Led by Kirk in 2001, when he talked me through my trepidation and we got rid of our telephone landline, we have been on a steady march to simplify our connectivity.
After 20+ years with at&t, we recently got a deal with t-mobile that was too good to pass up. We had been spending $140 per month for two phones with at&t, mainly because I was afraid to switch and somehow lose my treasured New York 212 cell phone number.
T-mobile has a $70 all in package for two phones for people aged 55+. We took the plunge, my 212 cell phone number is perfectly intact, and we are very very happy.
The t-mobile customer service model (flat pricing including fees, stellar customer service) got me thinking about Comcast again.
There exists no company I detest more, but I’m forced to do business with them because I have no broadband alternative. Their business model is the opposite of t-mobile: horrible customer service, constant reliance on promotional pricing which forces you to call and threaten to cancel each time your deal expires, and deceptive packages that force you to take on services you don’t want or need.
I cut the tv cord with Comcast a couple of years ago, and have a broadband only package with non-promotional pricing. I would dearly love to drop Comcast – hopefully t-mobile and true 5G will make that possible.
In addition to Comcast broadband, we have a few OTT channel packages. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and DirectTV Now. I tried DTVN when at&t offered an ongoing discount, HBO included, and a free Apple TV. I liked the simplicity of the flat fee bill (net $25), the channel selection, and the well-working app.
Now I’ve been off at&t for two billing cycles. But my dtvn discount goes on. No idea when or if it will stop. The monthly fee recently went up $10 a month, so my net fee will be $35 with discount and free hbo. If the at&t discount and free hbo ends, it will be $61 which is waaaaaay too much.
Twice in the last month I canceled dtvn. The first time we tried Sling for a week. Constant buffering and low res connections, a problem we never had with dtvn. So I went back. Then the $10 price hike, and I cancelled again. They sent me an offer to discount my fee by $10 for six months. So I went back again, but they won’t honor the discount code they emailed me because they say I’m already getting an at&t discount. WTH.
I’ve reached out to dtvn via apple business chat, but two days have gone by with no response.
I really think I will end up trying the philo $16 skinny bundle. I don’t need sports and I think I can get by without local channels.
The other option is the AT&T skinny bundle for $15 per month. Given my weird experiences with dtvn, I’m a bit leery to go with what is basically the same company.
I was looking forward to apple’s offering but it holds no interest for me given the scant details they provided.
Frankly I think I need to make the same logical leap I made when dropping the landline. Why do I feel I need to pay to have channels shoveling live television at me? I bet I could get by with Netflix and Prime.
