McFadden Place

In theory bundles are great for customers. It creates value, there is one payment, and the installation process is easier … but the value of a bundle disappears if a company can’t offer 2 or 3 great products. And there lies the core of my frustration …

In the last 7 days I’ve spent at least 3 hours on the phone and on the customer chat lines with representatives from Qwest, Comcast and Dish/EchoStar. It has left me with a sour taste and I can’t wait for someone to get it right (but I doubt it will happen)

My situation

Fact 1. I don’t want a land line.
They are a waste of money. For $99 a month I can have all the minutes, data and texting I want on my Sprint cell phone. So why should I pay an additional $30+ taxes on a land line? Just for a 303 number? Please. And yes I am going to keep my 949 number. I’m going to be one of those guys

Fact 2. I have a HD TV and I want ESPN and NBC in HD and I must have a DVR.
Seriously that’s all I care about. If I could chose to get the golf channel too that would be great. What else do I need? Maybe the WB for 90210 but I doubt that will make it more than one season so I could just watch it online.

Fact 3. I need really want fast internet.
Welcome to 2008. I need to be connected everywhere! Even if my parents think I should slow down … I can turn it off. But let it be on my terms.

Fact 4. I should be able to do this for under $75/mo $100/mo.
There is no reason any household should have to pay more than $75/mo to get cable and an internet connection. I learned quickly that in Denver under $100 was a steal. I even called some friends in the area and all of them spend between $110-$150/mo. Wow!

The Companies

Qwest – a phone company that wants to do other things.
You are just a phone company that uses other people’s services that gets paid commissions. I couldn’t even order internet online without being forced to add a landline service to my cart. Ridiculous. I had to call and talk to a very nice rep about getting just internet. The rep thought I was crazy. “You don’t want any of our bundles?” Sorry DirectTV but your sales force at Qwest didn’t quite hook me. They gave a valiant effort but the fact that you raise your rates 20-30% after the first year is silly.

Comcast – a cable company that pretends to have other things.
Okay, okay, I know you are the only company that doesn’t make me sign a contract. That doesn’t mean you should charge me $20+ more a month to use your products/services. And no your prices are not competitive. I agree it would be nice to have one bill but just because you offer it to me for 6 months at a huge discount doesn’t mean I can’t read the fine print and notice a large increase starting month 7. By the way, charging $13/ mo for a HD/DVR is a bit nuts when your competitors are eating that cost (yes call Dish Network and order their TurboHD package)

DishNetwork – a dish company that knows it … but could you please get a meaningful internet option?
Yes for the HD customer your Turbo package is sweet. Finally I can pay less than $50 a month to get my two channels in HD. But I’ll tell you it’s difficult to get internet for less than $50 a month if you don’t bundle it with pathetic cable and a worthless landline. You get a meaningful internet “bundle” and you’ll have every person under 35 that understands HD and Internet are “must haves”

This post might be a bit negative but after spending this time assessing the competitive situation in Colorado I had to let it out. And I did just let it out — no editing, no word-smithing — just pure consumer feedback. Consider this a free focus group where you can’t ask me real time questions. Feel free to leave a comment and I will respond.

Oh, what did I end up doing?

You’ll laugh. At first I signed up with Comcast because it was easy and I thought “I’ll just cancel after 6 months and then do something else.” But they couldn’t install it for a week so in the middle of the week I changed my mind. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of canceling and scheduling new installations with new companies in 6 months time. So I called them and canceled. I signed up with Dish — the Turbo Silver HD package. They have someone coming out in less than 2 work days. Had Comcast done that they would have had a new customer. Bummer. Then I called both Comcast and Qwest to get internet only. Boy were they both shocked. So shocked that Comcast said I could only get the “bad” internet if I didn’t bundle. Okay. Comcast is 0-2 with me. Qwest was the winner by default. $46.99 to get the best internet — and guess what? When you just get internet you don’t have to sign a 2 year commitment. Yea! I can leave when I want.

I’m pretty happy. But only pretty happy.

Positives

After re-reading my post I should reflect on some of the positives:

1. Comcast. They had the best answering service (sort of). Once I got to the option and selected new customer I was immediately put in contact with someone. Less than 2 seconds went by every time. Only problem was I don’t have a local number so I had to make one up to get to the option bar in Denver. I kept entering my cell phone and getting switched to Time Warner So Cal.

2. Qwest. I’m searching for something to say. At least you got me my internet. Your reps were nice and easy to work with but there was nothing that stood out except they were shocked I didn’t want to bundle anything.

3. DishNetwork. Your people know how to listen and then sell. They got my information, asked what stations I wanted and then offered up the perfect package. Well done.