should have mentioned this when I was undergoing this in NJ, but I think comcast customer service varies state to state. CA is awesome. NJ apparently not.
Took me 3 days to finally get the f'ers to give me cable service in the inlaws house because they were adamant on 1) returning the old equipment first 2) having a tech do it / sending me the $35 DIY kit.
Finally a legal threat escalated it up the ladder to a guy who said just plug the new equipment in, log in with the new account and you are good to go since I just activated you...