topic Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks in Community Chat

Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Jordan2 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:05:47 GMT

My bill from Spectrum is $221 a month ( for triple play). Money gotten tight for me, I can't afford this anymore. I'm thinking about getting internet and phone only, and subscribing to Hulu Live. I just got off the phone with a CS rep from Spectrum, it will cost $60 for internet and $20 for phone. Well I spoke to Verizon and I can get internet for $40, and phone for $20. I asked Spectrum why their internet is $20 more, he told me because I'm not bundling it with tv. He wasn't sympathetic to my problem, being a loyal customer for almost 19 years means nothing to this company, they would rather see me leave.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

jackthebear — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:09:15 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
My bill from Spectrum is $221 a month ( for triple play). Money gotten tight for me, I can't afford this anymore. I'm thinking about getting internet and phone only, and subscribing to Hulu Live. I just got off the phone with a CS rep from Spectrum, it will cost $60 for internet and $20 for phone. Well I spoke to Verizon and I can get internet for $40, and phone for $20. I asked Spectrum why their internet is $20 more, he told me because I'm not bundling it with tv. He wasn't sympathetic to my problem, being a loyal customer for almost 19 years means nothing to this company, they would rather see me leave.

yep

we did that

then they were all don't go, and I was

can't type what I said here

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Shelbelle — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:09:22 GMT

Trust me they are all the same. I have XFinity Comcast, also Triple Play, been with them 37 years. they took away my TCM for free, and raised my bill by $7 per month, is that crazy or what, take away services, and raise bill at same time.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Jordan2 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:16:14 GMT

Get this, Verizon will waive the $99 installation fee if you order online, if you order on the phone they charge you! That doesn't seem fair. Just wondering if I get phone and internet from Verizon does someone come to install it, or do they think it's something you can do for yourself ( I don't think I could)?

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Kachina624 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:19:13 GMT

@Jordan2. Go to the electronics forum and look up "Cutting the Cord" in the archives and I think youll get some good hints on saving on your cable, or rather without it.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Ann52 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 23:54:59 GMT

I cut the cord years ago. I only have phone and internet. I have a ROKU and subscribe to SlingTV and Frndly TV (yes, that's the correct spelling). Sling TV is $30 month for my plan, phone/internet $80 month and FrndlyTV is $80 yearly. Best thing I ever did.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

SharkE — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:02:48 GMT

must be across the board thing.

Our internet/cable bill went up 10.

We're dropping the paper and switching to a lower cost insurance.

If you join AMAC you can save on your home and car insurance.

It's a new thing like AARP they're going up against them. We saved.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Nonametoday — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:08:39 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
My bill from Spectrum is $221 a month ( for triple play). Money gotten tight for me, I can't afford this anymore. I'm thinking about getting internet and phone only, and subscribing to Hulu Live. I just got off the phone with a CS rep from Spectrum, it will cost $60 for internet and $20 for phone. Well I spoke to Verizon and I can get internet for $40, and phone for $20. I asked Spectrum why their internet is $20 more, he told me because I'm not bundling it with tv. He wasn't sympathetic to my problem, being a loyal customer for almost 19 years means nothing to this company, they would rather see me leave.

@Jordan2 I have been a customer of theirs for near 40 years (when it was Charter and now Spectrum) and those poor customer service people just say what they are told to say. I feel the way you do. I am thinking about getting Roku.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

homedecor1 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:25:03 GMT

@Jordan2

Be careful of Verizon (aka Frontier since it was sold) -- many of my friends are STUCK IN CONTRACTS and cost in the long run is much more!

If you don't bundle with all these cable companies there is no discount.

We're fortunate - we live in a gated community that has a "contract" with Spectrum for what they call the "gold" package -- its 138/month for all channels, internet & phone.

Otherwise, it would be over $250/month ...

Do your homework before jumping in -- I know the ads are inticing but certainly MISleading.

Good luck!

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Jordan2 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:45:36 GMT

@homedecor1 wrote:
@Jordan2

Be careful of Verizon (aka Frontier since it was sold) -- many of my friends are STUCK IN CONTRACTS and cost in the long run is much more!

If you don't bundle with all these cable companies there is no discount.

We're fortunate - we live in a gated community that has a "contract" with Spectrum for what they call the "gold" package -- its 138/month for all channels, internet & phone.

Otherwise, it would be over $250/month ...

Do your homework before jumping in -- I know the ads are inticing but certainly MISleading.

Good luck!

@homedecor1 I asked if I would have a contract, she said no, of course she said the price could go up! @Ann52 , does Sling TV not have local channels? I would be unhappy without CBS, ABC, NBC, CW, and FOX.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

kivah — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:49:24 GMT

@jackthebear wrote:
@Jordan2 wrote:
My bill from Spectrum is $221 a month ( for triple play). Money gotten tight for me, I can't afford this anymore. I'm thinking about getting internet and phone only, and subscribing to Hulu Live. I just got off the phone with a CS rep from Spectrum, it will cost $60 for internet and $20 for phone. Well I spoke to Verizon and I can get internet for $40, and phone for $20. I asked Spectrum why their internet is $20 more, he told me because I'm not bundling it with tv. He wasn't sympathetic to my problem, being a loyal customer for almost 19 years means nothing to this company, they would rather see me leave.
yep
we did that
then they were all don't go, and I was
can't type what I said here

They all raise the price once u change to a different service. They train their staff to not answer ur questions - especially when u want to lower the bill. That's Right - they don't care - as most people have limited choices. They're like Robots. I've been very happy with Spectrum - great customer service when they had to come out. Their prices are high -- I have Phone, Internet & TV. I don't understand any of it -- but everything works.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

BadWolf — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 01:43:13 GMT

I dumped my cable company when my rate went to over $300 per month. No HBO etc but I do have a lot of TV's. Got a great deal from Centurylink for fiber optics internet at $60 per month - lifetime guarantee on price. Added Hulu live for $56 and bought an Ooma and pay approx $7 for phone taxes only. Went from approx $350 to $125 and not missing a thing!

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

shoekitty — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 02:18:38 GMT

Did you talk to them on the phone? How did you do that? I can't ever get them on the phone in under 20 mins

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Nuttmeg — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 02:51:07 GMT

@Jordan2

These companies don't care about customers. The game is making money.

Here are two sites that might help, cord cutting.com and Antennaweb. org .

Verizon no longer sells bundles. The company has a create your own package concept.

I would compare the cost of Spectrum and Verizon, and include the price of extras like Hulu TV Live. You need to add the price of all equipment, and security software.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

Spurt — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 14:37:59 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
@homedecor1 wrote:
@Jordan2

Be careful of Verizon (aka Frontier since it was sold) -- many of my friends are STUCK IN CONTRACTS and cost in the long run is much more!

If you don't bundle with all these cable companies there is no discount.

We're fortunate - we live in a gated community that has a "contract" with Spectrum for what they call the "gold" package -- its 138/month for all channels, internet & phone.

Otherwise, it would be over $250/month ...

Do your homework before jumping in -- I know the ads are inticing but certainly MISleading.

Good luck!
@homedecor1 I asked if I would have a contract, she said no, of course she said the price could go up! @Ann52 , does Sling TV not have local channels? I would be unhappy without CBS, ABC, NBC, CW, and FOX.

@Jordan2

I checked into cutting the cord, and went to Sling TV's website and local channels depend on your area....if they dont you will have to purchase an antenna to get your regular channels, and hope you can get good reception depending on where the nearest tower is located. .... Also some with Sling TV complain about buffering and freezing ...... as well as Hulu....

Also check the channels you are getting now and compare them with the Sling TV Packages .....they end up $5 and $10 you to death to add in channels that are on separate tiers and pricing....and if you add it all up with the cost of High Speed Internet without bundling....cutting the cord might actually end up costing you more....You might have to end up sacrificing channels in order to save money....It would have ended up costing me $35 more a month....Im a sports fan and wanted some channels not in their blue/orange package and I wanted TCM....It wasnt worth it for me....

How much money? Well, let's crunch some numbers. With the calculator below, you can punch in what you're paying for cable, select the streaming services you're considering using instead, and figure out exactly how much you'll save (or lose) by making the change!

1. How much is your cable plan with TV and internet?	per month
2. How much would you pay for internet only?	per month
3. Select streaming services to subscribe to
Amazon Prime Video	$8.99 per month
CBS All Access	$5.99 per month
DIRECTV NOW
Live a Little	$35.00 per month
Just Right	$50.00 per month
Go Big	$60.00 per month
Gotta Have It	$70.00 per month
fuboTV	$39.99 per month
HBO NOW	$14.99 per month
Hulu	$7.99 per month
Hulu with Live TV	$39.99 per month
MLB.TV	$24.99 per month
NBA League Pass	$16.67 per month1
NFL Game Pass	$8.33 per month2
Netflix	$10.99 per month
NHL.TV	$24.99 per month
Sling TV
Orange	$20 per month
Blue	$25 per month
Orange + Blue	$40 per month
Services that you'd like to subscribe to but that are not listed here	per month
Total:	$0 per mon

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

ValuSkr — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 03:35:09 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
Get this, Verizon will waive the $99 installation fee if you order online, if you order on the phone they charge you! That doesn't seem fair. Just wondering if I get phone and internet from Verizon does someone come to install it, or do they think it's something you can do for yourself ( I don't think I could)?

@Jordan2 Yes, my understanding is that installation is free if you order online. They will send someone to install, if you're ordering FIOS (I don't think the average person could do it his/herself). You can live online chat with customer service while you're placing your order; they're very good about answering questions and concerns.

I'm thinking of switching back to Verison FIOS myself and went through the online process a couple weeks ago. Didn't follow through and place an order but will do so within the next month or so.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

JumpTheRope — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 07:02:39 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
Did you talk to them on the phone? How did you do that? I can't ever get them on the phone in under 20 mins

As a customer since they were Greater Media-Charter-Spectrum

(when MTV was ACTUALLY ALL MUSIC TELEVISION VIDEOS!),

I have found the fastest way to talk to someone is to ask for

THE DISCONNECTION DEPARTMENT.

Its true, those are the only CS reps. who *might* work with you....

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

gardenman — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 13:02:49 GMT

@ValuSkr wrote:
@Jordan2 wrote:
Get this, Verizon will waive the $99 installation fee if you order online, if you order on the phone they charge you! That doesn't seem fair. Just wondering if I get phone and internet from Verizon does someone come to install it, or do they think it's something you can do for yourself ( I don't think I could)?
@Jordan2 Yes, my understanding is that installation is free if you order online. They will send someone to install, if you're ordering FIOS (I don't think the average person could do it his/herself). You can live online chat with customer service while you're placing your order; they're very good about answering questions and concerns.

I'm thinking of switching back to Verison FIOS myself and went through the online process a couple weeks ago. Didn't follow through and place an order but will do so within the next month or so.

If your house already has a pre-installed ONT (Optical Network Terminal) and it's pre-wired for ethernet with CAT 6 cabling, then the install is very, very simple. Most older homes aren't pre-wired however. I just had FIOS Internet installed here two weeks ago Monday and the install only took about two hours. They said to allow three to five hours, but it went faster. I had nothing preinstalled and had to have everything done, but it was pretty quick.

The installer checked out where I wanted it installed, measured from my house to the nearest terminal on the poles. (The cable they use from the terminal to the ONT is premade so they need to know the length they need. Mine was two hundred feet.) Then he installed the ONT box on the outside of the house and ran the cable from the terminal to the ONT box. Then he drilled a hole in the wall and ran the power cord and a CAT 6 cable into the basement. The power supply was plugged into an outlet and connected to the ONT. The CAT 6 cable was fed up to where I wanted the router and the wires stripped and a connector added. Then the CAT 6 cable got plugged into the router and the router got plugged into the outlet and it was pretty much done. The service then had to be activated and once that was done I just renamed the network to the old name and changed the password to the old password so I wouldn't have to redo every device and I was in business.

If you have a pre-installed ONT and a properly wired network already in place, install should just take a few minutes. I ordered online and paid $0 for the install. I'm renting their router at $15 a month and my bill for 100 Mbps is under $56 and includes a free year of Disney+. I was paying $22 a month more for the same service without the Disney+ so it was a good move for me.

As to customer service from a cable company, I worked for Frontier Communications as a CSR and it was a miserable job. Your hands as a CSR are largely tied and you're extremely limited in what you can do for customers. Frontier wronged customers in multiple ways and as a CSR you could do very little to right the wrongs. One example being, I had a caller who'd last been a customer in 2010. They'd bought a new home in 2012 and their credit check had been fine. They were buying a new home in 2017 and the credit check showed they owed Frontier $516. They didn't know why. The charges had started back in 2012 when the husband had called "the phone company" Frontier instead of their current phone provider, and asked if they had an unlisted number. The braindead Frontier CSR who took that call found their old disconnected account from 2010 and said no. The CSR then somehow added the charge for an unlisted number to their old disconnected account. For five plus years they'd been billed for an unlisted number even though they had no service from Frontier and lived in an area we didn't serve. Their bills were sent to the address they'd lived in back in 2010. Should be easy to fix, right? No. Because their bill was over $100, it had to go to the CAP team to be adjusted. The CAP team, sticking with Frontier's policy, only waived the last six months of improper billing ($30) and not the other nearly five years or the late fees. It was then my job as CSR of record to call the customer back and tell them they still owed Frontier $486 still after the adjustments, for a service we couldn't provide and they should have never been billed. It's a miserable job. Most CSR's are working with their hands tied and can only do what the company lets them and most companies are a bit crazy.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

skincaremaven — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 13:17:51 GMT

Agreed! Spectrum has horrible customer service. They do not reward customer loyalty, instead they raise your prices and are non negotiable.

Their employees seem absolutely miserable and are completely uninterested in providing good customer service.

I just cancelled my cable due to cost and went with internet only. Internet only is still 80 dollars per month.

In my area, we only have 2 choices for internet and the price is the same.

Re: Spectrum Customer Service Stinks

10sluvr — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 13:30:36 GMT

we've been charter/spectrum customers for 25+ years. we have always had good service, on the phone and in person. we are in Michigan and they have offered to come out on holidays, to fix cable. we declined but the offer was there. yes, we have had to wait for the next available person, but it's always been good.

if people are aggravated when they call, and don't get their way, maybe they should re-think their "phone attitude". sometimes what you want just can't happen. they can only do so much.