Had a string of three jobs in a row this week where the customer's own gear was the problem, not our lines.

First one was a guy in a new build who swore his internet was slow. Spent an hour checking everything. Signal was perfect. Turns out he had his old router from 2015 plugged in behind his new one, creating a double NAT mess. Next day, a lady had her TV mounted over a fireplace with the HDMI cable run inside the wall, but she bought a cheap, non-certified cable that couldn't handle the 4K signal over that distance. Finally, yesterday, a business client had a switch that was overheating because it was stuffed in a closet with no airflow. Every time was a 30+ minute diagnostic to find it wasn't our work. Starting to think we need a checklist for customers to verify their equipment before we roll a truck. Anyone else getting more of these 'not our fault' calls lately?

4 comments

4 Comments

ericj452mo ago

But isn't that just part of the job? Feels like those calls have always been around.

taylor122mo ago

Ever wonder how many times that modem gets swapped for no reason before someone finally checks the actual device? It's not just old stuff either, sometimes a simple Windows update breaks a driver and the customer is sure their internet is down. The real problem is people assume the connection itself is dead, they don't even think to test another phone or laptop first. So much time gets wasted because that basic step gets skipped.

the_grace2mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy had a call like that last month. Went to a house for no internet, spent ages testing. The modem was fine, but the customer's own ancient laptop had a wireless card that just gave up. It was the only device that wouldn't connect. They were ready to blame the ISP until he plugged in a different laptop and it worked perfectly. It's wild how often it's some random piece of their own stuff failing.

jones.nancy2mo ago

Seen that exact scenario play out too many times, @the_grace, always the oldest gadget in the house.