Seriously, what is wrong with Comcast?

Back in January I wrote a blog entry discussing my desire to cut back my cable television and rely more on iTunes, Netflix, Joost, etc. I asked Comcast to simply disconnect my cable TV but keep my Internet. That's when they informed me they could do that, but they would then have to cut my bandwidth from 6Mbps to 3Mbps. Apparently they sneak that extra 3Mbps over the 60+ channels I never watch.

It is basically a strong arm tactic to get me to keep paying for cable TV. It's shady, but what can you do when you've got the bandwidth blues?

So I caved and they cut my cable TV down to basic which dropped my bill from $100 a month to $64 a month.

Or so I thought.

Starting February first, my bill should have been $64...it was $100. It was also $100 in March, April, and May. During this time I called them on several occasions asking them to correct their error. In May, they told me it was fixed, and my account was credited for the error and my bill would reflect the change next month. When the next bill arrived...no dice...it was $100.

I called again this last week and asked them to fix the problem, but the person told me they didn't have any notes that I had requested this going back to January, so he could only credit me for May. I told him I was ready to disconnect my cable altogether and that's when the smooth talking express got underway.

He gave me this whole story about how his computer system couldn't give me a credit, but instead what he would do is drop my Internet bill to about $32 a month and my TV would be $5 a month...meaning in 6 months, what I have already overpaid them for 5 months...I would essentially earn back...and then some over time. In a bit of a time crunch and not wanting to argue about it any further, I just said go ahead and do it.

The issue I have here is why can't companies like this just be completely honest and above board? Why have these secret discounts for ticked off customers? Why always have these complicated packages and services people don't want? Why cant we pick what we want...get what we need...and not have to deal with all this time wasting?

I'm pretty sick of companies excusing bad service with discounts. Can't you just get your act together and provide a service that I love so much I'm willing to recommend it to my friends and family? No hidden fees and discounts...just good solid performance and a dedication to excellent customer service. Period.