This is pretty cool…

I just got off the phone with a Comcast rep regarding the cancellation of our TV service.  We want to keep their cable Internet service but couldn’t justify paying the price for television cable when we barely use it.  Comcast is rated pretty poorly (or at least bottom tier) in customer satisfaction (Consumer Reports) and I fully know why based on my phone call with their rep.

My initial dial-in was met by the typical phone tree.  Probably to filter out the customers who have technical problems or want to cancel their service, versus the people who are brand spanking new customers looking to open accounts.  It didn’t surprise me to hear that the call center was experiencing unexpected volume and I should call back between 2-5pm.  Because…Well you know – lots of people cancel cable 7 days before the Super Bowl.

I waited maybe 4 seconds before a rep picked up my line.

From there I explained what I wanted and I had to verify my account info.  Once that was done, the rep asked me for my account info.  I paused.  Then she said “oh wait, nevermind.”

At this point I was expecting a bit of a sell – some promotion to entice me to stay on.  Honestly, I would of been all ears.  When we lived in Buffalo I was aiming to do the same with our cable service there but the rep I spoke to worked out a nice package that was almost a la carte – only the channels I wanted plus Internet below $100/month.  Well I never got that.  Instead I was informed that in order to cancel cable service you’re charged a $10 fee because a service technician has to come out to your property.  I asked if I could just bring the equipment back to an office location and the rep said no, the technician has to “disconnect” it.  I’m going to assume Mr. Technician is going to get on a ladder and climb up a pole or else I’m going to be pissed that I just got nickeled and dimed.

Moving along…The rep now asked if I would like the technician to collect the equipment for me.  I asked the rep how much?  She said it was part of the cancellation fee.  What!  Why bother asking me then if you’re sending a tech out in the 1st place?  Mind you, I’m still a customer!  On top of that, instead of charging me $57 plus tax for Internet only service, I’m paying $62 plus tax for downgraded Internet (12 mbps vs 16 mbps download) !  To retain the current speed would run me $75 plus tax a month for Internet only.  With taxes and fees I’m probably looking at $70/month!

Unfortunately Fios is still unavailable in our neighborhood.  And it’s not like we live in the sticks either.  But it looks like they’re only charging $55/month plus tax for Internet only which I’m guessing is better than Comcast.

I should say that the customer service rep that helped me was nice.  She didn’t get mad when I asked to be transferred to someone else to help regarding their pricing.

I was thinking about the “go green” push and how certain companies and brands have embraced it while others haven’t.  I’m sure demographics have a lot to do with it but I was thinking as a whole, it seems there has to be ways that you could embrace going green, not for the sake of the environment, but for the sake of return customers.

What if McDonalds were to give you a nice looking, cup-holder fitting, reusable cup – with the premise that reusing your cup saves you maybe $.25 or more off of your purchase.  Would you keep the cup and reuse it if it were a nice BPA-Free design?  I guess it could get funky if you left it in the car but maybe they have a quick cup wash gadget or they could come up with a nice solution.  The point is to try and entice you to come back.  Whether you’re just getting a refill or an apple pie, the mere fact that you’re returning creates better odds that you’ll expand on your purchase.  If anything, you’ll have a bunch of homeless people walking around with McDonald branded cups in some very high traffic areas – a win-win.

I wonder if grocery stores like Whole Foods could do something similar with bags…Give away discounts to those customers who use their own bags.  Personally, that would make it more enticing for me to walk back to the car after remembering that I left them there.  Or, instead of the those membership cards, apply the same membership discounts to people who use the reusable store bags.  The cost of the normal “free” bags are hidden in the markup anyways right?

What do you guys think?

I thought I’d make an ongoing series of posts concerning my ridiculous theories that consume my brain when I lay in bed trying to sleep at night.  Without further ado…

Why Do Mechanics Have Problems With Their Own Cars?

While not an auto mechanic myself I have no idea.  And I know this generalization is completely off based and has no merit whatsoever.  But, if you have a circle of mechanic friends and always wondered why, when they pick you up, they apologize for the window not rolling down, or the a/c not working, or the ordinance violating exhaust, then read on.

I think it’s pretty simple.  They’re fed up with fixing the crappy car that you bring to them day-in/day-out, that they’re too tired to even bother with their own.  It’s sad really.  We’ve taken their love for cars and the reality of working on them for a living, and turned it into an obscure novelty all because we decided to skip an oil change or two.

When I lived in Buffalo, NY, I worked at a small IT company maintaining systems and fixing computers.  I just remembered at the end of the day, I wanted nothing to do with computers.  My own PC was compiled from donated or accumulated bin parts with wires hanging every which way.  So that’s basically how I came to a conclusion for theory number 1.

…You don’t visit this site every morning…

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Yum.  Someone snapped a shot of the Cap’n Crunch-Coated French Toast from the Blue Moon Cafe in Fells Point.  I really need to visit that place.

As much I liked my previous theme, I couldn’t help but feel it was missing some texture.  I think this new theme does well in that regard, while at the same time, continues my “simplicity” kick that I’ve been on.  But, in case I forget, I still need to:

• Check IE browsers
• Tweak the tiled background
• Hook up the forms in the side bar
• Actually, I need to make the sidebar content dynamic
• Oh yeah my new logo/favicon…

Check out these guys, they rock…http://foodtease.com/

In two years time, I’ve spent $1000 in deductibles being a victim of hit and run accidents, all while my car sits parked minding its own business.  I’ve only had the car for a month now!  Thank you, citizens of Baltimore – thank you.

Last Friday we (employees of Thunder Creek) learned that our company was being sold to another.  After the smoke cleared, my division along with another, was held onto collectively to become a new company.   My details are sketchy at best but hopefully I’ll find out more this week.  Good luck to all those at Thunder Creek who’ve devoted so much of themselves to their work and thanks for the memories.

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