OREGON, USA — Some residents in the Portland metro area still say that they are unable to access their internet service days after the winter storm temporarily left them without power. A few said their services have been down for over a week.
To add insult to internet injury, many told KGW that they were unable to get a hold of a representative on the phone.
"It is absurd that a customer can't speak to a live voice and the only interaction is with their AI bots," said Xfinity customer Steve, who said he's been without internet for 12 days. He added that he is planning on getting a new internet service provider.
Another viewer, Michele, said that as of Tuesday, she and her neighbors also did not have their internet restored, while also struggling to reach a live person.
"I, along with neighbors, have attempted multiple times to reach a customer service agent with no success. No updates, no ETA. Frustrating to say the least as my husband and neighbors work from home," she said.
Terry Bastis, an Xfinity customer who lost service back on Jan. 13, said internet was restored to the neighborhood six days later — but they are still not happy about the lack of communication or alerts from Comcast.
Comcast responded in an email Wednesday, saying that 98% of their customers are back online in Oregon and southwest Washington. The company stated that their goal is to get all of their customers restored by Friday.
"Less than 2% of our customers in the impacted areas are without internet and video service as we wait for commercial electricity that powers our network to be restored or utility companies clear the area. Once this happens, we can begin our remaining repairs — pending our technicians have safe access to damaged sites and poles," Comcast explained.
The company redirected those still experiencing outages to stay informed via direct SMS messages, as well as their social media, Comcast Oregon Blog and Xfinity app.
Comcast added that it will be offering "proactive credits to customers who have experienced a prolonged service interruption following power restoration."
Oregon was besieged by wind, snow and ice last week, leading Gov. Tina Kotek to announce a statewide emergency declaration. Residents across the state experienced power outages, with many decrying delayed responses from Portland General Electric (PGE), with a high of more than 55,000 customers without power.