Right now, we're more dependant on our cable and internet connections than ever before, and one concern people may have is whether or not they'll be able to have a service technician come to their home during the quarantine. It's one of those things that no one thinks about until things go wrong, and they're left scrambling to figure out ways to solve the problem.
While it may seem obvious that seeing an unprecedented increase in s and daily s across every online store.
At the same time, not everyone is in a position where they can spend more time at home. Our essential employees receive daily praise on social and traditional media, as they should, but we primarily focus on those workers in grocery stores or in distribution. There's still a strong need for people who earn their living in people's homes as technicians and installers. A USA Today story highlights the significance of knowing whether cable providers will be able to send techs to people's homes during quarantine and, as one would expect, each corporation seems to handle things slightly differently.
How Cable and Internet Providers Handle Service During Quarantine
AT&T (DirecTV and U-Verse), which leads the US in subscriber numbers, still sends technicians and installers to people's homes. The company has a complex policy allowing both technicians and customers to refuse personal interaction at their discretion. It also pledged a 20% bonus "for all time worked in the field, office or at home." So techs will still be sent to homes, and expected to provide their own personal protective equipment, but customers can reject direct service. The company urges customers to use its virtual installation guides wherever possible, though.
Comcast (Xfinity), Dish Network, Mediacom, and Charter (Spectrum) will also send technicians to homes, but they have a mandated process requiring employees to check their own temperatures and wear PPE. Comcast, like AT&T is outwardly encouraging customers to do self installations. Frontier (Vantage TV) will send a tech out for exterior work at people's homes and doesn't prohibit them entering places of residence, but suggests doing as much communication from outdoors as possible.
Verizon is now only sending technicians to medical facilities in need of service, or to what it considers "critical" installations. Otherwise, the company relies on an app that allows s to send descriptions and images of their tech issues to a worker and get live online via video chat. Verizon has faced criticism for this decision, as it has also canceled any visits scheduled before this policy took effect. Cox (Contour) has taken a similar approach, refusing to enter homes, but offering help through video chat and web services.
Source: USA Today