Does anyone have any horror stories or any really good stories to share?
Any long time Comcast users that love it that would never leave?
Any long time Comcast users that love it that would never leave?
Any good or very bad Comcast stories?
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I've been a Comcast customer for the last 2 years. I had DishNetwork before that for 9 years. Before that I was cable customer. I went to Comcast because they had all of my local channels in HD. They still do as well a bunch of others as well. My HD picture is much better than the HD picture that I received from Dish. In the beginning my SD pictures were not as good but they are equally as good now. Would do it again today, yes, in a heartbeat.
OK, these are from a few of years ago. I gave Comcast a try after getting fed up with E*'s 811. At the time the had just started to roll out their HD DVR , the Motorola 6412. Since they hadn't started to simulcast analog channels via digital about 50% of the analog channels had bad PQ. They sent numerous techs out to try to fix it, replacing bad cables and amps along the line but could never get it right, so after about 8 attempts I canceled and went back to D* (where I was before E*).
In November of 2005 I gave them another shot since they made a number of changes, started to simulcast analog on digital tier, added a bunch of HD channels and increased their VOD offerings to include HD. This time they were very goog, PQ for both SD and HD channels was better then what either DBS company provided, customer service was good, the only down side was the Motorola 3412 DVR, it still had issue. I ended up cancelling them when I moved to Austin where they have Time Warner. I looked at their offering but they were priced WAY too high for what they offered compared to what I had, so stayed with D*.
In November of 2005 I gave them another shot since they made a number of changes, started to simulcast analog on digital tier, added a bunch of HD channels and increased their VOD offerings to include HD. This time they were very goog, PQ for both SD and HD channels was better then what either DBS company provided, customer service was good, the only down side was the Motorola 3412 DVR, it still had issue. I ended up cancelling them when I moved to Austin where they have Time Warner. I looked at their offering but they were priced WAY too high for what they offered compared to what I had, so stayed with D*.
I left Comcast in 2003 and went to D*. The reason? I was paying $77 a month for one digital cable box and a cable modem/net service. My bill went up to $103. When I called to discuss this, I was told "Last year we made an effort to work with our customers and now that your 'deal' is over, we expect our customers to make an effort and work with us.".
I was in disbelief. A few days later, a CSR Manager called and I reported the person and told them to go listen to the recording.
I am sure Comcast has improved and their Triple Play packages (cable, internet and phone) look tempting, but the price jacks up well above what I pay for D* and AT&T phone/DSL when their deal expires.
I was in disbelief. A few days later, a CSR Manager called and I reported the person and told them to go listen to the recording.
I am sure Comcast has improved and their Triple Play packages (cable, internet and phone) look tempting, but the price jacks up well above what I pay for D* and AT&T phone/DSL when their deal expires.
Thanks Proc. Is there any way you can give me a breakdown of your monthly bill with D* and At and T just so I can compare? Please feel free to PM me if you would prefer.
Thanks for any help you could provide.
Thanks for any help you could provide.
heres a good comcast story I left dish network for comcast and couldnt be happier, im still under comcast promo rates when those end i expect to renegotiate my monthly rate
Can you renegotiate a rate? Has anyone actually done that? For example at the end of a triple play promotion?
dont know but im, definetly gonna try when my promo rates end as basic cable is like 45 dollars a month in my area
i dont have triple play
comcast triple play voip internet and tv
i have comcast digital phone internet and tv
Gotcha.
Well, if possible please keep us posted if you can - that would definately be a selling point for me at least
Well, if possible please keep us posted if you can - that would definately be a selling point for me at least
Easy to renegotiate rates with Comcast... just call and go through the prompts that you want to change or cancel your service. This should get you to the customer retention folks. Then just tell them about the great offer you've received from Dish/DirecTV and/or local phone company for DSL. Usually they'll throw you a promo rate discount for 3-6 months. Rinse and repeat when expired.
I must say that I'm quite shocked at how good Comcast is here in New Hampshire at least. I've had just three companies for services and they would be DirecTV, Bright House Networks and now Comcast.
Bright House Networks had very good uptime (even better with internet) but they just refused to offer anything of a discount at least not for me. Even when they had specials I would never qualify because they say I live in Pinellas County and my rates are lower because of Knology. But I know for a fact that customers just a few miles away who have "access" to Knology have rates that are about 15 bucks a month lower than mine because I again cannot order Knology. They would do things like offer their price lock until 2009 but "not" offer it in Pinellas County. Heck not once in over 10 years did my father nor I ever receive even a free PPV movie coupon like so many of our friends have.
DirecTV on the other hand also didn't give one and I mean not one discount to us for anything. No break on a DVR or HD DVR just nothing. They would not show up on an install date and worse one tech called at 8am and cancelled because I didn't answer the phone. Also keep in mind my appointment was for 1pm to 5pm. Its that type of stuff that drove me away from both BHN and DirecTV while in Florida.
Once I moved to New Hampshire I had access to Comcast and was shocked from the first day I did business with them. I called to order service to be started with installation in a week from that call. Install was on a Monday. I was able to move into my apartment on Friday and noticed that I had no cable signal at all. So I called for kicks to see if Comcast could send somebody out to take the filter off and to my suprise they said yes but it would be sometime before 7pm. It was just after 10am Friday when I called. So I did prepare for the fact it would never get done and they just wanted me off the phone. But I also had hope as the CSR said they have several jobs in my apartment complex today and they would page one of the techs to get that done for us.
So at about 2pm I hear a knock on the door and I answered it and found that a Comcast tech greeted me. He nicely explained to me that he could only turn on just normal standard cable and that I'd have to wait until Monday to get a digital box, internet and phone service hooked up. I said that was quite fine with me. So he took the filter off and check everything out and even replaced a wire with bad signal strength to save the installer time on Monday as he had spare time between his next job a few buildings down. This tech was very nice and helpful and left with a great smile to go along with his twenty dollar bill. Also all of this was at no charge to me as well.
So Monday came around and a tech called me at 7:45am to let me know he would be here at 8am for my install. So I'm thinking right away nothing could be better so its only a matter of time before something really goes wrong. So the tech shows up and gets everything installed in about an hour and leaves with of course with a twenty dollar tip. I had my triple play bundle deal all up and running with what I should say as great great service.
So after that point I had a stretch when one of my DVR boxes started to go all nuts and I mean all nuts where they needed to be replaced. I called in over several days with different issues until I was told to come to my local office and swap the box out. The CSR also refunded me all DVR service fees and rental fees which came to a credit of just shy of 30 bucks which was never asked for and a complete surprise. That is customer service at its best and of course I wasn't going to turn the offer down.
So after about 8 months I moved to Derry and had another digital phone install but I self installed my DVR boxes but the tech was also very good with what he did. I also found to my surprise that Comcast started my triple play promo over again which got me I believe an extra 9 months of this promo. I did call and tell them about it but the CSR just said not to worry about it and just enjoy the extra months of the promo.
I am fully aware that Comcast in other areas isn't like this but I cannot deny how I feel finally having a company that I feel cares for my business and doesn't just say they do but shows it. Comcast isn't perfect by any means nor is any company but this is the only TV company I've had that I feel I get great service and value from. Heck I pay less for everything than with BHN but I get more of the HD channels I want and HD On Demand to boot. Its just funny thinking that I'm paying less and getting way better offerings and service compared to all the options I had before.
Oh and Comcast of New Hampshire if your reading this I beg of you not to change what your doing because your doing the right thing without a doubt. I don't believe the customer is always right but the customer sure should always get the benefit of the doubt.
Bright House Networks had very good uptime (even better with internet) but they just refused to offer anything of a discount at least not for me. Even when they had specials I would never qualify because they say I live in Pinellas County and my rates are lower because of Knology. But I know for a fact that customers just a few miles away who have "access" to Knology have rates that are about 15 bucks a month lower than mine because I again cannot order Knology. They would do things like offer their price lock until 2009 but "not" offer it in Pinellas County. Heck not once in over 10 years did my father nor I ever receive even a free PPV movie coupon like so many of our friends have.
DirecTV on the other hand also didn't give one and I mean not one discount to us for anything. No break on a DVR or HD DVR just nothing. They would not show up on an install date and worse one tech called at 8am and cancelled because I didn't answer the phone. Also keep in mind my appointment was for 1pm to 5pm. Its that type of stuff that drove me away from both BHN and DirecTV while in Florida.
Once I moved to New Hampshire I had access to Comcast and was shocked from the first day I did business with them. I called to order service to be started with installation in a week from that call. Install was on a Monday. I was able to move into my apartment on Friday and noticed that I had no cable signal at all. So I called for kicks to see if Comcast could send somebody out to take the filter off and to my suprise they said yes but it would be sometime before 7pm. It was just after 10am Friday when I called. So I did prepare for the fact it would never get done and they just wanted me off the phone. But I also had hope as the CSR said they have several jobs in my apartment complex today and they would page one of the techs to get that done for us.
So at about 2pm I hear a knock on the door and I answered it and found that a Comcast tech greeted me. He nicely explained to me that he could only turn on just normal standard cable and that I'd have to wait until Monday to get a digital box, internet and phone service hooked up. I said that was quite fine with me. So he took the filter off and check everything out and even replaced a wire with bad signal strength to save the installer time on Monday as he had spare time between his next job a few buildings down. This tech was very nice and helpful and left with a great smile to go along with his twenty dollar bill. Also all of this was at no charge to me as well.
So Monday came around and a tech called me at 7:45am to let me know he would be here at 8am for my install. So I'm thinking right away nothing could be better so its only a matter of time before something really goes wrong. So the tech shows up and gets everything installed in about an hour and leaves with of course with a twenty dollar tip. I had my triple play bundle deal all up and running with what I should say as great great service.
So after that point I had a stretch when one of my DVR boxes started to go all nuts and I mean all nuts where they needed to be replaced. I called in over several days with different issues until I was told to come to my local office and swap the box out. The CSR also refunded me all DVR service fees and rental fees which came to a credit of just shy of 30 bucks which was never asked for and a complete surprise. That is customer service at its best and of course I wasn't going to turn the offer down.
So after about 8 months I moved to Derry and had another digital phone install but I self installed my DVR boxes but the tech was also very good with what he did. I also found to my surprise that Comcast started my triple play promo over again which got me I believe an extra 9 months of this promo. I did call and tell them about it but the CSR just said not to worry about it and just enjoy the extra months of the promo.
I am fully aware that Comcast in other areas isn't like this but I cannot deny how I feel finally having a company that I feel cares for my business and doesn't just say they do but shows it. Comcast isn't perfect by any means nor is any company but this is the only TV company I've had that I feel I get great service and value from. Heck I pay less for everything than with BHN but I get more of the HD channels I want and HD On Demand to boot. Its just funny thinking that I'm paying less and getting way better offerings and service compared to all the options I had before.
Oh and Comcast of New Hampshire if your reading this I beg of you not to change what your doing because your doing the right thing without a doubt. I don't believe the customer is always right but the customer sure should always get the benefit of the doubt.
I'm generally happy with Comcast here in south central PA (Gettysburg). The process of contacting customer service could be better .... and the Adelphia to Comcast transition hasn't been the smoothest .... but for the thing I care about the most, picture quality (both HD and SD), Comcast has been very good. My Comcast SD PQ blows away my DirecTV (Sunday Ticket PQ), and the Comcast channel offering are pretty diverse. They recently added a bunch of new HD stations, so that's nice too.
I can't see any good reason to switch.
Jeff
I can't see any good reason to switch.
Jeff
I had Comcast for 6 months and just went back to E. The HD DVR Comcast offers (the 6412) was really terrible. It constantly laged when given commands via the remote. I went through 4 Comcast 6412 all with the same issue. Now that I am with E the VIP 622 is a way,way better HD DVR. It's so nice to have a DVR that actually works!
Picture quality on HD is the same for E and Comcast to me. The big difference is with the non-HD channels - This is where E blows Comcast away. The non HD programming is much more sharp and clear than Comcast offers.
Finally, cost ways I came out way ahead with E. My monthly bill is 59.00 for 200 channels, all the HD programming (which E has more of) and a free HD DVR. After 10 months the rate will go up 20.00 but at that time it will still be cheaper than Comcast which charges over 100.00 for similar programming.
So to summerize:
Best equipment - Dish Network (VIP 622)
Best PQ for HD - Dish same as Comcast
Best non HD picture - Dish way better
Best price - Dish
Jeff
Picture quality on HD is the same for E and Comcast to me. The big difference is with the non-HD channels - This is where E blows Comcast away. The non HD programming is much more sharp and clear than Comcast offers.
Finally, cost ways I came out way ahead with E. My monthly bill is 59.00 for 200 channels, all the HD programming (which E has more of) and a free HD DVR. After 10 months the rate will go up 20.00 but at that time it will still be cheaper than Comcast which charges over 100.00 for similar programming.
So to summerize:
Best equipment - Dish Network (VIP 622)
Best PQ for HD - Dish same as Comcast
Best non HD picture - Dish way better
Best price - Dish
Jeff
I guess your Comcast area is quite expensive but I do believe pricing somewhat rotates every few years where cable is cheaper for three years and satellite is cheaper the next three years. Its always been funny that way hasn't it.
Also the DVR is indeed a huge and I mean huge weakness of Comcast and I'm just praying that the upcoming Tivo software will greatly reduce if not get rid of all the problems with the iguide software. I also have very high hopes from what little I've seen of the new upcoming iGuide software which is dubbed the java iguide. This software will be rolled out on all current Moto boxes in Comcast markets sometime this year. This new java i-guide was written from the ground up and will have much nice graphics, much much much faster and with more features. But the key I've heard is that its going to be wicked fast.
I also believe that the service is only as good as the people doing it. I know in New Hampshire at least that the techs even the non employee techs get more than decent pay with very good benefits. Because of this they have more to lose compared to other area's of the country. So in those markets that become Comcast as long as Comcast keeps things the same I believe the people will be no different and as such service will be kept at the same quality level. I've noticed that service is far far better at restaurants in New Hampshire compared to Florida but I also noticed that New Hampshire is a very high tipping state from both seeing what people left and talking with my waiter/waitress. Heck when I've gone out to eat with my father (I hate eating alone lol) I'd tip my entire meal sometimes which is 20 bucks. So with the whole bill for both of us that would be around 40-45% but we feel its worth it as we tend to want sides of this and that along with several soda refills. We always want an extra side of salad dressing, extra butter, extra gravy, extra bearnaise sauce and god knows what else.
I just feel that sometimes you only will get what you pay for which IMO shows exactly why some states have worse service than others.
