The Comcast commercials with the plastic Sam

[TheNiche]

Annoying ads work.

[Marksmu]

Annoying ads work.

Comcast lost my business today, I can tell you that....They are running an ad right now that says get Cable/Phone/Internet bundled for $79.95 not an introductory rate - I called them this morning to figure out what the deal with that was because its running on Fox here. They asked me for my zip code, and then informed me - and Im quoting here exactly "Im sorry sir that is not ever going to be available in your area" so I ask why is that? I saw the commercial and it said houston - 79.95. She says - well sir your particular address is not inlcuded in that promotion. I said why is that? She told me - quoting here again - "we offer different promotions depending upon the average home value in your area & your average value puts you in a completely different pricing structure." So now Im really infuriated, and asked her if they offered that bundle for my area - Yup - $139.99. Thats just total crap - Those who can afford to live in whatever it is that Comcast decides is affluent have to pay more, and those who dont pay less - quoting her again - "we offer our promotions to maximize the number of customers we can serve in any given area"

So Comcast who I have been using for years is out - I will not pay more than someone else simply because my area's average home price is more than theirs. I checked with several addresses and neither Dish nor Direct TV do this.

[KatieDidIt]

Comcast lost my business today, I can tell you that....They are running an ad right now that says get Cable/Phone/Internet bundled for $79.95 not an introductory rate - I called them this morning to figure out what the deal with that was because its running on Fox here. They asked me for my zip code, and then informed me - and Im quoting here exactly "Im sorry sir that is not ever going to be available in your area" so I ask why is that? I saw the commercial and it said houston - 79.95. She says - well sir your particular address is not inlcuded in that promotion. I said why is that? She told me - quoting here again - "we offer different promotions depending upon the average home value in your area & your average value puts you in a completely different pricing structure." So now Im really infuriated, and asked her if they offered that bundle for my area - Yup - $139.99. Thats just total crap - Those who can afford to live in whatever it is that Comcast decides is affluent have to pay more, and those who dont pay less - quoting her again - "we offer our promotions to maximize the number of customers we can serve in any given area"

So Comcast who I have been using for years is out - I will not pay more than someone else simply because my area's average home price is more than theirs. I checked with several addresses and neither Dish nor Direct TV do this.

Wow, that doesn't seem like ethical practices. Or, maybe in this day and age, targeting those that can afford it, it is.

We use Comcast only for internet. DirectTV for TV and remote access on the alarm, so no home phone.

[TheNiche]

Comcast lost my business today, I can tell you that....They are running an ad right now that says get Cable/Phone/Internet bundled for $79.95 not an introductory rate - I called them this morning to figure out what the deal with that was because its running on Fox here. They asked me for my zip code, and then informed me - and Im quoting here exactly "Im sorry sir that is not ever going to be available in your area" so I ask why is that? I saw the commercial and it said houston - 79.95. She says - well sir your particular address is not inlcuded in that promotion. I said why is that? She told me - quoting here again - "we offer different promotions depending upon the average home value in your area & your average value puts you in a completely different pricing structure." So now Im really infuriated, and asked her if they offered that bundle for my area - Yup - $139.99. Thats just total crap - Those who can afford to live in whatever it is that Comcast decides is affluent have to pay more, and those who dont pay less - quoting her again - "we offer our promotions to maximize the number of customers we can serve in any given area"

So Comcast who I have been using for years is out - I will not pay more than someone else simply because my area's average home price is more than theirs. I checked with several addresses and neither Dish nor Direct TV do this.

There's a technical term for that: third degree price discrimination. It happens all the time in various ways that you no doubt approve of. Do you also stop going to a movie theater because they give a discount for seniors or children? Do you refuse to purchase auto insurance from a company that gives a price break for people with college degrees? Do you refuse to patronize a coffee shop that gives free coffee to police? Do you refuse to use an airline that gives a discount to members of the military?

Just take the best deal you can get and be happy with it.

[Marksmu]

There's a technical term for that: third degree price discrimination. It happens all the time in various ways that you no doubt approve of. Do you also stop going to a movie theater because they give a discount for seniors or children? Do you refuse to purchase auto insurance from a company that gives a price break for people with college degrees? Do you refuse to patronize a coffee shop that gives free coffee to police? Do you refuse to use an airline that gives a discount to members of the military?

Just take the best deal you can get and be happy with it.

I think there is a difference in all of those situations - in the movie theatre situation - Seniors genuinely should be given a few breaks they are old - its charity they dont have to do it, but they are doing it . Auto Insurance discounts for college degrees is probably not discounted just because you went to college - its likely that education makes one a better driver. Insurance companies stick it to you everywhere they can - if they can get more from you they will. People who goto college are generally smarter than those who do not, and educated people tend to be better drivers. Not necessarily true all the time, but they take fewer risks and therefore they get in few accidents. A coffee shop that gives free coffee to police is doing it for their own good - they think they will recieve better service for it as there is a higher probability a police officer will be in the store at any given time someone tries to rob it. With the military and airlines - I think military people ought to get discounts. If you have put your life on the line to protect me - Im willing to give you a discount for it.

Cable is competely different - this system of pricing takes nothing else into consideration other than your estimated income based upon your average home value in your area- its from each according to his ability....sounds like the definition of marxism to me. Looks to me to just be another tax on those who make more than others.

[crunchtastic]

I think there is a difference in all of those situations - in the movie theatre situation - Seniors genuinely should be given a few breaks they are old - its charity they dont have to do it, but they are doing it . Auto Insurance discounts for college degrees is probably not discounted just because you went to college - its likely that education makes one a better driver. Insurance companies stick it to you everywhere they can - if they can get more from you they will. People who goto college are generally smarter than those who do not, and educated people tend to be better drivers. Not necessarily true all the time, but they take fewer risks and therefore they get in few accidents. A coffee shop that gives free coffee to police is doing it for their own good - they think they will recieve better service for it as there is a higher probability a police officer will be in the store at any given time someone tries to rob it. With the military and airlines - I think military people ought to get discounts. If you have put your life on the line to protect me - Im willing to give you a discount for it.

Cable is competely different - this system of pricing takes nothing else into consideration other than your estimated income based upon your average home value in your area- its from each according to his ability....sounds like the definition of marxism to me. Looks to me to just be another tax on those who make more than others.

lol, cable was deregulated. This is the result. In fact it is a study in the exact opposite of Marxism. There's just no pleasing you, is there, Mark?

I heartily agree, however, that C-o-m-c-a-s-t s-u-c-k-s.

[Marksmu]

lol, cable was deregulated. This is the result. In fact it is a study in the exact opposite of Marxism. There's just no pleasing you, is there, Mark?

I heartily agree, however, that C-o-m-c-a-s-t s-u-c-k-s.

You are right - I cant be pleased if someone is getting the exact same thing as me, but paying less for it. It makes me feel like Ive been ripped off.

If I was a single home at the top of a mountain that had cost them a fortune to run the line to, then I could understand paying more for it just because of the costs of providing the service to me -but Im not - I just get charged more because they have determined that I can pay more based upon Where I live.

It just makes you feel like your getting ripped off. You have only 3 choices - Comcast who sucks - Dish who make you pay extra for Fox News but provide all the other lefty channels, or Direct TV - whose line up is inferior to both dish and comcast but still costs more. I do have a problem with them all - but I think Dish is going to be my new provider. Ive had them for years at my ranch based solely on no other option, but they have had great service for a good price - so they are going to win this time.

[OkieEric]

It just makes you feel like your getting ripped off. You have only 3 choices - Comcast who sucks - Dish who make you pay extra for Fox News but provide all the other lefty channels, or Direct TV - whose line up is inferior to both dish and comcast but still costs more. I do have a problem with them all - but I think Dish is going to be my new provider. Ive had them for years at my ranch based solely on no other option, but they have had great service for a good price - so they are going to win this time.

Is U-verse not an option in your area? I wonder if that's why Comcast really isn't having to compete $-wise there

[Marksmu]

Is U-verse not an option in your area? I wonder if that's why Comcast really isn't having to compete $-wise there

Nope - not available in my area - last thing I heard was that AT&T was sued for not providing Uverse to as many low income areas as it was to the higher income areas. As a result, I heard AT&T settled the suit and was being forced to lay the cable in less affluent areas before they could continue providing it to everyone else. I used to live in Pearland, and they had lied the fiber all the way to our street but we were not allowed to connect at that time. That was 3 years ago - now its available there. Just not where I live now.

I hear Great things about uverse though. Everyone I know who has it absolutely loves it.

[Fringe]

You are right - I cant be pleased if someone is getting the exact same thing as me, but paying less for it. It makes me feel like Ive been ripped off.

If I was a single home at the top of a mountain that had cost them a fortune to run the line to, then I could understand paying more for it just because of the costs of providing the service to me -but Im not - I just get charged more because they have determined that I can pay more based upon Where I live.

It just makes you feel like your getting ripped off. You have only 3 choices - Comcast who sucks - Dish who make you pay extra for Fox News but provide all the other lefty channels, or Direct TV - whose line up is inferior to both dish and comcast but still costs more. I do have a problem with them all - but I think Dish is going to be my new provider. Ive had them for years at my ranch based solely on no other option, but they have had great service for a good price - so they are going to win this time.

I've had Dish for almost 2 years and I'm still very happy with it. I was reluctant at first because I had heard every time there was a thunderstorm I would loose the signal but that's not true any more. I have maybe lost a signal 2 or 3 times since I have had it. When I had Comcast I would loose it at least once a month. And that was the least of my problems with them.

[TheNiche]

I think there is a difference in all of those situations - in the movie theatre situation - Seniors genuinely should be given a few breaks they are old - its charity they dont have to do it, but they are doing it . Auto Insurance discounts for college degrees is probably not discounted just because you went to college - its likely that education makes one a better driver. Insurance companies stick it to you everywhere they can - if they can get more from you they will. People who goto college are generally smarter than those who do not, and educated people tend to be better drivers. Not necessarily true all the time, but they take fewer risks and therefore they get in few accidents. A coffee shop that gives free coffee to police is doing it for their own good - they think they will recieve better service for it as there is a higher probability a police officer will be in the store at any given time someone tries to rob it. With the military and airlines - I think military people ought to get discounts. If you have put your life on the line to protect me - Im willing to give you a discount for it.

Cable is competely different - this system of pricing takes nothing else into consideration other than your estimated income based upon your average home value in your area- its from each according to his ability....sounds like the definition of marxism to me. Looks to me to just be another tax on those who make more than others.

They do it because seniors have less disposable income and the operators of movie theaters know that the demand elasticity for movies watched by seniors is different than that for the non-senior population. The same holds true for students and children. Its not as though movie theaters are an exceptionally profitable businesses. In fact, even those that are barely holding on to their lease practice third degree price discrimination. It's not because they're being nice; they do it to make money.

Auto insurance discounts for college-educated drivers have to do with that such drivers have proven at least somewhat responsible. Along a similar vein, insuring a Porsche roadster is so much less than insuring a Mazda sedan because people that own Porsches tend to baby their cars and drive more responsibly...and to such an extent that the ludicrously high cost of repairing a Porsche is completely offset.

You're precisely right about the relationship between police and coffee shops. The proprietor knows that it's like having his own personal security force on-site. After you bungled the movie ticket thing, I was expecting you to argue that they do it out of the kindness of their hearts for a deserving public service employee, but you hit this nail right on the head.

...but then you made that exact error on the military example. It doesn't matter what you want the airlines to do with their money; it's about what the shareholders want, and the shareholders want return on equity. Most members of the military are on a budget and fly long distances to and from obscure places that would otherwise be fairly expensive to reach. Charging them full price would dissuade many of them from bothering to travel when presented with the opportunity. It comes back to the price elasticity of demand.

[Marksmu]

They do it because seniors have less disposable income and the operators of movie theaters know that the demand elasticity for movies watched by seniors is different than that for the non-senior population. The same holds true for students and children. Its not as though movie theaters are an exceptionally profitable businesses. In fact, even those that are barely holding on to their lease practice third degree price discrimination. It's not because they're being nice; they do it to make money.

Auto insurance discounts for college-educated drivers have to do with that such drivers have proven at least somewhat responsible. Along a similar vein, insuring a Porsche roadster is so much less than insuring a Mazda sedan because people that own Porsches tend to baby their cars and drive more responsibly...and to such an extent that the ludicrously high cost of repairing a Porsche is completely offset.

You're precisely right about the relationship between police and coffee shops. The proprietor knows that it's like having his own personal security force on-site. After you bungled the movie ticket thing, I was expecting you to argue that they do it out of the kindness of their hearts for a deserving public service employee, but you hit this nail right on the head.

...but then you made that exact error on the military example. It doesn't matter what you want the airlines to do with their money; it's about what the shareholders want, and the shareholders want return on equity. Most members of the military are on a budget and fly long distances to and from obscure places that would otherwise be fairly expensive to reach. Charging them full price would dissuade many of them from bothering to travel when presented with the opportunity. It comes back to the price elasticity of demand.

1.5/4 - thats better than nothing - I should get a seat in Obama's cabinet! Oh - no -even 1/4 over qualifies me.

[rsb320]

I moved recently and have signed up for U-Verse. I'm still PO'd at Comcast after the Ike fiasco, so they were not even a consideration. It took months to get a quality signal restored and their customer service is horrible. I much preferred Time Warner.

At any rate AT&T falsely advertised recently. I got a flyer in the mail for the 30-30-30 ($) deal. The flyer said that you get a DVR with this deal, but the online chat person said that it was not included in this package. I asked if it was a misprint and they said "probably". Oh well, I signed up anyway for more channels, DVR and internet. I can't wait until it's installed. On rabbit ears, everytime a plane goes over or a car goes down the street or God forbid, I move around, it cuts out.

[JLWM8609]

Comcast lost my business today, I can tell you that....They are running an ad right now that says get Cable/Phone/Internet bundled for $79.95 not an introductory rate - I called them this morning to figure out what the deal with that was because its running on Fox here. They asked me for my zip code, and then informed me - and Im quoting here exactly "Im sorry sir that is not ever going to be available in your area" so I ask why is that? I saw the commercial and it said houston - 79.95. She says - well sir your particular address is not inlcuded in that promotion. I said why is that? She told me - quoting here again - "we offer different promotions depending upon the average home value in your area & your average value puts you in a completely different pricing structure." So now Im really infuriated, and asked her if they offered that bundle for my area - Yup - $139.99. Thats just total crap - Those who can afford to live in whatever it is that Comcast decides is affluent have to pay more, and those who dont pay less - quoting her again - "we offer our promotions to maximize the number of customers we can serve in any given area"

So Comcast who I have been using for years is out - I will not pay more than someone else simply because my area's average home price is more than theirs. I checked with several addresses and neither Dish nor Direct TV do this.

I saw that commercial today, and it has small print that only appears for a few seconds at best that says "offer not available in all areas."