Internet issues

Why do internet issues seem to take forever to sort.

My internet connection was down the last couple of nights so I spent several hours last night switching things on and off, unplugging cables and calling Virgin to try and solve the problem.

Managed to get the modem working but was stuck balanced on a sofa arm in the corner of the living room (I have a very short power cable) unable to get the router to work.

Then my housemate came home and discovered the router wasn't working because the settings had been changed.

All seems sorted now, fingers crossed.