TELECABLE EL TERRIBLE

A friend of mine once wrote me that anyone who read my blog would never consider living in Mexico and might never want to even visit.  This was certainly not my intent, however this blog will certainly enforce that opinion.  There are many things that I enjoy about living in Mexico (it is warm and cheap).  Most all of the people are wonderful and I love sitting under a palapa at a table and chair just a few feet from the waves while sipping a pina colata or just getting drunk at one of my local bars, but this would not make for very interesting reading.  Frustration is much more fun to write about, so here goes another story about Telecable.  Why do I write so much about Telecable?  Well, because it is such a "fun" company to do business with (fun translating as frustrating)

One night the internet stopped working.  This happens frequently but usually cures itself in a few hours or maybe one day.  The second day it was still off so the following morning I called Telecable. Amazingly they answered on my first call.  I later learned this was a one in a thousand chance.  I had already decided it was the modem and told them I needed a new one.  The woman told me there would be a technician there by 3:00.  Knowing how unreliable these appointments are, I decided not to leave the house the entire day.  No one showed up, so by late afternoon I started calling again.  You get a recording telling you "push 1 for Spanish, push 2 for English.  Once you push 2 another message comes on and then it goes to  a series of recordings all in Spanish.  After a dozen calls I realized that they were asking me to leave my telephone number for a call back.  This I did at least 6 times.  Nothing!!  That night (while getting drunk at my local bar) I was telling everyone that I had had no internet for 3 days.  Everyone agreed that Telecable was terrible and suggested I just take the modem into the office and exchange it for another.  This I did early the next morning.  They not only claimed that they did not exchange modems at the office and did not even have any in the office (this I later found out to be a lie).  I thought about telling her that everyone at the bar said you could trade in the modems, but decided against it.    But it did make me ponder, why is it that drunks are always offering advise about things they know nothing about.

I told her that I needed a technician and had an order number for one.  She looked at me and said,  "But you only reported the problem 24 hours ago"  She had this incredulous look on her face like if you expected someone in 24 hours you are either insane or have not lived in Mexico for very long.  I told her that I was told someone would be there at 3:00 yesterday.  She said  "Well, they were wrong" I explain that I had to have an estimated time when they would arrive. Since I cannot hear the door bell if I am in my bedroom with the television on, I had to stay in my living room.  This also meant I could not use my air conditioning in my bedroom and the summer heat has returned.   After many protests she called someone and said they would be there at 10:00 the following morning.

This was good news as I had bridge that day.  All summer we have had a problem getting the minimum of eight people to play duplicate bridge.  Mid way through the tournament, my phone rang.  Now during the winter when all the heavy hitters are here I would not even dare answer it, but I was among friends, so I did.  Although the woman was speaking rapid Spanish I did determine that it was Telecable calling.  I handed the phone to someone who is bilingual and he told me that the technician was in front on my house.  Everyone agreed that I should run the one block back to my home, for they all knew what it was like to deal with Telecable.  The modem was still in the bag I had taken it in to the office.  I told him it was not working as the little lights were not flashing.  He (of course) decided to reassemble it only to discover I was correct.   Finally he sent his assistant out to get a new modem.  He attached it.  Then he made a few calls and then did something else with his Ipad and then sat back and stared at it.  I asked what was happening and he said it had to download and that could take 10 or 15 minutes.  I had 7 people waiting for me and told him that if he could assure me that this modem would work, he could leave.  I rushed back to bridge.

When I got home, I found that I still did not have internet.  I think I told you that without internet I have no communication with the outside world, as well as all the searches ones does.  Plus I do banking, pay bills and also play tournament bridge on the internet, so a week without it is a long time.  I made several more calls but got the same message (in Spanish) that they were busy.  By the way the recording also says "this conversation may be recorded for quality assurance".  I thought if I actually got a real person on this line they would definitively not want a recording of the conversation especially for "quality assurances"  Of course it might be used in a libel suit for slander, but they do not have such suits here.  Probably because one would be very hard pressed to think of something really horrible to say about Mexican businesses that would not actually be true.

The following day, I took the bus back to Telecable.   Finally I did get to speak to someone who said they would reboot the modem from the head quarters.  I said what if it does not work?  She promised me she would call in one hour.  She did not and it was not working,  so I took the bus back.  They did not care.  All the screaming and yelling I did, was to no avail.  There was nothing to do but go home and wait.  The next day a man did arrive and without touching the modem asked about my television.  I told him it still worked although poorly. He went through a few channels and pronounced that the problem was the cable and he left.  You would expect someone else to arrive, but after sitting in my living room until 8:00 at night I went back to the bar.  I waited all day long on Saturday and then noticed someone climbing the pole across the street.  I ran out and asked if they were Telecable.  They were and they were putting in a new line.  The next thing I noticed is that they were gone and I still had no internet.  Surely they would send someone to my home.


Sunday was a loss, but surely someone would come by on Monday.  No!  Luckily I do read a lot, but still I did not like having to spend a whole week siting in my living room without being able to leave ( and no air conditioning).  So I decided I needed some help and called my Spanish tutor and asked him to go with me the following day.  He showed up about ten minutes after our agreed time which is very good for Mexico.  We took the bus and I was hot and sweaty and in a very bad mood.  Ivan tried his best, but I could see that he was being stonewalled by the girl just like I was.  I had had enough.  I began screaming and pounding on the counter and refusing to leave or stop until I got some answers. Yes, everyone was staring at me, but I figured they were also Telecable clients, so I was sure they would understand.  Ivan plodded on in his very polite way.  I don't know whose act worked best but finally we were allowed to talk to someone in Guadalajara.  He promised he would call and give Ivan some instructions within one hour.  I had very little hope that anything would happen, but I chose Ivan for he used to have his own computer store and he knew what to say.

We went home, had a couple beers and believe it or not, the guy did call (not one hour later, but two hours later).  He had Ivan open their web site and do all sorts of stuff I do not understand.  I also got a new "password"  (did not know I needed one).  It began to come back, slowly at first but it got better.  The Guadalajara guy was very upset with what Ivan was telling him and took notes on the shoddy service. Will anything change  Not in Mexico.  I had planned on talking to TelMex about their internet service, but Ivan told me to wait for AT & T is supposed to have bought TelMex and they should be here in Puerto Vallarta soon.  Since TelMex works through a phone line, a new one would have to be installed.  About one year ago a branch on the tree across the street broke off in a storm and took the phone line with it.  It was never replaced and the broken line is still wrapped around the bottom of the telephone pole.

.  So we will see what TelMex has to say, but that will be a whole new story, I am sure.

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