You Can't If You Don't But You Can't

That pretty much captures my day so far.  My last post told the happy ending of my ADT story.  The tech came out yesterday and put in a nice new keypad.  Of course he didn't leave a manual or write down the numbers of the alarm zones but I am working on that.  Anyway, the original keypad issue came from their proposed cost for repairs because I didn't have a maintenance agreement.  Since they were kind enough to waive the repair fee, I thought I would go ahead and sign up for the maintenance plan.  I called and asked the rates.  They told me I was not eligible for a maintenance plan because my system was over 8 years old.  My only option was to upgrade the entire system.  So I needed a maintenance plan to avoid a high repair cost but I am not eligible for a maintenance plan.  Nice. At least I tried.

Meanwhile, I have been having terrible internet connection speeds with my internet provider and after 3 calls, I found a knowledgeable rep who determined I had faulty equipment.  He ordered me a brand new gateway (combo modem and router) and said I would get it early this week.  It is not something I can pick up at the local cable center.  Meanwhile, he scheduled a tech to come out and look things over.  The tech was out the next day, checked that all of my wiring was good,  and confirmed the gateway would be delivered within a week.  So I patiently waited a week (until today) for the gateway to arrive.  It didn't.  I called the cable company.  Of course they did NOT order the gateway and said the tech was supposed to bring it.  Wrong.  The rep said she could place the order today and I would get it NEXT week.  Unacceptable.  I asked if I could pick one up at a cable center.  No.  I asked if a tech was driving around in my area with one that he could bring by.  She had no way of knowing that.  After explaining to her that none of this was my fault, and I am paying for service I am not getting, she said she would ship me one priority.  But since it was after 10, I wouldn't get it until Friday.  The tech who came out last week was kind enough to leave his cell number with me so I called him but he couldn't help me either.  Guess I will have to wait and hope they placed the order this time.

And on it goes...

Alarming

Almost 15 years ago we had ADT install a home alarm in our house.  We got motivated when someone stole all of the copper piping from our neighbor's house while it was under construction.  It is a great peace of mind and has only activated three times in all of that time - once due to a bad circuit board, once when something fell over and activated the glass break sensor and another time when a "Get Well" balloon drifted in front of a motion detector.  That one generated a police response and I got to watch the responding officer search the house top to bottom.  (I think she was using it as an excuse to look for contraband...).  For a little while now, one of the numbers on the keypad was wobbly and hard to recognize that it was being pushed.  So I called ADT to have someone come out and replace it.  I about called 911 myself when they said it would be almost $200!  What?!  Of course the phone person doesn't have any authority to make deals so I didn't get too upset at her but I did pull the customer loyalty card.  That got me transferred to Sales where I could get a super updated system for free (including a new keypad) but my monthly monitoring rate would go up$15 per month.  Nope, not doing that either.  So I went back to the ADT page and wrote a brief recap of my frustration on their Customer Service page.  Meanwhile, I did some research on the home alarm system Comcast has and almost switched over.  However, I got a very nice call the next day from ADT and the person said because I was a long term customer, they would waive the fee and install it Tuesday for free.  Nice.

Speaking of Comcast, lately my internet has bogged way down.  If I reboot the modem and router, I get my usual fast speeds.  But during the day, the speeds drops way down.  After 3 phone calls and a tech visit to the house, I am getting a new gateway - combo of modem and router all in one.  Looking forward to that.

Northeastern University is in town today to play the University of Delaware in men's basketball.  The NU Alumni Association offered discount tickets along with a pre-game social time at Wild Wings.  Elliott and I were all set to go but he couldn't get off of work so Lucie and I are going to the social event, then another friend and I will go to the game.

En Garde

The dogs are actually "on guard" but I made an attempt at a little fencing joke.  There was a big garbage bag blowing around a few houses down and that got Mocha all riled up.  But I noticed when she was leaning on the fence, it was swaying quite a bit.  So I took and old metal fence post and drove it in for support.  The fence is over 10 years old and in pretty good shape overall but a couple of pieces could use replacing.  And of course today I have a swollen and stiff finger from where I nailed it with the sledgehammer.

All is going good.  Very busy with work but it is a good busy.  The weather has been great.  Ashleigh goes back to school on Sunday.  Elliott saved up his money and bought himself a laptop (obviously disappointed he didn't get one for Christmas!).

This month both the Pathfinder and the older Rav4 were due for inspection and registration.  The Pathfinder needed a new windshield (for over a year actually) and rear brakes and the Rav4 needed new tires.  We weren't sure how we were going to pull that off but we had some unexpected money come in that just covered the costs!  What a miracle.  Got all of the work done and both cars passed inspection with no problems.  They are good for 2 years now.  I'm pretty happy and relieved that both of them are safer now (they are the cars the kids drive).