I Know What A Splitter Is
I had a little problem with my Internet connection this morning. Faithful Reporter’s Notebook readers will remember that I don’t exactly view my cable provider in the best light. So when I called them for assistance this morning, I was prepared for an excruciatingly long wait, followed by a non-resolution.
I was surprised right off the bat. Despite being warned of “heavy call volume,” a customer-service rep answered my call in less than five minutes. He noted that my modem wasn’t receiving a signal and checked to ensure there were no outages in the area (there weren’t). He then asked if we used a splitter for my cable modem and the TV.
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Not exactly about splitters, but maybe this will help someone. |
We do use a splitter, and when I told him of this, he asked if there was anyone in the house who could help me connect it directly to the cable line.
“I can do it,” I told him.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because it might require pliers.”
C’mon. Are we really still entrenched in the stereotype that women don’t know anything about technology or how to assemble and disconnect it? Granted, I should have thought to do this before I called, but since my service had been working just fine prior to this, it didn’t occur to me.
You can add rampant sexism to my list of complaints for my cable provider. And, of course, my prior history with them doesn’t color my opinion whatsoever.
Sean Mullings commented:
Sean Mullings commented:
I'm quite sure he was asking you, because its SOP for them. Sine
there have been a lot of frivolous law suits over the Americans
With Disabilities act involving technical support people "assuming"
the customer they were attempting to assist in good faith had, a
working brain, working fingers and an IQ high enough to comprehend
the proper handling and usage of a mechanical device (pliers). The
call was being recorded "to improve customer service", and thetehc
suporter did exactly what they were supposed to do with the
suportee - man or woman...
Michael Bertz commented:
I'm willing to bet your provider is Charter. Worst one on the
planet. In order of ascending quality, you have the Adelphia
leftovers, then Cablevision after a big chasm, then Comcast, more
gap up then Time Warner, then a little more gap up and Cox. for
those of you with one of the better MSOs and think they're crappy -
be glad you don't have Charter
Michael Bertz commented:
I'm willing to bet your provider is Charter. Worst one on the
planet. In order of ascending quality, you have the Adelphia
leftovers, then Cablevision after a big chasm, then Comcast, more
gap up then Time Warner, then a little more gap up and Cox. for
those of you with one of the better MSOs and think they're crappy -
be glad you don't have Charter
Michael Bertz commented:
Michael Bertz commented:
Lisa Johnston commented:
You are correct -- it was an assumption. But if you've read my
other blog posts about my cable provider, you'll see that I tend to
always think the worst of them. It's the unsatisfied customer in
me.
Lisa Johnston commented:
OKAY commented:
Just because he said "are you sure?" doesn't mean he was saying it
because you're a woman. You yourself are assumming this rep is
asking you that because of your gender
OKAY commented:
