Is there anything more frustrating than contacting a company’s support line with a detailed problem report and having to walk through a set of canned answers that are clearly inappropriate to solving the current problem?

I’ve had that experience twice in the past week. Once with Qwest, where a support agent actually asked me to unplug the phone cord from my DSL adapter and reverse it, taking the end that had been plugged into the wall and connecting it to the modem, and vice versa. I was momentarily speechless as I tried to figure out what good this could possibly do, but the agent insisted this had to be done before she would proceed. This was after power-cycling the adapter twice and disconnecting it completely for five minutes while they “ran some tests”. I finally refused to go any further when the agent wanted me to take the modem outside (presumably with a 50-foot extension cord) and connect it to the input jack on the outside of the house. Uh, no, I won’t do that. The problem, it turned out, was a faulty card in the phone company network center at the end of our block. How do I know that? Because the supervisor I finally insisted on speaking to actually checked and discovered that no one in my neighborhood was showing an active connection. Imagine that.

(In the interests of fairness, I should note that Qwest’s support professionals for their broadband phone [VoIP] service are first-rate. Amazingly good, in fact, perhaps because they know how to listen. Qwest’s other divisions should learn from them.)

Then, today, I was downloading some music tracks from the subscription-based Rhapsody service and was suddenly disconnected from the server. Trying to log back in kept failing. After waiting 15 minutes, I contacted Rhapsody support via their web-based chat interface. The agent seemed intent on resetting my password even though it was pretty clear the problem was either on the network or at the server. (Hint: I was connected using saved credentials, and the problem started when I was suddenly disconnected.) After ten minutes of this pointlessness, the Rhapsody servers came back online, the software reconnected, and my downloads resumed. No thanks to the clueless front-line support tech.

So, what’s your worst experience ever? Any excellent service stories to tell?

Ben Drawbaugh at EngadgetHD has a short but information-rich hands-on look at the Vista Media Center TV Pack (aka “Fiji”). The new features are ideal for someone like me, with multiple CableCARD tuners and multiple over-the-air ATSC digital tuners.

Two much-anticipated features are missing, according to Ben’s report: DirecTV support and H.264 file compatibility. Here’s a partial list of what is included:

• Native support for clear QAM signals
• Less stringent DRM, which should allow you to move or copy recorded files from unprotected (non-premium) channels delivered via CableCARD
• The ability to assign and prioritize individual tuners on a per-channel basis
• Per-user favorite lists
• Access to digital subchannels
• Custom channel numbering

Only trouble is, you and I can’t get the updates, which are currently available only to beta testers in time-bombed versions that will expire this fall. [Update, thanks to Joe in the comments: Mary Jo Foley says the version handed to beta testers will not be time-bombed.] That’s when OEMs will get the new bits to include in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate systems. As far as anyone can tell, the new features will not be available as an upgrade, only with new systems. It’s highly unlikely that it will be available as a System Builder package for do-it-yourselfers, given that CableCARD support is currently available only with new systems from OEMs like Dell and HP.

From a support point of view, this decision makes a lot of sense. From an enthusiast’s point of view, it’s a colossal disappointment.

May I just politely express my displeasure with Qwest right now? Apparently I signed up for Internet access and phone service over leased tin cans connected with used fishing line. And it’s only available two hours a day. At least, that’s the conclusion I draw based on the actual service I’ve received for the past two weeks.

Details to follow after this afternoon’s outage (apparently also a new feature I signed up for without realizing it).