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Good lord, these people are nuts.

Come on, man.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

This blog will pay for itself.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

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fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Comcast

Comcast

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I swear I am not auditioning for a job at Slate, but I have to say I love my Comcast service. Cable went out Wed night in the night, call and make an appt. yesterday, guy shows up on time, fixes all my (internet) issues, and my speed is blazing fast with a 20-30 ping on average and download speed of 75-85 Mbps. Sure they piss me off sometimes, but EVERYTHING pisses me off sometimes.

Wish you suffering from shitty Comcast service could see how good it is here.

Reader Interactions

82Comments

  2. 2.

    Roger Moore

    A lot of this has to do with your local branch. If Comcast in your neighborhood has a good manager, you’ll get good service. If it has a shitty manager, you’ll get shitty service. Comcast as a whole has a bad reputation because they have a lot of bad local branches, but you’re one of the lucky ones who has a good branch. This kind of thing is true of just about any big corporation.

  3. 3.

    guachi

    I hate Comcast. Every city I’ve been in their service has sucked. However, I currently have FiOS and it’s very fast, cheap as I was already wired, and I’ve never lost service once. Quite remarkable.

    Oh, and FiOS hardly copy protects any show so I can record it using my digital tuner in my computer and keep/modify/share any show.

    Glad to hear you have non-sucky service.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    @Roger Moore:

    This kind of thing is true of just about any big corporation.

    More so with cable, because all the big cable companies were formed by acquiring a lot of little cable companies.

  6. 6.

    Ahasuerus

    download speed of 75-85 Mbps

    Seriously? Dayum. Is that their garden-variety service, or is it some special extra-cost tier?

  7. 7.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    How about those of us who suffer from shitty, small-time, local, rurl wireless “broadband” providers? It’s either that or the even worse satellite stuff. Ours is a local company that got in on this about 3 years back. They’re woefully understaffed and do the best they can but one thunderstorm here and our tower goes and it takes them 3 weeks to restore reliable service.

    The invisible hand of the market sure hates (un)Real, rurl ‘Murka.

  8. 8.

    BGinCHI

    Cole, your yearly trip to Madison isn’t in June, is it?

    @Omnes Omnibus: You in town the weekend of June 22? If there is any justice in this world I am going to try to get up to Madison to see Parquet Courts play at the High Noon. I’m dying to see them.

  10. 10.

    Yatsuno

    We call them Comcrash up these parts. I refused to get them because I had no need for anything other than Internet and they wanted a small fortune for using just that in their pipeline. I’m pretty durn happy with the wireless connection I have now. No surprises on the bill and it’s pretty reliable. I might go for the faster speed since the difference is only $10 (I’m on the midgrade right now) but I’m so po I can’t afford the last two letters.

  11. 11.

    BGinCHI

    @Yatsuno: Since William Gibson lives there I assumed cable was just beamed right into your head.

    Probably Gates blocked it.

  12. 12.

    stickler

    @comrade scott’s agenda of rage: Well, it always has. And the answer has been for Big Gubmint to step in and do something about it. The free market was never going to provide electricity to farmers, so the REA was created. Same thing ought to happen with cable/internet (and, as I recall, Obama proposed something to do just that, though it went nowhere because of Congress).

  13. 13.

    kindness

    Comcast blows monkey balls where I live. They bump their price every 6 months and the service is slow.

    I am an odd ball I know. I like my AT&T service better. Only wish they had fiber-optic in my neighborhood so my upload speeds would increase.

  14. 14.

    pokeyblow

    I have an internet/cable-TV combination package.

    I watch virtually no TV. Some sports game once per quarter, if that… and I can easily go without.

    My sense is, the cable companies screw you on internet-only deals. Is that right?

    Also, does anyone rely on cell-phone wireless for home internet use?

  15. 15.

    Allen

    I never had problems with Comcast, and I had them for over a decade. Since I live in one of the first areas of the country to actually have Comcast, I always figured they were able to work all the bugs out in my area. All that said, I switched to Verizon FIOS the second it was available where I live, primarily because they have a better channel selection for the TV (by which I mean, Comcast only provided Baltimore stations in HD, but FIOS provides both Baltimore and D.C. stations in HD for those of us living between those two cities; this is great for when one of the stations decides to be horrible and broadcast some local sporting event instead of the network show I actually want to watch).

  16. 16.

    Hunter Gathers

    I need someone to explain to me why a download speed of 75-85 Mbps for your home is necessary, or even wanted for that matter. Unless you are a full time gamer or the world’s biggest bittorrent fiend, I don’t see the practicality of such high download speeds. Educate me.

  18. 18.

    raven

    I had AT&T internet paid for by work. They quit paying for it and the AT&T guy came out to do something and he said “dude, dump this and get Charter”. We did and it’s been pretty good.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    @pokeyblow:

    does anyone rely on cell-phone wireless for home internet use?

    I used to. Data caps and not as fast (this was before 4G), but if you don’t download a lot of shows, it works well.

  20. 20.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @BGinCHI: I think I will be. Father’s Day is the weekend before, so I will be gone then. I am going to get dragooned into helping reroof our cabin at some point but it’s not on the schedule yet.

  21. 21.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @stickler:

    Ah yes, some form of rurl broadband heavily sponsored and implemented by the Moooslim Usurper. The Holy Grail smashed by the jackasses in Congress. Actually, I’m trying to remember if this made any headway when Nancy SMASH! was in charge. Obviously not.

    I’ve been reading about the parallels to rurl ‘lectrification for more than a decade now. We were ecstatic when this local dude decided to start wireless broadband service out here in East Anklescratch and it’s better than dial up…but some weeks not friggin much. I think his is a case of needing to grow *now* but is too afraid to get the financing to do it. Or is unable to get the financing. Who knows.

  22. 22.

    Ryan C

    What? A corporate media monopoly supplied you with the service you’re paying them for. Well, then I guess it’s time to get down on your knees!

  23. 23.

    dedc79

    funny, when wingers talk about the wonders and efficiencies of the private sector, Comcast is usually my go-to counterpoint.

  24. 24.

    Crusty Dem

    @Yatsuno:

    Waiting on the city’s Gigabit system to get up and running. Comcast decided that any coverage should cost me ~$200/mo, so I’m using CenturyStink(TM).

  26. 26.

    pokeyblow

    @Baud: Yeah, that’s what I figured. I have a 5G T-Mobile plan, and can upgrade to 10G with wireless hot-spot. Which is altogether awesome. But unlike TV watching, I do like watching movies online now and again, and also listen to internet radio, and figure I’d probably go over the 10G limit. Speed-wise it’s hard to say whether the situation would be satisfactory. Would love to get rid of the cable bill, though.

  28. 28.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @pokeyblow:

    Also, does anyone rely on cell-phone wireless for home internet use?

    We tried that but again, there’s a rurl/urban divide here. Cell-phone wireless coverage out here in red, rurl Misery is spotty on a good day. Our formal, wireless coverage remains better.

  30. 30.

    VOR

    Actually, my Comcast is pretty good and stable. But it took a long time to get that way and multiple service calls. I probably have enough coax running through my back yard to open a copper mine. Finally a customer service rep said ‘instead of a >300 foot cable run completely around your house, why don’t we go directly through your front yard for a 50 foot cable run’. Solved all my reliability issues, although I do still have two amps (upstream and downstream) on my line.

  31. 31.

    Yatsuno

    @schrodinger’s cat: Or Tunch. Swift is the justice of his mighty paw.

    @Crusty Dem: CLink is teh suxxors. They would have to pay me to use them, not to mention my condo doesn’t have a phone line. Yeah I haven’t figured out how that’s legal either.

  38. 38.

    Joel

    Please tell us how Creed is seriously underrated. Or why Honey Boo-Boo is a fantastic cultural ambassador.

  41. 41.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    I’ve had Comcast triple play in Chicago for years now and, outside of the cost, it’s great. My internet never goes down. When my phone rings it buzzes my cell phone and gives me the message as a text or voicemail. I can set my dvr remotely in case I forget to record the early international soccer matches. I can watch HBO, ESPN, etc on my phone or tablet during lunch at work by connecting to wi-fi and logging in with my comcast ID.

    I wish it were cheaper. I’m moving at the end of the month and have considered trying the “we’re gonna cut down to just internet” play to see if they will lower my rates. My wife hates the cost but she loves the programming.

    Like CrustyDem, I’m paying apprx $200/mo and wish I could save more. But I love tv and movies and the internet. It’s one of my weaknesses. Maybe one day I will be strong enough to cut cable but then how would I watch the sports programming I want to live? I’m helpless against my cable addiction. It was easier quitting smoking than quitting Comcast.

    My only complaint is that they dropped GolTV when they added BeIN Sports. I miss the Bundesliga games now and it makes me sad.

  42. 42.

    Schlemizel

    Customer support and the dispatch people at Comcast can all FO&DIAF but I have had almost 100% great treatment from their technical people. With one exception they have been professional, courteous, helpful and gone out of their way to do the job.

  44. 44.

    Tone In DC

    @Yatsuno:

    I’m so po I can’t afford the last two letters.

    Been there. Done that.
    I remember paying ScumCast a month late for half the summer a while back, as I was too broke to pay attention.

  46. 46.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: “Tom Cruise is a great Jack Reacher”

    (Haven’t seen it, don’t know the books, but I thought I’d take a stab at something more current than Ishtar or Gigli)

  47. 47.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Schlemizel: I’ve never had anything but pleasant and courteous service from Comcast, all-around. The only thing that pisses me off is the price – and that’s only because the wife complains about it.

    I used to have problems with MLS Direct Kick and they would always credit my account. I wish I could join in with the hate, but Comcast has been good to me.

  48. 48.

    BGinCHI

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: YES! I miss Gol as well! WTF happened with that? I miss Bundesliga and the occasional Spanish league match. But hey, at least Bein is carrying cycling. It was great to have the Giro and many of the classics.

  51. 51.

    BGinCHI

    While we’re on the cable topic, I HIGHLY recommend the new Soderbergh film on Liberace on HBO.

    Douglas and Damon are amazing.

    ETA: Yes, I’m a monster because typing “reacharound” reminded me of this film.

  53. 53.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I watched Jack Reacharound a week ago. It was good enough. I’ve seen Snitch (with The Rock), A Good Day to Die Hard, The Last Stand (with Schwarzenegger) and Parker (with Jason Statham) in the last two weeks and all have been a good sort of bad. My wife enjoyed them all. I saw Killing Them Softly (with Brad Pitt) and the wife hated it. Tonight it’s Broken City (with Mark Wahlberg). I liked The Last Stand the best of them all so far. I was prepared for miserable and got mildly enjoyable.

  54. 54.

    Crusty Dem

    @Yatsuno:

    Yep, they won me over with A) price and B) not being Comcast. That said, if you actually need a functioning, reliable connection, you’d probably better off with anything else, because CL drops CONSTANTLY!!!

  56. 56.

    Judge Crater

    Comcast’s CEO is one of the most overpaid dickwads in corporate America. He’s the son of the founder and as a second generation “entrepreneur” he knows how to exploit the system. Comcast employees are not unionized – the company is anti-union. They now own NBC Universal and its pro-plutocracy outlet, CNBC.

    I had them for years: with prices jumping every year and no improvement in channel quality or selection. I switched to Verizon FIOS (whose employees are unionized) and got better everything for the same or less money. After I switched, Comcast called me and offered me all the stuff I get on FIOS for the same price. They suck. Their business model is to just exploit their customers and their workers. Fuck them.

  57. 57.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @BGinCHI: Yes. Looper was pretty good.

    I finally watched 50/50 the other day with JGL. Liked it a lot.

    I liked Killing Them Softly too, but it was too much talking for my wife’s tastes. She likes explosions.

  58. 58.

    Keith

    Try being late on your bill and see how awesome they are. For starters, the voice recognition system they use for paying bills is atrocius (“You selected a payment of…..do you wish to pay this amount?”). Then, when you’re late on payment, they autodial you, and if you don’t answer with “hello”, the system hangs up on you. And they can call up to 10 times in a day; I’ve had them call as late as 8:50pm.

  59. 59.

    geg6

    @Baud:

    Seriously. He’s turned full-time troll.

    Cole, you have got to be kidding. Comcast, or as it’s known here variously, Comcrash or Comcash? The suckiest corporation in America? Gawd, I couldn’t wait to dump them when I moved in with John. My old landlord wouldn’t let me get satellite, so I switched to Directv as soon as I moved in here. Comcast is ultra expensive and specializes in ultra shitty service. I have a package with Verizon because FIOS is not available here and they partner with Directv in such places. Service is fantastic, customer service is great and I’m paying almost $100 less a month for more than I had with Comcast in my old apartment with only two tvs. We have six boxes with dvr in three, all the pay channels and good Internet service. I’ll never go back.

  60. 60.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Keith: I’m late on my Comcast bill all the time and they still haven’t kicked me off. I need to call and tell them I’m moving on 6/30. That’s when I’m going to try the I’m too poor for $200/mo play and see if I can get it down to something better.

  62. 62.

    dr. luba

    @BGinCHI: I caught the second half of that last Sunday (hotel, on the road). It was good, and I’d love to see the whole thing, but I don’t have HBO so will have to wait until the library or Netflix gets it.

  64. 64.

    Cassandra

    Comcast, where I live (Philly suburbs), has been great for me. In fact, last month they called ME about a problem with the signal they were detecting. Came out, fixed it, no charge. Of course, I pay through the nose for the full Xfinity package.

  69. 69.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @BGinCHI: Armenian carpet dealer? How different is that from buying a carpet from an Indian woman up on Devon Ave?

  70. 70.

    Redshirt

    @pokeyblow: I’ve only got three internet options at my house here way high up in the mountains: DSL, Satellite, or Cell.

    I was using a Verizon 3G modem and it was pretty miserable – under 1MB of download speed, meaning everything on the modern internet was a pain in the ass. And Netflix? Forget about it.

    I just upgraded to 4G and Wow! What a difference. I’m pulling 20MB now, which means I’m back in the modern world! Yay!

    Still won’t sign up for Netflix though, due to Verizon data charges.

  71. 71.

    PsiFighter37

    I don’t know how good or bad Comcast is, but I’m stuck with fucking Time Warner Cable in my building in NYC (it’s too old to have Fios). Fucking hate it.

  72. 72.

    Seanly

    What does it say about Time Warner Cable and my current no-name provider Cable One if I miss Comcast?

    My current provider does have good internet (uploads a little low) but otherwise they suck.

  73. 73.

    Roger Moore

    @Hunter Gathers:

    I need someone to explain to me why a download speed of 75-85 Mbps for your home is necessary, or even wanted for that matter.

    If it’s available and reasonably priced, why would I not want the fastest speed I can get? And there actually are some legitimate needs for being able to download multiple GBs of data. It’s really useful if you’re working with cloud-based services that let you download data for off-line use. For example, I have the right to digital copies of some movies I bought on Blu-ray. If I want to watch them on a plane trip, I will first need to download them to my tablet. Since they’re in the range of 1-2 GB each, that might mean a 10 GB download for a trip. Really fast downloads make that a much more attractive option.

  74. 74.

    Origuy

    The choice here in San Jose is between Comcast and AT&T. I’ve had Comcast for ages and they’ve been pretty good. The technical people are usually very competent; the folks you get on the phone are not always. The biggest complaint is about the crappy Motorola DVR. I’m about ready to buy the Tivo and cut over. I don’t have phone service with Comcast, but I’m thinking about that. Their Triple Play deal should save me money. Anyone have experience with Tivo on Comcast?

  75. 75.

    Ron

    75Mbps? holy shit. I have 30M down/5 up and that is the 2nd fastest TWC offers here as far as I know. the top of the line is 50M. color me jealous.

  76. 76.

    BArry

    I’m on the phone with these f*ckers now. One dept does internet, another handles the physical cable (which is the problem now). Two calls and a half hour later, I *might* get a svc appt.

    The g-d-dmned idiot could f*cking tell me anything useful. comcast seems to be divided into two parts – internet and TV; the actual physical cable falls into f*cking limbo.

    I agreed to take their survey, and am looking forward to zeroing everything out.

    Does anybody have a number to call to get to Comcast/Xfinity’s fix-t department?

  77. 77.

    Frank

    When I had Comcast, I had lots of complaints about Comcast, but none about the service.

    It was excellent.

    It could be because I was at the time close to Philly and they had not yet over-expanded.

  78. 78.

    Badtux

    Well, I’ve had my run-ins with Compost, but I gotta admit that every time my service has died, they’ve resurrected it better than ever. The last time it died was because the service guy disconnected my cable when the neighbor moved out. Oops :). But they got it back up, checked the line, went up the pole and fixed something up there too, and it’s worked great ever since.

    But when I hear about the Internet service that the FIOS people get, or that South Koreans expect as their due, or that my friends in Lafayette Louisiana get (they have city-owned FIOS-type service)… oh my. Compost suddenly appears about as fast as that 1200 baud modem that I owned in 1984…

  79. 79.

    JustRuss

    Comcast customer here. Seriously over priced. Every couple weeks we hit a dead zone, no internet for 15 minutes to an hour. But they’re better than DSL. Viva la free market.

  81. 81.

    sherparick

    Here in central Virginia, Comcast took over bankrupt (and run by particularly stupid corporate crooks) Adelphia in 2007. As far as I know they have invested “zilch” in upgrading the system since. The “ping” satisfactory 20-30, but the download speed just about never exceeds 22 Mbps, well below the international average. http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2010/prod_101710.html

  82. 82.

    ComcastMark

    I am glad your service is now restored.

    For those of you who need help with your Comcast service, I apologize. Please email us so we can look into the problem. Also, please include a link to this page on your reply as a point of reference.

    Thanks,

    ComcastMark
    National Customer Operations
    [email protected],com

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