As an 18 year Time Warner subscriber, what can I expect from Comcast? Spare no details.

[Yavin4]

Is it going to be a horror show?

[rdharma]

1. I would suspect higher prices....... nt

[lpbk2713]

10. Pay more and get less.

They have no incentive to give the customer a break. They will charge as much as they want, knowing the government won't interfere because the cablecos and the telcos have bought off anyone in any position of influence that could cause them a problem. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, and I don't just mean with Comcast.



Edit: I meant for this to be a reply to the OP.

[Lex]

2. I hope the FCC doesn't allow this monopolistic crap.

It's insane.

[Keefer]

3. I have been a Comcast customer for about 10 years

I have never had a problem. Customer service seems just fine to me. Not sure what all the hoopla is about it.

[blue neen]

9. I respectfully disagree.

A call in for service problems----wait for 20 or 30 minutes-----every single time.

[Keefer]

11. I have NEVER

had any problems whatsoever. Sorry if you did.

[blue neen]

13. I wish I could say the same.

Calling Comcast has been an exercise in futility for us.

[CatWoman]

39. and when you do get someone on the phone

they don't speak English.

[El Supremo]

57. They aren't even in the US!

They have no idea about local outages or problems. But they sure will ask you if you want to upgrade!

[Keefer]

64. If and when my service goes out,

all I have to do is enter my phone number and they give me an estimate on the time of repair. I even have the option to speak with a real, LIVE American!

[dflprincess]

55. I've had the same problem

and I swear it takes more than 5 minutes of listening to their commercials and pushing buttons just to get to the button you need so they can tell you you'll be on hold for 20 minutes. (Then they repeat the same ads over and over again)

Comcast took over for Time Warner in my area many years ago - the one thing I notice is that the cable doesn't go out every time it rains like it used to - but that could just be overall improvements in technology.

They are overpriced. I now pay more for cable (no premium stations) and internet than I did for my first apartment.

[Seeking Serenity]

18. I'm with you.

I've been a Comcast customer ever since it bought out Storer Cable (a local, small-time provider) back in the 90s. No real problems. I can't say that it's any more or less expensive than any other cable TV and ISP bundler.

[okaawhatever]

48. I wonder if the vast difference in experience is between those who had service through someone

Comcast bought out, and those who originated as Comcast customers. Often, when Comcast buys a company out they will leave their employees in place and keep pricing similar. I've lived in one Comcast original area and one they bought out and I think that's the difference with my experiences.

[Glitterati]

50. Comcast 10 years here as well

Adelphia first, then it was switched to Comcast.

I have to say their internet connection is rock solid and I never have trouble with it. I think their TV products are very overpriced, but all you have to do is threaten to leave or cut out a package and they give you a deal to cut the price and keep you as a customer. I went in a couple months ago to cut down my expenses prepared to cut back to basic TV and walked out with everything I had, plus the phone package for $50.00/month cut in cost.

We have a local office, so I never call customer service - if I need something I just walk in and the ladies there are as sweet and helpful as they can be. The office was Adelphia way back when and it's still the same employees.

Having said that, tonight we lost TV and internet for a couple of hours which I am certain can be attributed to the snow & ice storm we just suffered through. I notice every time the power guys work on an outage, they take down the cable lines and they cable guys have to go behind them and re-string. We didn't lose power at my house, but there were hundred of thousand without power today, so I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Not sure how long it was out because we just stuck in the Harry Potter DVD and watched the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was back on before the movie was over.

[okaawhatever]

58. Good to hear you kept your power. As an adult do you enjoy the Harry Potter movies? Just curious

if u have the time to answer.

[Glitterati]

66. Oh yes, I love all the Potter books and movies

The books more than the movies just because I love to read and am not much of a TV/movie person.

But I find the Potter stuff all very well done.

[okaawhatever]

74. Thanks, I'll check them out. nt

[fishwax]

21. I never had a problem, either. I had great customer service, over the phone and in person.

I don't like seeing further consolidation, but that's another issue entirely.

[DavidDvorkin]

45. Same here

I've had nothing but very good customer service.

[Agschmid]

59. The price...

Expect it to pretty much head in one direction should this be approved.

[Notafraidtoo]

65. The hoopla is

That Monopoly's have always been historically bad for consumers and markets, consider that Comcast will have no real competition meaning they wont need to offer competitive prices. They will be able to drop content that was expensive to them but pulled customers from their competition.

They will have significantly more power over internet content from providers like Netflix, Amazon, Xbox, Hulu ect, pretty much all internet Content providers, they are going to make things less intuitive and slow for us young folk who watch TV through the internet.

You will notice a difference in the future, economics 101 cut cost,service and raise prices when their is no threat of losing market share.

[blue neen]

4. Horrible customer service.

The pits, really.

[NightWatcher]

7. "Horrible" is too nice of a word

[1000words]

5. Regular rate increases, horrible customer service.

Now that they are even bigger, expect an even more acute "don't give a shit" attitude.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I expect higher prices

and if that is the case, I will go back to radio and finally cut on the cable bill.

[Purveyor]

15. We get along just fine without cable TV. We do have dsl internet so we use

ROKU a whole lot plus we get 18 antennae TV stations for local content.

Made the which about 3 years ago and have never looked back!

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. I can tell you from experience Nadin

that cutting the cord is NO great loss.
In fact, we cut it when I realized that we were spending all our time getting REAL news from the web.

Plus, the internet gives me stuff I want to see when I want to see it.
There a dozen ways to get almost anything on line, including radio.

Have not missed the tv one bit, and it has been about 3-4 years now.
Also I like having the extra money each month.

[sir pball]

8. You *may* not get Comcast

I've read Comcast may divest some TWC customers to get regulatory approval, but I haven't heard any details.

I'm in Manhattan with TWC, the rest of the area (NYC, Westchester county & Long Island) is all Cablevision so we might just be sold to them while everybody else gets eaten by Comcast. I wouldn't mind, had CV for years in CT and NY and never had a complaint.

[TBF]

12. Just for kicks ask customer service where they are located -

I had a lovely chat with a lady in Costa Rica one day.

We finally gave up and got Direct TV.

[blue neen]

14. Bingo.

After you're on hold for half an hour, you get connected to someone who may not understand what you're saying.

[notundecided]

36. Or they don't understand you

[seaglass]

24. I worked for Comcast in CS about 10 min away from my home in MA. I know they have more

than 1 call center in MA and at least 1 in NH. Don't know much more than that because the job sucked so bad I left after 3 months but they definitely had (and still have) US CS.

[TBF]

34. Maybe certain divisions are overseas?

I don't know why the person on the other end of the line would make that up. We had both cable and internet with them at the time so maybe one or the other is overseas?

ETA - Also should mention that I did keep their internet. It's fast and seldom down. Not cheap, but it's good.

[seaglass]

42. Oh I don't doubt they have overseas CS, just noting that they also have CS in the states. n/t

[Drunken Irishman]

53. There is a major Comcast call center in Salt Lake City.

[Seeking Serenity]

16. It's a little pricey, but lots of good choices

Internet works fine with little if any downtime. Customer service does just fine. Have never had to have a technician come out after initial installation.

[dilby]

17. I have cable and internet through Comcast.

My cable is the upgraded one where I get pretty much all the important channels I watch, CNN, ESPN, Travel Channel, Food Network and HBO. With my internet I pay $157 a month in Oregon. Customer Service I can't really say because my stuff has always worked never ran into an issue where I needed to have them fix something. They have been calling me once a week or so asking me to call them about replacing my cable modem because it's outdated and not getting the full speed capability. I should probably do this but have been lazy and I am currently getting 57 megs down and 20 up on my test speeds so not really a high priority on my lists of things that need to be done.

[Armstead]

19. Time Warner sucks so it couldn't be mucvh worse -- but then again it could

[WCIL]

20. I had a horrible time with Comcast

For a time we had cable and broadband internet service through them. If the internet went out, I would have to call and they would re-send the signal which ALWAYS resulted in the cable service going out. Another call and lots of transfers to get that fixed, and then it would happen again in a week.

At the time we subscribed (it has changed now), Fox News was part of the basic package but MSNBC was not available at all in our area.

We switched to DirecTV and a DSL from a local company. We have more than twice as many watchable channels (not just shopping, etc) and no internet problems AND saved more than $50/month. I could kick myself for not switching sooner.

[dembotoz]

22. i would anticipate that if slow cheap internet is a priority-you might miss tw cable

if you are looking for higher bandwidth, comcast might be a better fit.

customer service is pretty much customer service.
if you are lucky perhaps you won't need them

[durablend]

23. Fun with Comcast...

* Not sure what TWC's rate structure is now, but most likely you're going to pay more for what you have.

* Rate increases usually twice during a calendar year (10 months between the last one and the one before it). They're likely going to become more common and more frequent.

* Capped internet at some point. Suspended right now but the expectation is a 300GB cap with a $10 surcharge for every 50GB above it (if you're hit with it, better use most of that 50GB else it goes away next month)

* Fees, fees and more fees. Everything that they can hit you with they'll try. If you own your own modem don't be surprised if they add a modem rental fee anyway (that's a royal pain to get removed).

* Crap customer service...expect a lot of "well really, where you gonna go?" attitude if you start complaining about things. They just don't care.

The only ones that will really benefit are the CEO and the shareholders. Economies of scale might mean they end up paying less for channels but the rate increases will continue ("because we can&quot

[Armstead]

26. That data cap is worrisome. TW sucks but at last they don't do that.

[doc03]

31. They charge $1.99 a month here for the DTV modem the government

gave us the voucher for. A friend of mine went to their office to complain, he told them the DTV box was supposed to be free and they said the company changed their mind. WE bought the the DTV box with a $40 voucher from taxpayers money and they are charging us $24 a year to use it.

[Boom Sound 416]

25. Expect the guy to show up between 9am and

Thursday

[doc03]

27. A price increase every 6 months to a year. n/t

[spanone]

28. i've had good service from comcast.

[Kingofalldems]

29. My only problem has been that they

took Something Weird off the On Demand feature.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. I've never had any problems with Comcast.

In my experience their customer service has been pretty decent. However, mergers of large companies usually result in massive fuckups, at least temporarily. So time will tell.

[Kahuna]

32. They're expensive. Their rates go up every year. You can cut deals..

but they make you call and beg for a deal every six months.

[doc03]

33. Consumer Reports rates Time Warner and Comcast 6 & 7 in customer service

out of 7 providers.

[MANative]

35. It only took them thirty-two visits to my home, more than...

Seventy+ phone calls, nine letters of complaint, and eleven years and two months to fix a persistent problem that we had with our digital cable and internet (extremely slow internet and dropped signals). For that privilege, we paid them $185 per month. We are stuck with them because there are no broadband alternatives in our area, and it's necessary for my business. I hate them with a purple passion. Sure hope you have better luck than we have!

[2theleft]

47. I'm going through this RIGHT NOW.

It is so frustrating. Had FIOS for years. Loved it. Comcast came through the neighborhood offering huge deals. A bunch of neighbors and I switched. Nothing but problems since. Now trying to get out of the contract and go back to FIOS. At this point, with all of the issues and needing reliable service for working from home, I will probably have to pay my out of the contract. Customer service is a joke. Let me ping your box. Hmmm. That didn't work. We will send someone out in 3 days.

Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it.

[LeftyMom]

38. They once gave me a box that spontaneously combusted

Another time they accidentally disconnected my service instead of a neighbor's and couldn't figure out how to fix it for three weeks.

[Historic NY]

40. Remember time Warner - AOL merger....

worse.

[workinclasszero]

41. Bend over and grab your ankles...

Better cut the cable while you can.

Of course the bastards killed net neutrality with bought and paid for politicians so........

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. Here is good article on the merger..

which says, among other stuff you will want to read..

The average cable bill has doubled over the last decade to approximately $90 a month and will reach $200 in 2020, estimates market researcher The NPD Group. And the Federal Trade Commission estimates that the monthly cable bill for basic broadcast networks is around $62 for the most basic package, which doesn’t include any premium cable stations like HBO, AMC or Showtime, premium sports channels or the Internet.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/biggest-loser-in-time-warner-cable-buyout-you-2014-02-13

FWIW..I had comcast in SF for 6 years, early 2000-ish.
Bill increases every 10 months, no other cable options.

[Applan]

44. Don't expect lower priced or greater choice

[Nay]

46. You'll suffer like an abused mule. Believe me. nt

[L0oniX]

49. CONcast.

[Shoulders of Giants]

51. Expect the price to go up signifigantly every six months...

Then you have to call them and be on hold for 40 minutes to get it "lowered" back to where it was. If not, they will start charging you $75 a month for internet only out of nowhere.

[elleng]

52. You won't likely be affected,

as they don't serve the same territories. In any event, whatever happens won't happen for a year, probably, due to legal delays.

[Auntie Bush]

54. My son worked for Comcast and now works for Time Warner.

He said TW was much more casual and not in a hurry to do things...like getting people back up and running. Comcast was much more concerned about service.
I have comcast and my daughter has TW. She was just here last weekend and commented that she likes Comcast better.

I hope this merger doesn't effect my son's job!

I shouldn't bad mouth TW because my son was diagnosed with Lymphoma and took a 1/2 off with all medical bills paid. When he went back they welcomed his with a new truck and gas card. That's a pretty good company to work for. He's some kind of engineer...I forget the title...senior moment!

[Paulie]

56. Xfinity branded residential service sucks

When things are bad tell them ondemand doesn't work. That helps roll a truck.

I have spendy Comcast business class internet. No caps. They will roll a truck next day if trouble.

[customerserviceguy]

60. Get an antenna

Put it on the roof, put it on a pole if you have to. Or, go to satellite, at least there's still a veneer of competition in that market.

Cable companies suck, whether they're large too-big-to-fail, or fragmented. They still operate like monopolistic greedmongers in either case.

[bklyncowgirl]

61. Do not lose any of their equipment--they will follow you to the grave and beyond.

When my mother passed away Comcast billed her $200 for an obsolete cable box that I vaguely remembered turning in for her when she finally got a cable ready TV. Unfortunately I couldn't provide the paperwork to prove it. When I told them that my mother had died, Comcast insisted that I produce the missing box, the paperwork or proof of death in the form of an official copy of her death certificate. Eventually a copy of the death certificate settled the issue. It was very upsetting and annoying. This was an old switch box with no remote--no one was going to use in 2008--but they were going to get it back come he'll or high water. We switched to the dish after that.

[AnnieBW]

62. Lousy customer service

We call them "Commie-cast" in our house. Because we have no other choices, other than FIOS.

[Samantha]

63. You ask for it

I despised Comcast when I moved here and had to choose it as my provider since there were no others in PG County. Chronically, if I called to report a malfunction, some new hire would ask me to do this, or ask me to do that, and I often would be on the phone for an hour. One day, I just got sick of it and said, "Look, I don't work for Comcast. I am a customer, and I want customer service." She had to put me on hold and talk to a supervisor. They checked my account and saw I was paying a maintenance fee so they sent an installer out.

Those boxes were heavy. I despised picking them up because I am a short female and they sat on top of the set, over my head.

Politicians in this county gave Comcast a 15-year monopoly to bring cable here, so they had no competition which is why they didn't care how they treated customers. They knew they wouldn't leave because there was no way to go.

They don't have enough people working for them, so they take on contractors. The contractors are very interested in doing good work, but certain information Comcast doesn't share with them, like certain manuals, because they are afraid they will leak the info. So in some repair calls I had, the contractors' hands were tired because my problem was not within their range and they could not access the full-range of information due to their status.

At one point, I had one problem diagnosed 4 different ways, with various inhouse calls, none of which solved the problem. I can't tell you how many hours I waited. Some times when I would call, they would tell me the repairman was on the way but he never showed. Eventually, they just replaced all of the cable in the house. I couldn't wait to switch to Verizon.

When I terminated my service, I had to go to one of their sites to return the equipment. I drove 20 miles to an obscure building poorly marked, but after inquiring found out Comcast was indeed located there. I pulled the 3 boxes out of my trunk and staggered to the door. I asked someone which way was Comcast and it was at the other end. There were no carts, handtrucks or anything. I had to walk the distance with the boxes. By the time I arrived at the window, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I set the boxes on the floor. The woman behind the window said you have to set them up here. What a nightmare.

So I do think Verizon has superior support and of course it helps that the wiring is underground, but I do not like Verizon because of the sleazy moves it makes to run its competitors (such as Netflix) into the ground, its poor treatment of its employees, yada, yada, yada. It is a very poor idea to give money to a big corporation that is one that thinks it should run the country along with a few other large corporations to the detriment of the little guy. So I need to find another avenue again.

Sam

[Kahuna]

67. I might add that years ago, I used to call Comcast on a monthly basis to..

tell them how much they suck. After a few years of doing so, I realized that it didn't change anything for the better so I stopped.

[AngryOldDem]

68. I've had both, and Comcast is better.

T-W sucks, in my experience. The cable always went out with no notice, and would be off for hours. Computer speeds were meh. I like the features we have with our Comcast package -- loads of shows and movies on demand, etc.

The biggest horror show is that this creates a virtual one-company monopoly in telecommunications. Comcast can now pretty much dictate to the networks the terms of service, etc., which will most assuredly mean higher costs to the consumer. That, plus Comcast's ownership of NBC Universal are reasons enough for the FCC to deny this. Which it won't.

[RedCappedBandit]

69. Both are slow, horrible internet services. But monopolies lead to higher prices.

Nothing good will come of this.




We should nationalize the industry. Access to information is too important a commodity to leave in the hand of the greedy capitalist swine that make up the ruling class.

[KharmaTrain]

70. A Sign Of An Industry In Decline...

The biggest reason for this latest merger is the usual cries about how consolidation will create better choices and more efficiency. It also creates a massive amount of debt that eventually consumes the company and prevents it from provided anything other than the corporate's survival. Witness the "consolidation" of the airline industry in the 80s and broadcasting in the 90s. Both industries are now debt ridden and the quality of their services have tremendously declined the bigger their debt grows.

Sadly corporate greed trumps common sense and history...too much money greasing the skids. The deal will be approved and we'll start seeing poorer service and the new company suffocates under its own largess...

[hobbit709]

71. Probably no worse.

Depends more on where you're at and quality of infrastructure. I know people that live where Comcast took over and the quality improved and others where it worsened. Same for TW.

[Herself]

72. there are alternatives

here is one

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tv/build-your-own-digital-tv-antenna

You can also make your own "cleartv" antenna. At present I get 14 channels with the one I made. I didn't bother to run it outside or I would pick up more channels.

I kicked the cable habit 10 years ago. If you pay 100 a month, that is 12,000 dollars ago.

[dawg]

73. Comcast would not allow HBOGo streaming on the Roku.

I had to buy an Apple TV just for that reason. (Love the Apple TV though)