Cable T.V.
My friend Ted is very fond of talking. To be honest, so am I!
Whenever I meet Ted, we discuss any and everything under the sun. It generally includes many things with which we are not really concerned and which many people like us would never bother to even think about. But once we start our discussions, unknowingly, we become so very passionate about the whole thing that anybody who happens to overhear us would feel inclined to believe that our very existence depends on that particular thing or event.
I had got my cable TV connection disconnected quite some time back and switched over to a different network. In fact, I had even told Ted just a few days thereafter as to how happy I was with the new connection. I had recommended to him that he too should discontinue his cable TV right away and switch over to the new system or even internet TV, if he so desired. But he did not feel too inclined to give up his cable TV connection.
When I met Ted last Saturday, he seemed all worked up and pretty disgusted. Soon after exchanging pleasantries, he started narrating the tale of his sheer disgust with his cable TV company. I gave him a patient hearing and have often thought about his complaints during the last 4 to 5 days. I agree with him on some of the points and say that cable TV companies do rip off their customers on these fronts.
1. Overbilling – Ted was being overcharged for programming, equipment and assorted fees, the charges for which had been reduced for new customers. These should have been automatically reduced for Ted too. But had he not taken up the matter with the cable company, he would have perhaps paid the higher amounts all his life.
2. Poor Customer Service – The ‘professionally qualified’ employees of the cable TV company responded to Ted in the most unfriendly manner. They kept on pretending that either Ted didn’t know a thing or was not able to tell his problem properly.
3. Failure to inform what the best deal was – Despite lengthy discussions, the cable TV company did not straight away tell Ted as to what the best deal for him was. He was quite candid about his requirements but it seemed that they simply didn’t want to help.
Customers deserve better than the high costs, poor services, faulty billing and the unfair practices of the cable TV companies!