filmmakers Tim Hetherington (recipient of four World Press Photo awards, including the World Press Photo to the Year (2008), and an Alfred I. duPont Broadcast award for his work in Afghanistan for ABC’s ‘Nightline’) and Sebastian Junger (bestselling author of “The Perfect Storm” and “War.”)
Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran Medallion 07:08:49 This coin from Eagle Crest commemorates the Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and features intricate, multi-colored designs on both sides and the words, “Democracy, Bravery, Honor, Sacrifice & Freedom”
U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Medallion 07:14:14 This coin from Eagle Crest commemorates the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman. Its green and gold face displays four Infantryman on foot. The blue and gold flip has 5 stars and a long rifle.
Personalizable US Coast Guard cross-stitch 07:42:34 Counted cross-stitch of the U.S. Coast Guard emblem suitable for personalization with name/rank and additional information (years of service, unit, etc.)(see example photo). Finished piece is designed for a 3.5″ x 5″ opening (mat or frame). Can be mounted with a custom-cut mat (NOT part of auction item) for dual openings in an 6×10 frame (see example photo). Auction winner will need to provide contact information in order to arrange personalization before item can be shipped.
Leadership in Action signed by author ADM Greg Slavonic 08:16:59 This auction is a copy of ADM Slavonic’s upcoming book Leadership In Action. It will be released to the general public on Amazon.com in MID-NOVEMBER. This is an ADVANCED copy. ADM Slavonic will sign and ship. SPECIAL TO VALOUR-IT! Greg Slavonic has brought together several contributors for this book that would rightly be on a “Who’s Who” list of our nation’s most highly honored and decorated military leaders; two-, three- and four-star Generals, Admirals, Captains and Colonels, war heroes and two Medal of Honor recipients–they know what it takes to lead and to succeed. In the pages of this book, you will find something that is critical to success in life–a philosophy of leadership that you can take for your own. By reading each chapter, giving thought to what you’ve read and applying what you’ve learned in action; a discerning reader will gain a thorough understanding of what real leaders are made of–and in the learning can become one too.
Day by Day comic strip book. Signed and Numbered. 09:18:49 The first DayByDay Cartoon book collecting all of the www.daybydaycartoon.com strips from 2002-2003. This miniature coffee table book measures 7″x7″, features a high gloss softcover, is 132 pages with 363 toons and is signed and numbered by creator Chris Muir.
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (2010, Hardcover) 12:38:18 A visceral, gripping, epic novel of the Vietnam War written by a highly decorated war veteran, MATTERHORN throbs with compelling authenticity on each of its many hundred pages. Though its topics are embedded in our cultural consciousness–napalm, Agent Orange, tortured soldier’s souls, the chaos of guerrilla warfare, the impossible ethics of violence, the beauty and horrors of the jungle, loyalty, insanity, friendship, and death–MATTERHORN renders the Vietnam experience anew, boring relentlessly down on the specific kinetic reality of the time and place. Karl Marlantes writes with an intense immediacy reminiscent of Mailer’s THE NAKED AND THE DEAD or James Jones’s THE THIN RED LINE. MATTERHORN deserves to take its place on the short list of great works about America’s engagement in Vietnam and the powerful reality of armed combat.
‘This We’ll Defend’ Army Medallion 13:08:45 This coin from the Northwest Territorial Mint commemorates the U.S. Army. It has an Army themed front side with the words, “This We’ll Defend.” The flip side has the Department of the Army seal.
Here at ®Evil we like our football.
v00d3w and I are on opposite sides of the fence, he a Georgia fan, I a Tennessee.
But blood is thicker than sod so to speak, and we forgive each other our transgressions. We have known each other too long to let a football game interfere between us. (Damn near twenty years now for the record.)
Neither of our teams are doing especially well.
So How does Joe Hallenbeck tie in to this?
Never saw the movie did ya?
More after the Jump
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