PrintTwo years ago, I wrote about my long-standing problems with Comcast’s broadband and television service. The intermittent outages, the frequent slowdowns, the unavailable phone support, and the incompetent repair people, to whom Comcast had outsourced its service to customers. So why did I stick with Comcast? Well, the people Verizon sent over couldn’t figure out how to connect the FIOS line from the garage across the house to the cable television and computer. In addition, Comcast not only promised to be good but made me one of those $99 a month offers for phone, internet, and TV that I couldn’t refuse. So I stuck with Comcast.
My wife ordinarily handles our house finances – and last month, she asked me about the Comcast bill. It wasn’t $99 a month. It had gone up to $250 or so. Of course, we had a few extras like the tennis channel, but that was about it. Once the initial offer had expired, our bill had evidently doubled. I called Comcast for an explanation, and the sales person offered to sell me an entirely new package. I was having none of it. I decided to try Verizon again. I figured that if Comcast’s repair people could figure out how to get from the garage to the TV, Verizon’s people could do it, too.
I called Verizon and was offered a bevy of special deals and packages that made my head spin. I finally settled on one that was about a $100 less a month than Comcast and seemed to include mobile broadband, which would allow me to chuck my account with Sprint. All in all, we would be saving a lot of money. And Verizon seemed conscientious. They must have called or emailed me five times to confirm the time of my appointment and the repair person showed up exactly on time. He installed the phone, TV and internet, and was on his way. I asked him several times about the mobile broadband, but he didn’t know. He left me his card and said if I had problems to call him.
From my brief experience, Verizon’s fiber-optic technology and software is superior to Comcast. The TV picture is better, the internet is less susceptible to slowdown (because a fiber optic cable has far greater capacity) and probably to stoppages. But as I began to use the Verizon system, I kept coming up with questions I couldn’t answer. First, lo and behold, my other televisions, which were attached to the main TV, and had worked fine with the basic Comcast channels, didn’t work at all. I called the repair guy twice and left a message, but I never heard from him.
When someone called from Verizon to ask how the installation had gone, I mentioned the problem, and he said I would need a DTC-700, and would have to call the business office about it. He didn’t explain what it was. I called the business office three times. I was kept on waiting an average of a half hour. The first time, I was cut off. The second time, someone finally came on, but couldn’t hear me. The third time I gave up, and looked on the web, where after much googling I discovered that I would have to pay an additional monthly fee if I wanted to use additional TVs, even I didn’t want any of the premium channels. The price was going up. My special deal had begun to disappear.
I then tried to figure out how I could get the mobile broadband I had been promised. I took my laptop out to Borders, but I had no access to any Verizon lines. No one had mentioned a card, and I didn’t have one. I started another long march through the internet, and finally discovered that I had not acquired mobile broadband, but access to a few scattered “hotspots” across the country for which I’d have to download software from Verizon. Finding the software for my laptop only took about three hours and involved multiple new passwords. It was Theseus at the Labyrinth. And when I was finished, I had a service that was hardly worth it to begin with.
This morning I got a phone call, but didn’t answer it on time. My phone said I had a message on it, but I didn’t know how to access voice mail. My phone had previously been with Comcast. So I called Verizon. This time, I was only on hold for fifteen minutes, but the person who answered told me that she couldn’t help me, because I had “fiber” and would transfer me. I was transferred to an automated service that couldn’t understand “yes” or “no” or “voicemail.” I hung up.
I have to admit that I didn’t think it was possible to have worse service than Comcast. It was like trying to imagine a more devastating hurricane than Katrina or a higher mountain than Everest. But I have found it with Verizon. We’re not talking here about companies on the brink of insolvency that have to pinch every penny, but two of the most prosperous and powerful companies in America. According to the vaunted theory of the free market, competition is supposed to make these companies more responsive to the consumer. We have a nearly free market, courtesy of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and as far as I am concerned, it is not working. The FCC, and if necessary, Congress, needs to get on this case.
COMMENTS (16)
Wow, what a horror story, John. I am sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Here in Seattle, my experience with Comcast has been fabulous. Customer service has been great, my Internet service is speedy, and there are almost no outages ever.
Wow, what a horror story, John. I am sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Here in Seattle, my experience with Comcast has been fabulous. Customer service has been great, my Internet service is speedy, and there are almost no outages ever.
Sounds just like my mother's service in Michigan though. I decided not to deal with the headaches or expense......I now just have Netflix.
Sounds just like my mother's service in Michigan though. I decided not to deal with the headaches or expense......I now just have Netflix.
Coming soon on The Plank: Jonathan Chait's ordeal at the DMV, AllState denies Chris Orr's insurance claim, Michelle Cottle can't get reception on her cell phone.
But hey, if we're talking about things that suck, maybe we can discuss the TNR website.
Coming soon on The Plank: Jonathan Chait's ordeal at the DMV, AllState denies Chris Orr's insurance claim, Michelle Cottle can't get reception on her cell phone.
But hey, if we're talking about things that suck, maybe we can discuss the TNR website.
I have a fairly simple solution: get the services you want separately, each from the companies that specialize in them.
I have never had any problem with my phone service from Verizon, ever. The phone stays on during power outages, but for the fancier phones that need a power hookup in addition to the phone line. My cable, on the other hand, has gone out a few times in the last decade or so-not often, twice or three times, but why on earth would I entrust my lifeline to 911 services to a service that is in any way less reliable?
Similarly, why would I want to get cable service from the phone company, particularly when there's all manner of bizarre technology translation problems (confirmed by ... view full comment
I have a fairly simple solution: get the services you want separately, each from the companies that specialize in them.
I have never had any problem with my phone service from Verizon, ever. The phone stays on during power outages, but for the fancier phones that need a power hookup in addition to the phone line. My cable, on the other hand, has gone out a few times in the last decade or so-not often, twice or three times, but why on earth would I entrust my lifeline to 911 services to a service that is in any way less reliable?
Similarly, why would I want to get cable service from the phone company, particularly when there's all manner of bizarre technology translation problems (confirmed by Chait's experience)?
So far as internet service goes, Verizon is infinitely superior to Comcast. Under the Comcast regime, my connection dropped thousands of times over two years, often as often as forty times a day. I got a new cable modem six times. I literally lost count of how many technicians I had to my house (perhaps twenty?), who between them rewired every single inch of cable wiring in my house several times over, and every single one of those technicians assured me that the previous techs didn't know what they were doing, they did, and I would be troubled no longer. The repairs never held longer than six hours.
Verizon gave me a package deal with phone service; I pay eight bucks more than I paid for phone service, less than a quarter of what Comcast was gouging me for to deliver nothing but frustration. Most importantly, since I hooked it up in June, my internet connection has dropped exactly zero times.
My service provider is neither of these, but rather Cox, whose track record isn't so bad in my experience, although I know the downstairs neighbors loathed them. Even so, I have managed to be inconvenienced by Verizon: when my neighbors switched from Cox to Verizon last week, Verizon disconnected my Cox cable connection, too.
(Fortunately, Cox didn't charge me for the "repair.")
My service provider is neither of these, but rather Cox, whose track record isn't so bad in my experience, although I know the downstairs neighbors loathed them. Even so, I have managed to be inconvenienced by Verizon: when my neighbors switched from Cox to Verizon last week, Verizon disconnected my Cox cable connection, too.
(Fortunately, Cox didn't charge me for the "repair.")
In Los Angeles we're stuck with Time Warner Cable, which as far as I can tell is a terrible version of comcast (they use the same equipment, but no one's box works). The service is terrible (the installation guy didn't know how to set up the internet, spoke little english and brought his kid along that we had to entertain while he called tech support!) Our internet is slow and simply stops working randomly. Our on demand that we pay for doesn't work. You guys that have comcast should count your blessings.
In Los Angeles we're stuck with Time Warner Cable, which as far as I can tell is a terrible version of comcast (they use the same equipment, but no one's box works). The service is terrible (the installation guy didn't know how to set up the internet, spoke little english and brought his kid along that we had to entertain while he called tech support!) Our internet is slow and simply stops working randomly. Our on demand that we pay for doesn't work. You guys that have comcast should count your blessings.
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I've had a good ride with Comcast (cable and broadband) for about a decade. My work in IT and web design meant I spoke with dozens of technical support folks in software & hardware across the industry, but none have a comparable record. At best, any problem meant hours or days spent with uncaring or ignorant reps and at worst the relationship was so adversarial they might as well have been in combat with customers.
However, my experiences with Comcast has been flawless. Especially the call centers in Canada. They were knowledgeable, polite, patient and quick to abandon their script so we could solve a problem together rather than having them hide behind a wall of condescension. After a ... view full comment
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I've had a good ride with Comcast (cable and broadband) for about a decade. My work in IT and web design meant I spoke with dozens of technical support folks in software & hardware across the industry, but none have a comparable record. At best, any problem meant hours or days spent with uncaring or ignorant reps and at worst the relationship was so adversarial they might as well have been in combat with customers.
However, my experiences with Comcast has been flawless. Especially the call centers in Canada. They were knowledgeable, polite, patient and quick to abandon their script so we could solve a problem together rather than having them hide behind a wall of condescension. After a minor connection problem the conversation ended with, "Is there anything else we can do?". "Hell yes!", I replied. They ended up giving me six months free service.
That said, they have little competition in my market so their rates are closer to extortion. As the above story indicates, a change to a new provider is clouded with deception and no one will go on the record for what I can expect after the 'Introductory Offer.'
Finally, all providers will restrict fair and equal access to content along with throttling bandwidth without federal oversight. It conflicts with the best interest of any provider to allow their customers the same access and speed to an entity who is competing with them.
So while I still give high scores to Comcast on service and support, I expect speed and access will be conditional: My experience will only be optimal when my choices serve to pad their bottom line. Since they currently have the final word on how I use my bandwidth, only the FCC can prevent them from taking more draconian measures. Without regulation, we'll be at the mercy of providers and generosity isn't the guiding force in profit making.
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Out in Yardistan, in Lower Fistula Valley an hour east of San Francisco, we can't get cable of any persuasion and, like everyone else I know, were royally ripped off by two satellite Internet providers (don't get me started on Hughes), and cancelled our cell phones when we ran out of money. (My employer gave me a BlackBerry a couple months ago but I can't figure out how to make a call on it. So far no one's seemed to have noticed.)
For Internoot we use a microwave provider who has an antenna on Mt. Diablo that beams magic waves to an antenna in the middle of our septic leach field, which should count for something, and usually does unless the wind's howling, which it often is.
What we don't ha ... view full comment
Out in Yardistan, in Lower Fistula Valley an hour east of San Francisco, we can't get cable of any persuasion and, like everyone else I know, were royally ripped off by two satellite Internet providers (don't get me started on Hughes), and cancelled our cell phones when we ran out of money. (My employer gave me a BlackBerry a couple months ago but I can't figure out how to make a call on it. So far no one's seemed to have noticed.)
For Internoot we use a microwave provider who has an antenna on Mt. Diablo that beams magic waves to an antenna in the middle of our septic leach field, which should count for something, and usually does unless the wind's howling, which it often is.
What we don't have is TV, and like all TV the problem isn't the pipe what brings it to y'uns but the problem with any streaming medium, which is that by its very nature the information delivery mechanism--streaming, neverending, one-directional--is the antithesis of critical thinking and analysis, it has you backed into a corner like Ali in the later rounds, the talking head a right to the ribs, the crawl an uppercut to the chin, the sudden overly loud commercial a cross to the temple, you can't answer, you taste blood--your own, you drop your arms and next thing you know you're down on one knee for the mandatory 8, and Jon Stewart or Glenn Beck or Oprah or Conan or Pat Sajak or Billy Fucking Mays is in a neutral corner winking at his trainer while doing jump-rope with an invisible rope, counting down the seconds until he/she can cross the ring and finish the job.
You make a mean point, ratty (if I may paraphrase Jackie Gleason in The Hustler).
But I'm interested in the detail, man! What is it that's wrong with this site? I have a whole intestine full of visceral reactions but I can't seem to set out a logical case.
You make a mean point, ratty (if I may paraphrase Jackie Gleason in The Hustler).
But I'm interested in the detail, man! What is it that's wrong with this site? I have a whole intestine full of visceral reactions but I can't seem to set out a logical case.
irony- Well, I shouldn't be too unfair; things have gotten better. You can see the article you're commenting on now, at least. But the preview function still takes you to another page, for some unexplainable reason. More importantly, why the hell do I have to re-log on every time I come to the site? It drives me nuts, especially since you have to navigate away from the article you're looking at to log on before you can comment.
Those are my main problems. Well, and the light gray text on white background. And Martin Peretz's growing insanity, although that's not really a site design issue.
What irks me is that blog commenting is a problem that has been solved for many, many years now. T ... view full comment
irony- Well, I shouldn't be too unfair; things have gotten better. You can see the article you're commenting on now, at least. But the preview function still takes you to another page, for some unexplainable reason. More importantly, why the hell do I have to re-log on every time I come to the site? It drives me nuts, especially since you have to navigate away from the article you're looking at to log on before you can comment.
Those are my main problems. Well, and the light gray text on white background. And Martin Peretz's growing insanity, although that's not really a site design issue.
What irks me is that blog commenting is a problem that has been solved for many, many years now. There's no reason for it to be so difficult.
P.S. Hitting preview, I find another problem: "We're sorry, but the spam filter thinks your submission could be spam. Please complete the CAPTCHA." I get this periodically. Sometimes it seems like it might have some sort of justification, like when I include a link. But what the hell looks like spam above. And, digging deeper, if you restrict comments to subscribers (they're still doing that, right?), why are you even screening for spam?
I am today Verizon Free. I had Verizon land line, Earth Link dial-up internet, and MCI long distance. This was costing a bundle. Then Verizon cut me off from paying my bill! Yes, they stopped sending paper bills and cut me off from their web site. I had to do hours of research to find out what I owed and where to send it and what account number to use. I wasn’t alone. A young woman where I worked was loudly complaining of the same problem with her Verizon mobile phone account. Verizon has hundreds of 800 numbers each with a unique labyrinthine audio menu that never lead to any answers to any questions.
I cut my telephone and internet charges in half by switching to Comcast. I still ha ... view full comment
I am today Verizon Free. I had Verizon land line, Earth Link dial-up internet, and MCI long distance. This was costing a bundle. Then Verizon cut me off from paying my bill! Yes, they stopped sending paper bills and cut me off from their web site. I had to do hours of research to find out what I owed and where to send it and what account number to use. I wasn’t alone. A young woman where I worked was loudly complaining of the same problem with her Verizon mobile phone account. Verizon has hundreds of 800 numbers each with a unique labyrinthine audio menu that never lead to any answers to any questions.
I cut my telephone and internet charges in half by switching to Comcast. I still have Direct TV and don’t use Comcast for TV. I have had no customer relation issues with Comcast.
Before Comcast, I tried what is now Hughs Net. It never worked. At least I could get someone on the phone for several multi hour sessions trying to figure out how to get it to work. All I got out of it was a big impressive antenna for TV reception that has now worn out and been replaced. Direct TV has great customer service. Easy to contact, on time arrival for trouble calls, etc.
I am with sdmcleod, get the dishnetwork or direct tv for Television, and get basic internet and phone from verizon. nothing fancy, just 1 mbps for internet and local calling only, for long distance get Skype's $3 a month unlimited plan. if you have a cell phone, you don't even need a landline. And if you ain't big on TV you can get a cheap package, and get free local channels with a digital converter box. If you do this you can keep your costs down to under $50 a month.
I am with sdmcleod, get the dishnetwork or direct tv for Television, and get basic internet and phone from verizon. nothing fancy, just 1 mbps for internet and local calling only, for long distance get Skype's $3 a month unlimited plan. if you have a cell phone, you don't even need a landline. And if you ain't big on TV you can get a cheap package, and get free local channels with a digital converter box. If you do this you can keep your costs down to under $50 a month.
It is good to see you back, williamyard. You have been missed by this TNR.com reader.
Here in Michigan, my experience with Verizon has not been 100% positive, nor my experience with Comcast 100% negative. They are like the yin and yang of the telecom industry. But I agree with Judis: the entire industry needs a regulation overhaul. At best, its standard for customer service leaves you hoping that you never need customer service.
It is good to see you back, williamyard. You have been missed by this TNR.com reader.
Here in Michigan, my experience with Verizon has not been 100% positive, nor my experience with Comcast 100% negative. They are like the yin and yang of the telecom industry. But I agree with Judis: the entire industry needs a regulation overhaul. At best, its standard for customer service leaves you hoping that you never need customer service.
What's interesting here in Michigan is that Comcast Broadband support is better than Microsoft, Dell and D-Link. None of the computer companies will help me, but I can always get through to Comast.
Microsoft and Dell are in real troble with their poor support. I got ok service from Dell from their Canadian Call Center, but the Indians are useless.
I switched from their cable TV to a local provider and have been pleased with how much we save. Will probably leave the Broadband behind soon too, but it's so hard to change.
Ratner is on with his criticism of the new TNR web design and it's clunkiness and nagging. I thought that is what scared off Mr. Yard and I almost took a powder.
But problem ... view full comment
What's interesting here in Michigan is that Comcast Broadband support is better than Microsoft, Dell and D-Link. None of the computer companies will help me, but I can always get through to Comast.
Microsoft and Dell are in real troble with their poor support. I got ok service from Dell from their Canadian Call Center, but the Indians are useless.
I switched from their cable TV to a local provider and have been pleased with how much we save. Will probably leave the Broadband behind soon too, but it's so hard to change.
Ratner is on with his criticism of the new TNR web design and it's clunkiness and nagging. I thought that is what scared off Mr. Yard and I almost took a powder.
But problems and all, I do enjoy you guys and your goofing.
Get satellite, to wit, DirecTV---superior picture and service.
Get satellite, to wit, DirecTV---superior picture and service.
I have to agree with the above -- and I'd add to ratty's inventory the following:
-- the insane sequencing that has, in some of the most popular threads, the latest comments way way down on page 2 or even on page 3
-- the lack of clear editorial policy on The Plank, so that silly posts come in on top of good ones and push the latter off the radar screen onto page 2
-- doing away with the old individual comment numbering, so that now you can't refer to a specific comment "I agree with X in #4 above . . . "
I have to agree with the above -- and I'd add to ratty's inventory the following:
-- the insane sequencing that has, in some of the most popular threads, the latest comments way way down on page 2 or even on page 3
-- the lack of clear editorial policy on The Plank, so that silly posts come in on top of good ones and push the latter off the radar screen onto page 2
-- doing away with the old individual comment numbering, so that now you can't refer to a specific comment "I agree with X in #4 above . . . "