I just don't understand Comcast

[Sho'Nuff]

I've been a Comcast member now for a little over two years. And so like many of their customers, at the end of the 2 year sweetheart period Comcast began abjectly raping my wallet each month.

Since I watch almost no TV, I called Comcast this morning to inquire about whether I could be put on another promotional plan. The customer service tech on the other line apologized for my dissatisfaction with the bill, but explained that there was nothing she could do unless I was willing to upgrade my service. I told her that I wasn't interested in upgrading my service, but rather was more interested in downgrading it because I do not use the TV and phone components. Her response was again, I can't help you unless you are willing to upgrade your service.

Confused, I asked her why she thought I would want to upgrade my service, when that would of course cost more than my current service whereas I am interested in lowering my bill. Her response? "Mr. Sho'nuff, if you upgrade your plan to include our DVR service, I can put you on a new promotion where you have all of the same channels, internet service, etc., and it will cost you $60 less per month." Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I bit on the deal.

That said, it amazes me that Comcast would rather put me on a higher tier service for less money then simply offer me my current deal for the same sum. Seems like a really dumb business practice, though one that benefited me in this particular instance.

Cliffs:

-OP was getting bill raped by Comcast
-OP calls Comcast to request rate reduction, customer support says no deal unless service is upgraded;
-After much confusion, OP learns that upgrading service will give him more features for less money than old plan;
-OP is confused about Comcast's business logic, but took the deal anyway

 

[jaedaliu]

Long term contracts.

Speaking of which, I am currently getting bill raped by Comcast. I need to call them, too.

 

[xanis]

They're trying to lock you in to another contract. Giving you better service, even if it's less than you're currently paying, is better than losing your money completely for the next 2 years (at least I would think so).

 

[rudeguy]

I've been a Comcast member now for a little over two years. And so like many of their customers, at the end of the 2 year sweetheart period Comcast began abjectly raping my wallet each month.

Since I watch almost no TV, I called Comcast this morning to inquire about whether I could be put on another promotional plan. The customer service tech on the other line apologized for my dissatisfaction with the bill, but explained that there was nothing she could do unless I was willing to upgrade my service. I told her that I wasn't interested in upgrading my service, but rather was more interested in downgrading it because I do not use the TV and phone components. Her response was again, I can't help you unless you are willing to upgrade your service.

Confused, I asked her why she thought I would want to upgrade my service, when that would of course cost more than my current service whereas I am interested in lowering my bill. Her response? "Mr. Sho'nuff, if you upgrade your plan to include our DVR service, I can put you on a new promotion where you have all of the same channels, internet service, etc., and it will cost you $60 less per month." Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I bit on the deal.

That said, it amazes me that Comcast would rather put me on a higher tier service for less money then simply offer me my current deal for the same sum. Seems like a really dumb business practice, though one that benefited me in this particular instance.

Cliffs:

-OP was getting bill raped by Comcast
-OP calls Comcast to request rate reduction, customer support says no deal unless service is upgraded;
-After much confusion, OP learns that upgrading service will give him more features for less money than old plan;
-OP is confused about Comcast's business logic, but took the deal anyway

I worked in a cable call center for 4 years, let me help.

The person on the other end of the phone doesn't want you to take off services. Taking off a service or line of business is a very bad thing for them. Comcast as a company wants as many lines of business out there as possible. Even if you don't use that service, they want you to have it. Maybe one day you will and they will make a couple more dollars.

They are hoping that DVR you upgraded to will become a part of your life and next time your bill goes up, you will say you can't live without it. Maybe some new TV show comes on and you get hooked and are willing to pay an extra for that.

Then there are the stats. Stats show that triple play customers are less likely to cancel. Single play customers come and go like the wind. So if they can build some value and keep you in a triple play, its worth it to them.

 

[Uppsala9496]

I got suckered into that about 4 months ago. Keep forgetting to call and have them cancel HBO and Starzz and drop the phone portion (I don't even have a phone to hook up to it). I'd also like them to take back their shitty modem so I can go back to using my own,

Yet I procrastinate. I could call right now. Instead I'll reply to this thread, do some work and forget about it until the topic comes up again.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

They are stalking you long term. They'll get theirs when you least expect it...... MUAHAAHAAA

I'm coming up on my window for FIOS and will probably have to switch to comcast. I've already got the DVR which, BTW, you can't live without. Great invention.

 

[boomerang]

I have had Dish for TV forever. Love their DVR, btw. I had Comcast triple play with their minimal TV package to take advantage of the savings. For those that are going to want to know, I have a landline for the alarm system.

I got poking around their website and discovered that for one, and this is a side issue, that I was paying for a tier of internet that my Comcast provided modem could not provide (got a replacement modem at no cost, thank you very much) but that I could actually drop the TV and save a few bucks. I called and I didn't tell them I had Dish for TV because I figured that would just give them a bad attitude, but told them they we just didn't watch enough TV to make it worth my while to have it.

She was very nice and lo and behold I found out they have a double play bundle and the tier of internet I was at made me eligible. It was a whole lot less than what I was paying for the triple play and far less than I thought it would be after dropping TV.

YMMV

 

[Newbian]