When I was playing GTA4 I was curious though the middle of the game what kind of completion stats others were having. Mostly i was curious about the “Game progress” stat and what most people were getting percentage wise. Having absolutely no luck at all (I will admit that I didn’t look THAT hard) I’m posting my stats. These stats is from finishing the final mission then driving to save the game then reloading my save and hitting “start”.
I played the PS3 version with the most recent patches. I earned 16 “trophies/achievements” for a total of 20% of them. Planning on playing after the ending to get at least 25% of the trophies and try out some stuff I didn’t get to. Here are the stats. Vanberge posted his as well.
General
Game Progress: 65.67%
Missions Passed: 94
Missions Failed: 64
Missions Attempted: 157
Replays Used: 64
Current Money: 618318
Times Busted: 0
Times Died: 34
People Killed: 1414
Saves Made: 10
Playing Time: 32:36:14
Addiction Level: Bummed in the Gob
Longest non-stop game: 06:54:12
Favorite radio station: The Vibe 98.8
Least Favorite Radio Station: Integrity 2.0
Times Cheated: 0
Days Passed 108
Roman Like: 84%
Roman Respect: 100%
Roman Mission Progress: 100%
Vlad mission progress: 100%
Jacob Like: 88%
Jacob Respect: 100%
Jacob mission progress 100%
Faustin mission progress: 100%
Manny mission progress: 100%
Elizabeta mission progress: 100%
Dwayne like: 75%
Dwayne respect: 85%
Dwayne mission progress 100%
Brucie like 30%
Brucie respect 77%
Last cop chase time: 00:01:14
Brucie mission progress: 100%
Playboy mission progress: 100%
Francis mission progress: 100%
U.L.P.C mission progress 100%
Packie like: 59%
Packie respect: 58%
Packie mission progress: 100%
Ray mission progress: 100%
Gerry mission progress: 100%
Gerrick mission progress: 100%
Bernie mission progress: 100%
Bell mission progress: 100%
Gambetti mission progress: 100%
Jimmy mission progress: 100%
Crimes
Cars stolen: 229
Bikes stolen: 8
Boates stolen: 7
Helicopters stolen: 2
Time wanted on six stars: 00:00:00
Stars attained: 333
Stars evaded: 286
Longest cop chase time: 00:18:27
Last cop chase time: 00:01:14
People run down: 1207
Kills since last save: 0
Fires started: 75
Criminals killed: 62
Vehicles
Favorite transport: Car
Favorite car: Cavalcade
Favorite bike: PCJ 600
Favorite boat: Squalo
Favorite helicopter: Maverick
Miles on foot: 43.47
Miles by car: 422.72
Miles swam: 0.5
Miles by bike: 30.24
Miles by helicopter: 29.38
Miles by boat: 8.94
Miles by train: 0.00
Miles as taxi passenger: 15.24
Miles traveled: Liberty City to Las Venturas
Player image: Soccer Mom
Favorite car color: Gray
Bike/Car Average speed: 35.80 mph
Longest 2wheel stunt 110.68ft
Longest bike stoppie: 0.00ft
Longest bike wheelie: 513.53
Farthest jump distance: 307.80ft
Highest jump reached: 76.92ft
Flips done in avehicle: 32
Most vehicle air spins: 1
Air Launches: 1242
Helicopter tours taken: 1
Taxis Hailed: 12
Stunt jumps found: 5
Stunt jumps completed: 0
Pay ‘n’ Spray vists: 13
Money
Spent on buying clothes: $6400
Spent on Pay ‘n’ Spray: $1200
Made from missions: $877301
Spent in bars & clubs: $280
Spent on prostitues: $0
Spent in strip clubs: $150
Spent on food: $866
Spent on taxis: $258
Made on street races: $0
Spent on health care: $241469
Given to tramps $1000
Spent on vendors: $71
Spent on binoculars: $5
Spent in gunshop: $31720
Spent on dates: $100
Most spent on a date: $50
Picked up on street: $23728
Player
Time spent in the water: 00:04:21
Kiki Jenkins fondness: 24%
Michelle fondness: 100%
Kate fondness: 61%
Time spent shopping: 00:08:16
Favorite shop: Perseus
Times got drunk: 5
Longest free fall: 82.15ft
First aid collected: 38
Combat
Bullets Fired: 24758
Kills by headshots: 338
Melee kills: 5
Armed kills: 1048
Time spent in cover: 00:38:12
Successful counters: 2
Player died by melee: 0
Player shot to death: 21
Player was blown up: 4
Player was roadkill: 2
Vehicles blown up 119
Cars exploded: 101
Bikes exploded: 1
Boats exploded: 6
Helicopters exploded: 11
Shooting accuracy: 57%
Kills % in free aim: 19%
Kills with Baseball Bat: 0
Kills with Knife: 3
Kills with Pistol: 47
Kills with Combat Pistol: 28
Kills with Micro-SHM: 16
Kills with SMG: 254
Kills with Assault Rifle: 167
Kills with Carbine Rifle: 279
Kills with Pump Shotgun: 3
Kills with Combat Shotgun: 125
Kills with Grenade: 24
Kills with Molotov: 1
Kills with RPG: 17
Kills with Combat Sniper: 46
Kills with Sniper Rifle: 22
Tires popped by gunshot: 94
Weapons picked up: 436
Score
Pool wins: 1
Pool defeats: 2
Pool played time: 00:39:54
Pool clearances from break: 0
Darts wins: 4
Darts defeats: 0
Darts 180’s hit:
Darts bullseye: 5
Darts time played: 00:09:03
Darts shortest checkout: 7
Bowling high score: 28
Bowling wins: 0
Bowling draws: 0
Bowling defeats: 1
Bowling spares: 0
Bowling perfects: 0
Bowling strikes: 0
Bowling time played: 00:02:51
(NEVER DID ANY OF THE RACES ALL ZEROS NOT TYPING THAT ALL OUT)
QUB3D high score 9525
QUB3D time played: 00:23:34
Activites with Roman: 3
Activites with jacob: 14
Activites with Brucie: 1
Activities wtih Dwayne: 2
Favorite activity: eating
Niko and Roman hangout: Darts
Niko and Jacob hangout: Eating
Niko and Brucie hangout: Eating
Niko and Dwayne hangout: Eating
Islands unlocked: 3
Vigilante levels done: 0
Most wanted completed: 0
Pigeons exterminated: 5
Drug pacages delivered 1
Number of Exotic Exports done: 6
Random Characters Met: 4
Misc
Time spent on internet: 00:20:20
Emails received: 45
Emails sent: 24
Calls made from phone: 177
Calls recieved on phone 123
Time spent calling: 01:11:49
Texts recieved: 138
Photos taken: 4
Total dates: 6
Successful dates: 6
Bad dates: 0
Scored with girl: 4
Girls dumped: 2
Prostitute visits: 0
Tramps given money to: 0
Meals eaten: 15
Hotdogs eaten: 11
Burgers eaten: 9
Nuts eaten: 0
Binoculars used: 4
Cut scenes watched: 128
Soda drunk: 4
TEPPER PICTURES
Click for higher resolution. This post was only made to infuriate jjafuller.
brb
Tuesday April 21 2009: Today before work I decided to try playing an original Xbox game on my Xbox 360. The game played fine and I decided to stop playing. Before turning everything off I put in a Xbox 360 game just to put the disk I had in there previously rather then leaving it out. I come to find that now the 360 will not read any disks at all. I tried a music cd, a dvd and multiple 360 games. Music CD’s not read at all. DVD’s read where it notices that there is a disk in the drive but won’t play any content just goes to a black screen. 360 games kinda spin and make a clicking noise from the drive and take me to a screen that looks like THIS. If you don’t want to click the link it says “to play this disk please put it in a 360 console”.
I’ve had the console for less then three months so I’m hoping I’m under warranty. For the most part I’m guessing the drive motor has gone bad because the disks hardly spin. Doubtfuly anything is stuck in the drive I’ve tried meticulously cleaning all the disks I’ve played in the drive with a soft disk cleaning cloth and using compressed air on the disk and the drive. Also I’ve tried multiple power cycles and removing all cords and letting it set for over an hour with no power connected. Tomorrow I will contact Microsoft support and see if they have any ideas or hopefully my warranty is in effect and I can just send it in and get another console. This post will be updated with all findings.
UPDATE 1 April 21: Alright lets get shit started. Had a crappy day at work and to make matters worse Grand Rapids is a gloomy rainy place. I get home from work and find my recept to the 360 grab all the stuff I can find regarding it. Also tried playing games on it one more time. Got some extra compressed air from work and grabbed an flawless disk from my collection. Also blew some air into the DVD drive lightly to see if maybe it was just a hair or some fuzz stuck in there. No dice, the console still clicks away and will not read a disk and will take me to the same message I posted above.
Charge my phone get all my ammo ready and call Microsoft’s support number. Right off the bat it plays that silly 360 startup noise and I’m irate because I’ve heard that thing like 35 times today troubleshooting this piece of crap. The lady starts talking and told me to make sure I registered my console online prior to calling. Of course I didn’t do that so I hang up and proceed to register.
Apparently you can do a repair request online. Microsoft could care less if you are bullshitting them or not they just know their consoles are broken and it costs them less to repair them rather then doing anything else about it. The registration process is simple. Seems the warranty on my xbox is longer then I thought.
Oddly enough there is a part where you can “explain your issue” but they only give you 1000 characters to do so. Here is what I put in the box for good measure but if you read what I wrote above it’s mostly just an abridged less bloggy version of the same stuff.
I decided to try playing an original Xbox game on my Xbox 360. The game played fine and I decided to stop playing. Before turning everything off I put in a Xbox 360 game just to put the disk somewhere rather then leaving it out. I come to find that now the 360 will not read any disks at all. I tried a music cd, a dvd and multiple 360 games. Music CD’s not read at all. DVD’s read where it notices that there is a disk in the drive but won’t play any content just goes to a black screen. 360 games spin and make a harsh clicking noise from the drive and take me to a screen that says “to play this disk please put it in a 360 console”. I’ve had this 360 for two months with light usage. Doubtfully anything is stuck in the drive I’ve tried meticulously cleaning all the disks I’ve played in the drive with a soft disk cleaning cloth and using compressed air on the disk and the drive. Also I’ve tried multiple power cycles and removing all cords and letting it set for over an hour.
After doing all that it shows me at least one bit of good news.
Also made sure to grab a copy of the “Terms & Conditions” to give a proper read though. Oddly enough you have to be 18 years of age to have Microsoft fix your bunk console or your SOL. Weak…
After that I got to a confirmation page telling me they are sending me my shipping box and pre-paid packaging (should take four days). Also they provide a link for Download packing instructions an exciting PDF of how to send Microsoft your worthless console (no disks, no cables, no face plates, remove the HD).
For the most part I’m pretty sure I will not be returned the same console that I send in. Before shipping it out I’m going to use a sharpie and put my initials on it just to see if I do or not. Also I’m very concerned that I’m not going to be returned a console with HDMI. Moreover getting somebody elses refubished box doesn’t sound that appealing to me. At least I know the usage of the new Xbox I purchased. The machine I get in return better be prestine. Also just the day before I applied an extra year of Xbox Live Gold access on this console and I’m going to lose a month of it reparing the console.
Currently I’m sitting in “Repair order submitted” status and that is about it. So far no nasty tech support calls pleading for help. Got my repair order in and will make sure to keep everybody up to date with how this goes. Would have loved some extra characters on the “explain your issue” section so I could have told them “I’m blogging this experience on http://vanlandw.com/ and you better return me a 360 with a bloody HDMI port and give me three months free of XBL”.
Update 2 April 23: Another day another reason why I shouldn’t spend money. Today driving home from work I received two phone calls from 1-215-441-3000. On the second call I figured I should answer it just in case it was something important. I get a greeting from a Korean guy.
I am from xbox and I need to confirm your address.
Like an idiot I just blurt out my entire address without asking him why he needs to confirm my address or even who he is. Blindly trusting Microsoft with my information I just gave my home address to “Mr. Xbox”.
Curious about what the ‘215′ area code Wikipedia once again for the billionth time answered my question. Finding this odd that Microsoft would call me from Philadelphia I struck up a conversation with jjafuller. Told him the number that called me was 1-215-441-3000. He sent me along THIS link in return.
First thing I see is this…
ONE OF AMERICA’S WORST COLLECTION AGENCIES!
NCO Financial Systems, Inc. ****
( Also goes by the name of NCO Portfolio Management)
507 Prudential Rd
Horsham, PA 19044-2308
Phone: (215) 441-3000
Fax: (215) 441-3923
Web Address: www.ncogroup.com
Caller: NCO Financial Systems
Caller Type: Collection Agency
For awhile there I figured I just got totally scammed or somehow I forgot to pay Obama enough in taxes. Looking a little deeper I see…
I was called from this number about my xbox repair, it seemed a little sketchy, but i called the xbox customer support number and they confirmed that i was called by them and didn’t have anything to worry about. I’m not sure why they would share a phone number with this NCO company.
Caller ID: 215-441-3000
Caller: XBox Customer Support
I guess I understand why they use a service like this but still if you look into it all just feels very very bizzare and bush league even for Microsoft. The guy on the phone did say that my “pre-paid shipping box” should be sent next week but still not a very nice experience and I just wasted two hours blogging this experience online. Beware…
Update 3 April 24: Last night at about 12:23 AM I received an email from UPS…
This message was sent to you at the request of MICROSOFT/UPS SUPPLY CHAIN SOL to notify you that the electronic shipment information below has been transmitted to UPS. The physical package(s) may or may not have actually been tendered to UPS for shipment. To verify the actual transit status of your shipment, click on the tracking link below or contact MICROSOFT/UPS SUPPLY CHAIN SOL directly.
Looks like my pre-paid shipping is on the way and the cardboard to send my dead 360 to the Lords of Videogames is being sent to me. My status is “Shipping Information Received” presently and I don’t have much else to say about this right now.
Update 4 April 25: Got a message from my friend Thomas when I was slumbering.
farquja: got the rd rin
farquja: not under arranty yet their sedin me a free box to shit so IDK
The most important fact is Microsoft is going to send Tom a free box to shit in. Mostly they should just let him keep an extra 360. Yeah Tom’s original warranty has probably elapsed but in response to the RROD Microsoft extended the warranty on all 360’s to three years for every Xbox 360 console that experiences the “general hardware failure” indicated by three flashing red LEDs on the console. It’s shameful how much these things fail. Worst investment for the future ever. At least they got them covered but when Xbox 720 or whatever comes out MS is going to give a shit less about that $300 investment you made. Buyer beware without question on these things.
Update 5 April 28th: I swear I’m not making this up. I’m getting ready for work today hoping the shipping box comes today so I can take it to UPS before work and get it out ASAP. After shave/shower I went to the mail depot at my place and sure enough the return box came. I was going to take a picture of it but of course my camera doesn’t work (kills brand new batteries if you leave them in and of course I left my last set of batteries in there). While I was packing up the 360 for shipping I get this message from my friend vanbergs (dead truth no embellishing in the least).
vanbergs: guess what vanlandw
vanlandw: what
vanbergs: my xbox just red ringed
vanbergs: it’s dead
vanlandw: lol
That is THREE Xbox 360’s in my miniscule social inner circle who have had Xbox 360’s die in the past SEVEN DAYS. Just insanity what a piece of garbage Microsoft should be ashamed. Keep in mind my Original Xbox is still running strong even with modifications. On my way to work today I’m going to get this shipped out by UPS. If anything interesting happens in the next few weeks I’ll make sure to post it here. This whole saga is a lot more interesting then I would have ever thought it would be. Any of my other readeship have any techincal problems with their 360’s I would love to hear about it.
Update 6 April 28th: Ok first off a note from flo on google reader..
a guy at works xbox died as well…..i was thinking of buying one, but not anymore
I don’t know this person but seriously these things are dropping like flies. Also I’m glad to see somebody after seeing all the recent problems deciding “NOT” to give Microsoft money. Personally I should have known better. I resisted for years but figured after waiting for so long I wouldn’t have any problems. I bought my 360 in Feburary 2009 I believe 3+ months after the most recent revision of the Xbox 360 was released called the “Jasper”. After reading this guide I come to find I’m one of the unlucky consumers who received a “Zephyr” release. Pretty much the first tech released (and most faulty) modified with HDMI support. Weak so weak…
Also as I stated earlier I drove to UPS before work. I walk into the customer center and the guy says to me the following immediately as I walk up to the counter..
Xbox?
Just by looking at the box I had in my hands the dude knew what I was sending. I ended up talking with him a little bit he said that he has scene “dozens” of these boxes recently and talked to me a little bit about the “red ring of doom”. Regardless if the UPS rep just knows what I’m sending by looking at the box that is pretty crazy.
Update 7 May 4th: Alright I let this disaster rest for the weekend. Sign on this morning to check the status of my UPS shipping. Really weak Microsoft they don’t even want my console. They should have had it Friday looks like they won’t get it till today at the earlest. This is the “status” of my delivery.
THE RECEIVER REQUESTED A HOLD FOR A FUTURE DELIVERY DATE. UPS WILL ATTEMPT DELIVERY ON DATE REQUESTED
So I sent my console in last Tuesday and it looks like I lose another week of my “Gold Subscription” of Xbox Live in shipping limbo. Two weeks of dead Xbox and Microsoft still don’t have my Xbox yet and looks like they don’t even want to fix it. Yeah this saga is going to be another month long “ugh” for vanlandw.
Update 8 May 4th: Well apparently my xbox got delivered somewhere on 5/2/09. Looking closer at some of these things are just really bizarre. On xbox’s support page they list the following as the address for the “Repair Center”.
Ship to:
Repair Center
5700 South International Pkwy.
Door #18
McAllen, Texas 78503
Looking on UPS’s site it looks like my 360 got sent to MESQUITE,TX, US. A simple google maps shows that apparently McAllen TX and Mesquite TX is 517 miles away from one another. Wonderful now if I even get my 360 back it’s going to have Swine Flu as Mesquite TX is right on the US/Mexico border.
Update 9 May 4th: Ok disaster diverted. Checking my repair status on xbox.com states I’m on the fourth step “Repair on Progress”.
We have received your console at the repair service center.
Who knows what happens from here. More or less a two-three week wait.
Update 10 May 12: Checked my repair status on xbox.com today and it looks like my repair is complete. The console is shipped and looks to have left MESQUITE TX on 5/12. Oddly enough during this process I received no emails or status updates, phonecalls nothing at all. I haven’t checked my status in awhile so it’s nice to see it’s on it’s way back. The bad thing is I’m working a crap ton all week so I’m not going to be able to sign for the 360 when UPS sends it back. Looks like I should have it before the weekend that is great. I will make sure to keep everybody up to date on how this ends up.
| Status: | ||
| Scheduled Delivery: | 05/14/2009 |
Update 11 May 14th: 5/14/2009 6:21:00 AM OUT FOR DELIVERY WYOMING MI More coming soon…
Update 12 May 14th:
| Type: | Package | |
| Status: | ||
| Delivered On: | 05/14/2009 3:57 P.M. |
More when I get the “EF” out of work
Update 13 May 14th: The update everybody (maybe two people) have been waiting for. My 360 was returned today. April 21’s was the day my Xbox died and May 14th was the day it was returned to me. Overall the turn around was what I expected. Luckily somebody in my building signed for the package so I was able have it today (it was a signature required UPS). Quick notes upon receiving my console.
1) Included is a very nice note addressed to “Dear Xbox 360 Enthusiasts”. Clearly I didn’t know that multiple people owned this Xbox but I understand what they are going for. Mostly it confirms they have replaced my 60 day old console with a history I knew 100% with one that I have NO clue what this console has been though prior to being shipped though UPS. New serial number. Also on the note are “apologies” and reassurances all that don’t make me feel that good knowing that the console I now own even “refurbished” I’m sure to some degree could have been sodomized by some insane person in their “man cave”. The note says “replacement” console not “new” or “refurbished”. Who knows what this console lived though.
2) They did give me a “one month Xbox LIVE membership card as a gesture of their appreciation”. My account has pretty much been worthless for three plus weeks so I’m glad to see they have reimbursed me for my subscription.
3) They also sent me a “Xbox Quality Survey” that I’m going to be sure to send in ASAP. For the most part I will be 100% fair and when I get a chance to fill this out I will make sure to post my responses on vanlandw.com
4) Massive ugh here. Apparently now having a new console I need to re-download all my previously downloaded content from Xbox Live Marketplace. The steps aren’t difficult but clearly I’ve downloaded quite a few addons and games so this might take awhile on my slow DSL. (UPDATE this wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be it doesn’t re download the content it must just authorize it for the new console it just takes a second per download)
5) The main thing that REALLY pisses me off is the condition my Xbox was returned to me. CLEARLY this is a refurbished box. There are scratches and smudges all over it. I have been able to use a swab to remove many of them but there are some that will not come off. There is sticky crap on the front panel I’ll need to really work hard to remove (Goo-Gone should do the trick). On the HDMI port you can clearly see the alterations they made to this Zephyr returned unit (I posted this link earler but it confirms the revisions of xboxes). Yes they gave me a refurbished first release MODIFIED for HDMI support Xbox in return. Personally I was hoping to get one of the newer models but that is not the case. I wish I had a camera that worked I would love to share photos of this. The manufacturing of this console compared to my PS3 and even my Wii is really shoddy. The metal encasing around the HDMI port doesn’t even match on both sides. Really bizzare. The HDMI cord fits but not as snug as it did on my first console.
Alright I’m going to test this sucka to make sure it even runs. More later….
Update 13 May 15th: Well I spent an hour with my refurb 360 last night. For the most part everything seems alright. The DVD drive try is not as “stiff” and smooth as my first xbox. Just a light push will close the tray where you had to use the button to close it on my old one. I played Half Life 2 Episode 1 for about an hour yesterday and left the system running for another hour with no problems. Operational and functional. Next week or maybe this weekend I will post the “finale” to this dark dark saga after hopefully being able to spend some more time with the console.
Words cannot express my ordeal with setting up internet service though AT&T. Of course I’m going to give it a shot though.
When I was comparing service providers I wanted something that would be easy to setup and offer just the services that I needed. Comcast has given me the run around in the past and I was looking to try something new, also for a decent internet package you pretty much need to get television service so that kicks your monthly bill over 60. AT&T offers just a DSL install and that is all I was looking for so the decision pretty much made itself. This was the easy part.
Contacting AT&T’s customer service is the hard part. Trust me this saga is going to be long winded but after my last interaction this morning I must put this down somewhere so I can have a recount of how truely frustrating this has been. I also believe some form of this account is going to be sent to AT&T. Seconds ago I seriously packed up my DSL modem, repulsed by the sight of the mocking red blinking light.
OK here is where it begins.
Feb 23: My first call clearly did not go well. Looking around my new place I did notice that there are SBC and Ameritech equipment outside of the house and in the basement. Calling on a Monday I hoped to have everything setup by the end of the week. The service rep that I spoke with after giving my address said they needed to send a tech out to survey the location. Even though I told them about the equipment outside and in the basement, I believe mostly as my apartment number did not come up in their computer system (my apartment didn’t come up on the online form but other units in the building did) she would not process my order. I agreed to that give her my phone number and left it at that. She said it would take a week to have somebody check out the place and determine of I would be elegible for service.
Feb 25: Frustrated I ended up calling again to place an order. This woman was actually quite helpful. She took all my information and I believe handeled taking my order correctly. Though the next week I was fine I received my DSL modem and my order confirmation to the correct address and was fine waiting a week for service from this call for service.
March 4: Today was the day that my service was supposed to be turned on. I had my DSL modem installed correctly but though the morning all I received was a blinking red light. Today I ended up calling twice to AT&T to figure out why I was not receiving service. Each time I was informed to call back at a later time. To be honest my order confirmation letter did say to wait till after 8pm but it was impossible to find out if anybody did any work or really what the status of my order was. One woman said it was active and one said it was “pending”. I called at 5pm and was told to call at 8pm andat 8pm I was said to call at midnight.
March 5: I fell asleep the night before and did not call back at midnight. Today I only spoke with one woman that actually at least got something done. She said I should recieve a call back within eight business hours with somebody that might be able to help me. Left my DSL modem installed though the day only received blinking red of death.
March 6: This morning I received a call at about 8:45am. APPARENTLY for reasons I will never understand according to the lady on the phone service was installed in apartment one rather then apartment five. This I do not understand. My DSL modem was sent to the correct address, and my order confirmation letter was sent to the right address. I made this very known on the phone and never recieved an answer how this got changed. The woman ran me though pretty much a new order assigning me a new account number. She also said it will take another six days to receive service. I said multiple times that I’ve been already waiting two days for service and she said she will put a “rush” on it but cannot make a guarantee. Pretty much I know what that means I’ll be waiting another week to recieve service. Oddly enough when running my new order though she asked me where I work and I declined to tell her. After apparently placing a new order for me I get transferred to cancel my old account number.
See at this point I would have been fine if they said it was their mistake and would do something about it. I made no mistakes on this but because of a screw up I get thrown back in the back of some install queue. Never did I ever say I lived in apartment one. This was their mistake and they will not make any effort to rectify it.
I went with AT&T in an attempt to avoid this type of frustration. Seriously I don’t even know what to do. There is no way they put a “rush” on getting anything taken care of for me so this means another week of no internet service. I also have no idea how they got apartment one on my account even though my DSL modem and my order confirmation got sent to the right address. Right now I’m very much regretting my choice choosing AT&T.
March 13: My service was not turned on again. I had my DSL modem hooked up correctly though the last week and still no connection. Ended up calling AT&T CS and got passed around to three different departments and three different hold queues and asked three different times to relay my account number. At this point my call has been sent to the “escalation team” to find out why I don’t have service. At this point I’m expecting to hear that apartment one has my service again. Also my account is still “pending” not that I understand what that means.
I called March 13th at about 9am and as I update this it’s 6:12pm and have not heard anything. This means that nothing will be done about anything though the weekend and really I do not know what to do at this point. Really I’m making due minus internet service and mostly just want to ride this out to see if I can go a month since initial contact before getting service setup and to see if they make any effort to compensate me for my time and my understanding. This post will be updated with the outcome please keep tuned.
UPDATE March 13 6:40pm: Just got a call from AT&T and got my call pulled up on escalation. They said it was a technical error and apparently several other GR residents with new setups have run into a similar issue as I have. The guy said I should be setup by Monday. I asked if there was a better number to call just in case I have any problems and I was told to call the toll free number if I have any problems or questions. So my new install date is March 16 and I will make sure to keep everybody posted with what happens. This is the last straw if service is not installed Monday I go with another service provider.
UPDATE 2 March 16: Well another install date has come and past. Though the entire day I had my modem hooked to the line and tried both connections in my place after 8pm. Still no service. Not shocking at all. Blinking red till I die.
UPDATE 3 March 17: Got up early and placed another call to CS. After the customary pass around I did end up speaking with a very pleasant woman. She told me that stand alone DSL is not guaranteed in every area. I knew this from reading their website but nobody I’ve spoke with on the line ever said this so I appreciated her candor. She said she would make a call and get back with me within the half an hour. She did what she promised and confirmed to me over the phone that my place should be eligible for “Elite” service. She told me that my service should be active by 8pm today if not earlier. Tonight I work till 7:30 and will rush home to check the line. Again I will keep everybody posted and also post a reminder that my first call to AT&T was Feb 23rd.
UPDATE 4 March 17: Came home today AGAIN to no service. Checked both lines in my place and tried all lines with the filter and doing power cycles multiple times. Just to make my life worse I decided to call tonight rather then tomorrow morning. I was unable to get though to “Check the Status of my DSL Order” as they are closed. Called the general number and just said “agent” 15 times until I got somebody on the line. Told the lady my situation and got tech supported (power cycles, line checks ect). Went though that with no avail. I did ask the lady to check the status of my order and apparently I should be active according to her.
Ended up putting a trouble ticket in to the “line check” department and should get a call back by 2pm tomorrow. One day closer to a month till my first initial call.
UPDATE 5 March 18: While at the dentist today I got an automated call saying my line was tested and they need to speak with me. Called back and waited in queue for 15 mins. Again I spoke with a very kind CS representative. He looked up my ticket and said the line checked fine. Recieved a new ticket number and apparently a tech is coming to my place before 11am tomorrow to check the place out. Apparently my service is “active” and my line checked out fine so it must be an issue with the house and honestly that is not shocking at all it just sucks that it took this long to get to this point. Again I will make sure to post everything ASAP with how this all turns out. I could have internet tomorrow but clearly my hopes are not very high at this point.
SIDE UPDATE March 18: Just to put this saga into perspective. My friend recently moved to a new location and called Comcast Monday morning for a new service installation and had service confirmed and installed Wednesday morning. Somebody came to his place day one to make sure everything is taken care of were it’s taken me 23 days to get to a point where I was able to have AT&T decide to have somebody come to my place (and at this point I’m really not expecting to get a call tomorrow morning to be honest). Comcast installed new service for him with a one day turnaround. With AT&T I’m on a 23 day turnaround.
UPDATE 6 March 19: This is just insanity. Ok here we go. Got a call this morning at about 9:30am from the tech. He came up to my apartment and ran the tests on the line, and checked the basement a few times and the line outside. He said he got everything to go. When I asked him what was wrong he said “the line wasn’t hooked up”. Not a shocker there. After he setup the line he came back up stairs and the DSL light was solid green. Stupid me figured we were good to go. He left and I started running the setup wizard.
Failed.
I end up getting to a point where the DSL line is solid green but is unable to connect to the internet. Goes blinking green, to solid red, to nothing. Tried the normal stuff (power cycle, diagnostics on the modem) and apparently I’m failing the ATM and the PPPoE tests. Of course I don’t have any internet to look up what these things mean so I call the tech back on the number he called me on. Said he did what he could and got me connected to DSL and I would need to call tech support. Called tech support, started talking to the woman explaining everything after a 10 min hold and of course get disconnected. My cell has full service downtown.
Call again. I get a kinda snippy rep that doesn’t really listen to what i say. Right when she asked what my problem is I run down half her job as I know the drill.
1) Tech came to my place, ticket was placed that she should be able to look up if they have any modern incident tracking system in seconds.
2) Explained lights situation as stated above
3) Stated I’ve power cycled multiple times
4) Read off the failure points on the “Technician Readout” screen off the modem.
This should be enough information for them to know I know what I’m doing and get me where I need to go. I end up getting tech supported for 10 mins. Power cycles, line checks, and put on hold for about five minutes while a “ticket” is created for the “line check” team. I seriously cannot wait to post this.
End up getting transferred to the “line check” team. Call time 19 mins at this point. I have heard “please wait” one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen….
…while I’m waiting for this I walk over to my DSL modem and I’m getting a red blinking light on the modem and trying to connect on the modem using the test account provided gives me the following message in bold red text.
DSL connection is down. Please check the following:
Phone line is securely connected to your Device.
DSL Sync light on front of your Modem is green and not blinking
Filters have been installed on all phone jacks that have telephone devices connected to them.
Please try again to connect.
If problem persists, please contact the help desk.
….fifteen, sixteen times by a very “firm” sounding computer voice. After waiting for about 10 mins on this perma-hold the lady I was talking to earlier said “they are checking your line in the street” and to call back in an hour I shit you not. I was just on the phone for 30 mins for absolutely nothing.
As a very trustworthy person and not one to embellish I cannot make this up. What a fucking disaster. Tonight after work I’m 100% positive I’m going to have to call again. I cannot believe I’m putting up with this. The ONLY reason I’m riding this out is because it’s fascinating how poorly this has gone and I would honestly like to see if I can go a month with dealing with this. As I leave to go to work I try the test login account on the router again…
Cannot connect to target service. Please contact the help desk.
UPDATE 7 March 19: On my way to work I get an automated call from AT&T customer care due to my tech visit from this morning. Waited on hold for about five minuets after pressing “0” and talked to another gentleman. Explained to him my situation and my connection issues as I’ve stated above. He looked at my technician ticket resolution and ran a test of my line. Asked the normal questions about power cycle of the modem ect. What he was able to come up with was that the “line wasn’t tied down” and I’m not sure exactly what that means. He said the fault here was with the tech that came to my place and he should have done another step for full connectivity. He also said the next morning appointment he could give me was Monday. At this point was the first time I’ve been firm with the CS and explained how long I’ve been waiting and that this is their fault this wasn’t taken care of today. He told me he could get a Friday morning tech visit approved. As we stand I’m now at least I now have a solid green DSL light but no connectivity to the internet. This has taken over three weeks to get to this point.
SIDE UPDATE March 19: Chatting with Tom about this ordeal he had the following to contribute.
w. vanlandw [5:02 PM]: are you broc’ing?
farquja [5:02 PM]: i just ead ur deal thats such BS u sending that shit to them ight?
farquja [5:02 PM]: R
UPDATE 8 March 20: Got a call bright and early at around 8:45am from a very pleasant sounding lady saying she is here shortly and based off the trouble ticket believes she knows what the issue is. She is outside my place now and will call me when she needs to get inside. Power cycled my modem still “Searching for ATM PVC”. Modem lights still doing the same behavior. Power, Ethernet, DSL all solid green. Internet goes from blinking green, to solid red, to nothing.
At about 9:33am apparently I’m no longer failing the ATM test. Still failing PPPoE and getting a solid red light on the modem for “Internet”
One min later I’ve passed the PPPoE test and now just failing authentication.
Three mins later I’m failing the PPPoE test.
The tech gives me a call and says she got everything taken care of. I go to the door and let her in she comes up uses my PC for a few mins and I’m FINALLY solid green connected to the internet. She says and waits for me to complete the registration process and confirms I’m able to connect. Before she left asks I asked her what the problem was. Apparently there are two switches or something in the house and I was connected to the other one then what I was suppose to be. Find out the tech’s name is Lori. She offers me three contact numbers and says to let her know if I have any problems in the next few weeks she will help me where she can. After such a long voyage this was it was nice to see somebody go at least a quarter mile out of their way to help me out.
After she left I messed around on the internet and ran into some problems hooking up my router to the modem (ended up having to have my router do PPPoE authentication) but I left my house for work today with my iMac on wireless and everything looking to be working. Will test out the consoles tonight.
Oddly enough I’m still having one problem. Looks like I’m not getting the ‘elite’ speeds I’m paying a premium on. Doing a bandwidth test shows I’m really not getting the speeds I should be. My download speed is about half of what I’m paying for at this point. I will monitor the situation and post here of course.
SIDE UPDATE March 20: This came though gchat before leaving work today and sums up this ENTIRE situation….
gunbunnie: Dude, you are the most patient person I know.
me: LOL yeah it’s a fault trust me
gunbunnie: Although I can understand you carrying this out of morbid curiosity.
Chouse stated this yesterday and again really is the dead truth…
chouse: your at&t saga is completely fascinating
Last Result:
Download Speed: 2559 kbps (319.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 642 kbps (80.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
UPDATE 9 April 21: Ran a bandwidth test today still not getting anywhere close to the “6 MBPS” I’m suppose to be getting for $45 dollars a month.
Download Speed: 2583 kbps (322.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 655 kbps (81.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Just recieved my first bill this past weekend. AT&T did not charge me for my DSL modem but I will need to make a call soon regarding my transfer speeds. Either I want them to take me down to the “Direct Pro” pricing or check to see why my transfer rate is so slow. Also on my bill they started charging me on March 13th when I did not get service till March 20th. UGH
The Xbox 360 avatars are actually kinda cool. Here is an updated picture of what I did a while ago with jjafuller, vanberge, vanbergs, and farquja. BONUS PIC - ELLIOT AND CECHG.
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