Please Help This Charter Customer
I fielded a phone call yesterday from an elderly University Park resident who’s mad as hell at Charter, and he’s not going to take it anymore. He doesn’t like that the Park Cities’ only cable provider charges him about $200 per month (including taxes), and he really doesn’t like that he’s never able to get anyone on the phone there who isn’t a minimum-wage call-center worker with zero answers.
I asked him if he’s ever thought about switching to a satellite provider, and he said he’s not sure about the cost comparison. Also, he’s worried that the satellite services don’t include C-SPAN. (Did I mention that he’s taken quite a few trips around the sun?)
So, help him out, Park Cities people. Have any of you switched from Charter to satellite? How did that go? Alternatively, does anybody want to defend Charter as a quality provider of televised programming?
Charter is undeniably the worst cable provider I’ve ever had- and I’ve had them all. Recently switched to DirecTV and I couldn’t be happier. Their customer service is the best of any major corporation I’ve ever encountered. They have some great introductory rates on a 24mo contract that jump up a bit in the second year- but I’m not sure it would be $200/mo unless you have one of the bigger satellite packages. I have no clue about CSPAN
Dan,
Give U-verse some love. It’s a better alternative than Charter & Satellite.
C-SPAN comes in their $75/month extended package, so he’s paying too much money.
Next alternative, walk into the Snider Plaza location and tell them you need help.
Next, when on the phone and getting someone to come out, demand a Charter employee and not a contractor. If a contractor does show up, tell them to turn around.
Lastly, cut Charter completely loose and switch to over-the-air with a high-def antenna on the roof or in the attic. Add ROKU for C-span. My 80-year-old father loves Roku.
DirecTV is horrible: Unreliable in bad weather and always upgrading their technology which involves techs trampling on the roof and in the attic. Awhile ago, I switched to Netflix (streaming movies/TV series, mail DVDs), Aereo (local TV etc.) and a Roku box (has CSPAN. Total cost: $24/mo. I miss ESPN but have learned to live without it.
I used Charter as my TV provider for a number of years. The service and picture quality was spotty at best, and their typical customer service rep was about as friendly as a prison guard at a Soviet gulag. I switched to Uverse about three years ago and couldn’t be happier. Great service and excellent customer service. (I would have tried one of the satellite companies but between my yard and my neighbors, there were too many trees.)
I agree with Brad above. U-verse has proven superior to both cable and satellite.
I switched from Charter to UVerse five years ago and have not had a single problem. No service calls, no holding, no waiting for someone to come to the house. Charter is awful.
I have been tempted by UVerse because I detest Charter but feared the horror stories I’ve heard there too. Maybe UVerse has gotten its act together?
Uverse is great! I think when they were first rolling out there were problems but now that the service is established it is smooth sailing. You can bundle TV, phone and internet. We pay about $175/month for all 3 combined and get CSPAN in our package.