I know hating on Comcast is pretty much an internet pasttime at this point, but they do genuinely earn the ire in a lot of ways. Once, when I was moving out of an apartment and to a new city, I...
I know hating on Comcast is pretty much an internet pasttime at this point, but they do genuinely earn the ire in a lot of ways.
Once, when I was moving out of an apartment and to a new city, I called to cancel my Comcast service. Based on all the other horror stories I’d heard, I was expecting a battle, but it went surprisingly smoothly. I figured they wouldn’t try to keep me on given that “I’m moving” is a rock solid reason for cancelling internet service to a particular address.
As part of the cancelling process, they asked me where I was moving to. I didn’t have my own place lined up at the time and was going to move in with a family member for a bit in the new city before finding a place for myself. I simply told the person I wasn’t sure yet, and that was that.
Or at least, that’s what I thought. Comcast turned into a bad breakup, where they kept calling me, wanting me back. Each time they called they always asked about where I was relocating to. The first time they asked the question I didn’t really think anything of it — I actually just assumed it was smalltalk from the customer service rep. Turns out that was a very important metric to them or something, so when they kept pushing for a location, I started to get angry. I felt that it was a rather invasive and presumptuous thing for them to ask. I then started saying something to the effect of “I have no interest in disclosing that.”
The calls kept coming, I kept getting frostier, until finally one customer service rep broke the polite and functional air of these types of conversations and outright pleaded with me: “come on, man — can’t you just give me a zip code?”. I felt a little bad, as I have no doubt he was facing some sort of professional repercussions for letting me “get away”, but I was, at this point, pissed that they wouldn’t just leave me alone and take my “no” as a no. I don’t remember if it was that call or a later one in which I flat out told them that I considered their phonecalls “harassing and soliciting” (this was recommended by someone who knew phone stuff and recommended I use exactly that language) and that they needed to stop calling me. They finally did.
I wish I could say that was the last time I was a Comcast customer, but when I finally did get an apartment in the new city I found myself signing right back up with them because they were the only available provider. In fact, I have never lived anywhere in my entire adult life where I have had any option other than Comcast (barring satellite internet, which I consider a non-choice).
I know it doesn't do much good now, but next time you move places, run the address through the local telco provider's site at least (and if you're in Denver, Seattle, MSP, or Portland, this page...
I know it doesn't do much good now, but next time you move places, run the address through the local telco provider's site at least (and if you're in Denver, Seattle, MSP, or Portland, this page is the same loop qualification tool CenturyLink uses internally to determine if you can get service and whether you have fiber or DSL available to avoid getting bombed with calls and messages from using the consumer facing site. I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon and AT&T have similar tools, but I don't know if they're available off of their intranet like CL's is) to see if it's serviceable. I've only had one apartment where Comcast was explicitly the only one who serviced it, but all of mine have pushed Comcast super heavily and tried to give the impression that it was one's only option.
Anything built before the early '00s (basically when home phone service over cable internet first became a thing) in my area generally has both CenturyLink and Comcast available, since that was a time in which it was standard to wire a place for cable and telephone. Thankfully complexes are usually large enough that they've had upgraded DSLAMS to where 100-150Mbps service is available over twisted pair. Super new (like last 5-7 years) places have also had both due to both Comcast and CL doing fiber to the building in those cases. It's that middle gap from like 2002-2015 where places seem to love locking tenants into Comcast alone. Some of the big corporate apartment owner/manager companies are also terrible about this (AMLI is really bad about this in my area, mandating some overpriced technology charge with only Comcast service included on the rent that's even worse-priced than just getting Comcast service directly).
Depending on your city, things like Starry may be an option, or T-Mobile/Verizon's 5G home internet offerings as well.
I have a burning hatred for Comcast after living in that unit (and working for them for a while), so I go to decent lengths to ensure I never move to a building with only them ever again.
I'm not the least bit surprised by Comcasts behavior, but these 2 points are really grating: WTF? So it's OK to lie to customers and then not do work they paid you for because your computer...
I'm not the least bit surprised by Comcasts behavior, but these 2 points are really grating:
After hearing Comcast's demand for $5,000, Koll complained to the FCC but the agency "followed up with Comcast and accepted their explanation without comment," Koll told Ars. Koll said he also contacted the offices of US Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) without any results.
WTF? So it's OK to lie to customers and then not do work they paid you for because your computer database that you created is shitty because you don't update it properly? I wish I could be so bad at my job and still get paid! I would have expected that of Pai's FCC, but not now. And thanks to the senators for doing absolutely nothing. Great job guys!
This is the one that really got me. It'd be funny if it weren't so infuriating: I'm getting all kinds of 'wacky sitcom misadventure' vibes, with the dude creating a diversion and then sneaking out...
One installer arrived at the house and, Koll told Ars, "said, 'I need to go find out where your service line is,' and then he disappeared. He never came back.
This is the one that really got me. It'd be funny if it weren't so infuriating: I'm getting all kinds of 'wacky sitcom misadventure' vibes, with the dude creating a diversion and then sneaking out of a window and disappearing into the dead of night.
It blows my mind that at one end of the spectrum you've got retail workers who apparently can't risk making even the simplest statement of fact to a customer if it might offend them, and then at the other you've got people who can physically go to a job site, tell the customer they'll be back in a minute, and then just drive off with impunity.
Yeah it is pretty infuriating. I've gotten kind of used to it because I've had all kinds of contractors do that to me. Usually, it's "Oh, I have to run to the hardware store to get a part," and...
Yeah it is pretty infuriating. I've gotten kind of used to it because I've had all kinds of contractors do that to me. Usually, it's "Oh, I have to run to the hardware store to get a part," and then I never see them again. It's gotten to the point where I just assume they're not coming back when they say that, and I've actually been surprised on a few occasions when they did return with a part!
I know hating on Comcast is pretty much an internet pasttime at this point, but they do genuinely earn the ire in a lot of ways.
Once, when I was moving out of an apartment and to a new city, I called to cancel my Comcast service. Based on all the other horror stories I’d heard, I was expecting a battle, but it went surprisingly smoothly. I figured they wouldn’t try to keep me on given that “I’m moving” is a rock solid reason for cancelling internet service to a particular address.
As part of the cancelling process, they asked me where I was moving to. I didn’t have my own place lined up at the time and was going to move in with a family member for a bit in the new city before finding a place for myself. I simply told the person I wasn’t sure yet, and that was that.
Or at least, that’s what I thought. Comcast turned into a bad breakup, where they kept calling me, wanting me back. Each time they called they always asked about where I was relocating to. The first time they asked the question I didn’t really think anything of it — I actually just assumed it was smalltalk from the customer service rep. Turns out that was a very important metric to them or something, so when they kept pushing for a location, I started to get angry. I felt that it was a rather invasive and presumptuous thing for them to ask. I then started saying something to the effect of “I have no interest in disclosing that.”
The calls kept coming, I kept getting frostier, until finally one customer service rep broke the polite and functional air of these types of conversations and outright pleaded with me: “come on, man — can’t you just give me a zip code?”. I felt a little bad, as I have no doubt he was facing some sort of professional repercussions for letting me “get away”, but I was, at this point, pissed that they wouldn’t just leave me alone and take my “no” as a no. I don’t remember if it was that call or a later one in which I flat out told them that I considered their phonecalls “harassing and soliciting” (this was recommended by someone who knew phone stuff and recommended I use exactly that language) and that they needed to stop calling me. They finally did.
I wish I could say that was the last time I was a Comcast customer, but when I finally did get an apartment in the new city I found myself signing right back up with them because they were the only available provider. In fact, I have never lived anywhere in my entire adult life where I have had any option other than Comcast (barring satellite internet, which I consider a non-choice).
I know it doesn't do much good now, but next time you move places, run the address through the local telco provider's site at least (and if you're in Denver, Seattle, MSP, or Portland, this page is the same loop qualification tool CenturyLink uses internally to determine if you can get service and whether you have fiber or DSL available to avoid getting bombed with calls and messages from using the consumer facing site. I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon and AT&T have similar tools, but I don't know if they're available off of their intranet like CL's is) to see if it's serviceable. I've only had one apartment where Comcast was explicitly the only one who serviced it, but all of mine have pushed Comcast super heavily and tried to give the impression that it was one's only option.
Anything built before the early '00s (basically when home phone service over cable internet first became a thing) in my area generally has both CenturyLink and Comcast available, since that was a time in which it was standard to wire a place for cable and telephone. Thankfully complexes are usually large enough that they've had upgraded DSLAMS to where 100-150Mbps service is available over twisted pair. Super new (like last 5-7 years) places have also had both due to both Comcast and CL doing fiber to the building in those cases. It's that middle gap from like 2002-2015 where places seem to love locking tenants into Comcast alone. Some of the big corporate apartment owner/manager companies are also terrible about this (AMLI is really bad about this in my area, mandating some overpriced technology charge with only Comcast service included on the rent that's even worse-priced than just getting Comcast service directly).
Depending on your city, things like Starry may be an option, or T-Mobile/Verizon's 5G home internet offerings as well.
I have a burning hatred for Comcast after living in that unit (and working for them for a while), so I go to decent lengths to ensure I never move to a building with only them ever again.
I had great success leaving Comcast by telling them my new landlord was providing Internet for me.
I'm not the least bit surprised by Comcasts behavior, but these 2 points are really grating:
WTF? So it's OK to lie to customers and then not do work they paid you for because your computer database that you created is shitty because you don't update it properly? I wish I could be so bad at my job and still get paid! I would have expected that of Pai's FCC, but not now. And thanks to the senators for doing absolutely nothing. Great job guys!
This is the one that really got me. It'd be funny if it weren't so infuriating: I'm getting all kinds of 'wacky sitcom misadventure' vibes, with the dude creating a diversion and then sneaking out of a window and disappearing into the dead of night.
It blows my mind that at one end of the spectrum you've got retail workers who apparently can't risk making even the simplest statement of fact to a customer if it might offend them, and then at the other you've got people who can physically go to a job site, tell the customer they'll be back in a minute, and then just drive off with impunity.
Yeah it is pretty infuriating. I've gotten kind of used to it because I've had all kinds of contractors do that to me. Usually, it's "Oh, I have to run to the hardware store to get a part," and then I never see them again. It's gotten to the point where I just assume they're not coming back when they say that, and I've actually been surprised on a few occasions when they did return with a part!