I bought my mother an LED TV for Christmas, and we've been trying to get her DirectTV upgraded to HD since 12/26. They've stood her up three seperate times, and the next install date is nearly two weeks out. They've lied to her several times about the reasons as well. She talked to one dispatch at 7AM the other day who said the guy had a family emergency, then another one a few hours later said the guy was sick and another said the guy was simply stuck at a client's house. I've gotten on the phone and demanded to speak to supervisors, and keep getting the run-around. I've written a letter to their CEO due to the ****ty service and bold face lies we've received. TL,DR - DirecTV's customer support has gone to ****. But of course Comcast's does too... they know they both suck, and couldn't care less.
I personally have Uverse, switched from Comcast about a year ago. I love the service, but AT&T still blows... but I have them for wireless anyway and get a corporate discount. ****ty customer service just drives me bonkers.
The biggest pro with Comcast for me is the ability to not be in a contract. That's worth a lot to me. One year I dumped the TV service after Rockets season was over, then got back in when the next season came around. And usually there is a special rate you can get by signing back up. I hear though that the interface for DirecTV (guide, searching, etc.) is much better.
DirecTV.. If you can get a decent deal or package for the first two years (your contract years), then DirecTV all the way. The quality of HD is superb compared to Comcast. U-Verse is another great option also if it's available in your area. Of course, if you want to watch Rockets games, your only option right now is Comcast. The new Genie receiver for DirecTV is pretty nice, especially if you record a lot.
Comcast is kinda expensive. Starting to get out of hand. Wish there were more legit big companies like there is supposed to be. Don't know how the SEC/FCC/FDA/CIA let them get away with that. The more companies, more choices, better competition, better rates. I want Comcast, and Time Warner, and Cablevision, and Cox fighting over me.
With DirecTV you can suspend your account for up to 6 months and not have to pay anything during that time. They will extend your contract for however long you had it suspended though. I have DirecTV and like it, but the whole CSN issue does kind of suck.
Are there many big markets where all 4 of those above compete with each other? In Houston, Comcast only has 40% market share, which means competition is alive and well here. I switched from Comcast to U-Verse after Hurricane Ike and haven't looked back. I'm no fan of AT&T at all but they would have to really mess up for me to leave U-Verse.
Comcast does have ****ty service most of the time but they have been good to us lately. I own't say more.
I switch every ~2 years when my "deal" runs out. Currently with DirecTV, switched from TWC and Dish before that. I've gotten great service from all of them but just don't like their pricing games so there is no loyalty from me...
My sister lives in Hawaii and she tells me she has never lost signal once. She doesn't even care much for TV. My bro n law loves sports so he was the main reason they switched. They both tell me it is night and day. They used to have Time Warner. They are installing today. I signed up trough my energy provider and got a 100.00 gift card and a slew of discounts for the next two years
I've found with Comcast and MOST companies now-a-days... if you get bad service blast them openly on twitter using their @maincompanyname and you'll get help right away. I've actually begun Googling the CEO's name and contact information beforehand... example - I actually got a personal apology and new employees at Birmingham airport with that one. They didn't have their Avis Preferred desk open on a Friday night and I had to wait in line for 45 minutes. I sent the tweet from the line, when I returned my car two days later the level of service was night and day. That's the problem with ****ty customer service, customers don't hold the companies accountable. I escalate support calls, send letters, write emails and make calls to executives all the time when I get ****ty service. The same goes for our government though, instead of taking 5 minutes to complain to those in power, we just take the bull**** lines they feed us.
I use Directv. I have had no real problems. It was getting too pricey, and I was going to cancel some channels, but they gave me a huge deal, so now I get extra channels for cheaper than I was paying before. I've been with them for about 7 years, and they seem to reward loyalty. I've had them wave service fees when they've sent people to my house and all that. I would like to get upgraded to the new Genie DVR, and get whole home option, but those will be too expensive right now. All in all I'm pleased with Directv.
