Goodbye Comcast...Hello PBS

Over the years I've heard about Comcast's infamous reputation for horrible customer service.  For the most part, I'd been spared the hell many have endured except for one time when I thought about switching to their cable internet service.  Somehow Comcast managed to screw something up (can't remember what it was at the moment) but anyhow I ran back to Bellsouth before any permanent damage could be done.

Except for this time.  It was finally my turn to experience Comcast's utter stupidity and lack of customer service.  They were making up for all the years of somewhat normal service I had with them.  I recently moved to a townhouse.  All I needed was my cable turned on.  The outlet was there, all they had to do was climb the damn pole and cut it on.  Easy.  Or so I thought.  After fiddling around with what looked like one of those old block phones, the technician told me there was no lines from the pole to my house. Okayyyy...so what next?  He said the lines in my living room and master bedroom weren't working.  After crawling into an attic I didn't know existed, he finally found a line in the spare bedroom closet.  Yes, the spare bedroom closet because I always sit in the closet to watch TV.

Long story short (yeah I know, not possible with Comcast), the technician, after calling his supervisor, couldn't do anything.  His supervisor was supposed to come "check the lines" but never showed up, the little cable I did have in the spare bedroom closet went out two days later and I haven't had cable since.  After two more technicians came by and pretty much said the same thing the first one said (I'd need new lines installed), after the apartment complex and Comcast claimed each was responsible for installing new lines AND after writing the Better Business Bureau, I'd finally had enough.  I pulled the box, took it back to Comcast and started my new life cable free.

I'm not going to lie, the first week was kind of rough.  I was on staycation and wondering how I was going to handle not having cable after having it for the last 20 years.  It's hard to mindlessly channel surf with 11 channels, three of them PBS.  How would I live without HGTV, A&E and whatever other channel I happened upon while searching for something to watch?

Well let me tell you, three weeks later, I'm still alive and doing well with my regular TV channels.  I realize how many shows I really don't watch.  Yes, now I have to think about what I want to watch but for the most part I can still catch the shows I want to watch on the web or via Hulu or Netflix.  Comcast isn't my only option anymore and I save $65 a month.  I hadn't watched PBS seriously since I was a child.  I've been missing out on some really good programming.  They have cooking shows (bye Food Network), great documentaries (adios Discovery Channel) and lots of home improvement shows (arrivederci HGTV). I think I'll send PBS the money I've been wasting on Comcast. At least PBS would put it to good use.