On Mon, 4 Jun 2007, Jax wrote:
> ****I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOUR DISCLOSURES WERE WHEN YOU SIGNED UP!!!!!
> But they were supposed to tell you not to cancel your "normal, analog-
> land line" (because it is more reliable, honestly). Keep a few things
> in mind ... consider this:
My wife made the call, but why would they tell us to keep our existing
line if we're signing up for their service?
> You're in Austin, so I'll assume you may have a home security system.
> If your CABLE goes out -- FOR WHATEVER REASON!!!! EVEN A DRUNK ON 6th
> STREET HITTING A POLE!!!! Your phone has no dial tone ... until that
> pole is repaired ... so this means that the police are on their way,
> thinking there is a problem, due to your alarm being offline. *ADT has
> a program with our division to upgrade for a "low price" but it's
> still unnecessary considering all technology up until now has worked
> with the "current phone system", and ADT is the only company offering
> this, that I know of.....additionally, if someone tried to put a
> splitter (a normal frickin' splitter!!!) on your coax cable line that
> goes to your modem, you could lose dial tone ... also, you can't move
> the modem to a new room, this is also the same with Road Runner
> though ...
Today we don't have cable television, just Road Runner. The last time I
know of it being down was Thanksgiving weekend 2005. AFAIK our POTS has
NEVER been down, but a pole getting hit could take out my phone just as
easily as my CATV.
> The batter back up is a joke, because ... I know this isn't a
> reasonable question but: How many times do you think your power goes
> out and your cable still works? It's a difficult thing to check, since
> your TV won't work without power ... but ... think about it ...
I see what you're saying, but getting out of bed in the morning is
dangerous. "What if my digital phone doesn't work and I've managed to cut
my arm off with a circular saw?" I could also worry about a meteorite
hitting my house.
> I tried to buy into the whole Time-Warner mindset ... thinking that
> this was the company of the future, but it's a little ahead of it's
> time, due to the fact that they don't test their systems, equipment or
> databases nearly enough to make them effective in a live CONSUMER
> environment. To prove this point even further, the past MULTIPLE Pay
> Per View events have had problems ... the IT department was aware of
> these problems and never did anything to FIX them (I know because I
> was in direct contact with many individuals who worked in IT)... they
> simply "wished for the best" ... until the worst happened ... then the
> phone reps, and customers paid the price ...
I can't say if they test their systems or not. I can say they're
knowlegable, friendly, and responsive.
> Sadly, the motto of Time Warner Cable is not to be on the CUTTING
> EDGE, but to be on the BLEEDING EDGE, defined by the President of our
> division to be: Always ahead of technology ... so much so, that our
> technology is out BEFORE IT'S PERFECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This
> makes the employees take a huge hit when all this crap doesn't work,
> and frustrates consumers who expect a dial tone that's been there for
> countless decades ... or a HD picture that doesn't suck more than
> analog TV.
They've offered digital phone in this area for several years. I know
people who have it and love it. I think they have gotten their bugs
worked out.
> I think my point is that TWC is a horrible company and should not be
> supported ... Call DirecTV or Dish, whoever is in your area and tell
> them you're a "Winback customer", this means that you're THINKING
> about coming from another provider and will prompt them to give you
> the VERY BEST DEALS you can get ... quite honestly.
Back in 2002 when I ordered Road Runner they said I could have their
wireless for free. For months we were never charged for it, but all
of sudden it showed up on the bill at $14.95 a pop! I called them and
they said it was not free and I shouldn't have been told that. I
insisted I was. They said they would review my call. A couple of
days later I got a call from them saying they reviewed the call and I
had in fact been told that. They offered me free wireless for the
next 12 months!! After that I returned their equipment and bought my
own. I think that was pretty good of them.
>> When I lived in Florida we had a hurricane that took out our
>> electricity and cable TV (the power came back on days before CATV, that's
>> how I knew CATV went out) but good ole BellSouth kept our phones going.
>> My decision is strictly financial. Right now we have at&t telephone,
>> rabbit ears, and Road Runner. For LESS money we can have digital phone,
>> digital cable TV, and Road Runner. Even after the introductory pricing
>> it's still a small savings. I have called/emailed at&t practically
>> begging them to get DSL out this way. They have service literally three
>> streets over. I understand the technical barriers of DSL, but given we're
>> a somewhat affluent neighborhood, it seems like it'd be worth their while
>> to install the necessary equipment to get this section online. But 5
>> years have gone by ...
>> Since we all have cell phones, our home phone has become somewhat
>> superfluous.
> Then cancel digital phone, call, and ask for the RETENTION department,
> they're the ones who give you the world for only pennies a day ... you
> can get Road Runner for $29.95 for a year in some cases, without
> getting a trio "package", if internet is all you're concerned
> with ... I canceled my Digital Phone for the same reason you cite
> though ... I have a cell phone.
I do that. But it's a PITA. I don't want to have to call them every 3,
6, 12 months to get the best deal. I'm tired of it.
> Again, my father has worked for SBC for over 20-30 years and just got
> DSL 2 years ago in his neighborhood ... up until then, he had Road
> Runner for internet, Dish for TV and SBC for phone.
I want to send a message to AT&T. I know one of my neighbors has been
pinging them about getting DSL in our half of the neighborhood. It's
simply drug on too long. Maybe as they lose customers they'll get
their butts in gear and offer the rest of us service. This was one of
their promises to the Feds with respect to the SBC-AT&T and
BellSouth-AT&T merger. They would offer DSL throughout their entire
service area. I don't know what the timeline on that was, but I've
called them since they became AT&T in Texas and they have no plans to
offer DSL where I live.
>> No it's not. I can think of a lot of projects I'd love to tackle, but
>> these days it can't be done (or the cost is too prohibitive).
>> John Mayson <j...@mayson.us>
>> Austin, Texas, USA
> Indeed, I must agree with that.
> ~Jax
> PS, don't know if I mentioned before, but I'm in the San Antonio
> division, so we're not that far away as far as technology
> goes ... actually, I think both divisions work out of Austin.
> PPS, sorry for the lengthy response. heh ...
Next time tell me how you REALLY feel. :-P
I could be on c.d.t. in a couple of months telling you that you were
right. I don't know. I figure it's worth a shot trying the service.
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
John Mayson (john@mayson.us)