Text of my live chat with a Comcast representative concerning MSNBC move off of basic cable in PGH

[scheming daemons]

At first, it appeared that "Agnes" was a bot. But then it appeared there was some human interaction.

Sorry to bother you non-Pittsburgh area folks... but this just pisses me off. I'm guessing that they are going to start in the "swing states" to limit access to KO and RM and others in the run up to the election.

user Dean_ has entered room

dean(Tue Jul 15 10:14:01 EDT 2008)>Why has Comcast moved MSNBC from channel 31 to channel 183? I can no longer get it on my bedroom TV set. WHY did you do this??

analyst Agnes has entered room

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:14:04 EDT 2008)>Hello Dean_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Agnes. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:14:08 EDT 2008)>I can certainly assist you with your issue today.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:15:24 EDT 2008)>Dean, I understand that you would like to check on the channel changes.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:15:26 EDT 2008)>Am I right?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:16:49 EDT 2008)>Yes. I want an explanation

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:16:45 EDT 2008)>I understand how you feel, Dean.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:16:46 EDT 2008)>For account identification can you please provide your account number?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:18:04 EDT 2008)>######### (Number removed)
Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:18:20 EDT 2008)>That's my phone number... I don't have a bill with me, so I dont know the account number

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:17:44 EDT 2008)>That's alright. Let me just search your account on my system.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:17:48 EDT 2008)>For verification purposes, could you please provide the last 4 digits of the Social Security Number listed on the account?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:19:19 EDT 2008)>#### (Number removed)

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:18:28 EDT 2008)>Thank you for that information.

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:20:53 EDT 2008)>I am just looking for an explanation as to why this move happened. There is no way that the golf channel is more popular than MSNBC

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:20:01 EDT 2008)>Just to clarify, you are not able to receive the MSNBC channel on your analog cable. Am I correct?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:21:38 EDT 2008)>Correct... only on the digital box... because it was moved from 31 to 183

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:23:56 EDT 2008)>I understand how you feel, Dean. However, there were changes on the availability of this channel depending on the cable package. It is upon the network provider's discretion as to where they want to place their service.

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:25:38 EDT 2008)>I already wrote MSNBC and they told me that they did NOT have anything to do with this move. That it was solely done by Comcast.

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:26:48 EDT 2008)>I understand how you feel, Dean. I will be providing you a link where you can request your local office to bring this channel back to the analog cable service.

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:28:07 EDT 2008)>Thank you.

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:26:58 EDT 2008)>Will this be fine with you?
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:26:58 EDT 2008)>Will this be fine with you?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:28:22 EDT 2008)>It's the best I will be able to do, I presume.

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:27:12 EDT 2008)>Sorry for sending the message twice.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:28:22 EDT 2008)>Alright. One moment please while I provide you the link, Dean.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:28:56 EDT 2008)>Thank you for waiting.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:03 EDT 2008)>Here is the link, http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=127
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:04 EDT 2008)>Is there anything else I could assist you with today?

Dean_(Tue Jul 15 10:30:19 EDT 2008)>No.

Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:17 EDT 2008)>Alright.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:18 EDT 2008)>“We value your business with Comcast. By answering the online survey right after this chat session, we are able to gather your suggestion and recommendation on how to improve our service. We thank you in advance for accomplishing the survey.”
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:19 EDT 2008)>Thank you for contacting Comcast! We appreciate your business!
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:20 EDT 2008)>If you need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us through Live Chat or E-Mail (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Comcast also offers excellent FAQ and Help forums located at www.comcast.net to help you reach a resolution independently.
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:21 EDT 2008)>Have a great day!
Agnes(Tue Jul 15 10:29:24 EDT 2008)>Analyst has closed chat and left the room

[TwilightGardener]

1. My family in the Pittsburgh area were complaining about the same thing--

that MSNBC is no longer on basic cable. I assume they must also have Comcast. WTF?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Are you sure this is even a person?

It sounds almost like an ELIZA-type computer program designed to be "sympathetic."

[MrCoffee]

3. I'm sorry, Dean, I'm afraid I can't do that.

[1monster]

4. Comcast took over from Time/Warner a year ago. We lost quite a few quality cable stations

and gained (gained????) about ten sports stations.

Heck. The way things go with Comcast, I think we may soon have a Shuffleboard cable station.

Nothing like quality programing. (and I mean that literally.) I don't watch more than a half hour a month of television any more. If I watch even that much.

[sellitman]

5. They will switch it back after McCain has been installed as President.

I betcha!

[RebelOne]

6. It's not just analog. I just started subscribing to Comcast.

I have a digital receiver box and I cannot receive MSNBC without having to pay extra. So it's just not in your state. I am in Georgia. MSNBC is on the menu, but I can't receive it.

[navarth]

7. "I understand how you feel"

I can't say in public what I want to do when she says that.

Comcast is fucking EVIL. There's no 2 ways about it. AND they have a monopoly. Here in the western Detroit area, the only other option is satellite.

[MiniMe]

8. Do they get paid extra for saying I understand how you feel?

That would drive me crazy.

[Evoman]

21. No, they get reprimanded.

I did a stint at a call center, and we would be evaluated one or twice a week. They would take away points for not showing the "empathy". Even if you KNEW that a caller wouldn't appreciate it or even if you knew that it would be awkward, we would still have to do it.

All the list of things we had to do.... *shudder* I'm glad I don't work there anymore.

On edit: I worked for Startek in Canada...so I may have talked with many ATT customers from texas and the surrounding area. If you ever yelled at the reps, you may have been yelling at me lol.

Second edit: Although I talked to my fair share of assholes, I found most people in Texas and Arkansas pleasant, polite and very laid back. We hated getting the misrouted calls from NY or SF....fuck those people were pushy and rude.

[ourbluenation]

9. can you get fox news on your analog?

[scheming daemons]

10. Yes. CNBC=30, CNN=32, HeadlineNews=33, Fox=34.... MSNBC USED to be 31

The ONLY channel that moved was MSNBC..... from 31 to 183.


CNN, CNBC, Fox, and Headline News all stayed in the 30s.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. They kept moving more and more channels into higher tiers, so I

just cut back to basic-basic, because otherwise I'd have trouble getting PBS.

Besides, I won't have to worry about the digital switchover this way.

Their Internet service is pretty good (as long as I ignore all the brainless "content" they want to offer me), but I'm not going to give them any more money for Internet service than I have to.

[ourbluenation]

13. hmmmm. i have comcast and msnbc is still part of that group. i'm in calif. n/t

[SteelPenguin]

11. I will never give Comcast another dime of my money

Funnily enough I'm in Pittsburgh as well and Comcast has already burned me to the point where they won't see a dime of my money again. Ever.

When we first moved into the house we had a special cable package that gave us the movie channels and everything. once that expired, we downgraded to standard cable. We decided to save some money and downgrade to just basic cable. They came out and physically cut the lines to the house for the digital so we couldn't get them, but whatever. So we just had basic for awhile. Then I called to see what it would take to get a certain channel, whehter we could get it in Standard or if we needed a special package. I asked how much, but didn't request the service. I specifically said that I just wanted the price for now and would call them back.

Over a month later my wife looked at the cable bill and said "why is it so high lately" and noticed that she had been paying for standard cable the past couple of months. We checked and sure enough those channels were there and back on. I immediately called up Comcast and asked them to downgrade it back to basic. They said it would cost us 13 dollars to downgrade because they had to roll a truck to the house.

I said that we hadn't even requested the upgrade in the first place from basic, and that I wasn't asking for a refund or anything, just to turn it off. They said it would cost $13 to downgrade to basic. I said that it was free last time. they said we must have had a special deal or something because it's now $13 to downgrade. I asked how much it would cost to turn the entire service off altogether. She said that was free. I asked her to cancel my account and our service.

they could have made literally thousands of dollars off me since that point, but instead they got hung up on a $13 idiotic charge, and my wife and I have realized how it's far better for us to not have 200 channels of television in the house and don't plan on getting anything new to replace it.

Anyway. That's my experieince with Comcast.

[Hawkeye-X]

14. I quit Comcast last month

Finally got rid of the cable modem side last month, and I have satellite dish with the basic channels, and it includes MSNBC.

They moved one of my favorite channels to some obscure channel - going to take some time to get used to, but it is still there.

Hawkeye-X

[comtec]

15. I have always found satellite more than satisfying

And their tuners have built in free tivo :)
or at least when I set up mine (8? years ago) they did.

[scheming daemons]

16. "More" than satisfying?

LOL

Does it come with a plug-in vibrator?


;-)

[comtec]

19. Heehee, we ll several channels of porn anyway :p

I love the digi cable here tho.. 3 channels of porn included :D
Not that they get much use after the first couple of months my wife n I got bored of the same porn (type) every say at the same times... what are we Spanish?! (known for scheduling sex LOL)

It's like Carlin said... He was *shudder fine... and DANDY!

[Indenturedebtor]

18. Yep I switched over to DirectTV a few months back

And I'm quite happy with them. WAY more channels and Tivo for the same price heh. To hell with Comcast. They did that thing screwing up my bill a few times with the unasked for service and the stupid fees etc.

Bleh. I still have internet with them as they're of course a monopoly on my side of town.

[RebelOne]

20. Not for me. I just got rid of it and went to cable.

I was so sick and tired of losing reception everytime it rained or clouded up. I would be without reception for hours on end. And it has been really bad lately because of all the storms we have had in North Georgia.

[marmar]

17. Comcast is a horror....I hate them with every fiber of my being.

.... And I'm convinced that "Agnes" is a robot.