I came back to Dish from CableA

[turri3215]

A couple weeks ago I was called from Comcast stating my internet was going up from 52 dollars a month to 64 for same service ,unless I budled with cable TV service.I was thinking about trying are local cable for a while so I agreed to bundle,but first thing I told them is all I wanted was a HD capable receiver,I said this a few times throughout call to verify,so I got (a so called deal)for cable (digital prefferred package)for 89.99 plus equipment and HD fees(an additional 19 dollars and month(which I got waived for 6 months)and then the gave me HBO free for 2 years.At first this sounded like a great package,so I signed up and put Dish on pause (thank God).
Then came the receiver,SD only ,so had to go replace that,then the programming package wasnt the one promised.The one I wanted was an additional 10 dollars a month and it still did not have all the channels I wanted.We hooked it up very carefully,tightened up everything,first problem we had is we couldnt get activated(account got messed up because we already had internet and wouldnt activate TV,finally after an hour on my cell phone(couldnt use homephone because I use internet to activate Vonage).We finally got it activated and thought my channels where in SD,but no these were HD,very bad quaality compared to Dish HD,and the SD channels virtually unwatchable.On Dish SD and HD came in great.
Comcast on Demand was more of a nuisance as most of the time programming wasnt available or it would get stuck.Then HBO was a Joke,they only have 1 HBO in HD,sure you can go on ON Demand and find some HBO movies,but not all to watch.I like most of my premiums in HD.so that was a bust.
Also unlike dish you did not have a program guide that showed you only the channels you pay for,lot of times I would go thru guide see something I would like to watch ,but I was not subscribed too.My wife wanted Discovery Fit And Health but it was in a higher package and not worth the extra 10 dollars to have.
Anyway I amnot trying to trash Comcast,because this solely was my experience.But I was sure glad to comeback to Dish.We gave them 10 dyas and that was enough..

 

[TheKrell]

Ugh! Horror story.

 

[Tampa8]

Many of those elements are things people fail to see when they try to say they will be getting such a great deal leaving DISH. (Or Direct)

 

[turri3215]

I just wanted people to be aware that the Grass isnt always greenest on the otherside.Even though this was a pain to go thru the last couple weeks,I am glad I did it for I wont be tempted in the future.Also being told by the cable company that is was my TV that was the problem.Connected to Dish the picture compared to cable is amazing,on cable it seemed somewhat blurry and snowy if that s possible.

 

[Rey]

Welcome back

 

[1886]

I signed up for Comcast a few weeks ago. Complete nightmare but they are really the only choice for internet around here (only other option is 3mb dsl) and it is $50 for 6mbs and we can use that up if more than one is streaming video, roku, voip, etc. So I got a mailing for 20mbs internet, preferred cable package, whole house DVR, free HBO & Streampix for 24 months at $89.99 1-12 months then $119.99 13-24 months (additional outlets $10).

2 appointments to get it installed (including rant from angry installer about the sales team)
Estimate 10-15 chat sessions to try to get the HBO & Streampix they promised
Estimate 5 long phone calls for same HBO & Streampix
Physically going to Comcast office with letter that says "Free HBO & Streampix" where they basically shrugged their shoulders
2-3 times trying to cancel and getting the retention department where it (I believe?) my plan has gone from 1 year HBO 3 months streampix, to 1 year HBO 1 year streampix, to 2 years HBO 2 years Streampix.
At this point I am not even sure what to believe

They have to be the most dysfunctional company I have ever dealt with. If I am to believe them, they have special sales teams that only have access to certain deals so if they ever mess up your order the regular customer service agent can't fix it because they don't have access to the same deals and the sales team is a sales team and can't change orders post-installation. Also unlike any other big company the employees don't seem to have access to the former chat/call notes so basically you have to repeat your story like it is the first time to every single person you talk with.

I get two HBO channels in HD, full time RSN is nice, NECN (regional news network) is nice. Inability to skip channels not subscribed too is annoying and while you can set up favorites list it changes back to default automatically although I think the software is still buggy at this point.

edit add: BBC World News is good too and SD picture is better on Comcast

Only for internet in my area I would be back to Dish right away

 

[Gobucks]

My grandmother went through the same crap with TWC. I got her set up with Dish and has been happy ever since. Lower bill, better equipment and she loves Epix!!

 

[Dishman-n-nc]

I left Dish for cable tv over 6 months ago and love it! Got a 3 room Tivo going and it beats Dish by great lengths. There are times when the grass is much greener on the other side. You just need to be sure its not because the septic tank is leaking!

 

[dwarren2]

I just wanted people to be aware that the Grass isnt always greenest on the otherside..

You know why the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? It's because you are looking sideways and can't see all the bare spots you would see fom above!

 

[dalyew]

I left Dish for Direct & if that ever doesn't work out I'll be back with Dish. Cable just seem to be stuck in time & very bad customer service compared to the Sat providers. My Dad is with Comcast, has a really good granfathered deal and would have moved him over to Dish or Direct if it wasn't that (and the long learning curve for him).

But his service has been cutting in & out for a few months & after several weeks they finally sent a tech out who diagnosed that the cable coming in from their distribution box on the sidewalk had to be changed. That fixed the problem as they bypassed the original cable that was buried coming into the house but left this large orange cable running over the lawn & driveway into his home after they were finished. They told him someone would come back to bury it. After 3 months & 2 further tech visits, who said it wasn't their department that buried cables, they only rectify signal problems, they finally came & buried the cable today because I threatened to disconnect his account & move him to DirecTV.

I'm still shocked at their service, reminds me of when I lived in the Caribbean. Comcast is really a third rate video service, but their internet is really fast though, when it works.

 

[JayStil]

I got a similar offer that I was thinking of doing, but in addition to not in place of DISH. I already have Comcast internet, but cancelled lifeline TV awhile ago when they started scrambling locals. The offer I got in the mail says most of the same things that you listed, except it's supposed to last for 2 years (and I'd be under contract). My fear is much of what you've described. Them messing up the order & price. Taken at face value the offer would cost me $15 additional, and for that $15 I'd get Digital Preferred, HBO, Streampix, X1 HD DVR, $50 Visa card, and I think there was even a year of either Showtime or Starz in there. Would be pretty easy to just drop one of my Dish receivers and get rid of the BB@Home package, making the final cost difference a wash.

But I know Comcast would screw the deal up somehow. That's stopping me from making the call.

I signed up for Comcast a few weeks ago. Complete nightmare but they are really the only choice for internet around here (only other option is 3mb dsl) and it is $50 for 6mbs and we can use that up if more than one is streaming video, roku, voip, etc. So I got a mailing for 20mbs internet, preferred cable package, whole house DVR, free HBO & Streampix for 24 months at $89.99 1-12 months then $119.99 13-24 months (additional outlets $10).

2 appointments to get it installed (including rant from angry installer about the sales team)
Estimate 10-15 chat sessions to try to get the HBO & Streampix they promised
Estimate 5 long phone calls for same HBO & Streampix
Physically going to Comcast office with letter that says "Free HBO & Streampix" where they basically shrugged their shoulders
2-3 times trying to cancel and getting the retention department where it (I believe?) my plan has gone from 1 year HBO 3 months streampix, to 1 year HBO 1 year streampix, to 2 years HBO 2 years Streampix.
At this point I am not even sure what to believe

They have to be the most dysfunctional company I have ever dealt with. If I am to believe them, they have special sales teams that only have access to certain deals so if they ever mess up your order the regular customer service agent can't fix it because they don't have access to the same deals and the sales team is a sales team and can't change orders post-installation. Also unlike any other big company the employees don't seem to have access to the former chat/call notes so basically you have to repeat your story like it is the first time to every single person you talk with.

I get two HBO channels in HD, full time RSN is nice, NECN (regional news network) is nice. Inability to skip channels not subscribed too is annoying and while you can set up favorites list it changes back to default automatically although I think the software is still buggy at this point.

edit add: BBC World News is good too and SD picture is better on Comcast

Only for internet in my area I would be back to Dish right away

 

[1886]

I got a similar offer that I was thinking of doing, but in addition to not in place of DISH. I already have Comcast internet, but cancelled lifeline TV awhile ago when they started scrambling locals. The offer I got in the mail says most of the same things that you listed, except it's supposed to last for 2 years (and I'd be under contract). My fear is much of what you've described. Them messing up the order & price. Taken at face value the offer would cost me $15 additional, and for that $15 I'd get Digital Preferred, HBO, Streampix, X1 HD DVR, $50 Visa card, and I think there was even a year of either Showtime or Starz in there. Would be pretty easy to just drop one of my Dish receivers and get rid of the BB@Home package, making the final cost difference a wash.

But I know Comcast would screw the deal up somehow. That's stopping me from making the call.

Yea mine is a 2 year contract also. I think you might be fine if the original sales person does their job correct and you get transferred to this telephone thing where you verify that you agree to contract deal electronically. I got transferred but it basically was error but I didn't think much of it at the time (thinking if it was a big deal they would call). Also a few days later I got an email (which was really lacking in detail) but listed some things different but I thought they just had a bad system. If I knew what I know now I would have picked up on these errors and made sure I was getting the right deal before installation because after that they don't seem to really care. Also the installation guys will call the main customer service number if there is any problems when really they don't have the same deals as the special sales team. So if anything goes wrong during installation make sure they call the number that was on the mailing you got.