Unhappy cable customer
- Thread starter gregsparky1
- Start date
- Status
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
No. Not sure I'm following.roger said:
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
It's inside steel conduit and ending in a steel junction box.roger said:
Ever see the movie 'Cool Hand Luke'? "What we have here is a failure to communicate", I believe.
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
Dandy. So slap a putty pad around it.roger said:
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
I guess so! I didn't start reading this thread again until post 91.roger said:Ohhh, you are right, we do have a failure to communicate, you are changing the 4" PVC conduits in post # 89 to include steel boxes and metallic conduits.
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
I think you'll find darned little fiber installed compliantly then, particularly the outside plant stuff that comes into the building from the phone company.
DanZ
Senior Member
How about introducing the LV guy to HDMI or 15 pin SVGA cable with a removable end?chris kennedy said:
wireman3736
Senior Member
- Location
- Vermont/Mass.
I've had numerous calls in the past 3 months from customers who need cable wire run internally, the cable company (Comcast) has been refusing to run cable any further then 10' into the residence, one customer even had a list of what I needed to do from the cable co, (run rg-6 to all locations and terminate all ends with compression fittings). I don't know if there getting lazy or if this is a new policy,
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
Comcast serves my area too, and they really don't do inside work if they can help it. They have a few certain guys who are "trained" to fish walls and work in your attics, and you'll wait on a waiting list for them to do the work. I support that policy of theirs.wireman3736 said:I've had numerous calls in the past 3 months from customers who need cable wire run internally, the cable company (Comcast) has been refusing to run cable any further then 10' into the residence, one customer even had a list of what I needed to do from the cable co, (run rg-6 to all locations and terminate all ends with compression fittings). I don't know if there getting lazy or if this is a new policy,
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
... if your using [plastic water pipe] for fiber optic it still has to be installed per the requirements of 770
Show me where 770 applies to something outside of the building. 770.50 allows an unlisted cable to extend 50 feet into the building. I would take that to include an unlisted innerduct also.
-Hal
Show me where 770 applies to something outside of the building. 770.50 allows an unlisted cable to extend 50 feet into the building. I would take that to include an unlisted innerduct also.
-Hal
Wow. This tread is definitely one for the record books. I don't think I have ever seen more CRAP piled together than my last trip to the cow manure factory. (Where my favorite Sparkie works part time!)
I have a few points to make, and will try to keep it short so I-Wire might have the gumption to read it!
First: There is no reason why an experienced electrician can't pull coax cable for their customers. As with electrical installations, there are also required specifications for LV cabling, and as long as the EC follows these specs, they should be able to do the work.
Second: A happy customer is only going to remain that way as long as your work outlast them. When something you did goes wrong and they call the next guy to fix it, and he explains the details of what you did wrong, they are now happy with him and NOT YOU! (Know what your doing, and only Do what you know)
Third: Hal was completely right with his first response. I have been in the CATV industry since 1984. I have done everything from the residential install to the design and build of 1,000,000+ subscriber systems. I have worked directly with companies such as Time Warner, Comcast, US Global, AT&T, Continental, Premiere and many More.
When the customer called in to have their CATV turned on, the installer would have been responsible for getting the proper signal to each location regardless of who installed the cables. They also would have put on the correct connectors, used the correct splitters and installed any amplifiers (They are not call Boosters! LOL) that might be needed.
The only reason the cable company would have had any problems would have been if the Pre-Installed cable were not up to spec (Rg-59, Copper Braid) or was damaged or installed incorrectly to start with. If you are a paying customer, they are required to insure you have proper signal to your outlets, even if your home was pre-wired, by anyone. (Builder, Sparkie, LV Contractor or even yourself).
If this customer was unhappy with his picture quality after the cable company's installer left, he should have called them, and complained and demanded some type of resolution and proper customer service. Even if the installer stated that there was issues beyond his abilities, or that it is the responsibility of the home owner, they still should have called the cable company back before hiring someone to correct the problem. Talk to a manager, demand a supervisor to come to your home and verify your situation. Homes are pre-wired everyday by almost anybody. The cable companies have to accept this and work with it, otherwise they loose you as a customer. They would rather spend $300 on a tech to fix your problem than loose your $60 per month ($720 yr). It basic math guys.
Yes, as some of you have mentioned, most cable installers are low-educated high school kids with a truck. And yes they do not like to work very hard, but this is because the Cable Companies pays them very little for their work, and like to consider extra troubleshooting as "Part of the Job". These guys have 10 to 15 other homes to visit before the end of the day, and with "On-Time" guarantees, they would loose their A$$ if they spent 2 hours at your house.
Wheeeew............
OK, with all that said, my other hand does tell me that:
1) the customer hired you to do some work for them.
2) they excepted your proposal, as they turned the house over to you!
3) you did the work to your best ability, and
4) you repaired and corrected their problem.
Regardless of all the crap tossing here............You DO deserve to be paid!!!
I have a few points to make, and will try to keep it short so I-Wire might have the gumption to read it!
First: There is no reason why an experienced electrician can't pull coax cable for their customers. As with electrical installations, there are also required specifications for LV cabling, and as long as the EC follows these specs, they should be able to do the work.
Second: A happy customer is only going to remain that way as long as your work outlast them. When something you did goes wrong and they call the next guy to fix it, and he explains the details of what you did wrong, they are now happy with him and NOT YOU! (Know what your doing, and only Do what you know)
Third: Hal was completely right with his first response. I have been in the CATV industry since 1984. I have done everything from the residential install to the design and build of 1,000,000+ subscriber systems. I have worked directly with companies such as Time Warner, Comcast, US Global, AT&T, Continental, Premiere and many More.
When the customer called in to have their CATV turned on, the installer would have been responsible for getting the proper signal to each location regardless of who installed the cables. They also would have put on the correct connectors, used the correct splitters and installed any amplifiers (They are not call Boosters! LOL) that might be needed.
The only reason the cable company would have had any problems would have been if the Pre-Installed cable were not up to spec (Rg-59, Copper Braid) or was damaged or installed incorrectly to start with. If you are a paying customer, they are required to insure you have proper signal to your outlets, even if your home was pre-wired, by anyone. (Builder, Sparkie, LV Contractor or even yourself).
If this customer was unhappy with his picture quality after the cable company's installer left, he should have called them, and complained and demanded some type of resolution and proper customer service. Even if the installer stated that there was issues beyond his abilities, or that it is the responsibility of the home owner, they still should have called the cable company back before hiring someone to correct the problem. Talk to a manager, demand a supervisor to come to your home and verify your situation. Homes are pre-wired everyday by almost anybody. The cable companies have to accept this and work with it, otherwise they loose you as a customer. They would rather spend $300 on a tech to fix your problem than loose your $60 per month ($720 yr). It basic math guys.
Yes, as some of you have mentioned, most cable installers are low-educated high school kids with a truck. And yes they do not like to work very hard, but this is because the Cable Companies pays them very little for their work, and like to consider extra troubleshooting as "Part of the Job". These guys have 10 to 15 other homes to visit before the end of the day, and with "On-Time" guarantees, they would loose their A$$ if they spent 2 hours at your house.
Wheeeew............
OK, with all that said, my other hand does tell me that:
1) the customer hired you to do some work for them.
2) they excepted your proposal, as they turned the house over to you!
3) you did the work to your best ability, and
4) you repaired and corrected their problem.
Regardless of all the crap tossing here............You DO deserve to be paid!!!
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
You DO deserve to be paid!!!
No question about that.
-Hal
No question about that.
-Hal
gregsparky1
Member
Thank you all for your time and heart-felt words of encouragement. This started out what I thought was going to be a question and answer thread, but ended up more like a bitch session. Most of you have been here and understand. I only hope that we as professionals will continue to act and work that way. Once again Thank You!
jnsane84
Senior Member
- Location
- Virginia Beach, Va.
I'm somewhat surprised that this whole thread got hijacked from helping this guy locate and eliminate his problem with some sound advice into determining whose got the "bigger pair". Aside from who should or shouldnt install, hook-up or repair or whether it should be rg6, rg6e or rg5 this thread has wandered into another realm and left the OP scratchin his head. Even though I've seen threads go off subject in the past I've never seen one get this ridiculous. The only thing I could come up with was the channel 4 not being programmed in....I've had that problem before. I dont know the definate answer but can some of the EXPERTS and VETERANS of LV installs help this guy out instead of pleading a case of why someone shouldnt be doing it. Just my 2 pesos.:grin:
- Status