Are You Kidding Me? My Frustration with Service Installation Times

Back in the 80's, David Letterman once famously poked fun at those four-hour cable TV installation windows by hosting the 'Late Night' show from his house, seeing as he couldn't leave because he was waiting for the cable guy. I thought those days were gone. I was wrong.

I won't say which service my wife and I just signed up for, but it is a service that offers content and channels for our TV. When we signed up, we could pick from a four-hour window during which our service would be installed. Really? The 'ol four-hour window during which we have to be available? Not a specific appointment? Alright, no big deal, we figured, so we picked Monday from 8 a.m. to noon, figuring I could hang around before heading into the station.

However, 8 a.m turned into 9 a.m. which turned into 10 a.m. Finally, an automated message said they hadn't forgotten about us, and that our installation was still scheduled for Monday. The instructions, though, said the installation would take about 3 and a half hours, and that we needed to be present the entire time. So, if the installer finally shows up at, say, 11 a.m., that means the installation would be complete at 2:30 p.m. That's a little outside the 'ol 8 a.m. to noon four-hour window for which we'd signed up -- that's now a six-and-a-half hour window!  Which, of course, wouldn't work, because I needed to get to the station.

Now, I know the three-and-a-half hour window is most likely the maximum time, and that our installation would probably have been completed in a much shorter time frame. But, really, who has that kind of time to just sit around waiting for your new service to be installed?!? Wouldn't it be easier to just sign up for a specific time, knowing that you'd need to be there for the entire three-and-a-half hours? Other services, like plumbers, HVAC technicians and carpet cleaners, all work on a specific appointment system; what's up with this service still clinging to the ridiculously dated, non-customer friendly four-hour window?

We ended up cancelling the Monday appointment and rescheduling for Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Hopefully, we'll be able to be there the entire day so we can enjoy our new service... finally. Have you ever had an experience like this?