RandyRants: Why My Local Cable Company Sucks Unimaginably Large Ass

Randy No Arms' ongoing commentary on life, gaming, and the rest of the world.

Why My Local Cable Company Sucks Unimaginably Large Ass

Rant: Monday, May 03, 2004 at 07:47 AM by Randy

I can hear you saying it now: "so does mine." I don't doubt your local cable service sucks, but I'm 100% certain that it doesn't suck as much as mine does. And what's worse is that I feel like I just had a colonoscopy exam after reading their new rates list. So yes, I can prove it: my cable company sucks worse than yours.

Ah, Tele-Media Cable. Yep. I heard you say that too: "Who the hell is that?" Tele-Media is a small cable company that has been knocking around for about twenty years or so. They service south central Connecticut, and I first discovered them in the late 80's, while still in high school. I was living in the one-cow town of Monroe, where we had sub-standard cable: only thirty or forty channels. A friend of mine lived in Shelton at the time, and he had Tele-Media, but at the time, they were the best cable company to have. In the mid 80's they were cheaper than most and had 72 channels. They were awsome and I had a bad case of cable envy.

Jump ahead to 1993, when I moved to the Valley and landed squarely in the Tele-Media area. I signed up for it and blanched at the price: they had gone up about 300%. Also, they offered 72 channels.

Jump ahead to 1998, when I got my own place to live, and got my own cable. $78/month for the full service. Add to that the charge for having remote controls, the two box rental, and some other bullshit, and it topped $85. For 72 channels. 72 channels! We had HBO, HBO2, MAX, MAX2, SHO, TMC. No option for cable modem - I called and asked about it and they didn't know what a modem was - and certainly no digital cable.

Some time in 2001 we got notices that cable modem and digital service was coming. I had DSL by then, so what did I care about the modem, but the channel list was heartening: 14 HBOs, 10 Showtimes, 4 The Movie Channels, 20 Starz/Encores, 12 Cinemaxes. And a shitload of "useless" new channels (MTV 4.5 still doesn't play music videos - at least Fuse was included in this). On par with satellite plans, as far as what's offered, but pricy... this was now at $84 and required the new digital boxes.

Hm. $6 more a month but I get almost three times as many channels. Tough decision. And yet, it was! Digital service was being rolled out in neighboring towns, but it wouldn't be available to me until some time in late 2002.

*sigh*

Meanwhile, Steve out in WA was getting cheaper service plans with move channels. And I mean much cheaper. In 2003, his cable company started to offer HDTV broadcasts. I can't call my cable company about HDTV because they might thing I'm asking about some strange LSD-like drug. Ironically, HDTV and PVR service just started to be offered to Tele-Media customers, over the last month or so. $10/month for the PVR service. HDTV is free to ask for but there's some box you need from Tele-Media and that's extra... and that's when I read the fine print on the ads: Tele-Media is an Adelphia company.

Not only did do we have to suffer with the current management, who had a very narrow worldview, but now they go and get bought by a cable company that is already bankrupt!

*deeper sigh*

The kicker of it all is the new rate plan. They are adding three "basic" channels and two Flix (one east and one west): $93.20. The cable modem - just as an FYI - isn't getting faster and is going up $1. Neighboring towns that have Comcast have doubled in speed and for the same price. Also, $14.95 for the receiver/remote, I think - hard to read the new form because they changed the plan names in some places but not in others... One of the boxes might be included, but I have two. Probably another $4.50 for the extra one.

Yep. I told ya... mine sucks worse.

Comments: (14)

(latest)

Posted on: May 03, 2004 at 08:59 AM by KO

You're so so so wrong... i can't even begin to start. If you were ever to come tp Pakistan and see the state of the 'cable' industry' (i'm not even sure if it deserves that name) here...

After looking at the services in South Korea, Japan, Sweden and even slightly backward places like the US - sometime i wonder how the local cable/internet people here can look in the mirror at themselves... (at least the educated minority of them).

Posted on: May 03, 2004 at 09:54 AM by Randy

Yeah, but the problem I have with it is that in places just over the county line have cheaper and better cable. It's just the isolated town (and the majority of this county) that suck so bad... there's different conditions for cable all over the world, sure, but when it's so vastly different only 30 miles away? Bah. The fact that it's even better in WA irks me even more :)

Posted on: May 03, 2004 at 07:53 PM by Steve

Ha. We just got Video/Movies On Demand this month. Haha.

Posted on: May 27, 2004 at 02:20 PM by NoName

Nothing beats tele-media, equal parts idiocy and corruption, time for direct tv

Posted on: May 27, 2004 at 02:27 PM by Randy

Indeed: I agree completely.

Posted on: June 09, 2004 at 01:03 AM by homer jay

Stop watching TV, your "problems" go away :)

Posted on: September 14, 2004 at 04:06 PM by Derek

I guess that's why there are currently over 25 million satellite tv subscribers. Time to switch to dish.

Posted on: September 26, 2005 at 08:26 PM by upset at prices

satelite sucks big shit too! telemedia makes ya really pay just to sit on our asses huh! Im starting to hate tv anyway. too much sex, violence and bull shitten politics. my children cant watch a descent tv commercial without watching a couple have sex in the bathroom stall. This is america the hell.

Posted on: November 15, 2005 at 04:51 PM by fletch

please post your comments on localcablesucks.tv

Posted on: January 10, 2007 at 02:37 AM by Rob

You know? Everything sucks! If you type anything in "Google" with sucks after it, it sucks! I hate the pricing with cable, that's about all. As a tech savvy person I understand that programming sucks, and I also understand that my cable equipment is like a computer, it locks up once in awhile, and I understand outages too! Servicing millions of customers is a hard thing to do perfectly. Especially that VOD, for Pete's sake it's a computer server with thousands of shows on it, IT'S GOING TO LOCK UP ONCE IN AWHILE WHEN YOU HAVE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACCESSING THE SAME BANDWIDTH!!!!!!
I hate poeple who want to be pampered in their cable or DTV service. GET OFF YOUR FRICKING BUTT AND DO A POWER CYCLE, IT'S THE NATURE OF THE BEAST YOU MORONS!!!!!! JUST LIKE A COMPUTER YOU HAVE TO RESET IT SOMETIMES AND NO SERVICE IS PERFECT!!!!

Ok enough hollering, my only pet peeve about cable besides idiot customers who want to be pampered is the pricing, pricing is getting out of hand for cable....

Posted on: April 07, 2007 at 12:56 AM by concerned

well clientlogic now sitel has 200 ex employees in a class action suit against negative employment practices and if you've had negative experiences as well with this company i strongly suggest you get with the BBB, the consumer affairs div, Attorney General or even a lawyer to fight for your rights for proper customer service

GET READY NOW FOLKS

Having had worked for the call center over a year
I must say I am sorry for the run around as it has been very common with members getting the run around due to lack of proper training and amt of qualified staff and product reliability.
Although I will say Directv is a bit more stable and resigned their contract again than the other companies in the centers

You're dealing with call centers people
Companies who outsource their work to uneducated or properly untrained employees or uncaring employees
Mainly the call center of Clientlogic.com Now Sitel.com
Employees that have little training
So theres errors bound to happen due to their lack of proper management

Sorry
That's how it is
Therefore you get customer service system failure
I'M NOT JUST BLOWING SMOKE
THIS IS FOR REAL

IF ALL ELSE FAILS AND YOU DON'T GET THE PROPER CARE
SEEK AN ATTORNEY
CONTACT THE AG
BBB
CONSUMER AFFAIRS DIV

UNTIL YOU GET THE PROPER CARE
AND GO TO ANOTHER COMPANY IF THE ISSUES ARE NOT TAKEN CARE OF

Posted on: November 27, 2007 at 05:33 AM by chris

ATTENTION ALL FORMER AND PAST CLIENT LOGIC EMPLOYEES: email stuevesigel.com, or call 800-714-0360, or email broadnax@stuevesigel.com, or email jy@outtengolden.com to join wage and hour lawsuit. Thank you.

Posted on: April 25, 2008 at 02:25 PM by Michelle

well guess what... we are staying at my mom's till our house is done and yes she only has 1 cable company option.. Tele-Media... oh yeah and she only has one phone company option. So how's that for rustic in 2008

Posted on: April 26, 2008 at 03:45 PM by Randy

Sucks bad :(