If you have a hassle with a cable company and you…
cable
Time Warner Delivers Modem, Cockroaches
By 4.22.08
Maybe Time Warner needs to include a decontamination protocol when it transfers reusable equipment between customers.
Comcast Fixes Problem Of Reader They Made Cry
By 4.21.08
Stephanie’s internet is back after she used the contact info from our post “Comcast Trawling Blogs And Twitter For Customer Complaints” to email Comcast’s problem solver, Frank Eliason. Stephanie writes, “Within an hour of my email to Frank he responded, saying that he forwarded my problem to Scott the local guy…they had a tech at my house within an hour.” Score!
Comcast Skips 3 Appointments, Hangs Up On You 6 Times, Makes You Want To Cry
By 4.21.08
Reader Stephanie wants to cry because of Comcast:
I HATE dealing with tech support. This time, I bit the bullet because my internet connection wasn’t working.
Comcast Trawling Blogs And Twitter For Customer Complaints
By 4.21.08
The sometimes customer service deficient cable company Comcast has a new “fireman” whose job is to respond when people blog or Twitter their customer complaints. Frank Eliason’s unenviable task is to watch the blogosphere and reach out to posters when they kvetch about Comcast. He’s a nice guy, he’s reached out to help some our reader’s posted complaints, but he’s not omnipotent. This article covers two people customers contacted by Eliason. One of them got their problem solved within a day, the other was still waiting for a solution a work-week later. It is Comcast, after all. Still, if regular customer service isn’t helping you, try blogging or Twittering your problem and maybe the magic customer service fairy will visit you! Also, his Twitter profile is comcastcares and his email is We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com.
Cablevision Claims They Are Not Lying Liars, But Mysteries Remain
By 4.20.08
Cablevision responded to our post chastising their attempt to force customer to upgrade to digital service by pointing to an unrelated FCC mandate. Cablevision admits that there is no connection between their unilateral business decision to cut channels and the FCC-mandated transition to digital television, but their statement leaves several questions unanswered. Read Cablevision’s statement and our response, after the jump.
Cablevision Blatantly Lies To Subscribers As The FCC Twiddles Its Thumbs
By 4.19.08
Update: Cablevision responds.
Cablevision: Techs On-Time Or You Get $20
By 4.18.08
A Cablevision tech support rep told us that if your Cablevision tech arrives past the service window, you’re entitled to a $20 credit (this press release supports it). And if you’re in the Bronx or Brooklyn, you can get a free month of cable TV if the tech shows up late (this is applied on a case-by-case basis but it is possible. Should the tech pull a noshow, call customer service and speak to a supervisor, who may offer you credits (usually $40-$50) or a free month depending on your customer history. Inside, Which customer service number to call, based on the first four digits of your account number:
Time Warner Wants $9,060 To Let You Have Cable
By 4.18.08
Reader “phillipe23” wants cable service, but because of his rural location it will cost him $9,060. He already has satellite, but his reception is very spotty. It seems that when the bad weather rolls in his service goes out. Clinging to the the hope that cable could be the answer to his problems, he contacted Time Warner for some relief. So what did the ever-sympathetic cable giant have to say? phillipe23’s letter, and our advice, inside…
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
By 4.17.08
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway:
Comcast: Repair Techs On-Time Or You Get $20
By 4.16.08
Did you know that Comcast has an “on-time guarantee?” That’s right, if your tech arrives outside the time window for a repair, you’re entitled to a $20 credit. For installs, you get one free cable outlet installed. A former Comcast worker says, “Only dispatchers have the ability to put this credit on accounts, however,” which makes us wonder how easy it is to actually get these applied to your account. Maybe if you use these numbers to call dispatchers directly you’ll get somewhere. [Comcast]
Nickelodeon Is Channel 33, Comcast Adult On Demand Is 333
By 4.2.08
Yeah, I blocked Adult on Demand, but I only found it in the first place because I was searching the hinterlands of Showtime en español.
It’s nice that you have such a good sense of humor about it. We imagine that eventually Comcast is bound to get some calls from parents who aren’t so pleasant to deal with.
Time Warner Sends 12 Techs To Home, But "High Speed" Cable Remains A Fantasy
By 4.2.08
Thomas writes in to ask why Time Warner needs to send 12 different technicians to his home to get his Roadrunner speed up to the 10 mbits/sec that they promise in their advertising, as opposed to the 2.5 mbits/sec that he averages.
Comcast Degrades HD Quality To Make Room For More Channels
By 3.31.08
When you order Hi-Def TV, you expect it to be on the shining Excalibur level, but it looks like Comcast is degrading the quality of some HD channels in order to make room for more channels. To test this theory out, Avsforum member bfdtv recorded the same shows from the same channel at the same time on both Comcast Hi-Def and Fios TV. The left is the FiOs. The right is the Comcast. As you can see, the Comcast signal looks like crap. The forum thread has more screenshots, a signal analysis, and some source videos. So far the Comcast channels receiving extra compression are: Discovery Channel, SciFi, USA, Food, NatGeo, UHD, A&E, HGTV, Starz, Cinemax, HBO, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD Theater, and History HD.
Cablevision Tries To Sell You Phone Service During Funeral
By 3.28.08
Cablevision tried to telemarket Greg Scoblete phone service during a funeral:
Two days ago I attended a wake. During the wake my cellphone rang…I couldn’t answer the first call, but shortly thereafter it rang again. “Must be important,” I thought, ducking out of the room.
It turned out to be a Cablevision telemarketer trying to rope me into the triple play. Fair enough. I told the rep that I wasn’t interested in the triple play and in any event, I was at a wake.
“I understand that,” he said, “but I’ll have you off the phone in five minutes saving money on your long-distance bills.”
Congratulations, Cablevision, you’ve taken the definition of shameless marketing to a whole new level.
Comcast Wants To Use Cameras And Facial Recognition To Serve Ads In Your Living Room
By 3.20.08
Where’s my tinfoil? Comcast’s senior VP of user experience, Gerard Kunkel, apparently wants to put a camera in your cable box and use it to serve ads.
On The Radio, FiOS Free TV Promotion Changed To Free Gift Cards
By 3.17.08
Further distancing itself from its problematic free TV promotion (which for some customer has so far been lacking in free TVs), a reader in the Bronx reports that Verizon FiOS triple-play bundle ads on the radio are now offering $200 gift cards for Circuit City. As previously noted, the TV ads are now touting free Samsung digital cameras.
By 3.14.08
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Comcast workers have started to unionize. All the Comcast workers who read our blog can sign up here to learn about organizing their workplace.
