Comcast pay more get less

They did it again. Things have been stable since 2010 when Comcast upgraded their system requiring customers to get a box to hook up that was a bit of a pain. I was actually pleased with the upgrade because we got many more channels including some (not all) of the one's that had been previously been deleted. About 2 weeks ago Comcast raised the price again but worse some of the channels we have come to enjoy are no longer available without upgrading our service. So much for Sundance, Fox movie Channel and IFC unless we pay more.

I was looking around the Comcast website when an employee started chatting with me. 

Chris: Hi, I'm a live Comcast product specialist. Would you like my help checking out?

Chris: Just type your question below.

You: Why have Sundance, Fox Movies and IFC been taken away?

Chris: All technical issues with Comcast Service are handled by our Technical Support Chat Agents. I can guide you through the path of connecting to this group.

Chris: Are you ok with me sending you to the appropriate webpage to connect to that group?

You: It's not a technical issue. The channels are no longer available on Digital Starter

Chris: Sundance nd IFC is included in our Digital Preferred plan. While, Fox Movie is on our Digital Premier plan.

You: Those channles were on my Digital starter until about 2 weeks ago

Chris: Thank you for being a current Comcast customer. Customer service will be able to assist you with the help you need. You can reach our Customer Service team by calling 1-800-comcast (1-800-266-2278).

You: I'm getting a Dish

Chris: I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I can provide you with our Customer Service team's number to help you or discuss alternative options. Please don't hesitate to initiate contact and call them at 1-800-Comcast (1-800-266-2278). They will be able to pull up your account and process the changes just for you.

Chris: Our Customer Service team is available Monday through Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM. Please call them at your convenience.

You: I'm blogging about this at Gort42.blogspot.com Pass it along to your PR people

Chris: My apologies for such change in your programming.

Chris: I recommend calling our Customer Service Team. They've got all your account information and they also have the expertise to better assist you. That number is 1-800-comcast (1-800-266-2278).

Chris: Thank you for your time! Are there any other questions I can answer for you?

Chris: How are things coming along?

You: No. I'm just upset that channels that I enjoy are no longer available unless I pay more.

Chris: I understand, please call our Customer Service team at your convenience.

Chris: Do you have any other questions I can answer for you?

You: What's the point? If I want those channels back I have to pay more.

Chris: I suggest that you call our Customer Service team so they can offer you options in getting back the channels.

You: Thanks Chris, get some sleep.

Chris: You're welcome, that's so sweet of you.

Chris: I will in a bit. Take care.

Chris: Thank you for visiting Comcast today.

Chris: Have a great evening.

Kudos to Comcast

I bet that's a headline my long time readers would never expect to see.


Earlier today a Comcast technician showed up on my doorstep saying that the company's remote diagniostics detected a week signal on my internet connection. He came in and did some measurements and decided we needed some new cables to replace the same wires we have had since 1996. He also replaced the splitters with dead ends that I had jury rigged over the years.

I really can't complain about the signal service as we have rarely lost our connection to cable or the internet. The pricing, boxes and other hassles is another story.

The last time I did a post about this media bohemeth one of their press flacks contacted me the next day. Let's see if that will happen again. Are you out there Melissa or have you moved on?

Comcast update

I broke down and ordered the boxes from Comcast that are supposed to restore my TV viewing to what it once was in the days when Adelphia was my cable provider with the promise of more channels. They arrived today and I hooked up the first one and followed the instructions provided but I still don't have the upgraded service. Nothing worked. Even worse, after I plugged in all the wires and boxes then waited the required time it knocked out my internet connection. I'm usually pretty good with electronic devices but I can't figure this out. I disconnected everything to get things back to normal.


I'm sure that Comcast will offer to send over a tech geek to make it all work for a "modest service charge" sometime between 6Am and Midnight someday next month if I ask.

Update: I figured it all out. So now I can be enticed to buy first run movies for a low. low price.

Comcast responds

From the inbox:


Hello,

I came across your post and wanted to reach out to you regarding your concerns. First, we are going all digital so that we can reclaim some of our bandwidth for more programming and increased internet speeds. For every 1 analog channel on our system, we can fit up to 10 SD channels or up to 2 HD channels. Also, we are working to bring speeds of 105mbps in Xfinity areas. If you are subscribing to our Expanded Basic tier and are losing channels as a result of the changes, we are offering up to two DTA devices (digital transport adaptors) to each home at no additional cost. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns regarding the changes and the options available to you. I’d be happy to have one of my colleagues from the regional corporate office reach out to you.

Regarding Keith Olberman, Comcast is not in any way involved with the decisions made currently by NBC news. As this transaction is still in negotiations and awaiting approval, the law prohibits our involvement.

Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Our team is here if you need us.


Kind Regards,

Melissa Mendoza
Digital Media Analyst
National Customer Operations

Comcast and Keith Olberman

This started out on my Facebook page and I will mix in some comments from some friends.


I've had enough of Comcast. They sent me a piece of mail today saying I won't be able to watch TV unless get one of their boxes. Blackmail. My TV's aren't that old but they are moving more channels to the digital tier that I will need a box to tune in. I miss Adelphia, they were run by a bunch of crooks but we had great service but I'm actually happy with the internet service. I've had it for 5 years and only had one brief outage. I'm reluctant to get a dish because many of my friends tell me they have weather issues and my late father-in-law would roll over in his grave if we defaced his brickwork on our house.

Keith Olberman has been suspended by MSNBC because he gave some money to Democratic candidates. A host of another MSNBC show gave money to Republicans

Joe Scarborough did the exact same thing


IOKIYAR

My friend Tony quotes Rachell:


"I know everybody likes to say, 'Oh, that's cable news, it's all the same. Fox and MSNBC, mirror images of each other.' Let this lay that to rest forever. Hosts on Fox News raise money for Republican candidates. They endorse them explicitl...y, they use their Fox News profile to headline fundraisers. Heck, there are multiple people being paid by Fox News now to essentially run for office as Republican candidates....They can do that because there's no rule against that as Fox. They run as a political operation; we're not."- Rachel Maddow

This should be a case of don't do that again because you violated company policy so take a few days off and don't do it again. But even MSNBC will grovel before the FoxNews/TeaParty/Republican noise machine.


What Role Did Comcast Play in Keith Olbermann's Suspension?--UPDATED with Comcast response

Attack ads and polling

Negative advertising is nothing new as this clever video shows.

A tip of the tricorner to my FB friend and fellow Phils fan Karl for pointing this out.





I recently asked a longtime politico to put up a few positive spots reminding people why they should vote for his client and not just against the other guy. He said our "polls show that seniority and past accomplishments don't move the numbers this year. " Unfortunately that is probably true of any year. The truth is the negative ads work as my friend on the other side Dana recently lamented.

The campaign pollsters drive races these days and while you have to take any polling numbers released by a campaign with a grain of salt these polls are considerably more expensive and the methodology is more rigorous. If they tell their clients just what they want to hear and turn out to be terribly wrong future campaigns won't hire them. That is why I give more credence to polls conducted by the Dem outfit Momentun Analysis and GOP fav The Tarrance Group.

I don't really trust the public polls this cycle as polling is getting harder and more expensive to do as this story in my favorite magazine The Economist documents.

It is getting ever harder to work out what the American public thinks

The immediate problem is the rapid growth in the number of people who have only a mobile phone, and are thus excluded from surveys conducted by landline. About a quarter of Americans are now “cellphone-onlys” (CPOs) in the industry jargon, and this poses both practical and statistical difficulties... They often retain their telephone numbers, including the area code, when they move from state to state, so it is hard to know where they are. And it costs more to call a mobile phone in the first place.

Sure there creditable public polls such as Gallop and the Q Poll but much of the the rest of it is dime-store junk as Charlie Cook said.

Speaking of junk the Times Leader published a poll on Wednesday that it paid a company in Maine to conduct that came up with the opposite results of just about every other pollster. According to this rookie political polling operation Kanjorski is up 47-39% but just 2 weeks ago Barletta was leading by 2 points. I sure hope that they are right but I seriously doubt that there has been a 10 point swing in this race in just 2 weeks. In the 10th CD they have Marino up by the same margin as last time with a big undecided. Every other public and private poll that I have seen has Carney leading.

One candidate is not running negative ads and he just may win.

The 30 second attack ad

Kanjo released a new ad and the Realtors have a spot up supporting him. The NRCC has an attack ad running but America's Mayor is not on the air yet. The 60 Plus Association has a spot running all over the country including the PA 10th and 11th Districts that is so full of shit that I won't link to it. For all the technological advances of the last 40 or 50 years the 30 second TV ad is still the most important thing in a campaign.

Seinfeld eggs

We had some leftover lobster from our New Year's celebration so I decided to make Seinfeld eggs. If you remember the episode it had to do with George Costanza getting revenge over the viewing of his 'shrinkage.' Since the Christmas display at the Luzerne County Courthouse will now include secular items I hope someone will erect a Festivus Pole next year that will undoubtedly result in another legal challenge.

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I think that a celebration of Festivus would fit in well especially the The Airing of Grievances. Imagine a ceremony on the courthouse lawn were citizens could tell elected officials all of the instances where they disappointed him or her that year. The ceremony would end with The Feats of Strength were the Chairperson of the Commissioners as head of the county government (family) tests his or her strength against one participant of the head's choosing. Festivus is not considered over until the head of the family has been pinned to the ground. That would have been impossible when Greg Skrepnak was Chairman but I think that Michelle or Kathy could take on Maryanne.

Sports dilema

The Eagles are playing the opener against Carolina while at the same time the Phillies are in a pennant race and facing the Mets. My 2nd TV crapped out in the living room but I have picture-in-picture down in the Gort42 Command Bunker.

Hardball

Hardball is back on MSNBC at 3AM replacing The Ed Show. Love him or hate him Chris Matthews has one of the best political shows on TV. I'm a night shift worker so I notice these things.

Charlie's Angels marathon

WGN (96 on Comcast) is playing the 1st season of Charlie's Angels. When it was first on I watched it with the sound off. Like many teenage boys growing up in the 1970's I had the poster and still do.

Dilemma

What to watch on the tube tonight? Should I tune in to see if John McCain will "whip" "That One's" "you-know-what" in the debate or see if the Phils can wrap up the National League pennant? Probably both since we have 2 sets in the living room and the TV in the unsecured disclosed world HQ of Gort42 has picture in picture.
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J-Roll leads off the game with a HR.
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The CNN debate pregame has about 50 people on stage all with laptops in front of them, weird.
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J-Roll walks, steals 2nd and comes home on a Ryan Howard single then Utley scores on a Burrell hit. Phils 3-0
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Joe the plumber? Mac wants to buy your mortgage and freeze spending.
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Senator Obama, I'm not President Bush. If you want to run against President Bush you should have ran 4 years ago.
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Mac says the nasty campaign is because Obama didn't agree to town hall meetings and jumps on John Lewis' George Wallace remarks.
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Obama says the American people are not concerned about hurt feelings and shifts to economics.
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The Dodgers starter, Billingsley, is pulled in the 3rd.

Blogger error, I just lost the a bunch of stuff. Live blog is over.

The weather in southern Africa

While the rest of you are in bed I usually watch the re-run of Hardball at 3AM after I get home from work or try to because sometimes Mrs G tunes in The Family Guy because I'm busy surfing. And another helpful programming note for you 2nd shifters and insomniacs, Arlis is on ESPN Classic at 2:30.

But anyway every night/morning at 3:30AM a bit comes on MSNBC with the presenter saying "Welcome to all our new viewers in southern Africa, here is today's weather"...then we get the temps in Capetown and Zimbabwe in Celsius.
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People in Africa watch MSNBC?

So as a public service announcement to all the readers of GORT42 in southern Africa here is the the weather report for South Africa:
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Strategist

Every time I tune into a political show on any network they always have a segment with a couple of talking heads that I never have heard of identified as a Republican or Democratic "Strategist."

What qualifications do you need to be a "Strategist"?

As far as I can tell anyone who worked on one presidential campaign, has great hair and is photogenic meets the definition.

TV for History Nerds

The best history on TV is still done by PBS and the BBC. The History Channel has alot of shows about modern marvels, ghost stories and other nonsense.

I get home from work tonight and surfed into this gem.

The Supreme Court on PBS.