Techno newb is cutting the cable

Milo

BlondeFish;368175 wroteWhich service did you end up choosing? I haven't changed from Cogeco yet, but now that I'm planning to buy an iPad cellular, I'm wondering if anybody chose to go with a Bell Fibe bundle.

I have not yet switched. Need to get a new TV with HDMI ports, and then I will likely switch to teksavvy. That 300 gB plan looks too tempting, especially with a teenager who likes gaming in the house.

BlondeFish

Our bandwidth limit of 125 GB has been exceeded for first time and Cogeco is charging us without getting any warnings. Had I been notified, I could have asked my kid not to watch One Direction videos a million times in the last week!

If Cogeco won't waive the charges, what's the best option to switch to? I think Bell phoned me before with a free offer for several months. Is Bell DSL more than good enough for disconnection-free online poker in the Oakville/Milton/Halton area?

GTA Poker

Not helpful, but Telus out this way has no cap

compuease

Cogeco has unlimited packages as well. It's also simple to monitor your usage with Cogeco. I'm not on an unlimited plan, actually only 150GB but if you login to your online account you can see you daily and monthly to date usage. I believe Start or Teksavvy is also a reasonable alternative, depending on where you are. Some good discussion on this site although it's Milton centric.

HawthorneVillager.com • View forum - Hawthorne Village - General

Kristy

I feel like you guys are over complicating this…

1. Buy Tvs between Black Friday and Cyber Monday: worth the trip to the states.
2. Call current service provider and tell them what you want… Be super polite and learn the person you're speaking with's name… If they can't give you a great price tell them why you think it's unreasonable compared to other packages/companies and ask to be transferred to the next tier while commending them and thanking them for their excellent work. Don't be showy-they make $10-$14 an hour… They don't care how much you know about computers...you just seem like a dork or a jerk.

I pay $55-$60 a month to the biggest company for fastest, most reliable, 999gb/month internet service, Home phone w. Free N.A. Calling (LDO), and I rent the router. Most people here pay about 110-140… And I got that just by being nice, insistent and logical. Loyalty, politeness, and using the idea that a little bit of "squeaky wheel" pays. Similarly, by utilizing the same technique I pay 3x$40 a month/phone for unlimited minutes and data, from the other big company with the best coverage in my area.

3. Link cell to TV, and stream w/e you like. My phone works as a remote. We watch anything we want… Including live sporting events with very little effort. It is a bit of a hassle when you're first learning, to find sites… But once you get in the swing of it --it is not worth spending money on cable. I have Netflix, but only because I'm lazy and I like the Playthru feature so that I don't have to look for the next episode each time, esp for the smaller kid's TV time.

Easy game.

Ps. Installation fees are for suckers.

Milo

All of that may be true, but you should have realized by now that Customer Service is a whole other animal south of the border.

wildbill7145

Milo;383061 wroteAll of that may be true, but you should have realized by now that Customer Service is a whole other animal south of the border.

For better or worse? (I don't get out much)

Bfillmaff

With you on that one Milo. I miss my old local cable company... They got bought out by Shaw 2 years ago, and then Shaw got bought out by Rogers this year.

Shaw was OK... they didn't enforce their caps and they left my pricing as is.... so I left it alone. Fast forward to the very first month after Rogers took over and I get my first ever bandwidth overage charge.

Customer service laughs it off. "You should buy a bigger plan."

Ask to cancel... "Sorry, we aren't set up for cancellations yet. Leave your #."

After a 2 week process to get ahold of someone capable of cancelling my acct they say "Sorry, we require 30 days notice for cancellations"

Argument ensues. Finally cancel and get a credit for the extra 30 days.

I then sign up for E-box (TekSavvy equivalent,) pay for everything, buy a modem from them, and start waiting.

3 days before cancel date, get a call from E-Box. "We're sorry, it turns out service is not available in your area at this time."

FUCK. Yep, in Hamilton, Rogers really is the monopoly.

Same day I look in mailbox, a "please come back" card from Rogers. We'll at least it's an option... Time to call them up and run a bluff.

And now I have the best internet I can get, plus TV, for under $100 a month.

Long story short: Unless you are dealing with a small local company, they are ALL shit at customer service. Call them and quit, and see what they offer you.

DrTyore

Anyone still paying for cable TV is a chump

That's all there is to be said. If you're one, you're either willfully throwing money away, or too "old-timey" to understand this new confangled technology.

Mark

wildbill7145

Bfillmaff;383063 wrote

Long story short: Unless you are dealing with a small local company, they are ALL shit at customer service. Call them and quit, and see what they offer you.

Wow. My local cable company got bought out by Rogers a couple of years ago. I'm getting roughly 10% of everything you've cited here. They claim to offer the fastest numbers in the area.

That's disappointing.

Bfillmaff

DrTyore;383065 wroteAnyone still paying for cable TV is a chump

That's all there is to be said. If you're one, you're either willfully throwing money away, or too "old-timey" to understand this new confangled technology.

Mark

I had assumed that the righteous thread cop would also be against piracy... Are you not offended on behalf of the creators of that content?

Not disagreeing with you (I would put my HTPC up against anyone's setup...) but its pretty funny.

Milo

Generally speaking, Customer Service is FAR superior on the US side of the border. Goes with the whole "competition" thingy . . . which is pretty much paid lip service only in this country.

DrTyore

Bfillmaff;383067 wroteI had assumed that the righteous thread cop would also be against piracy... Are you not offended on behalf of the creators of that content?

Not disagreeing with you (I would put my HTPC up against anyone's setup...) but its pretty funny.

Cool your jets

I'm hardly the righteous type (though, admittedly various people do earn a large amount of disdain). Rogers (in my area) is a fucking terrible company. There's been at least a few threads concerning how to not pay for cable. I have ahd dozens of conversations with co-workers, friends, random poker players. You can either

A: Pay your local cable / telecom company for cell, internet, and cable, and get like 15% discount on all, which allows you (cable wise), to watch all the shows you love at the scheduled time they decide! Watch past shows you may like and movies for a small cost! Optional pay extra for "bundles" that include one channel you like for that one show you enjoy.

or

B: Get a quick and easy media streaming setup, pay for the internet (you'd be paying for anyways), and get all the things free all the time, whenever you want to watch it (new content is generally one <15 minutes after it finishing airing). My setup is <$150 now, one time fee, plus monthly cable). I have a 300 GB / month limit, and I use more internet than most people. Never come close to topping it. $55/month (again, not that evil Rogers company I use Teksavvy - quick check on my 45 package shows 46.02 d/l, and 4.5 u/l.)

Mark

Bfillmaff

agree that those are the only two real options. chumps is offensive though, please keep it out of the thread. :biggrin2:

DrTyore

I won't say chump when everyone stops being a chump

:)

Mark

Hobbes

DrTyore;383071 wroteI won't say chump when everyone stops being a chump

:)

Mark

Then I is a chump.

Wife and new technology do not get along. Stuck with rogers and pvr until I can ween her off of it.

Can be a slow process.

trigs

@BlondeFish: primus offers unlimited internet as well for a decent price.

Kristy

Milo;383061 wroteAll of that may be true, but you should have realized by now that Customer Service is a whole other animal south of the border.

Milo;383068 wroteGenerally speaking, Customer Service is FAR superior on the US side of the border. Goes with the whole "competition" thingy . . . which is pretty much paid lip service only in this country.

This is a bunch of ridiculous horse plop. On what do you imagine you're basing this? America's reputation for being so friendly, and considerate?

Canadian Customer service is better than American, it is not even sorta close.
If you aren't able to take the steps described above with YOUR cable/internet/phone company than YOU are the problem. Stop being douche-y and/or a pain-in-the-ass on the phone. Make them (the first agent, AND the supervisor) feel like superstar professional, and they'll bend over backward to get you the best possible deal.

In Canada I received a year of free cell service, with all the extras and a credit just because they (Rogers) sent me a bad flyer once. It took 1 hour on the phone and two escalations to the next tier of support, but really..when you figure it out, that is an hourly rate of return that none of you can boast. Totally worth your time.

wildbill7145;383062 wroteFor better or worse? (I don't get out much)

Canada is now, and will always be, >>>>>>>>>> USA

DrTyore;383071 wroteI won't say chump when everyone stops being a chump

:)

I started looking for an appropriate gif to express my love for your work itt...but then I stumbled across this and got lost in the loop for some time...what day is it?

chaimr1924

I agree with you kristy.I was nice to Rogers and I got hi speed internet for $45 per month with 300 GB downloads and no set up fee.i told them I quit Bell to try them out.i opted out on cable TV ans see all i want on internet.

Milo

Kristy;383076 wroteThis is a bunch of ridiculous horse plop. On what do you imagine you're basing this?

Canada is now, and will always be, >>>>>>>>>> USA

Based my comment on personal experience, just like you did. Happy that you have had better results. Does not change the fact that I have had a different experience overall.

And yes, I still prefer this country to the US of A, but not in terms of Customer Service issues. At least, not among large corporate entities. Small businesses are the same on BOTH sides of the border. It is one of the reasons I prefer them.

Also, it is not my job to make them "feel like a rock star". So long as I am polite, and even tempered in my dealings with them, that should be sufficient to have my questions or service requests responded to in a timely fashion.

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