The official gift horse in the mouth thread

[boomerang]

I just got a "courtesy call" informing me that this Friday or Saturday my Internet speed would be increased and on top of that, the price would go down.

As an Internet only customer, I have been paying $57.95 a month and my price will now be dropping to $42.95 a month.

Why am I worried? Because the caller had a thick accent (sounded like Caribbean) and I had a hard time understanding what she was trying to tell me.

Anyone else getting similar calls?

 

[Ns1]

no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

 

[spidey07]

They've been doing upgrades.

This is what competition gets you.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

He's looking at the mouth of a gift horse to inspect it's health.

You shouldn't criticize or inspect something that is a gift.

 

[Canai]

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

 

[ultimatebob]

Did Verizon just start offering FIOS in your area by any chance?

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
Did Verizon just start offering FIOS in your area by any chance?

No, I wish. We're in a rural area where most everyone is on acreage. The phone lines are so bad that Verizon doesn't even offer DSL. They'd have to come through and upgrade all their lines and equipment.

If you want high speed, Comcast is your only option where I live. So it's kind of puzzling.

I'm just hoping I didn't get slammed because I had a very difficult time understanding her. Although I think the practice of slamming is over with these days.

I guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

[boomerang]

Meaning of looking a gift horse in the mouth. A quick Google.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
Did Verizon just start offering FIOS in your area by any chance?

So it's kind of puzzling.

Maybe Comcast is finally figuring out that doing nothing to build customer loyalty until the competition's actually on the scene doesn't really work in their favor. Oh, what am I saying... that's crazy talk.

I wouldn't be surprised if you start seeing competition of one kind or another - if not to your house, to your nearest town - they won't drop prices in a town and leave the outlying areas in place. Even Comcast isn't that retarded.

 

[techs]

Gee, does NO one read the newspapers anymore?
The FCC is trying again to let corporations own both newspapers and tv stations in the same cities.
As a diversion the FCC has declared that cable is non-competitive and are threatening "action". So the cable companies are going to do some stuff to stop this.
Don't worry, once this blows over your rates will go up.

 

[911paramedic]

On slashdot this morning:

"The Federal Communications Commission is likely to impose a new regulation on the largely unregulated cable television industry, the first of what may be more to come. Under a proposed rule circulating at the FCC, cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable would have to slash the price they charge smaller television programmers to lease access on spare cable channels, a move the FCC says would open up cable viewers to a wider diversity of shows. In addition, the FCC is contemplating a national ownership cap that would prevent one company from having more than 30 percent of all cable subscribers."

 

[boomerang]

Update:

It's Sunday morning. I've unplugged the modem several times both Friday and Saturday and I have seen no speed increase. I have verified this by using several online speedtests.

So, no speed increase makes me just about certain that there will be no price reduction either.

 

[spidey07]

It's only been 6 days. jeez, give it some time.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: spidey07
It's only been 6 days. jeez, give it some time.

professional troll

 

[Zolty]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

He's looking at the mouth of a gift horse to inspect it's health.

You shouldn't criticize or inspect something that is a gift.

Paying $40-60 a month for internet should never be seen as a gift.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Zolty

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

He's looking at the mouth of a gift horse to inspect it's health.

You shouldn't criticize or inspect something that is a gift.

Paying $40-60 a month for internet should never be seen as a gift.

The $50+ he was paying was a sunk cost. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to pay that premium for decent internet (just taking a guess at this).

Getting a price reduction AND speed increase is definitely a "gift horse."

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux

Originally posted by: spidey07
It's only been 6 days. jeez, give it some time.

professional troll

What?

It's only been 6 days. These things take time. You don't just wave a magic wand and POOF! all customers have increased speeds. There's a lot of work that needs to be done.

-edit-
If you want a troll post, then the OP could just ya know...novel idea here...pick up the phone and call his provider.

 

[boomerang]

I've gotten some clarification.

Friday the 23rd, I came home to a message that I had an appointment with Comcast the following day, Saturday.

I called Comcast to find that they were coming out to remove the trap on my line and that I would now be receiving basic cable for $5.99 mo. This would drop my Internet down to $42.95 mo. Bundled together this will be a savings for me. So kudos to Comcast for looking out for my best interests and saving me money!

No technicican showed to remove the trap.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've gotten some clarification.

Friday the 23rd, I came home to a message that I had an appointment with Comcast the following day, Saturday.

I called Comcast to find that they were coming out to remove the trap on my line and that I would now be receiving basic cable for $5.99 mo. This would drop my Internet down to $42.95 mo. Bundled together this will be a savings for me. So kudos to Comcast for looking out for my best interests and saving me money!

No technicican showed to remove the trap.

Riiiiight. What they are doing is increasing their share numbers in your area by saying that you're now a comcast cable customer.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've gotten some clarification.

Friday the 23rd, I came home to a message that I had an appointment with Comcast the following day, Saturday.

I called Comcast to find that they were coming out to remove the trap on my line and that I would now be receiving basic cable for $5.99 mo. This would drop my Internet down to $42.95 mo. Bundled together this will be a savings for me. So kudos to Comcast for looking out for my best interests and saving me money!

No technicican showed to remove the trap.

Riiiiight. What they are doing is increasing their share numbers in your area by saying that you're now a comcast cable customer.

OMG, this is just priceless. I think you nailed it. Gotta love corporate thinking.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
no, but what the fuck does your thread title say?

He's looking at the mouth of a gift horse to inspect it's health.

You shouldn't criticize or inspect something that is a gift.

i understood what he meant, but the way he said it was f-ing retarded

 

[boomerang]

Well the trap is gone. I don't know how they managed to do it as we have over an inch of snow on the ground and I don't see any footprints.

Along with the price drop which is yet to be seen, I've got the added bonus of my Internet speed being cut in half. I was at 4Mbps and should have gone to 6Mbps, but I'm now at 2Mbps.

I have no way to verify if I actually have basic cable TV as the line runs directly to my modem. There is no splitter so I can't even hook up a TV.

So far this is working out splendidly. :|

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Well the trap is gone. I don't know how they managed to do it as we have over an inch of snow on the ground and I don't see any footprints.

Along with the price drop which is yet to be seen, I've got the added bonus of my Internet speed being cut in half. I was at 4Mbps and should have gone to 6Mbps, but I'm now at 2Mbps.

I have no way to verify if I actually have basic cable TV as the line runs directly to my modem. There is no splitter so I can't even hook up a TV.

So far this is working out splendidly. :|

Unplug the cable modem for a moment and plug in a TV?

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: boomerang
Well the trap is gone. I don't know how they managed to do it as we have over an inch of snow on the ground and I don't see any footprints.

Along with the price drop which is yet to be seen, I've got the added bonus of my Internet speed being cut in half. I was at 4Mbps and should have gone to 6Mbps, but I'm now at 2Mbps.

I have no way to verify if I actually have basic cable TV as the line runs directly to my modem. There is no splitter so I can't even hook up a TV.

So far this is working out splendidly. :|

Unplug the cable modem for a moment and plug in a TV?

Well, that's kind of a semi-major undertaking. It's not really worth the effort and not worth going into the explanation as to why. I just called Comcast and the tech was out Saturday but his ticket said he could not find the trap. There are footprints in the yard but none on the side of the house where the cable comes into the house. The trap is in fact gone, but maybe they took it off a while back? I don't know because it suddenly showed up one day a few years back.

They're confused as to why my Internet speed has actually dropped but promised me they will know more in the morning. I'm a Dishnetwork customer. I'm going to have to convince them to come out and put a splitter in the line so I can check out extended basic cable on the spare TV in the basement. It's worth their while to do so as I foresee changing over to them someday in the future. Phone, Internet and TV. However, I'm not willing to pay for a service call for the splitter. They're going to have to do that gratis. If they don't want to, that's OK too.

They're mystified at this point why my Internet speed has been cut in half.

Hopefully I'll know more tomorrow.

I'll say one thing. It truly is refreshing to talk to English speaking people that live and work in the US. I like it.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've gotten some clarification.

Friday the 23rd, I came home to a message that I had an appointment with Comcast the following day, Saturday.

I called Comcast to find that they were coming out to remove the trap on my line and that I would now be receiving basic cable for $5.99 mo. This would drop my Internet down to $42.95 mo. Bundled together this will be a savings for me. So kudos to Comcast for looking out for my best interests and saving me money!

No technicican showed to remove the trap.

Riiiiight. What they are doing is increasing their share numbers in your area by saying that you're now a comcast cable customer.

OMG, this is just priceless. I think you nailed it. Gotta love corporate thinking.

That's exactly why. The increase your price by 10 dollars if you don't have cable. Then they charge "only" $5.99 for basic. So you think you're saving money, but in the long run what you're doing is giving Comcast better numbers in the war against AT&T/DirecTV/FIOS and other cable providers. You're now a cable customer - even though you really aren't!

That's why the always push the basic cable service and say "you'll save money!".