Latency and Packet Loss Issues

I sent an email to the address you gave and arranged for a technician to come today. I left work early to meet him, so I was surprised when he said he doesn't do line maintenance. That was the entire purpose of the visit based on the complaint in this thread and the response I got from the email.

He tested the signal at the inside outlet where my modem is plugged in and was able to verify some packet loss. He also agreed that the damaged line from the utility pole and stress on the tap were the most likely culprits. He then says he actually is qualified/trained/whatever to expect the tap, which is located on a utility pole in my neighbors backyard.

However, my neighbor's pit bull was in the backyard, so he said we would need permission from the neighbor. My neighbor is a recluse who runs every time I have tried to approach her. Probably has something to do with the armed men in body armor I saw surround her house earlier this year. When we tried to approach her for permission, she brought the dog in, went inside, and we heard her locking the deadbolts. The technician said, even though the dog was no longer in the yard, he would not go into the yard without her permission from the neighbor. I don't blame him for being concerned, and I don't want anyone getting hurt fixing this issue. However, He also said it would be up to me to coordinate with her a time when COX can come by to fix the tap. Coordinating the arrival window with COX during the work day is hard enough without having to convince my neighbor to talk to me for the first time after years of behavior like this. The suggestion that I am responsible for getting COX access to the public easement utility pole in my neighbor's backyard that brings the service I subscribe to into my home sounds like a joke. That should be the utility's responsibility. The most I can do is leave a note to tell her when COX is coming to repair the line, but I can't make her answer the door to me and I can't keep her from letting her dog outside.

After discussing this issue with the technician, he asked for access to the outside box. I showed him where it was and went back inside. A few minutes later, I looked for him and his truck was gone and the outdoor box was in worse shape than when he arrived--totally unsecured to the wall and requiring me to screw it back to the side of the house.