Comcast's web site allows you to submit feedback, so on Sunday evening I used that to send Comcast a link to my previous blog entry. I figured if they were going to try to retain me, I'd rather hear from them before I actually switched than afterwards.
I was impressed to hear from Mary in the Executive Support Office the next morning. She had read the blog posting, so she was familiar with the details. She said that some of the local offices aren't familiar with all of the available promotions, and not surprisingly, she offered me the same deal that I was originally offered in the mailing.
However, even with that promotional rate, I would be paying at least $50 more per month that I'm going to be paying for comparable U-verse service (with higher internet bandwidth from U-verse). The Comcast package includes HBO, which I won't be getting from U-verse, but I don't have HBO now and don't want it, and Comcast couldn't drop that from their package to reduce the rate.
I explained to Mary that I couldn't really consider staying with Comcast if I was going to have pay that much more, but other than offering me a $10/month credit for a few months, she couldn't do anything to get a better rate. Mary told me to call her if I changed my mind, or decided to switch back to Comcast later, and she would give me the best possible rate. She gave me her direct number.
I give Comcast credit for follow up, but they're going to have to be more competitive on pricing, now that we have another option. I imagine Verizon FIOS will be available at some point too, which will make things even more competitive.
Hopefully, I won't be sharing horror stories later about my U-verse installation :-)
-- Dave
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Goodbye Comcast, hello AT&T U-verse!
I've been a Comcast customer for years. They've been okay for the most part, but they recently did something that convinced me to try another option -- AT&T U-verse.
I moved to South Florida a year ago. I had Comcast in my previous home, and they were the only option in my new home, so it was a no brainer. I signed for the HD Triple Play bundle, with a promotional rate for one year for HDTV, internet, and digital voice. I recently received a letter from Comcast indicating that my promotional rate was coming to an end, and offering me a new promotional rate for another year -- not quite as good as the rate they were offering to new subsribers, but better than what I would be paying when my promotion ended.
I also received a call from someone at Comcast, Angie, who offered me a different (more expensive) promotional rate than the one I received in the mail. I told Angie I wasn't ready to make the decision yet, so she gave me her direct number and told me to call when I was ready.
Meanwhile, I priced out an AT&T U-verse plan that was comparable to my current Comcast plan. The U-verse plan was cheaper than the promotional rate from the mailing, so I figured I could use that to help convince Comcast to give me a better price.
A little more than a week ago, I decided to call Comcast to set up the new bundle. I called the number Angie gave me -- it wasn't a valid number. I called the number listed on the promotional mailing. The first person I reached had to transfer me to someone who could handle Florida service. That person could only talk about upgrading my service, not a new promotional bundle, so she transferred me to someone else, Leona. Leona told me I was eligible for a bundle that was about $20/month more than the offer I received in the mail. I told her about the mail offer, and she told me the system didn't show that I was eligible for that rate, so she would talk to her manager and call me back later that day. I never heard from her.
Yesterday, I decided to try again. The first person I spoke with put me on hold, after which I was promptly disconnected. I called back, and got someone else (Jim, I think). I explained about the offer in the mail, and Jim insisted I was not eligible for the rate in the offer. Eventually Jim transferred me to Jay, who also insisted I wasn't eligible for the promotional rate in the mail offer. Next I got Martin, who also insisted I wasn't eligible. He said the letter was offering a promotional rate for new subscribers, but I read him the letter, which clearly stated this rate was being offered to me when my current promotion ended.
As you might expect, I was getting pretty frustrated at this point. Comcast sent me a very specific offer in the mail, which I could not convince them to honor. To add insult to injury, just as I was about to play the U-verse card, I had a very brief interruption in my cable service, which promptly ended my call. (I have digital voice service, which requires internet access; my service has been very reliable, but the timing of this brief hiccup was either really good or really bad, depending on your point of view.)
Of course, Comcast had my home phone number, not only because they provide my phone service, but I had to provide my number at least twice during that call. I thought they might try to call me back, since they knew I was upset. Of course, they didn't. (I considered the possibility that they actually sent a remote reset to my cable modem to force my call to drop. :-)
Anyhow, that sealed the deal for me -- I signed up for AT&T U-verse a couple of hours ago, and it will be installed next month. Some of my neighbors have U-verse and are pretty happy with it -- they say the quaility of the TV signal is better than Comcast's, for both HD and standard content. I also found good reviews online. My internet speed will (allegedly) be about 3-4 times faster than what I'm getting with Comcast now.
I'm sure when Comcast finds out I'm cancelling my service, they'll offer me a rate as good or better than the one they offered in the mail, but I gave them plenty of chances to keep my business.
To be fair, my Comcast service has been very reliable, and until now, customer service has been decent. However, their prices have continued to increase without any real improvements in service, and it's become very expensive. My promotional monthly rate for Digital Preferred TV, one HD DVR, internet, and 2 digital voice lines was about $172/month including taxes and fees, and that doesn't include any premium stations. After the promotion ended, the rate was going to increase about $40/month.
I'm sure U-verse won't be perfect, and AT&T will do things to make me crazy (they've done it before for cell phone service), but it's worth trying. I would gone for Verizon FIOS, but it's not yet offered in my area.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
-- Dave
I moved to South Florida a year ago. I had Comcast in my previous home, and they were the only option in my new home, so it was a no brainer. I signed for the HD Triple Play bundle, with a promotional rate for one year for HDTV, internet, and digital voice. I recently received a letter from Comcast indicating that my promotional rate was coming to an end, and offering me a new promotional rate for another year -- not quite as good as the rate they were offering to new subsribers, but better than what I would be paying when my promotion ended.
I also received a call from someone at Comcast, Angie, who offered me a different (more expensive) promotional rate than the one I received in the mail. I told Angie I wasn't ready to make the decision yet, so she gave me her direct number and told me to call when I was ready.
Meanwhile, I priced out an AT&T U-verse plan that was comparable to my current Comcast plan. The U-verse plan was cheaper than the promotional rate from the mailing, so I figured I could use that to help convince Comcast to give me a better price.
A little more than a week ago, I decided to call Comcast to set up the new bundle. I called the number Angie gave me -- it wasn't a valid number. I called the number listed on the promotional mailing. The first person I reached had to transfer me to someone who could handle Florida service. That person could only talk about upgrading my service, not a new promotional bundle, so she transferred me to someone else, Leona. Leona told me I was eligible for a bundle that was about $20/month more than the offer I received in the mail. I told her about the mail offer, and she told me the system didn't show that I was eligible for that rate, so she would talk to her manager and call me back later that day. I never heard from her.
Yesterday, I decided to try again. The first person I spoke with put me on hold, after which I was promptly disconnected. I called back, and got someone else (Jim, I think). I explained about the offer in the mail, and Jim insisted I was not eligible for the rate in the offer. Eventually Jim transferred me to Jay, who also insisted I wasn't eligible for the promotional rate in the mail offer. Next I got Martin, who also insisted I wasn't eligible. He said the letter was offering a promotional rate for new subscribers, but I read him the letter, which clearly stated this rate was being offered to me when my current promotion ended.
As you might expect, I was getting pretty frustrated at this point. Comcast sent me a very specific offer in the mail, which I could not convince them to honor. To add insult to injury, just as I was about to play the U-verse card, I had a very brief interruption in my cable service, which promptly ended my call. (I have digital voice service, which requires internet access; my service has been very reliable, but the timing of this brief hiccup was either really good or really bad, depending on your point of view.)
Of course, Comcast had my home phone number, not only because they provide my phone service, but I had to provide my number at least twice during that call. I thought they might try to call me back, since they knew I was upset. Of course, they didn't. (I considered the possibility that they actually sent a remote reset to my cable modem to force my call to drop. :-)
Anyhow, that sealed the deal for me -- I signed up for AT&T U-verse a couple of hours ago, and it will be installed next month. Some of my neighbors have U-verse and are pretty happy with it -- they say the quaility of the TV signal is better than Comcast's, for both HD and standard content. I also found good reviews online. My internet speed will (allegedly) be about 3-4 times faster than what I'm getting with Comcast now.
I'm sure when Comcast finds out I'm cancelling my service, they'll offer me a rate as good or better than the one they offered in the mail, but I gave them plenty of chances to keep my business.
To be fair, my Comcast service has been very reliable, and until now, customer service has been decent. However, their prices have continued to increase without any real improvements in service, and it's become very expensive. My promotional monthly rate for Digital Preferred TV, one HD DVR, internet, and 2 digital voice lines was about $172/month including taxes and fees, and that doesn't include any premium stations. After the promotion ended, the rate was going to increase about $40/month.
I'm sure U-verse won't be perfect, and AT&T will do things to make me crazy (they've done it before for cell phone service), but it's worth trying. I would gone for Verizon FIOS, but it's not yet offered in my area.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
-- Dave
Welcome to my blog!
Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog! I created this blog to share my experiences, both good and bad, with various companies, services, travel destinations, restaurants, or anything else you might be interested in hearing about. I hope you find this useful!
-- Dave
-- Dave
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