City of Peoria, Comcast

Tell Comcast what you think of them

34 Comments

I have to laugh whenever I hear Comcast commercials “warning” people that satellite TV service may pixellate or completely lose its signal when there’s inclement weather. I laugh because Comcast can do that in all types of weather! Not only that, some channels may disappear because they’ve moved them from an analog channel to a digital one. And if you call to complain, you don’t get to talk to anyone locally, you have to call an 800 number and deal with some completely unhelpful wage slave in Who-knows-where.

Why not cancel Comcast service, you ask? A couple of reasons. First, they’re the only place you can see local access channels, including the Peoria City Council meetings and school board meetings. Second, they can be the cheapest service you can get, if you get Basic Cable. I only pay about $15/month. But just because I don’t pay big bucks for a digital cable package doesn’t mean I should get shoddy reception and poor service.

So, I think I’ll be attending this meeting:

The City of Peoria and Comcast Cable will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at Peoria City Hall, in City Council Chambers (Room 400).

The purpose of the public meeting is to discuss the current contract with Comcast and the services provided by them. This will be an opportunity for the public to make comment and voice any concerns regarding Comcast.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

34 thoughts on “Tell Comcast what you think of them”

  1. I have had DISH network for 9 years and have only lost signal when extremely severe weather is around. Extremely severe meaning that we should have been running for cover due to tornado warnings or a snowstorm of HUGE magnitude – meaning 2+ inches per hour rate of snowfall – has occurred. Even so, these service interruptions have lasted but a few minutes each time.

  2. “First, they’re the only place you can see local access channels, including the Peoria City Council meetings and school board meetings.”

    Doesn’t seem much like local access when I have to pay to view it? Perhaps we should be mandating the local broadcasters pool together and do the same on a one of the decimal alternates (for lack of a better name)… ie 25.X? or 47.4? Channel 31 is isn’t using its 31.2 ?

  3. I agree, Mahkno. In fact, I wrote to WTVP back in August to ask that question. It seemed to me that WTVP would be the most obvious place to put local access stuff. Here’s the response I got at that time from program manager Linda Miller:

    C.J., thanks for your question. We have had this discussion over the years, and now we’re even having it over multiple platforms. It would be so much easier to record it for distribution via the web or as a podcast. We are talking about an additional channel along the lines of what you describe, but in our case, we don’t presently have the storage capacity in servers that it would take to aggregate the programs to schedule on such a channel. But this is truly an evolutionary discussion, so your timing with your suggestion is great. I’ll pass along your comments.

    Digital subchannels seem like a perfect fit for public access. I would love to see C-SPAN carried over the air as well. (Of course, that would probably cause them to have to change their acronym to C-SOTAPAN. Ha ha.)

  4. I dropped my Comcast about 3 months after they came to Peoria… bought an antennae!

    I get all the local channels in digital….

    FREE!!

  5. If you only pay the $15. basic cable you don’t get Fox News. The next package up is like $52 month.

  6. What do you expect? Introduce some COMPETITION and maybe Comcast will have to stop being such asshats. The fact that cablecos not only own monopoly the last-mile lines but also provide monopoly service over them is simply ridiculous. I don’t think that’s anything that can be fixed entirely at the local level, so I guess I should limit myself to smaller improvements.

    1. Force Comcast to allow third-party VoIP packets the same network priority as its own VoIP service.
    2. Force Comcast to allow third parties to provide internet service over its lines, as the case was with telcos & DSL for years.
    3. Force Comcast to bring local broadband speeds up to first-world standards.

    Those at least would provide a starting point for improving the embarrassing state of our broadband infrastructure.

  7. Why is it that you have to pay for commercial TV anyway? Shouldn’t the cable companies charge the networks to carry their programs?

    I can understand non-commercial stations… but CNN, Fox, ESPN and the others are all commercial.

  10. Is public money paying for the public access channel on cable? If so, why not redirect some of that to WTVP or whoever to add the 47.4 public access channel OTA.

  11. There are a few channels I would like to have (History Channel comes to mind, for instance) that are not available on the basic tier. But most of them I would never watch anyway. So why pay all that extra money for the two or three channels I want? I wish they offered the channels a la carte, but it doesn’t look like that will ever happen… at least, as long as the cable operators are in charge.

    I think a la carte will happen though, eventually, via the internet. These new digital TVs are basically very large computer monitors. And you can already watch TV shows from these channels directly over the web. It’s only a matter of time before whole channels are deployed over the internet and integrated with digital televisions. I foresee being able to pay a subscription fee directly to the cable channel and watch it on demand on your HDTV.

  12. Mahkno — Yes, public money goes toward broadcasting the city council meetings; however, I know the city was trying to get the cost of that included in the new franchise agreement so they could eliminate that cost. Don’t know if they were successful in negotiating that, though. It’s been nearly three years since the franchise agreement expired (it’s been limping along on temporary extensions since April 2006), and since then the state has changed the franchise rules, so who knows?

  14. CJ: I’m like you – I love the history channel. Haven’t had cable in almost a year and half….don’t really have the time anyway…..but I discovered http://HULU.com and made the mistake of watch Season 7 Episode 1 of “24”. Now I am ‘ooked and have been going through Season 1 on Hulu, but they only had the 1st 6. So I search all over the internet for a Season 1 fix, I found the only way to get Season 1 was via Bit Torrent. These content providers are worse than crack dealers when it comes to making criminals out of a guy that just wants to see how Agent Jack will get his daughter back.

    Comcast: don’t ask me how I would know, but they are ripe for a class action with the way they are billing customers past the date of disconnect. They are also cutting offices here in the Detroit Metro area and in Ann Arbor, lots of people have to wait 2 hours to turn in equipment when the switch over to ATT U-Verse. I have Comcast Commercial in my office, but that is a different level of service. If you are home subscriber….you are probably going to get better service right now from ATT Uverse. But they can be jerks too. At your meeting, you should seriously have an attorney or two there and be familiar with you local cable franchise ordinances.
    Regarding Comcast Digital VOIP – RUN! Freekin’ RUN. I’ve been using http://Skype.com and http://grandcentral.com for two years now and could not be happier with the quality. Comcast….never heard anything good about their VOIP Phone service. Skype, I can use from any computer and see my phone book, messages, etc and it is less than $60.00 per year….yes, per YEAR, for unlimited calling to US and Canada.

  15. I agree that Comcast has dropped some channels from the basic lineup (2 thru 13. I have their phone service, their cable internet, and their digital package which I have included Starz, Encore, and HBO. I like the On Demand which has 100s of FREE movies and because I subscribe to HOB, Starz, and Encore, their OnDemand has movies also.

    I pay approx $150 a month for all these services. I have never had a problem that wasn’t weather or electrical related. The power transformer blew 5 blocks over and I lost cable, internet, and phone. Last ice storm had some problems but my service wasn’t down more than an hour. (lucky?) One time, while talking to my friend, who has worked at Comcast for over 30 years (through various names) he said my phone sounded “choppy”. I didn’t notice but they had 3 trucks out at my house within an hour and they found the problem. Also, my internet kept dropping, then came back, then would drop again over a period of two days. The problem? Some one one street over hacked into the cable with, get this, regular 16 gage electrical cord. The resulting leak into the system cause the nodes to drop the internet.

    My point is this; Comcast has been excellent, their internet is faster than DSL on any day and beats any dial up. The phone, while I use a cell as does everyone else in my family is for work reasons only. My job requires a land line. I have free unlimited calls and long distance and can check everything from caller ID to voice mails on the internet anywhere in the world including transferring all my calls to my house to any number I want, all with a click. AT&T billed me for calls 15 miles away! And they billed me for caller ID, and voice mail box. Comcast provides all this and more for a little over $30 a month. I enjoy the TV cable and the DVR for recording programs. No one else in this area provides half the service Comcast does and if you think satellite is a bargain, well, I have had them both, DirecTV and Dish. When my dish went out (LNB) Dish wanted $70 minim to fix it. I also don’t believe those who say the weather doesn’t effect a dish. It did mine many times. When storms were coming, we could tell when it was about to break lose with rain, the TV went out. That was a bummer when trying to watch the weather channel to see if a tornado was coming. Then when snow filled the dish, I had to climb a ladder and use a broom to clear it out. Every time I had a power surge, one of my satellite boxes would go out. I lost 3 of them and had to pay a FedEx charge to get a new (re-conditioned) one.

    I don’t think any of you here will be happy until you all bitch Comcast out of town. I can live without TV and the land line phone but I do enjoy my fast internet access. For everyone here that has a complaint, there are thousands of satisfied customers for Comcast. Otherwise, how do you explain their growth? They are in the midst of adjusting bandwidth for more HD channels and new features, like ala carte programming in the future something Insight wasn’t doing. If they leave Peoria, what will we have? Nothing but overpriced, under powered DSL fro AT&T (which isn’t even available in my part of Peoria), or dialup. MTCO does not service many many parts of Peoria.

  17. I’ll weigh in on Comcast. I certainly don’t like the idea of not being able to talk to service people locally, etc. It seems that with Insight I frequently had problems with my internet service and outages with the television. Once when I called for technical support and gave my name, the person on the other end of the line was a former student–who gave me very good help–and I was able to ask for him again later on. I was unhappy that Comcast eliminated many local jobs–undoubtedly, one of them being that former student of mine–and another former student, also. I’m unhappy with the latest changes (made in the guise of getting ready for digital, etc.) that caused the loss of some channels–and an extra charge if I want the channels back. I especially miss C-Span on Channel 3–I really enjoyed the book reviews that were on all day Saturday and Sunday–kept me up-to-date on books that had been published recently.
    However, since Comcast took over, I haven’t had any problems with my television or internet service, so I have not yet had the experience of dealing with the “offsite” service people. I’m assuming that the lack of problems is just “good luck,” and from all I’ve heard, I’m not looking forward to the frustrations you all have described.
    I’ve gotten used to talking to people from India when I call for internet service, so I really don’t object to the non-local aspect of technical support–except for the loss of jobs that harm Peoria’s economy. However, if ever I need the kind of help that requires coming to my house, I will object to the hassle of making arrangements with someone that is not local.

  18. I called my internet service last week because I needed my WEP number and couldn’t find it to hook my Wii to the internet. They guy has an accent, but hey, don’t we all. I tell him I need the number as a password to hook up my Wii. He says, “What’s a Wii?”

    I reply, “Where are you?”

    “India,” I get in return.

    At that time, all I could picture is the scene from Slumdog Millionaire……

  20. Emtronics – If your sat TV went out during weather – it wasn’t pointed right to begin with or was pointed thru trees or other obstacles. I have never had to clear snow, ice either.
    If you blew the LNB or receivers, you did not have it grounded properly! I have had the same receiver for NINE YEARS now! It even survived 2 lightning strikes that each time blew everything else in the house, including the toaster on one of the strikes! Can you imagine the voltage needed to fry a toaster?

    PS – I am a real, 25+ year computer tech (now in mgmt) not a Geek Squad joke at $10 per hour… I would never hire one of those people.

  22. We have dropped them completely. Of course they continue to stalk us, with phantom bills and trucks in our driveway checking to see “if we are stealing their service.” Maybe you haven’t been a victim yet, but I don’t hold out much hope for you. I am not a paranoid person by any means, but this company makes me feel as if I am. My suggestion: drop the Commies. Buy a digital box or TV. You will survive without cable. The world awaits. You are part of it. Step out the door and feel the sun and the wind upon you face.

  24. ImaSwede: “I called my internet service last week because I needed my WEP number and couldn’t find it to hook my Wii to the internet. ”

    Please tell me you really know how to find your WEP? How would your ISP know your WEP? More ignorance from people you don’t know how to use the equipment they have. If you don’t know how to access your router, how did you set your WEP in the first place? Of course, if DSL wireless, then the WEP is on the label under the router and is automatically set. (idiot proof) Apparently not for everyone though.

    And BTW, just why, please explain, why, when I post an opinion do you always have to snidely comment back? Are you that much of an asshole?

  25. mdd: I didn’t have it grounded correctly?? Why should I ground it? I didn’t install it, DISH did. It was grounded, I made sure they did it. Whatever on how long your boxes lasted. That is wonderful.

    It is obvious some people think $150 a month for all cable services is “nuts”. I wonder what some of you pay for your land line, DISH, etc etc. Like I said, I have had DirecTV and DISH and while both were cheap at first, they got more and more expensive as you added channels and the weather did play a factor whether or not you think they were aimed right. It is their job to AIM the thing, not mine and try getting them out to re-aim it. They will tell you it is aimed properly and leave in 5 minutes. Been there and done that.

    I enjoy the Premium channels I get as I don’t watch any local TV period. I enjoy the fast internet too. And to mdd: wow Geek Squad! My kid worked for Geek Squad before he went to CAT. I am A+ certified and that is real too! whoopee do.

  28. I have called a couple of times just to ask for a listing of the channels I can get.. I get a listing of every channel that flows through Comcast’s system… so I called back and asked for what channels 97.5, 101.110 whatever the heck they are that I can get on my HDTV.
    I never have gotten anything from them…so I run my channel search feature once a week or so just to see if there is anything new… I found ABC and CBS up in the 90s or 100s somewhere. (Somewhere I can’t just punch in the number and find it because it has a friggin decimal point in it. )

  29. Hey, Emtronics, I know how to start my car but I have no idea how it runs….

    tsk, tsk, Uncle Em…. you resorted to name calling…

  30. I’ve had Broadband and now have DSL. The only noticeable difference is when video is loading. Everything else sure seems like the same speed to me. We were once Insight cable, phone and broadband customers. And once they switched owners, we switched services. One of the worst customer service experiences we’ve ever had. We saved 500 bucks in the last year.

  31. Yes I did resort to name calling and I am wrong for doing so. Sorry for that and sorry for the fact that I am satisfied with Comcast so far.

    I didn’t think Insight offered phone service. They advertised for it but wouldn’t schedule installs. Comcast did.

    Swede, I too know how to start my car and I know basically how it works and why, like when the fuel gage says E, it stops. Basic stuff helps right?

  32. READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO TO THE MEETING……………

    Comcast has been known to fill the seats at public meetings with paid sitters, in order to keep angry citizens out of the meeting. They pulled this crap in Mass. not too long ago. Be sure that you get a seat.

    Comcast is a company that thinks it’s above the law, and can do whatever it wants. They are known for limiting download speeds for people that like to download a lot, and even threatening to cut them off, despite the fact these people bought internet that comcast described as unlimited. Read the fine print in your Comcast agreements.

    Comcast has had several complaints of their technicians sleeping on the job at customers houses……you can find out about it on youtube.

    I am an area native now living in Missouri, and I am fortunate not to have Comcast, but I have Charter, they are almost as bad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.