Here’s your first “Sweet 16″ match-up: #1 Comcast VS #17 Ticketmaster.
Here’s what some of you had to say about these two companies:
Comcast:
“In my experience, Comcast employees don’t even TRY to do their jobs. It’s like they have no motivation.”
If Comcast does not win then the entire fun of this whole contest has been wiped out for me.
Ticketmaster:
“This is a no brainer: Ticketmaster is the worst by far.”
“Go Ticketmaster go! You’re in my top 5!”
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.
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@johnva: No, they may be the only cable company in my area, but I opted to get Verizon DSL and Netflix instead of Comcast.
Easy – Comcrap by a landslide. At least with Ticketmaster I can get past most of the fees by going to one of the many ticket windows in this city. But Comcrap – my GAWD! Their employees don’t know jack about the very products they sell or install. Had an install a few years ago – guy wants to configure the modem so he asks where’s Internet Explorer (seeing that there isn’t a IE icon on my desktop). I told him I don’t use IE but if he can’t use FireFox to do what he needs to do Windows Explorer IS IE – just type in the address you need in the navigation bar. He looked at my like I was speaking ancient Greek and said he’d have to undo everything since he needs IE to finish the install and I was being difficult and he couldn’t help me out. So I called him a dumbnutt, asked him to leave, and called AT&T for DSL.
Comcast 50% (2351 votes)
Ticketmaster 50% (2310 votes)
Wow, this is probably going to be the closest match this year.
Has anyone else here seen the look of sheer terror on the face of a Comcast employee when he is about to setup your internet and sees a Mac? It’s amazing.
Is is possible to continue both through the competition? Maybe a losers bracket based on the sheer number of votes?
It seems kind of an unfair advantage that Comcast has its own tag, and is even the example of how to search for underhanded tactics on the archive and tag page
Agree tenfold with everyone who has said how much both of these suck. Excluding cable users who have no other option, I have to go with TicketBastards.
For Comcast, you at least have to sign up for it.
For TicketBastard, all you have to do is want to see a show and you’re screwed.
Ok.
Look at it this way: If Comcast vanished tomorrow, cable companies would still suck.
If Ticketmaster vanished tomorrow, both fans and bands would rejoice.
I vote Ticketmaster.
Still a close match!
I don’t subscribe to neither so it was a dilemma. I wish I voted for Ticketmaster, but Comcast wins because they lie about their good service. TM outrightly claims they are scalpers.
@Sundermania: Just speaking from experience, I would never let a Comcast employee touch any of my computers for any reason. It’s not like it’s exactly hard to set up an Ethernet connection, and virtually all computers have Ethernet ports these days. So there really isn’t any reason for them to do anything to your computer.
Ticketmaster easily. Comcast is borderline monopoly and blows, but they grind their techs to death with 14-call days. People also are already primed to hate the techs when they show up, so I don’t pity those guys. You can choose to go with broadcast (highly suggested) other providers, dish, or use the Internet to watch stuff.
Ticketmaster is hella shady and reminds me of scalping, and that’s just for the tiny amount of tickets they actually put in that paper money air tunnel cash grab game machine.
Wow its a dead heat. I hate them both so much I wish I could vote for both!
No, no! 2821 to 2821????
Come on people, vote Comcast. Seriously, they are FAR more evil, dirty, slimy and {connection terminated by Comcast because they don’t like the content…and they can do that because they’re Comcastic}
This was a very hard vote. I think these two are in my top 5, and it will be ludicrous if Blue Cross / Blue Shield makes the Top 8 but The Great Satan that is Ticketmaster does not …
… but Comcast is the Greater Satan.
Talk about a dead heat. Comcast has 2899 and Ticketmaster has 2888.
I went with Comcast if for no other reason that I work at Ticketmaster.
Comcast handily beats Ticketmaster in terms of evil-ness!
I only have one thing to say in regards to this… If you voted Ticketmaster, you haven’t spent enough time dealing with Comcast.
Well in many places near where i live (mid-size city in GA) you can only get Comcast, not even Dish! for the most part, Comcast tv isnt morbid except for the occasional hours of a black screen or, severe pixelation of the picture. My real complaint is this so called “Comcastic Internet with Powerboost” well as far as i’ve seen, since this whole “powerboost” thing was started with advertising, my internet has been slower and the rates have gone up, not only that but they are BASTARDS about bills, i paid $200.09 for what was supposed to be $120 and then when my services stopped working i was informed by the kind people over at Comcast that i paid $200.06 and as a result i would have to pay a $100 fine to get it turned back on that month.
Ticketmaster sucks, but I only use them a few times a year.
Comcast demands money every month.
Comcast FTW.
Very tough decision, though.
Ticketmaster. Easy pick for me. In 1999, I purchased tickets to an Aerosmith concert. Concert was canceled without a new tour date. Ticketmaster told me that I would be refunded except for the convenience fee, which they did several weeks later. So basically, I ended up paying several bucks for little sheets of paper that now served the same purpose as counterfeit. At least with Comcast, you pay for service.
Ticketmaster. Victim of their Entertainment Rewards scam. Thank goodness AMEX got my money back.
[consumerist.com]
I don’t understand how people can say Comcast isn’t as bad because for many people, there are alternatives. How does that make Comcast any less bad of a company? If anything, it makes them WORSE of a company that they can be so awful even though they’re not a monopoly in most places. At least with monopolies we expect things to be bad.
Ticketmaster: Monopolization on entertainment industry. Optional.
Comcast: Monopolization on Television and Internet industry. Television Optional, but not if you want decent internet prices – and a restricted internet at that.
Seems like a no-brainer to me. Comcast.
Wow, was tight for a while, but it looks like Comcast is pulling ahead, by a point.
I guess because the Ticketmaster voters are busy inhaling rails and banging whor–, err scantily-clad nubiles with a characteristic lack of self-modesty?
Come on people, I know Comcast sucks and all, but Ticketmaster is raping you.
Ticketmaster is just concert tickets. Don’t get me wrong, I frequently pray for the complete destruction of the company.
But Comcast is your internet and cable. They’re watching everything you send across the tubes, and they haven’t shown they can be trusted with that power. All of their behavior indicates precisely the opposite.
Ticketmaster- as others have said- I get my TV through Dish and my internet through AT&T- even when I had Comcast they didn’t suck nearly as bad as having to buy all my concert tickets for indie rock and ska bands (not big-time shows here) on Craigslist or StubHub.
I think if you’re going to post things that people have to say about the company, it would be more helpful if you posted things people had to say about the things the company actually did, not about how well it’s doing in the contest.
I voted for Ticketmaster for their unapologetic support of scalping, fees, and inability to keep computer programs from purchasing most tickets to an event once they go on sale. I will say that this was a toughy. I find that a customer service experience with Comcast is determined by your demeanor when you call (note i said “I FIND” I’m sure someone else has had a different experience). I try to give off the “nice” vibe even though I’m fuming pissed at whatever has driven me to call Comcast, yet again, to simply get what I pay for each month. Usually my issues are resolved because I’m unwilling to accept a smoke and mirrors excuse for what went wrong with our billing, our rate, etc. I’m gunning for them to admit someone made a mistake and then see what they’ll do about it. When it’s my mistake, I apologize.
@theblackdog: You then should recognize that a significant portion of the country have the following options for Internet Access:
1) Comcast
2) Dial-Up
3) Heavily Overpriced-Shoddy-At-Best-Terrible Sattelite Internet Service
4) Pray there is an open wireless access point near you which subsequently will be on… Comcast.
There are your options. Seems like a no-brainer as to why Comcast should be winning to me.
I think I gotta go with Comcast. I spend so much on Internet that I can’t afford to go to shows anyway. Plus Comcast already cut me off once just this morning! I keep forgetting I’m not supposed to have more than one computer on at once (they did tell me this).
@Papa Midnight: Right on…not everywhere is there a choice! I can (and do) live without cable TV, but cable internet is completely monopolized by Comcast here and the only alternative is slow and spotty dialup or DSL.
@TechnoDestructo: Yeah, because we ALL know the Earth would stop spinning in its orbit – dead stop! - if, gods forbid, a Consumerist thread veered even slightly off-topic.
I picked Comcast because in some areas they are your only option. Ticketmaster blows with fees but at least you know about them in advance. Comcast just does whatever they want… like try to charge me for a cable modem that I didn’t rent because I had my own.
This could have been the finals matchup… Comcast is slimy, Ticketmaster is worse, but I need my unfiltered internet more than I need tickets.
You can skip concerts but you can’t skip the internet. We are already paying one of the highest internet rates in the world and Comcast rewards us with shoddy bandwidth and service.
Come on. Ticketdisaster destroyed all types of live entertainment. They are an evil monopoly. If you don’t like Comcast, get the dish.
@evslin: Soooo…how does that ruin Ticketmaster? That scalper had to buy those tickets from somewhere. Are you imaging some infinite circle of scalpers that never ends in anyone actually buying from the original source aka Ticketmaster?
man, I thought ticketmaster would have had this in the bag.
Ticketbastards for their stupid ass fees and for not having any decent tickets at least center stage. Oh, but STUBHUB just happens to have center stage tickets at huge marked up prices. Too bad I have to use them to see Judas Priest this August. TM is an EVIL monopoly, plain and god damn simple.
Comcast! It’s craptastic!
I am absolutely shocked that Tickmaster isnt running away with this. TM is EVIL. Absolutely EVIL. They sit there and laugh as they rape you.
There is no doubt in my mind that TM is the worst company in america. It’s not even close.
The other day I paid $52 for two tickets that were $12 each.
Ticketmaster even manages to get its fees imposed on walkup tickets at some box offices. What gives?