This is going to be a rant.
If you don’t like rants, turn your eyes and run away. I’ll have a new post up in a couple days.
If you like them, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s get started…
Terrible Customer Service
On the opposite end of the customer service spectrum from Costco (who has great customer service IMO) is Comcast. Or, as they call themselves now, Xfinity. Because that’s such an easier name to pronounce, right?
For nine years, Consumerist ran their “Worst Company in America” competition. For six of those years, Comcast finished in the top three. No other company did as “well” in this competition as Comcast.
Their results were well-deserved.
I’ve had my own love/hate relationship with Comcast. They generally offer an expensive service with terrible customer service. We’ve also had our run-ins in the past (in a different city). But we had reached an agreement — I pay them a fortune and they at least offer some semblance of a decent product.
But now they’ve done it again and gotten on my bad side. This is the story unfolded…
I Can’t Record
At the beginning of December I went online to do my weekly TV recording. I did this all online from their website. A few clicks here and there and all my shows were set to record.
When I went to the site this time I noticed something different — there was no option to “record” the shows. I could watch them online but not record them.
I went to the app — my second option. Same thing there. Hmmmmm. Something was up.
So on December 2, 2017 at 10:59:50 am, I got a Comcast rep on a chat to see what the problem was.
Here’s the transcript from that discussion:
ESI: There is no record option either online or on my app. What happened to that? How am I supposed to record shows?
Comcast: Hi ESI, thank you for contacting Xfinity Chat Support. My name is Art (changed from actual name). Please give me a moment to review your account information.
Comcast: I do understand your concern about that, let me help you out.
ESI: ok
Comcast: I am now pulling up your account to look for the possible cause of this.
Comcast: We are going to troubleshoot this here in my end by sending signals remotely to your affected box. If this will no fix it I will quickly get you the soonest appointment for our tech to get this fix permanently.
Comcast: I will now send an account refresh. After that please check if you can see the record button in your online browser or on your app.
ESI: Ok, just to describe exactly what is happening: when I go to the website and select a program from the TV listings, I used to get the option to record it. Same on my app. That is no longer an option. I can watch the shows live but not record them. Shows I have previously set a series recording for are still recording.
Comcast: Alright, thank you for your clear explanation.
Comcast: I am now digging deep to find out the cause of this. Please give me a minute or two.
ESI: To be clear, I’m not sure if I can record from the TV (using the remote) or not. I seldom do that and haven’t tried since this became a problem yesterday. I do all my recording either online or on the app.
Comcast: As per checking, we have removed the functionality from the XFINITY Stream app and web portal, as well as the XFINITY TV Remote app. In addition, the Priority Manager functionality that allows customers to prioritize scheduled DVR recordings has also been removed from the XFINITY TV Remote app. This functionality was available on Apple devices only.
Comcast: This will be available soon, please provide an email address and call back number so that I can notify you right away once this function is back.
Comcast: For the meantime, we can use your remote to setup the recordings in your DVR.
ESI: Well, as I said, I don’t use the remote. It’s inconvenient.
ESI: My email is ********@gmail.com
Comcast: I will provide to you the steps on how to setup recordings.
ESI: My wife’s email (which is on the account) is **********@gmail.com
ESI: I know how to set up recordings using the TV — I just don’t prefer it.
Comcast: I do apologize for this but the feature will be back as soon as possible. I can assure you that, there was just some maintenance that has occurred to get this fix permanently.
ESI: My phone number is 555-555-5555
Comcast: Alright, that’s noted.
ESI: How long before it’s back?
Comcast: Thank you for providing that.
Comcast: I will notify you as soon as this is back, rest assured that you will be the first one to know once it is back.
ESI: An hour? A day? A week?
Comcast: For this inconvenience, I will also credit your account, would that be okay?
Comcast: As per checking this might takes a couple of days. Rest assured that you will get updates with regards to the progress of this feature.
ESI: Ugh. Ok, please use MY email address to notify me. It comes to my phone (which is always with me).
ESI: What sort of credit will we receive (I’ll let my wife know since she handles the billing)?
Comcast: This is sort of a refund, I will apply a $20..00 as a partial credit to your account.
Comcast: Rest assured that I will notify you through that so that you know right away.
ESI: Ok, I will let her know and be watching my email for news that it’s fixed. Thanks.
Comcast: You’re welcome.
Comcast: Have I address all your concern today?
ESI: Yes, thank you. Bye.
Comcast: I just want to share that you can download Xfinity My Account App using your smart phone. It is a fantastic app that let’s you manage your bills, troubleshoot your services like sending a signal to the cable box, check if there is an outage, manage tech appointments and many more!
Comcast: You’re welcome.
Comcast: At the end of this chat there will be a short survey. I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to complete it so we can continue to improve the service we provide to you.
Comcast: You got me on this, right?
ESI: yes
Comcast: Awesome!
Comcast: Take good care.
Comcast: Thank you for choosing Xfinity and have a great day!
ESI: Thanks. Bye.
Comcast: Thank you, you are one of my great customer.
So that was it.
There was some issue but it was going to be fixed in two days.
And they gave me $20 for two days, which seemed good.
Then the waiting began…and NOTHING changed.
Terrible Customer Service, Round 2
I waited past the point of embarrassment for NINE DAYS and then, on December 11 at 10:21:46 am, I started another chat…
ESI: Look at my CHAT transcript from Dec 2, 2017 10:59:50 AM. My account was supposed to be fixed in a couple days. It’s now NINE days later.
Comcast: Hi ESI, Good day! Thank you for contacting Xfinity Chat Support. My name is Katie (changed). My pleasure to have you on this chat, rest assure I will do all my best to help you with all your concerns today.
Comcast: I am sorry to know that you’re account is not being fixed yet. Let me check on that ESI, please leave this to me, I will try to do all the best I can to assist you with this concern.
Comcast: May I know if what’s the problem that is ongoing to your account or services ESI? So I can proceed fixing this.
ESI: Can you access that chat transcript? It describes everything.
Comcast: Let me check it here ESI if I can locate that chat transcript with other Agent.
Comcast: Please give me 2-3 minutes to locate this.
ESI: It was Art.
Comcast: Thank you ESI.
Comcast: I have now locate the transcript of your chat with Art ESI. And now I will going to review your chat so that I can understand the concern’s here.
ESI: Here are the highlights:
ESI: There is no record option either online or on my app.
ESI: When I go to the website and select a program from the TV listings, I used to get the option to record it. Same on my app. That is no longer an option. I can watch the shows live but not record them. Shows I have previously set a series recording for are still recording.
ESI: I can record from the TV (using the remote) but it’s a pain. I want the functionality back to record from the website or my phone.
ESI: BTW, Art said he was going to credit me for my inconvenience. That was supposed to be $20 and the repair was supposed to take a couple days.
ESI: I’d like to know if I actually received the $20 credit (it’s far too little now anyway — this is a huge inconvenience) and even if there was ever any work scheduled.
ESI: I’m now spending another chat session on this same problem. I just don’t know why it hasn’t been handled by now.
Comcast: Thank you for the patience ESI. I get it now ESI. Actually, sadly but I have to inform you that, the recording option on the app is currently not available right now, because the server is having an maintenance right now, we really do apologize for that ESI.
ESI: What about the website?
ESI: And have you had a server issue for nine days!!!!????
Comcast: Yes, I can definitely check the $20 credit here on your account if Art did applied that on your account.
ESI: What about the website? Why can’t I record from it?
Comcast: The website is still working, but the recording session is not yet available at this time.
ESI: It’s been nine days….
ESI: Why am I paying for a service I’m not getting?
Comcast: I really do apologize for that ESI, what I can do here is to escalate this issue for the feedback so we can waived this as the feedback from our valued customer like you ESI, so we can waived this issue as soon as possible.
ESI: Do you have a supervisor I can talk to?
Comcast: May I know the reason why you want to talk to our supervisor ESI?
Comcast: Let me check here if there’s any available supervisor at this moment ESI.
ESI: Because I’m not getting a reasonable answer from you.
ESI: I’m paying for something that has not been fixed for nine days
ESI: It was supposed to be fixed in two
ESI: And I’m not sure you understand the issue
ESI: Or that you will get it fixed
Comcast: Oh! I really do apologize for that ESI. I’m just giving the information that I know and should be shared to our customer
ESI: I need to talk to someone who can handle this NOW
ESI: I’m tired of waiting
Comcast: Alright ESI. I will now going to process the request to our supervisor’s chat with you.
ESI: I can not use the system like it’s supposed to be used — and yet I’m paying full price for it
Comcast: I really understand where you’re coming from ESI. I will now go ahead and will ask to our supervisor.
Comcast: Please stay on chat I am now asking for the request.
As you can tell, I was starting to lose it.
First it was an issue that was going to be fixed in two days.
Now it’s a server issue.
I was getting the total run-around and was losing my patience.
I had to get an answer as I was not going through this again.
Also, FYI, while this is fast to read, there was often a minute or two between each response. I was not going to spend another extended chat session nine days from now because the server still wasn’t fixed.
Finally, I Get an Answer
So they transferred me to a supervisor and here’s what happened…
Comcast: Hi, ESI. This is Jess (changed), the supervisor on duty. I hope your day is going well. How may I help you today?
ESI: Can you see the issue above?
Comcast: Please give me 2-3 minutes while I review your chat conversation with the previous analyst.
ESI: You should also read the transcript from my chat with Art nine days ago.
Comcast: I’ll pull up the chat you had with, Art. Please bear with me.
Comcast: Thank you for waiting, ESI.
ESI: ok
ESI: So you understand that I can not record shows from the app or from your website?
Comcast: Yes. T
Comcast: The functionality was removed due to a legal ruling. Comcast disabled the feature while actively pursuing an appeal, and there are no plans to reinstate it at this time. You can still watch, download and delete recordings on the XFINITY Stream app and portal as usual.
Comcast: My apologies for the inconvenience this has caused you.
Comcast: I will apply the $20 credit promised by Art on Dec 2nd.
Comcast: The credit will reflect on next bill.
ESI: Wow…
ESI: That’s how I use 90% of your product
Comcast: I totally understand your frustration and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
ESI: How come Art and Katie gave me different answers?
ESI: What are my options? Not sure I want to continue my service if I can’t use it the way I am accustomed to.
Comcast: In behalf of Comcast, I apologize for the miss of the previous representatives.
Comcast: You can still watch, download and delete recordings on the XFINITY Stream app and portal as usual.
ESI: But I can’t RECORD.
ESI: That’s how I do ALL my recording!
Comcast: I understand. My apologies, ESI.
ESI: Recording on the TV remote is very clunky
ESI: What is the process for canceling my TV subscription? If it’s going to be so difficult to use, what’s the point of having it?
Comcast: For cancellation, please contact our Customer Solutions Team. Only the Customer Solutions Team can process your request. They can be reached via hotline at 1-800-XFINITY.
ESI: I’ll talk to my wife and she’ll handle it. It’s very disappointing that 1) this happened, 2) you didn’t inform anyone when it did, and 3) your reps have no clue what’s going on. I was told it would be fixed nine days ago and today I was told it was a server issue. If I hadn’t talked to you, I would still be waiting for the server to be fixed.
Comcast: I totally understand how feel at this time, ESI. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.
Comcast: Other than this, would there be anything else that I can assist you with today?
ESI: No
And that was it.
What Really Happened?
After I got off the chat I did a bit of Googling and found this. The summary:
Comcast has yanked a feature from its Stream app for mobile devices and web browsers that enables subscribers to schedule DVR recordings remotely.
The removal of that feature comes a few days after the International Trade Commission issued a final ruling that Comcast had violated two TiVo patents, and a “limited exclusion order” that prohibits the importation of certain DVR receivers and software components.
That ruling is now undergoing a 60-day presidential review period. Comcast, which disagreed with the ITC’s ruling, has removed the remote recording feature as it prepares to appeal.
I also found this:
The move results from Comcast being on the losing end of a patent fight last week with Rovi Corp. — or TiVo, as the DVR pioneer is known. According to Reuters, the ITC ruling prohibits Comcast from importing and selling certain types of Rovi’s Xfinity X1 set-top boxes.
“We respectfully disagree with the ITC’s decision in this matter,” Comcast said in a statement to GeekWire. “In fact, Rovi has never disputed that Comcast or its predecessors independently developed our X1 platform and our cloud- and app-based technology. While we believe the ITC reached the wrong decision, we will remove this feature from those offered to our subscribers while we pursue an appeal.”
I don’t blame Comcast for losing a lawsuit. After all, those things happen. But here are the problems I have with how they handled it:
- First, why didn’t they notify their customers of this change? A little proactivity would have saved me over an hour and 15 minutes of chat time just to get an answer.
- Second, why didn’t their customer service reps have the right answers? Was it because they hadn’t been updated on the situation? Was it because they were intentionally hiding the truth? Was it because they were poorly trained? Whatever the reason they both gave me incorrect advice that was less than helpful. If the first rep had told me what the supervisor eventually did, I would have saved an hour. I would not have been happy about it, but I would have had a better feeling about them than I did after they made me jump through hoops to get to the truth.
- Third, $20 in no way makes up for the loss of this feature (not to mention my time). It’s way too little, but then again what did I expect from them? And furthermore, it appears Art was a total Bozo and did not credit me the $20 the first time (the supervisor had to do it nine days later).
Someone please play the Keystone Cops theme song — it seems so appropriate here.
Done with Cable?
So now I’m asking myself if it’s time to cut the cable.
I’ve gone back and forth on this and am willing to hear from you.
A couple questions I have:
- If you cut cable (or never had it), how do you get your TV (I especially watch soccer and my wife likes HGTV and the Hallmark Channel)?
- Where do you get your internet service (I could go all the way and cut everything with Comcast)?
Finally, just let me remind you that Comcast/Xfinity is trying to sell us all home security features.
If they are this poor at handling TV customer service, imagine how bad they’d be when a real security issue pops up. Yikes!
Just cut it. Comcast is my only option besides the dish and after experiences similar to yours I cut 5 years ago. Don’t miss it at all.
Unfortunately I still have to keep them for internet as again, no other real choices. The dishes are too unreliable in rain and bad weather, as my neighbors who resentfully went back to Comcast confirmed. I hate Comcast, but they have me hostage if I want high speed internet.
To give Comcast a teensy bit of credit, their customer service was actually worse 10 years ago. Back then, it was impossible to even get a human on the phone. You can at least now do that, but after you start interacting with said human you start to think maybe the computer would be a better option…..
Haha! Love that last part!
They used to be absolutely horrible but now they’re only really terrible! (My words, not yours.) 🙂
We’ve not had cable since 1979 – just over the air free TV using rabbit ears antennas. We get 26 channels.
For internet we have Century link – anything we don’t get on TV we can usually find on the net for no additional charge (college & pro football games, baseball, etc.)
I use an antenna, too! Amazon has great new models that get HD channels, depending on your location and the towers available.
Not to add a rant to a rant, but just to clear something up – all ‘over the air’ broadcast TV is digital now, no analog. You don’t need any different antenna to get HD channels. They are just powered antennas. Try your old roof antenna or rabbit ears before you pay any money for a powered antenna. You might need one, or you might not, but paying for a “HD” antenna does not get you any special channels or definition.
My only option is either Comcast or AT & T for internet and my neighbors that have tried AT&T have terrible reception on their cable and internet. So I have stayed with Comcast for the internet and have their most basic cable. I would drop their cable but then my bill would go up $5.00 I, like everyone else around here, am just waiting for Google Fiber to arrive and then I will bolt in a hot second. I mainly use Amazon Prime and Netflix to watch shows when I do watch TV.
You would think a company so well known for horrible customer service would do something about it but I guess one doesn’t have to when they have a near monoply.
I can’t wait for Google Fiber too!!!
My guess is they go the way of Sears once a bit of competition opens up!
I cannot even read your whole post. I lost my whole house to burst water pipes and Comcast refused to cancel my service because I “did not have the right social security number”. Or as they, in the Philippines referred to it, “your sosh number”.
I don’t know how they could change my social security number and accuse me of not knowing it.
I will never live in a comcast service area again.
That is horrible! So sorry that happened to you…
We cut cable/satellite about 10 years ago. Now we mainly use Netflix and Amazon Prime. Also, we got Hulu LiveTV a few months ago and at $40 is pretty good.
Btw, I’m a big believer in NOT combining services with one provider. The small cost savings isn’t worth the hassle when these things come up or there are billing issues. I also don’t let my food touch on the plate. 🙂
Ha! You’d HATE me at Thanksgiving. I’m part of the “it’s all going to the same place” club. 😉
I would look into Roku and/or Sling and see what options they have available. You may be able to cut the cord and save money. I don’t know what channels soccer is carried on, but this may end up saving you money. Sling also has a deal that gets you a free Roku, so even better.
If those don’t work, look into Apple TV, and Amazon Fire, for other options.
Had a similar experience with Comcast a year ago. We had the xfinity triple play service for tv, internet and phone. Didn’t use the phone service at all and really didn’t watch cable tv that much anymore as we stream more and more of our programming from Netflix and Prime.
Inquired via chat how to downgrade services and they gave me the same phone number to call. When I called from my cell, received the “all circuits are busy” message (repeatedly). Called from my wife’s phone and got right through. Took about 30 min to cancel. Unfortunately we still pay $80/mo to them for internet svc.
Use PlayStation Vue for tv for $45/mo and it is sufficient (with good sports programming as well) and saves us about $115/mo.
Good luck. Can’t wait to drop Comcast once and for all from my life!
Cut the cord two years ago, but as others have said, must rely on cable for internet service. OTA antenna (outstanding picture, no compression) and combination of Sling, Netflix and Amazon Prime get us most of what we need. Sling Orange gives you soccer channels. You being an Iowa Ex-patriot like me, no solution for getting Big10 Iowa games reliably. DVR is possible, but you might need more complex solution for this (your own hardware). But, do not rent cable modem or WiFi. Monthly bill was $200+, now $120. Internet is $62 bucks for 100mb (half of monthly cost). My wife does budget, thanks me every month!
Put me in the camp for eliminating cable and for viewing content online when needed.
Sorry to hear they wasted your time. You did the right thing to escalate to a supervisor and it’s good that they at least gave you the real answer.
I suspect they made a decision to not tell people intentionally. Not everyone will be using it as much as you did (or maybe I’m wrong). That may also be part of the reason for not briefing the reps but to keep them in the dark when asked directly seems awfully unprofessional.
-Mike
I hate Comcast too. I had Comcast for Internet only for $80 a month!!! But where I used to live, it and ATT were the only options, and ATT said I had to have cable o get Internet, which I didn’t want. It was rediculous.
Thankfully my area has Fios and Comcast. I have Fios and recently threatened to leave until they gave me a much better deal. I’m very happy with their service. Your story is one of the best reasons I’ve heard to cut the cord. I hate dealing with companies that don’t value you as a customer.
We just reduced our Verizon Fios cable costs and improved our TV experience. I’m about the write an article about this, but here’s a quick summary:
1) Dumped the Verizon Fios Extreme HD TV package so we only get Internet.
2) Bought my own used Verizon Router on E-bay to save an additional $10 per month.
3) Signed up for Hulu/Live TV with Cloud DVR for $55 per month.
4) Signed up for Acorn TV (British TV that Mrs. FF loves) for $50 per year.
5) Continued with NetFlix.
Mrs. FF and I are both extremely happy.
I have been without cable for almost three years now. BEST decision of my life. I don’t like spending my hard earned money to be bombarded with a bunch of commercials and other stuff that I don’t care to watch. I use a local internet provider (North State Communications) for my high speed fiber internet and we have Netflix, Youtube, and digital antenna to fill in the gaps. We pick up at least 20 different channels here on our digital antenna system.
Made the switch from Direct TV to Direct TV Now which is their streaming versions and saved about $125 per month. Cost is $25 per month if you are an AT&T customer. Has 60 channels and all the ESPN, Local Sports, Local Channels, etc… that I want plus free HBO for being a AT&T customer. I don’t miss the DVR as much as I thought I would, but that’s probably the biggest drawback vs. Cable or Dish options.
Several years ago I purchased a reconditioned TiVo on Woot.com. We used the TiVo with our Charter Cable subscription (they need to come out to install the cable card); after a year we ditched the cable all together and used the TiVo for over the air tv and streaming but in 2012 our streaming options were much more limited and we lived too far from tv stations for good reception and cable was reinstalled in 2014.
The TiVo was worth every penny. It’s functionality and reliability was far superior to any cable box we have ever had from TWC, Charter or local cable company. There is a subscription fee for the TiVo service, but you are paying that now to the cable company for your DVR.
Look into the TiVo Bolt. No monthly fees!
I’ve had it for a year and been pretty happy.
Comcast is my only option in Scranton, Pa. They are super expensive. My sister-in-law also had them down in South Carolina. She went threw a similar situation as you. She recently got rid of them. I am thinking of getting rid of them too.
We’ve been happy with YouTube TV. It’s cheaper than PS Vue after Vue’s recent price increase. The drawbacks for you are that it isn’t available in every area, and it may not have the channels needed for the soccer you want to watch.
I’ve seen commercials for Fubo TV that emphasize their soccer content, so that might be worth checking out.
I tried Fubo for a couple months, about 2 years back and can confirm that there is A LOT of soccer content available.
So happy not to be a Comcast customer anymore. While it was quite a bit worse 5 to 10 years ago, it is still a very bad joke to even call it “customer service.” If you end up on a phone call, instead of a chat (since the chat takes so incredibly long), you frequently can’t talk to someone without an accent so strong they can’t be understood, and/or they have very poor command of the English language. I was a Comcast customer for between 16 and 20 years, bills always paid on time and in full by auto pay. In order to reduce their charges, I signed up for a 12-month contract. After 9 months, I moved to a location in the same community where Comcast is fortunately not an option (not a service provider there), and signed up with Spectrum (Charter). I called Comcast several times to ask if they would credit my $30 early termination fee as a goodwill gesture for the 16 – 20 years that I have been such a good customer. I know it wasn’t much money, it was really the principle of the matter. After finally being told by a more senior customer service representative that I would be refunded the early termination fee, it never arrived, and I gave up talking to them. Spectrum had a program to refund the early termination fee from other cable providers, and did so, and I get basically same services for less than Comcast, with no contract language. I hope to never be a Comcast customer again. I would have switched long before, except I didn’t have a good alternative for high-speed internet. There are many very good reasons why Comcast is the leader in surveys for outstandingly bad “customer service.”
BTW, rants are perfectly acceptable when the content is accurate, and yours most certainly was. I just wish the rants made more difference than temporarily making me feel better from the opportunity to vent!
I’m thinking if just one person finds this post and either doesn’t buy from them or cancels their service, then at least some difference was made.
I cut the cord with Frontier (who purchased AT&T U-Verse here in CT) about a year ago. The reason – my back-up battery died (it was 7 years old). When I called Frontier to ask them to provide a new one, they said it was out of warranty and I would have to contact the battery manufacturer to get another one. Mind you, there was no way for me to use the cable with a dead battery because the power ran through the back-up battery – I could not bypass it. I explained that I had been a loyal customer for 7 years, had never called to ask for a better deal, was paying $175 per month and would expect a little better service and if they would not replace the battery, I was cancelling service. They refused. I was, however, able to get him to transfer me to the cancellation people – he did not just give me a number to call:-). I went to Best Buy and bought an digital antenna. After speaking with one of the young guys there and asking him what he did, I bought my own router and modem (got Roku for Christmas). I have yet to hook up because I soon thereafter decided to move and figured I would wait until after the move to sign up for internet. Moving at the end of the month and I will likely get just internet and, if it’s cheaper, maybe basic cable. I will say that we have had Comcast at our cottage in MA for years and I have had only one bad experience with customer service and mostly very good experiences. I will definitely look into what Mr. Freaky Frugal suggests up above
Agreed with your article ESI. Where I live in Ohio, Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) is our only real option and we bundle cable with internet as it’s the only viable option (although thanks to your article I’m getting smart and looking at my options). I’d rate Spectrum on a par with Comcast for terrible customer service.
ESI,
Thanks for this post. I was wondering why I couldn’t set new recordings through the Xfinity app lately. JD Roth just did a post on TV services.
http://www.getrichslowly.org/2017/12/07/tv-without-cable/
I feel your pain- but use it as a learning experience and stop rewarding poor companies
Don’t get into the mindset of ‘I need this company’ . There are alternatives!
I cut cable two years ago and do not regret it. Comcast is awful -Just lousy. I use a different company now for internet.
if you have to keep them for your Internet do that but get rid of them for TV. And ignore their offers to come back to you( believe me those offers will come!!)
I use Hulu Amazon and Netflix…Cost $25 a month total and I see all my shows including HGTV. Sometimes you need to see the show one day later than aired but that’s a small price to pay.
It’s time we stop rewarding bad company service.
Cut or reduce your ties with them- it’s the only way they learn
I think we looked into this, but somehow the difference between internet only and internet plus TV was like $10 a month — and I have no other reliable internet options.
I have basic cable service with Comcast and it’s pretty stable.
No cable service – video is through Netflix or Amazon Prime. I would like to be able to see NHL hockey but am not willing to subscribe to any cable or satellite service to do so.
Like others, I anxiously await the arrival of Google fiber.
EDIT: sorry, I mean no *TV* service. 🙂
The have one English ‘soccer’ game on free-to-air each week usually at 11:30 Saturday (CT). They also have a couple more on on the free-to-air Telemundo (spanish) not to mention many German league games. If my game isn’t on for free then i just go to the apartment gym and walk on a treadmill for 90mins while watching the game as they have cable – good excuse to actually move.
Thanks. I say “soccer” since that’s what most Americans call it. 😉
Yes, I have to use that now I’ve moved to the states. I tried using ‘world football’ but it didn’t work.
Almost forgot, I did have my own Comcast service incident recently. Checking my email on a Saturday morning, I noticed an email from Comcast confirming a change in my service adding TV. I immediately called and challenged this.
After spending 30 minutes on the phone, the rep confirmed that the change was erroneous. Then added: But, this is such a good deal that you should keep it.
I said “no thanks” but started asking how someone was able to access my account, which required knowing the security answers. It seemed to me that it was not possible. The more likely explanation was that someone inside Comcast did it. I never got a response to that question.
I thought that was the end of it, but (no surprise) a couple of days later a big box arrives from Comcast. I assume it was the cable box/DVR. I didn’t open it, just tossed it on a shelf in the garage. If they want it back, they can send one of their people to come pick it up. If they want me to ship it to them, they’re going to have to compensate me for my time driving it to a UPS drop off point. 🙂
Ha! I’d love to hear if they pay you to do that!
Coincidentally, I got a notice from them today saying I needed to return the box or I’d be charged. So, I called and told the customer “service” rep that they could send someone to pick up the box, or, if I had to bring it to UPS, I wanted a $10 credit on my bill to compensate me for the inconvenience.
To my (mild) surprise, the rep immediately went on the offense, got hostile and adversarial. He claimed I ordered a new service and then called back right away and cancelled.
There was no reasoning with him, so I asked to speak to a supervisor — and he refused. I ended the call at that point. It’s just not worth the aggravation. I’m going to contact Google and beg and plead for them to get their fiber service to my area asap. 🙂
Social media can be a powerful tool for getting attention. After my unpleasant experience with the Comcast rep, I vented my frustration on Twitter.
This morning, another Comcast rep contacted me and offered to either have UPS pick up the box, or credit my account $10 if I brought to UPS.
They also offered to reduce my bill by $20/month for the next year as a good will gesture.
Awesome! And great tip!!!
Why do you keep buying a product that you don’t like from a company you hate?
I like the product of “TV”, but I just don’t have other viable options (like others have stated).
It’s the same reason I shopped at Sears back in the day — until Amazon came long.
Now I’m waiting for Google/You Tube to hit my area.
What do you suggest in the meantime?
I suggest you Don’t use them for tv.!! If you must use them for internet only . Get tv fromamazon humu and Netflix! Even if it cost you a few dollars more it’s worth it in the long run. Stop rewarding bad companies with your money, they won’t change until you do!
I am looking into doing something similar to what Cha says. Currently our internet/phone provider is not our TV provider. We use Dish Network for TV plus Netflix and Amazon Prime. I like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and think they compliment each other. I am slowly researching the details of what Hulu or Apple TV or Select TV or the other similar services provide. Our current system is pricey, but we get the channels we like and have had a good experience with Dish Network. Even so, we will be going away from them when our contract expires this spring. (The extra expense of not bundling everything with one provider finally got to me this fall.) I like having a DVR in our TV system with the same capabilities you like. I am looking into using an old computer for the purpose of controlling a home TV network. The Linux distribution, Ubuntu, has a flavor that would allow me to set up a TV network in our house with the computer hard drive working as a DVR, I think and hope. I just haven’t sat down to struggle through the set up yet. At first glance, it does not seem intuitive. Since I am the Tech guy in our house, but not IT-techy, it will be a good opportunity to learn something new. 🙂
That reminds me of the reporter who asked the criminal why he robbed banks.
“Because that’s where they keep the money!” 🙂
Right now, my only option would be to go with AT&T, which, by all accounts, is only marginally better than Comcast.
Google will drive Comcast, AT&T and their ilk to improve their service or go out of business. But, until Google is available, you need to go with bad service or do without.
We cut the cord about 3 years ago. We get about 25 channels over the air and use CenturyLink for internet. I could afford cable but I just had a visceral reaction to their highway robbery tactics. Especially the deal for 1 year thing and then we will jack your rates through the roof unless you call us and throw a fit every year which I don’t think works as well as it used to either.
It got to the point where I basically considered them the mob. We had mediacom instead of comcast but its just a Chicago mob versus a NY mob. They each monopolize their mob territory. When I got an offer for a 5 year locked in rate package from CenturyLink for internet at a good price it was all I needed to run away from cable as fast as possible.
I have never gone the dish route and consider them mostly just a second tier mob with slightly cheaper rates than the first tier mob.
There are a few times a year where there is a sporting event I can’t get that I miss it. That’s it. Otherwise its amazing how little it crosses my mind. For me, it worked out that when I changed what I had available, it changed what I cared about. Turns out I don’t really care about 99% of the junk that was on cable anyway. I just thought I did because it was there. The other 1% I can live without to no longer have to deal with the mob.
I have been with Comcast and its predecessors since 1985! And it has gone downhill in my opinion, not that it had very much room to fall. My last interaction with their phone people in the Philippines drove me to distraction, although I have a huge long document of all my troubles with them for years. This time I told the Philippines person if she didn’t do what I wanted I would complain to my state’s AG. She said no and I filed my complaint right away. In a week or less I got a very urgent email from someone in their executive customer care. She gave me credits worth about a month’s cost and upgraded my services while reducing my fixed costs by about $20/month. Not great, but I have a dumb TV and can’t do the internet thing till I change that, and don’t want to do without some of the channels only available on cable, so my fault and my cost. I hope next year to be able to invest in a new TV and all the related upgrades so that I can say goodbye to Comcast for everything but internet. Horrible company, but we have to blame our federal representatives for tying the hands of our local regulators. Comcast has bought and paid for them. It’s disgusting that Congress more often represents business than their human constituents.
Wow, reading this reminded me of how much I hated Comcast when we had them. We ditched them for Fios about 6 or 7 years ago and I have been much happier since then, though we’re planning to get rid of them too and just use Netflix instead.
I could write a whole post of my own sharing my Comcast troubles but that would be going back a long way so it might not be relevant anymore. We had all sorts of billing problems and they kept messing up our account and canceling our service, then when I called to complain they had no idea who I was and tried to sell me new service. The cable boxes seemed to die frequently and for no reason. And once while I was at work they called my cell phone to tell me they were standing outside my house ready to set up my “new” service. This was after I had already been a customer for several years. Ugh.
When I first started dating my husband 25 years ago I had a 19″ tv with rabbit ears. (Dating myself, I know) He was appalled and insisted on buying me a new tv and getting cable installed (all of which he paid for). To this day he pays for anything related to the tv and cable. A couple of days ago Charter/Spectrum (Time/Warner) switched to a totally digital signal. The tv I mainly watch is old and we would need to buy (sorry, RENT) additional equipment to make it compatible (an additional $10/mo). I keep telling my husband not to bother. I am trying to “cut the cord.” We’ll see how long he holds out before he just goes ahead and does everything on his own. He keeps insisting I need to go out and buy a new tv! I think I will survive just fine without HTV and Hallmark Channel.
I dumped all Cable once I realized I could get Hockey via the online subscriptions. I was on TWC and hated their cable tv and having to deal with their customer service. Spectrum is not much better. Neither as bad as Comcast to be fair. I have AT&Ts Giga power for internet only and I use a combination of the following via a 4th generation apple tv:
Playstation Vue – Any channels we watch are included. Has DVR etc.
Fox sports Go app – I use the Vue authentication to watch live sports on the app.
Netflix
Amazon Prime
Now that Amazon Prime was added to the Apple TV App store this past week, everything is conveniently accessed via the apple tv.
I will never go back to cable. The key to that is having decent internet capacity.
Hope you folks will indulge me, but in addition to my own abysmal Comcast experience, I have another customer service experience that shows how good customer service can be.
I recently purchased a “nature sounds” album from Apple’s iTunes store. I thought it would be nice to use chirping birds and babbling brooks as the ‘wake up’ melody on my iPhone. However, upon loading the album, I discovered interspersed with the nature sounds, jet engines, trucks and other unwelcome urban sounds.
I deleted the album and sent a note to Apple asking for a refund. Their first response was “No”, noting that once you make a purchase it’s yours even if you decide later you don’t like it. It was only $5, but I asked the Apple rep who wrote me to reconsider because I felt the album’s creator had misrepresented the album’s content.
A couple of days later, the rep writes me back and says that they reversed their decision and would issue me a refund. I don’t know if my note was persuasive, or if it was just a customer relations gesture, but I was satisfied with the outcome. I responded to the email and said “Thank you. I appreciate it. Have a merry Christmas.”
This morning I received this from the Apple rep:
“You’re very welcome, Richard and thank you for the appreciation of the assistance provided to you. I’m glad that out of the hundreds of customers we send emails to everyday, someone appreciates the effort we put into trying to provide the highest quality of customer service. A simple “thank you” is really touching.
Customers like you are the reason why we strive to do the best at our jobs; so, feel free to send us an email for any concerns that you may have with the iTunes Store and we’ll be honored to help.
I wish you the best.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks,
xxxx
iTunes Store Customer Support”
Wow. What a contrast to Comcast!
Comcast is the worst. I stopped doing business with them probably close to 15 years ago. I had a cable modem, which was still relatively new at the time. It worked well for a while, but then suddenly stopped working. Nothing I tried work, and they had to send someone out. The first available appointment? FIve days. I was pissed but I accepted it. Five days later someone comes out and does some stuff, and it’s working. For maybe an hour. I call them back and see if they can send someone back out. Sure. In another FIVE DAYS.
That was it. I was done. I went to the other cable company available and they had me fully installed the next day. When Comcast showed up FIVE DAYS later, I just handed them a box full of all their stuff and told them to just cancel it all.
I still have a Verizon landline that we’ve had for like 25 years. A few years ago, I started getting a lot of static on the line that was really bad so I called for service. I had to schedule it using the automated phone system and the date they gave me was about 3 weeks later. I think I got them to give me a credit but overall was pretty ridiculous.
I cut out Comcast TV about 2 years ago. I got tired of them raising my rates after my promo for TV/Internet ran out. Also, I realized I wasnt watching TV enough to justify paying for it when I was at work all day. I spend most of my time on the internet so i dont miss it much. I cant get FIOS in my area so Im kinda stuck with Comcast for internet but I got a promo rate for 200MB Blast service for 1 year for $49.99/ mo. I put up a good HD ant. and get a few of the major networks.
Here’s a suggestion:
Cancel your cable TV for at least a month. Tell yourself you can get it back after that if you miss it that much. Put up a HD ant. Try out some of the free trials for streaming services. There are so many you could almost get a years worth of entertainment for free. Find other things to do with your time than being focused on TV.
I just had a similar billing issue with Sprint for my cell phone. Once my 2 year contract was up my $25 a month subsidized phone charge was supposed to be gone, but it wasnt. I called in the next month and was told it would be credited back and I wouldnt be charged going forward. Plus a $10 month special retention credit (for 2 months) was gone also. The next month nothing was fixed on my bill so I had to call again. Once again I was connected to an overseas call center who’s english is pretty bad and they just don’t get what you are trying to say. After much explaining the rep checked with her supervisor and said they were going to credit me half of the charges. I said that wasnt right and after back and forth I supposedly am getting my full amount plus the $10 owed. I’ll have to wait until my next bill to see if it gets applied. Horrible experience. Just think how many people are getting ripped off by these mistakes. But they never make a mistake where you get free service for a month or 2! If it isnt right this time Im going to file a complaint with the BBB and call the corporate office in the US. Then look into changing carriers. You gotta watch everything like a hawk these days.
Sorry to the non-locals. ESI, Centurylink is the only other provider in our area. They put fiber in some of the newer areas, like Cordera and Wolf Ranch; I lived in WR and used their fiber IPTV service and internet–very good internet. But for the rest of town, Centurylink (the old Qwest) is just DSL. After we moved out of WR I tried Comcast again, but after the annual call to negotiate a lower rater we just dropped it. I put an antenna in my attic and we have a nice shot to Cheyenne Mountain where all the transmitters are located. The bottom line is that if you want “cable” experience (hundreds of channels, etc.) you have limited options. But, frankly, over the air networks with a TiVo DVR, plus Roku (or Apple, etc.) streaming box is quite enough to keep us happy. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc., are great services. YouTube TV is also coming up quickly with many cable-type channels. Anyway, I share your frustration.
My internet speed is slow today. Maybe they read this post. Or maybe their internet has some “changes based on a recent lawsuit.” LOL!
Too funny! Any better today?
We left Comcast over 3 years ago. Used Verizon (for 2 years) and now AT&T for internet and use Hulu for “TV”.
Not much. I may need to write another post on how bad their internet service is…
Hopefully, you don’t have phone service through them then 😉
Comcast is the second worst company I’ve had the pleasure of doing business with, second only to Lowe’s. Do not let Lowe’s do any sort of project installation for you – I cannot emphasize this enough. They will disappoint you and you do not get nearly your money’s worth and you will become bitter and completely disillusioned in the process.
Comcast, always managed to bill me a little higher each and every month and services disappeared or “appeared” along with a new charge. We have to use them for internet but I will never every pay for cable again. I’m became weary of being lied to. I have the belief that you must really examine what you tolerate as it just becomes the status quo if you tolerate it. I just had enough. I’d never let anyone lie to me repeatedly in personal relationship…it made no sense to let them do it either. Now, I am happily using an antennae with 59 channels to choose from after a mere $50 one time investment.
I turned on the TV for the Olympics, to watch the ball drop in Times Square, and for the Super Bowl.
I’m not terribly interested in the Winter Olympics. (My daughter is a swimmer.) So, I can wait it out until 2020.
I have to cajole my wife into coming down to watch the ball drop.
And I watch the Super Bowl mainly for the commercials.
So I canceled my cable, and have no real plans to reinstate it. We just don’t watch it. None of us really need any more distraction in our lives.
We recently switched to Hulu Live TV, with Spectrum Internet service, as the cost of cable was out of control.
Pros: Saves me almost $60 per month! Also, based on how Hulu works, we now watch less TV as a family, which is a good thing (no more “surfing” for something to watch).
Cons: Spectrum isn’t any better than Comcast in my opinion. Bandwidth into my house mysteriously slows down EXACTLY at 5:30 PM. Suspicious. Biggest issue we have had so far is live sports can sometimes be a bit glitchy, particularly NFL games.
Hey, ESI now! (see what I did there?) As a Comcast stock holder I find your rant out of place. Just shut up, use your remote to record and pay the monthly bill. Geesh, Comcast has a new skyscraper in Philadelphia to pay for don’t you know…
What’s that? What cable TV service do I have? Um, none. Only suckers pay for cable TV. I prefer to go outside and enjoy the real world.
Okay, we do have HD antenna for local TV channels. Maybe stream some content to one of our smart TV’s via Verizon FiOS internet grandfathered @ $17.99/mo at 2Mup/5Mdown. Just fast enough to run our smartphones from Republic over WiFi and the smart TV’s.
[sarcasm] 😉
Thank you for this blog, you basically said what many Comcast customers feel. I dropped cable not too long ago. I only use Comcast internet and I’ve paired it with a Roku 4 and I just recently bought a Tablo 4 tuner dvr to record the OTA TV shows and I can stream them too many devices in my own house under my network, awesome combination. The combination of Netflix Hulu YouTube and antenna, Tablo is quite plenty for our family. I am also waiting for Google Fiber to start installing here in Miami Florida but they seem to have run into a problem. So it looks like I’ll be stuck with Comcast internet for a bit longer. I don’t want to support big companies anymore because the bigger they get the worse they treat you, Dam monopolies.
I found this post by googling “why is xfinity’s streaming service so bad?”
I had just binged 3 seasons of a show on Netflix and was sniffing around for new episodes. They were available on Xfinity, so I started it up. Commercials – skippable, but annoying. Then episode 1 ends and tacked on is an episode of an entirely different show – what?? And no option to jump to the next episode of my show. I have found that the only way to get to the next episode is apparently to go back to the homepage, type the name of the show into the search box, and then scroll to the episode I want. Every time. How asinine.
Also here’s my Comcast Terrible Customer Service Story:
When my child was a toddler, I put one of her shows on through the On Demand service on the TV. When one episode would end it would go back to the main On Demand screen. If a child was to pick up the remote and push the one Big Red Button several times, it would select Movies – New Releases – first movie on the list – Rent – Confirm. This happened, I realized it about 10 minutes into the movie, and immediately called to cancel the rental. The man I spoke to was extremely rude, first accused me outright of lying, then told me I was a bad parent who didn’t watch my kid well enough. I hung up on him and emailed the company. To their credit, they listened to the recording of the call, offered a heartfelt apology on behalf of the agent, refunded my account and offered me a free movie rental of my choice. They also told me they would look into the issue of how easy it was to accidentally order up the most expensive movie on the list, but it didn’t get fixed because she did it again a few months later when dad was watching her! That time it was a kids movie so he just let her watch it, but I started hiding the remote (with 3 older kids it was impossible to always keep it out of her grasp, instead I had to assume the role of Keeper of the Clicker. Thanks.)
Basically, Comcast is very huge and have lots of Line of Business like mobile,prepaid,internet, telephone and cable. As it has many outsource overseas, updates about changes in system/services not all representatives are aware of. For overseas their comprehension are different, some are knowledgeable and not. Internally they also struggling about misinformation since calls routed from different outsource company, and they have to correct this which sometimes leads customer being irate, but hey! Be appreciative as what you are getting is accurate rather than you waiting for nothing. As for me customer service is good it’s just that COMCAST SERVICE itself sucks especially in Florida Region.