Cancelling cable television

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 3:05 am

OK, hopefully I can remember everything.

So, in order to watch the Saints kick the crap out of Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and (on the schedule for next week) Michael Bay, I got the NFL Ticket and a satellite dish. No big whoop there.

It took me forever to go and cancel my cable TV, though. You have to go down in person to do it and, Christ, even if I didn't have better things to do than take care of this I'd at least lie over an anonymous internet forum to that point.

At any rate. After my brother dropped off the hardware I called up to cancel the account and was asked by the girl on the phone just why I'd want to get rid of cable television. I respond with, "I got a dish to get the Ticket," and she says, "Oh, no, you said the 's' word." At this point I'm glad I'm doing this over the phone so that the zombie queen cannot go for my brain. She then says, "Well, because I am a nice person I will let you cancel." I guess I lucked out there, seeing how my hardware was gone. If I happened to dial up some bitch or something I would apparently still be paying for cable TV on her whim! The pure arrogance there was shocking. I think the right thing to do is not pay my final cable bill. Although, as I am kind of happy about my cable modem connection, I don't want them turning that off or anything.

So, I guess the moral of the story is that the reason that I am so against monopolies -- which cable TV practically was for the longest time -- is because when they inevitably get into other products, trying to weasel out of paying one final bill may affect the other pies their thumbs are into.

Yeah, that was pretty much everything.
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wtf?
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loafergirl · Post by **loafergirl** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 4:17 pm

When you're treated like that ask for a supervisor. Then, with any luck, you'll get someone like me (who is a supervisory assistant, not actually a supervisor) who'll have to kiss your ass and apologize and offer you some kind of financial compensation. THEN I'll pass you through to someone who can actually cancel your service (after they try to offer you 50 deals to keep you).
Hooray for corperate America. =P

-LG

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 4:27 pm

I have said this before, but I am really glad that the cable company has not warped you. I don't know if they are sending the clowns out here to some kind of weekend retreat where they use cult tactics to get them overbearing about towing the company line, but you working there is like having a friend work for a bunch of Scientologists. So far so good, but... for how long??

The only part that irked me was that the girl made it sound like she was doing me a favor when she agreed, reluctantly, to cancel my service -- oblivious to the fact that I had already turned in my cable box (and by "I," I mean "Mike."). So I'm guessing they'll understand if I pay my final bill reluctantly, har har har.

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 9:31 pm

Maybe, she just wanted your pants and was trying to appear smart by using "cute" satire. Usually grandmothers use it though.

loafergirl · Post by **loafergirl** » Thu Sep 19, 2002 1:25 am

In some ways my company is cool, they pay me well, I have good benifits, and there's all sorts of little perks like free cable (including all the premiums), getting to try stuff before it hits the public like the DVR, free movie passes, t-shirts etc from groveling networks, and random drawings for counteless other crap from associates and sub divisions. In other ways the company sucks ass, ESPECIALLY since AOL hopped aboard, they are sucking the life blood from Time Warner, so much so that we are now deviding stocks there will be AOL Time Warner stock and Time Warner Cable stock. Since AOHELL joined emphasis on sales is being pounded on us. And beleive it or not, in a sense that girl may have been doing you a favor. If it's run like AOL they don't let you cancel. Or like Time Warner, I am not allowed to cancel someones service unless it's for an uncontrollable reason IE: DEATH. Otherwise I have to pass it to someone else who bombards you with questions on why your leaving and keeps tossing offers and telling you why it's a bad idea. If I do disconnect someone for a controllable reason IE: "I HATE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS" the comapny says "no comission for the 20 sales you made and we're going to listen to your calls more closely and yell at you for every little mistake you non team player you!". I hold to much contempt for all large corperations to be completely brainwashed. What scares me is that I can honestly say as large corperations go, mine isn't too bad.

Oh, and an added tip- most companies bill a month in advance, make sure they don't bill you after your equipment was turned in. You may not owe them anything.

-LG

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Fri Sep 20, 2002 12:26 pm

Worm wrote:Maybe, she just wanted your pants and was trying to appear smart by using "cute" satire. Usually grandmothers use it though.

True, true. It's thoughts like these that comfort me through many a long, cold, Colorado night.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Fri Sep 20, 2002 12:29 pm

loafergirl wrote:And beleive it or not, in a sense that girl may have been doing you a favor. If it's run like AOL they don't let you cancel. Or like Time Warner, I am not allowed to cancel someones service unless it's for an uncontrollable reason IE: DEATH.

Jesus Mary Brown. Surely there are conflicts there, right? Can't a brother just get himself a dish???

Oh, and an added tip- most companies bill a month in advance, make sure they don't bill you after your equipment was turned in. You may not owe them anything.
-LG

I hadn't thought of that; thanks. She did charge me for the full month. It's possible that it just worked out that way, but I kinda doubt it.