DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
2 edits | Cable in Montgomery County
Herewith, my introduction to attention whoredom.
I just created a Frappr for readers of my blog on MCMD telecomm issues and since it's new, the map is looking positively naked.
So... add yourself to my Frappr and get a chance to win a free On Demand movie. (A movie you'd ordinarily have to pay for, that is - and I'll give you a coupon for it to include with your next bill payment.)
Since the coupon is only good in MCMD, don't bother applying if your only goal is a free movie (although you can still add yourself no matter where you live if you really do read my blog).
I will select a winner next Wednesday evening based on the number of billing and HSI complaints received by the LFA for December. Complete details at my blog:
»www.libes.com/don/blog
Title change. ~sorto' |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19 | Re: Free On Demand Movie (MCMD only)
One day left to enter the drawing for a free movie. I'll make the selection at the end of the CCAC meeting tomorrow evening based on Comcast's complaint numbers received by the county. |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs: | Are those of us who are not Comcast TV subscribers eligible for anything (other than peace of mind and decent service)? |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| said by JTRockville  :Are those of us who are not Comcast TV subscribers eligible for anything (other than peace of mind and decent service)? Peace of mind sounds good to me. (Why do you think I can't use this coupon myself?!) |
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tender
join:2000-11-01
Rockville, MD
| reply to JTRockville
said by JTRockville :Are those of us who are not Comcast TV subscribers eligible for anything (other than peace of mind and decent service)? JT I don't think you really want to use Comcast  On my last bill, I noticed I was charged $3 for an additional cable box, but I only have one. I called Comcast this morning to have the charge removed, and the customer service rep began to argue with me and hung up! After my second call, I got the bill charge removed. Come on FIOS....
-tender |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| said by tender :... and the customer service rep began to argue with me and hung up! I'll bet I've been hung up on by more Comcast CAEs than almost anyone. (Well, not sure about JT.) |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
 ·LINGO
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·surpasshosting
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to DonLibes
Re: Free On Demand Movie (MCMD only)
said by DonLibes :said by tender :... and the customer service rep began to argue with me and hung up! I'll bet I've been hung up on by more Comcast CAEs than almost anyone. (Well, not sure about JT.) Actually, I don't think I've ever been hung up on by Comcast. Of course, I never bothered to argue with a CAE. If I got the wrong answer, I immediately made use of the county complaint process. It's one thing to be a volunteer auditor for Comcast's billing department - at least there's somewhat of a financial incentive - but it's unreasonable to have to train a CAE just to get a correct bill.
Sadly, I don't think I can make it tonight - the MCT tour is really coooool. I look forward to reading about it in your blog.
If you get the chance, would you ask if there's any chance MCT content will be broadcast on DirecTV or Dish? |
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cbrain
join:2000-05-21
Silver Spring, MD
·VoicePulse for Bus..
·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
·Future Nine Corpor..
·VoiceStick
·Packet8
| reply to GeeWonderWhy
said by GeeWonderWhy :
Gee, I wonder why. You seem to find things to complain about. That company could make everything perfect, yet you would still complain. Get a hobby, something positive, to take up your time.
I sounded like this for about 5 years. Last March I left Comcast for FiOS and DTV. The only complaining I've done this year was about Comcast billing me for equipment I did not have I confirmed there were no outstanding issues or equipment when I terminated Comcast service. And there were 2 incidents with my mothers Comcast account when they billed her for equipment she did not have. She won't talk with Comcast anymore.
DTV and Verizon, no complaints - no Comcast, 3 complaints. Go figure.  |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| reply to DonLibes
I realize that this is not the right forum in which to discuss the outcome of the meeting. Should we take it to one of the existing MC threads in the Comcast HSI forum, in the Verizon forum, or in the TV forum. It kinda touches on all of them so it's not clear where to put it. (DC forum too!) I wish dslr allowed cross-posting! |
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meb
join:2002-12-12
Potomac, MD | Why not start it here and see where it goes.
I think we need to let our county officials know we expect more from them. Why is Montgomery falling so far behind in FiOS TV? |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·surpasshosting
·Verizon FIOS
| * shrugs *
I wrote to Verizon and asked what their plans are, because I'm concerned that they've forgotten all about Randolph Hills. VZ replied right away, and asked me to voice my concerns to the council.
So I wrote to the Councilmember for my district. Haven't heard back yet.
According to Don's blog, VZ isn't interested in negotiating. But judging by the quickness of the reply I got, I'd say VZ is very interested. Why would VZ ask me to bug the Councilmembers if VZ had no intention of negotiating with them? It makes no sense. |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| said by JTRockville :* shrugs * I wrote to Verizon and asked what their plans are, because I'm concerned that they've forgotten all about Randolph Hills. VZ replied right away, and asked me to voice my concerns to the council. So I wrote to the Councilmember for my district. Haven't heard back yet. According to Don's blog, VZ isn't interested in negotiating. But judging by the quickness of the reply I got, I'd say VZ is very interested. Why would VZ ask me to bug the Councilmembers if VZ had no intention of negotiating with them? It makes no sense. Well, the council can lean on executive - but not with much force.
It's possible that what we're seeing is simply a recalcitrant Duncan, an executive who's got plans that Verizon doesn't fit into - at least not in the short term. That's the only way this all fits together.
By the way, to which councilmember did you write? |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs: | Denis is my Councilmember. He also happens to be on the MFP committee. In fairness, I just wrote to him this morning - I didn't really expect a same-day reply. |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| I got a response from the Exec today - well, sort of. Keith Watkins in the cable office sent me email saying discussions are "ongoing." Sure. I called up and said "oh really?" and outlined the contrary opinions I had heard from his colleagues.
He immediately agreed that he wasn't "in the loop." I figure what happened was that the Exec's secretary saw that the request said something about cable and simply redirected it to the cable office. I asked Keith to send it back to the Executive with a request that they answer it themselves. He said he would.
I'll let you know if I hear anything more.
By the way, who did you write to at Verizon? |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·surpasshosting
·Verizon FIOS
| I wrote to Christy Reap (addy found here).
said by JT's letter to Christy :
Greetings Christy Reap,
I read the press release you issued January 18 about FiOS in Damascus and Gaithersburg. I am excited that Verizon is deploying FiOS in parts of Montgomery County. Hopefully, my neighborhood will not be forgotten.
I live in Randolph Hills, served by the Verizon office on Montrose Road. Although Verizon's database indicates DSL is available here, it is not. Due to the distance we live from the Montrose Road office (19,600 cable feet), DSL is simply not possible. DSL is available to some parts of my community, but not at my home.
This is why I have such high hopes that Verizon will deploy FiOS here - the sooner the better! Unfortunately, Doug Breisch (manager of Rockville's Department of Technology Services) will not issue permits to Verizon for FiOS upgrades within Rockville city limits until Verizon obtains a television franchise.
Do you have any information about the status of the television franchise with Montgomery County? Do you know when Verizon plans to offer FiOS from the Montrose Road office? I signed up to receive notifications from Verizon about a year-and-a-half ago, but I have never heard anything.
Regards,
J* T*
{Full Address and Phone}
But Christy isn't who I got a response from. I'm not sure if I should post the response, since it's personal correspondence. Think it's ok to post the reply, if I omit the name? |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| said by JTRockville :I'm not sure if I should post the response, since it's personal correspondence. Think it's ok to post the reply, if I omit the name? Don't post it - your summary was clear enough.
Ok, I just sent her an email (thanks for the addy) asking for more information specifically about the negotiations and pointing out that leaning on the council is unlikely to be useful. I'll report back if I hear anything. |
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meb
join:2002-12-12
Potomac, MD | You make it sound like there is no accountability in this process. What is the protocol here? Can the county executive simply take control and do nothing? What can be done to put pressure on everyone? |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| I'm not aware of anything that would legally compel the Executive to take action on this issue. And since he's not running for re-election, he's not even accountable to the voters who elected him.
On the other hand, he is running for governor. And some people think that's exactly why he may be stalling on the franchise. As I mentioned in my blog, this may be a tit for tat situation. I don't have any proof of that; but I don't know of any better explanations. |
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