Time Warner has, by far, the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. I would switch, but I like cable, and they’re the only ones in my area. I tried Uverse for a while, and I didn’t like it much. At+t’s customer service sucks, too. I was going to try Direct TV, but I looked at some reviews on line, and apparently their customer service rivals that of Time Warner. It’d be too much hassle and time to switch, and I’d still have lousy customer service.

A lot of people go with netflix/hulu/vudu etc. It must work for them; it doesn’t work for me. But you might check it out, depending on your needs.

If you want cable or uverse or satellite, and you want good (or just not really bad) customer service, I think you’re out of luck.

The cable/internet companies sorta have a monopoly so you can’t really switch. My previous Internet provider retention sales rep told me that point blank and “dared” I switch saying that no other Internet company was in my area…

Little did he know there was another so I canceled and sign up for another promo 12 months. I expect that I would have to switch again after the 12 months is up. The good thing is I had service before so it’s just changing what cable I plug into my modem.

We don’t have cable tv other than Netflix so don’t tend to care what DirectTV or sports is out there so that might not work for you.

Also, after seeing other people with DirectTV and cable, I don’t know how anyone can sit through commercials anymore. They pop up so much!

One thing to also watch out for is AT&T has Internet download limits so that can be very bad if you download a lot of movies (or watch a lot of p*rn), games from Steam, etc…

Overall, the US Internet infrastructure is crap due to lobbyist, monopolies, special interest, big business, etc…Even in major metro areas which would be profitable for new players, it’s not done in the US. Go to anywhere in Asia an their Internet is like 100x faster…for MUCH less cost. (Yes, I hate the US more and more each day)…I’d probably leave, but wife can’t see living anywhere else.

This might help… Just went through this…

http://piggington.com/do_you_renegotiate_your_cablecellinternet_bills_all_time

I think recently, I’ve been pretty happy with uverse customer service. They seem to be on top of things, especially in San Diego.

And, unfortunately, you have to switch every year if you want the best rates in town..Or at least threaten to switch.

[quote=spdrun]When dealing with those clowns, record all conversations, and play them back to the rep (or their manager) if you have a problem.

It’s a shame that SD doesn’t have alternative ISPs like Monkeybrains in SF.[/quote]

In CA it’s jail-able offense for recording a telephone conversation without consent. If your going to do that make sure you say your going to do it and get consent.

There are actually several cable television providers in your area: Hulu, NetFlix, iTunes, Amazon, HBO streaming, Rabbit Ear Antennas, Etc. All you need is an Internet connection of which most areas have several offerings.

You get HD, you get on demand for everything, no having to pay extra for HD service, DVR, or extra cable boxes.

If you like watching spectator sports, you won’t get that, and some content is delayed or not available, so it’s not for everyone, but with more people cutting cable, I think it’s inevitable that everything goes to streaming. IMHO complaining about Cable is like complaining about milk delivery or land line phone service, it’s an old technology that’s past it’s prime.

[quote=spdrun]An audible beep tone is legally sufficient, I believe. You hear it when talking to some banks or stockbrokers. Advantage of this approach is that it covers your butt, but hopefully the customer service droid won’t be hip to what it means.

1500hz every 15 sec.

Interesting other question: does a “this call may be recorded…” message at their end imply consent to recording of the call by you as well as them?[/quote]

If they are recording, I believe you can too.

livinincali, the US is one now one of the markets where consumers pay the highest price for internet service. I think that Canada is the most expensive.

Same goes for cell phone service.

Providers charge more because they can. I don’t think your infrastructure argument flies when compared to other countries.

spd, my cell phone sounds great, if not better than a landline. Just wear a headset because the handset is not that good. I don’t miss the landline one bit. Kinda related to the millennials/young people topic, it’s very frustrating to call old people who don’t have communications apps. You have to pay expensive long distance if making overseas calls. Thankfully, I can call back to the US for free using an app.