Woman brings the hammer down on Comcast...literally

[Queasy]

Link

Sometimes truly American virtues arise in outlaws who -- by dint of heroic but questionable endeavors -- display the mettle of the national character.

For instance: The Dillinger Gang, robbing banks (and destroying mortgages) when banks were foreclosing on the poor. Stephanie St. Clair, matron of the numbers racket during the Harlem Renaissance, striking a (dubious) blow for both gender and racial equality. Junior Johnson bootlegging liquor during Prohibition (the benefits of which were self-evident)

Fear not, fellow Americans! In these dark days of war, pestilence and Paris Hilton, a new hero has arisen. She is none other than 75-year-old Mona "The Hammer" Shaw, who took the aforementioned implement to her local Comcast office in Manassas to settle a score, and boy, did she!

This was after the company had scheduled installation of its much ballyhooed "Triple Play" service, which combines phone, cable and Internet services, in Shaw's brick home in nearby Bristow. But Shaw said they failed to show up on the appointed day, Monday, Aug. 13. They came two days later but left with the job half done. On Friday morning, they cut off all service.

This was the company that has had consumer service problems serious enough to prompt the trade magazine Advertising Age to editorialize that Comcast and other cable providers should spend less on advertising and more on customer service. And has spawned a blog called ComcastMustDie.com that's filled with posts from angry customers.

So on that Friday, Mona Shaw and her husband, Don, went to the local call center office to complain.

Let's pick it up, mid-action, according to Shaw:

Mona demands to speak to a manager. A customer service representative says someone will be right with them. Directs them to a bench, outside. (Remember, it's mid-August.) Mona and Don sit.

Tick, tick, tick, goes the clock. Sit, sit, sit, go Mona and Don.

For. Two. Hours.

And then -- this is the best part -- the customer rep leans out the door and says the manager has left for the day. Thanks for coming!

Oh, the sputtering outrage!

Click through for rest. Story is three pages long.

Go Grandma!

 

[nakedfrog]

That woman is AWESOME. Can I make her my honorary grandma or something?
I think I'd frame the restraining order and hang it on my wall if I were her :laugh:

 

[dabuddha]

Where does the hammer come into play?

EDIT: Ooops didn't see that theres more. Reading it now 🙂

:beer: for the woman! I'd gladly pay her bail money.

Bacha noted that Comcast has more than 25 million customers, the overwhelming majority of which are very satistified with their service.

Complete and utter horse shit.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
Where does the hammer come into play?

Click through. The article is three pages long so I wasn't going to paste it all here.

 

[Vette73]

Did you try to stop her, Mr. Shaw?

"Oh no, no," he says.



😀

 

[Anubis]

thats awsome

and yes comcast does suck

 

[TheTony]

I heard about this incident several days ago. I didn't realize the hammer incident was preceeded by a two hour wait at the local office before turning her away. Just their handling of the install was bad enough!

It's Comcastic! ? 😉

 

[MisterJackson]

She should Ebay that hammer. I betcha it'd bring in at least 10 grand.

 

[brxndxn]

She was perfectly justified.

I would also like to do the same thing to my cable company, but I am unwilling to pay the consequences.

 

[teclis1023]

As much as I hate Verizon/Comcast/Etc. customer service, I don't really think that destroying their store with a hammer is a great way to fix the problem.

Hopefully it did something, though.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

 

[xanis]

That kicks so much ass. Go grandma!

 

[Aharami]

Die Comcrap, DIE!

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

 

[Xavier434]

I am so satisfied. Thank you for this.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

meh. crimnal charges and no service. Should have just taken her business elsewhere.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

She has phone service now.

And she prompted the Washington Post to write an article about how much Comcast sucks.

I don't think she'll care much about the criminal record or the restraining order... she's an old lady.

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

She's about 80 and retired. WTF is a misdemeanor criminal record gonna do to her at that point in her life? Prevent her from getting that corporate job she so desperately needs? She didn't get any jail time. If I were in her place, i'd consider it a good Monday.

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

meh. crimnal charges and no service. Should have just taken her business elsewhere.

Do Verizon or any of the Satellite companies have a much better service record? If not, that's the problem isn't it? There is nowhere else to go. Only other crappy service providers.

 

[robphelan]

great story... not very well written, though.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Connoisseur

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

meh. crimnal charges and no service. Should have just taken her business elsewhere.

Do Verizon or any of the Satellite companies have a much better service record? If not, that's the problem isn't it? There is nowhere else to go. Only other crappy service providers.

Actually, after having a service of history with both Satellite companies and Comcast.....the customer service at the satellite companies blows Comcast's customer service out of the water despite the faults they may have.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: Connoisseur

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

meh. crimnal charges and no service. Should have just taken her business elsewhere.

Do Verizon or any of the Satellite companies have a much better service record? If not, that's the problem isn't it? There is nowhere else to go. Only other crappy service providers.

And smashing up a receptionists desk with a hammer will help?

Does that mean we should all assualt redmond?

 

[Haui]

I freakin love this woman! To bad she was arrested though....it should be Comcraptastic that should be arrested. I swear, if I ever meet someone who works for Time Warner, I am going to beat them to a bloody pole.

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Connoisseur

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Can't say I'm particularly impressed with her. She got nothing she wanted, allowed herself to be herded outside like an animal (WTF) and sat in the heat for 2 wasted hours on the initial visit, sat and stewed over it for the entire weekend, then gets a criminal record & restraining order out of the deal. Way to go lady.

one word - satisfaction

meh. crimnal charges and no service. Should have just taken her business elsewhere.

Do Verizon or any of the Satellite companies have a much better service record? If not, that's the problem isn't it? There is nowhere else to go. Only other crappy service providers.

Actually, after having a service of history with both Satellite companies and Comcast.....the customer service at the satellite companies blows Comcast's customer service out of the water despite the faults they may have.

Yeah but for that you have to pay much higher monthly fees for comparable levels of service. At least for internet. Last I heard (and I could be wrong), the bandwidth ordered by satellite is still significantly slower than cable service. Even for their highest speed (which is still relatively slow), it costs an arm and a leg. For some, the higher price may be justified in lieu of better service but they're just not competitive overall (except for TV service). Additionally, in a lot of places (apartment buildings such as mine) cable is the only option.

Sorry I think this story hits home for me in light of my comcast experience last Sunday. I specifically schedule an installation in my new apt on a Sunday so I wouldn't have to take the work day off. They said the tech would be in between 3-6pm. I called at 2:30 to verify and the rep said everything was good. I wait until 5 and call comcast again and guess what? Apparently, the tech tried to call my cell phone (which was turned on with full reception and on my person the whole time) at 4:19pm (of course there is no such record of the call on my cell) and since I "didn't pick up", they cancelled it. I had to waste a day on Tuesday to have them come over and install the cable. Even better, this is the second time in two separate installations that this has happened with Comcast.

Sorry about my poorly worded rant but I really feel for the lady. This "put up or shut up" mentality is extremely frustrating especially when dealing with a crappy company.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Under the desk taser FTW! Time to ride the lightning grandma!