Weekend Review: Dec 15th & 16th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Batman: Detective Comics
New 52 kicked off last year and brought with it way too many books for me to read regularly and many more that were easy to ignore. Over the past year I have whittled my list of must read New 52s even further. I never even got started with Detective Comics, but when John Layman (Chew) took over on issue 13, I decided to give it a go. Not starting at 13 mind you, but picking up the back catalog from issue 1. It has been a mixed bag of good to great moments and hard eye rolling. Too many times where Batman is written like a self aware Batman meme. Spouting out one liners and punching bad dudes. "I am the night"! I heart some Batman though so I have glossed over those rough spots and mostly enjoyed issues 1-10 so far.

UFC on FX 6
Friday night the UFC was in Australia for the finales of the international Ultimate Fighter. A show, along with Brazil's own version, I wish was aired in the US. Seeing the finale was the next best thing though. Solid fights across the whole card. Stand outs being Robert Whittaker and Brad Scott in a knock-down, drag-out war that would have been a tough match to judge if Whittaker had not exploded in the third. The coaches, Pearson and Sotiropoulos, was more one sided, but also a get up off the couch kind of fight.

Verizon Fios
Comcast had been making it harder and harder for us to keep our bill at a manageable level for going on two years. Requiring that I wade into their pit of hell customer service system twice a year. On the last call they only gave me a "deal" that lasted only three months. Flash forward to us making the jump to Fios. Locking in at one price for two years, a $300 gift card and nearly as many channels as we had before. Sold! It comes with some sweet and sour though. The good is a cable/dvr box that feels refreshingly modern. Having only been on a Comcast box. I assumed all cable providers had an intern from 2002 design their UI. The bad is a modem/router combo that offers up WiFi that crawls compared to the third party network I had setup before. The solution should be easy, but I have yet to implement it. I have a wireless router sitting in my office just waiting to be hooked up.

The Mortar and the Tubes

My transition from brick and mortar shopping to e-tailing (what a gross word) has been a long road. One of necessity and convenience rather than principle. It is not without some weight that I shed the local store. Be it chain or small business there has always been at least something worth visiting for. The pros and cons of both are well worn stones that I won't bother shining here.

I rejected comic book stores for cost, lack of customer service and the feeling that they could smell the newness of me. I left in-store computer parts ages ago for cost, variety and return policies. Book stores were easy to dump in the face of sky high mark ups and convenience. A fair amount of my clothing is purchased on the web these days and I merely smile as the scale tips. It is a rare thing that I black list a store or company entirely though. Comcast is was an "asshole" and I have happily had their service for going on 9 years now.

Best Buy is on that list now however. After years of less than stellar service, unsavory return policies and high prices I still occasionally stopped by for an impulse buy. Never for media, they shot themselves in the foot on that long ago. No returns what so ever on opened media. In that vein, it was odd that I found myself at Best Buy to purchase my first Kindle. A device created by the company I buy near 100% of my media from. Gift card in hand, it was too tempting to not get my new e-reader without a two day wait though.

After a week of bliss, disaster struck. I'll save the gory details and say that my Kindle had a run in with a car door at midnight. It was never the same and completely unusable. I called* Amazon to tell them my sob story and got a super friendly person on the phone. They told me about their 30 day return policy. Despite the fault being mine and mine alone, he told I would have to go to Best Buy, but could get a new one.

So off to the brick and mortar I went to get my new gadget replaced. Why I assumed it would be easy I don't know? The reassuring friendly Amazon rep helped, but I should have known better. On my lunch break I walked in past security and bee-lined it to the return desk. I was told it was broken and they couldn't do anything for me. I calmly explained my conversation I had with Amazon. They explained that had I purchased Best Buys replacement plan they would have happily given me a new Kindle. Lacking a time machine, growing frustrated and with no desire to cause a scene, I thanked them and began to walk away.

It was raining, so before I left the return desk the lady behind the counter offered to put my receipt in my Kindle box. It seemed like a nice enough offer so I accepted and turned heel to the door. Nearly out of the store the security guard stopped me to see my receipt. The same receipt that had just been buried deep in the box. I explained in a mildly frustrated tone, that what I had in my hands was mine and that I was just at the return desk.

Him: Still need to see the receipt.
Me: Fine.
Him: Next time get a sticker. (pointing to a roll of pink return stickers)
Me: From who? You were chatting with someone when I walked in the door.
Him: Next time get a sticker.
Me: Was there a sign to tell me that?
Him: Next time get a sticker.
Me: Was there a sign to tell me that?
Him: Next time get a sticker.
Me: Fuck You! (exit stage left)

It was not just a plain old "fuck you", it was layered. What it really meant was "Fuck you and don't worry about next time, there won't be a next time". I am done. No more standing in the rain at 5am on Black Friday. No more random trips just because or running out for something I don't want to wait for shipping on. Best Buy cost more, has shitty service and could give two shits about their customers. Sum up the future buying potential of a customer. Wait not "a customer", this customer, me. Tech-savvy, late 20's and disposable income. Is it worth $139 to lose me. I'd bet more than I have in this life on it.

Now lets take it down a notch. Breathe deep and know that this tale has a happy ending. Two days later I called Amazon again. I explained Best Buys refusal or ignorance in adhering to whatever agreement they had for returns. I told them about the replacement plan to salt the wound further and hoped for a better outcome. The second friendly Amazon representation I had spoken to that week seemed genuinely concerned. He put a replacement Kindle in the mail that day and sent me a prepaid label to send back the damaged one. Moments later I was off the phone, a weight lifted from my shoulders. Excellent customer service saved the day. I've since made 4 separate orders from Amazon and am near finished my first e-book. They already had a customer who liked them. Now they have one for life.

*So you don't call Amazon. You go to their website, put your number in and they call you with in 5 minutes. Why isn't everyone doing this? As a customer I avoid hold times, layered menus and frustration. For their hunt group or call center it is presumably the same experience as the traditional model.

Fabled Batman Blade

Fable 2
While not the open world Fallout 3 was, Fable number two snagged me up this winter and fed me to it's RPG young. I logged near 30 hours in this game and if not for the lack of a true co-op game would probably still be playing it with friends. I never owned the original Xbox and as such did not own the original Fable. What I hear though is that it did not live up to the hype. The hype seems to be met and exceed in the sequel though. The story is what really made this game shine as the best RPG for me in 2008, versus Fallout 3 which felt disjointed a bit. I've heard it best described as Zelda for adults and I will leave it at that.

Mount & Blade
Indie games tug at my heart strings, but usually not my purse related ones. M&B is a game produced by a husband and wife that is indie to it's core, save its home on steam. The game is based in medieval times (not the restaurant) and is a mash up of a RPG, RTS and third person action game. Throw in late 90's 3D graphics and early aughts physics and you are approaching what could be a great game.

There is no real story, you start out the game plopped down in what presumably is the English country side. Just a dude with a sword and from there it is up to you to choose what you become. There are various factions to align with or you could amass your own army and rule the land. What truly makes the game great is the amount of latitude you have to create your own story. The huge battles on various types of topography don't hurt either.

Lego Batman
When Crystal finds a game that she actually has interest in I cling to said game like a baby baboon. The last one we sunk our teeth into was Mario Galaxy near one year ago. To my surprise the game she picked out this year was Lego Batman. I knew she enjoyed Lego Star Wars when I picked it up in 2006, but I was floored when she picked Batman as her stocking stuffer. The game is just as the title who lead you to believe, Batman stories done with Legos. The co-op is where it really shines and the drop in drop out arcade style play is solid. We skipped Lego Indian Jones after the 4th movie based installment turned my stomach to no end this summer, but Lego Batman is just the ticket in a post Dark Knight world.

Micro Blogging
As if posting here twice a week wasn't enough self indulgence for me on the webs, I started a micro blog over at Tumblr. It is really just a filter of all the stuff that inspires, awes and generally peaks my interest on the internet everyday. It will be updated much more frequently, but consider it bite sized morsels to this blog's steak dinners.

Comcast
This is not a follow up to any of my baggage with them, but a great article on Wired about the last two years at the company, high highs and low lows.

Anniversary
The blog is two years old as of Jan 18th, where is my cotton based present?

Comcast Fights Fires

My original post about our experience with Comcast was intended to be venue to vent to friends and family (my regular audience). So I was extremely surprised when someone who works at Comcast commented on my blog (and this was before my story was on the Consumerist). I was asked by user: ComcastCares1 to send my contact information to a Comcast corporate customer service email, where upon some one would investigate and call.

The same day I sent the email I got a response back and a call. I was busy at the time and did not get a chance to answer, but the voicemail had a name and a direct line for me to call. Before I got a chance to call the number they called back again. The lady I spoke with was very understanding as I explained essentially everything I had written on this blog. When I finished my story she reviewed my current plan under the downgrade Crystal had requested. We were paying $128 for bare bones digital cable, high speed internet and DVR. I reminded her that our cable in our office still wasn't working as well. She asked if she could take a few minutes to crunch some numbers on our plan and attempt to fix the cable.

She called back 15 minutes later and had an offer that we could not refuse. For internet, digital cable, HBO, Starz, Encore and DVR our bill would only be $99 a month. She admitted that she could not get the cable working from offsite, but offered to send a tech to our house at our earliest convenience. Usually scheduling someone to come to your house from Comcast means waiting a week to have them come out for a four hour window that they show up late for. When I asked if the tech could come the next day and she said yes and offered a three hour window, I was a bit thrown. The next day the tech arrived on time and everything was fixed with in thirty minutes.

While this solution was great for us and we certainly will benefit from a lower bill and more channels it does leave me feeling a little dirty. Comcast only paid attention to me because I made a some noise on the internet. My problem was fixed, but the problem as a whole is still a glaring sore that needs to be bandaged. It should have never escalated to the point that it did in the first place. Comcast needs to prevent forest fires, not put them out with squirt guns when they have been raging for weeks.

Seventy and Crashing

With a name like Addicted 2 WoW you'd think I'd write about the game more. Thankfully there is enough going on in my life that I don't post every day about my leveling adventure. Dr Majarg did hit 70 over the weekend though. Since he is a man now I think I can dedicate a post to him on his birthday bar mitzvah.

It took me a grand total of 7 days and change played to break the big seven oh. Compared to my mage who took almost 8 days played to reach 60. Chalk it up to Blizzard speeding up the leveling process and a mod called Quest Helper. I leveled as enhancement from level one on, so when I hit seventy and went restoration I looked like clown barf. It will be a long road of honor grinding and Kara badges to get to an acceptable place with my gear for raiding.

That grind would be made easier if my game worked. I have been crashing at least once a night and at most ten to fifteen since level forty. I did everything just shy of reinstalling before I hit seventy to try and fix things. I got to my breaking point when I started my honor grind in Alterac Valley this past weekend and crashed every five minutes. Last night I uninstalled and attempted to reinstall. I got through eight disk (original and BC) and attempted to patch the game without success from 9pm to 1am last night. Tonight I will try a fresh install of windows, my second in two months, in the hopes of fixing the game. Wish me luck.

Diablo III Art Direction
I mentioned previously that Diablo III might not be the gameplay leap that everyone was looking forward to. I love the art though, when in motion it just feels right. Some D2 fans don't agree and have started petitions to try and get the game to look darker, "emo" even. MTV's MP Blog recently sat down with Diablo III designer Jay Wilson to have him comment on community created screenshot modifications. It is an interesting look at what makes games fun and less frustrating from a visual stand point.

UPS Knows Me
Wednesday last week Crystal and I stopped in to the local UPSery to send my borked 360 back to the mother ship. When we opened the door the gentleman behind the counter gave me a knowing look...

Him: Xbox?
Me: Yeah, do you get a lot of them?
Him: Tons!

Yesterday I got an email letting me know that my Xbox had been fixed or replaced already and would be shipping back today. The incredibly fast turn around time makes me think it was just replaced and shipped back. Even though it broke the quick response and solution speaks volumes for the company. Comcast are you paying attention.

Comcast is an Asshole

Most every Comcast customer I know has some story about poor service or a late/missed maintenance call. Turn to the internet if you haven't had the same experience, we are many. The torch we Tabibs bear is predominantly billing related. A year ago in June we were paying $165 a month for every movie channel, a HD/DVR box, digital phone and cable internet. In July of 2007 we received our monthly bill in the amount of $300. Yes, that's right almost double what we had been paying the previous twelve months (that shit deserves to be bold).

I ended up calling twice and finally getting an "account specialist" to adjust my bill to $185 a month after making a hollow threat to leave for Direct TV. Their explanation was that we had been on some sort of package deal that was some how saving us $115. It made no sense, but I had resolved the issue and that was all that mattered.

History has a pain in the ass way of repeating itself I guess. As of June 2008 our bill was still $185 a month. Our July bill arrived in the amount of $235 and our August bill came in last week at $265. None of our services had changed, we had not requested anything new and there was no explanation on the bill as to why the cost went up. Simple enough, I assumed Comcast wanted to make this an annual event in the hopes that customers too lazy or timid would not call. Neither of us are that customer.

- Monday, I got on the phone and called at 9:30pm to find that their offices were closed at 9pm.

- Wednesday, I called at 8:15pm, got the run around and had to hang up to take care of other obligations. I promised I would call back the following night to discuss the matter further.

- Thursday, I started calling at 8pm...

Call #1-2: The first two calls I was put on hold for ten minutes before getting a tier 1 representative. Tier 1 reps can talk about what is on your bill and why it is there, but can not change anything. When the tier 1 rep put me on hold for a tier 2 rep who could change my account (see above: account specialist) I was disconnected both times.

Call #3: My third call landed me a tier 1 rep again who sent me to hold for a tier 2. When what I thought was a tier 2 rep picked up it turned out to be a tier 1 again. I Expressed my frustration to this rep and was assured that I would be put in touch with a specialist this time. I held for 5 minutes and was disconnected.

Call #4: Call #4 had me back on the line with a tier 1 and begging to talk to someone who could actually help as it was 8:52pm and I knew they closed at nine. I was put on hold for a tier 2 and finally someone from sales picked up. The guy from sales said he could not help me, but would transfer me to a account specialist who could. I told him the department closed at 9pm and that I wanted to make sure I got someone on the line. He assured me that the department was open 24 hours a day even after I told him about the prerecorded message I had heard Monday. At 8:56pm I was transferred and got the message about the department closing at 9pm.

Call #5: While on hold for call #4 I asked Crystal to call as well in an attempt to double our chances. The tier 1 rep transferred her to the tier 2 department at 8:55pm and she got the closed message.

Call #6: Crystal's final call of the night was made at 8:57pm where upon she got to a tier 1 rep who told her that the account specialist office was closed at 9pm. My loving wife pointed out the simple fact that it was 8:57pm and wondered to the rep if every account specialist left early that night. The rep repeated herself again (in her best monotone put out robot voice) and tried to end the call. Crystal asked to speak to a manager and the rep told her that a manager would tell her the same thing and could not make account changes. The rep then wished Crystal good night and hung up.

- Friday came and Crystal had the day off. She called mid day and went from a tier 1 to a tier 2 the first try. She decided to downgrade our package and drop the digital phone. When the phone call was nearly complete the line disconnected. Having had enough phone calls to Comcast in one lifetime she decided to drive up to the Richmond office. When she arrived she got in line exchanged the combo internet/phone modem for just and internet one and got an estimate for what our monthly bill would be ($125 by the way).

When she arrived home she hooked up the new modem and the internet did not work anymore. She called Comcast repair and was told she had two options.

1. Remove the plan downgrade, get a chance to fix the internet and be transferred to a tier 2 rep who could reapply the downgrade.

2. Wait till August 5th (4 days without internet) for the plan downgrade to go through their system and then get a chance to fix the internet.

Frustrated she choose door number two in the hopes that I could fix it when I got home from work. When I did arrive home I made sure everything was hooked up properly (it was) and called the same repair department she had earlier. I actually got a competent person on the phone and had the internet fixed in 20 minutes, without any mention of downgrades.

The cable TV in our office stopped working later that night and has not worked all weekend. Crystal called and they assured her that the only way to fix it was by sending out some one to repair it. I am going to call tonight and roll the dice (more like Russian roulette) that I get someone smart on the phone. That or yell at a twenty something who makes $10 an hour.

The icing on this crap cake... Verizon sent us a postcard in the mail starting a two month count down for Fios in our area. You bet your sweet ass I am switching!