Soprano Fan Furious In Bay Area - No Hbo! (1 Viewer)

[stephen_z]

Here we are, in the greater Silicon Valley region where technology is king, and ATT Cable TV can't get their act straight to keep the Sopranos broadcast from going off the air! This is the 2nd week that HBO has gone off a few minutes prior to the start at 9:00PM PST. The last blackout lasted over an hour (what a coincidence)... how long will this one last? I'm mad as hell... they make us switch to digital cable, then they charge us more for it, they up the rates on cable box rentals, and then they can't keep the one show on that gives me reason to subscribe to their service. I plan on cancelling my subscription tomorrow after raising a stink with their customer service (which I am currently on hold with probably several thousand other irrate callers). Anyone else upset!!! Let's hear it!!!!

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Same here.

Whatever you do, do NOT get AT&T Broadband cable. They made us upgrade to "digital cable" (now there's an oxymoron) this summer in order to keep getting HBO. We did so, almost entirely for The Sopranos.

Tonight - no HBO channel, no Sopranos.
I tried dozens of times AT&T Broadband's "customer service" - EVERY automated option for "my convenience" led to a busy signal and a disconnect - no matter what I tried, I couldn't get an actual person, or ANY service, automated or otherwise.

No Sopranos for us tonight, no longer an AT&T Broadband customer tomorrow. They've f#%$^&*ed me for the last time ever tonight, unless they are forthcoming with some serious compensation.

I've emailed them and let them know I posted here too - I've never felt like a business treated its customers with more disdain than they've shown with their "customer service system" tonight. The couldn't have alienated me more if they had TRIED, quite frankly.

 

[stephen_z]

More ranting... we actually got through to a real live "customer service representative", who was of no help whatsoever to explain why the service interruption was occuring... "it's an HBO network problem". Strange that family members in LA and Tahoe are not experiencing the same problem. When asked to provide an HBO customer service number, no number was forthcoming from the ATT rep. No explanation was provided for last week's interruption, even though they've had a week to investigate the problem. When confronted with an upset customer on the edge of dumping their service for DISH network, the rep offered no response. GOODBYE ATT!!!

 

[Bill Harris]

That just sucks. As much as i really dont like DTV , maybe a switch is in order?.

 

[Tim Markley]

Thankfully I've got DirecTV. I'd be really mad if that happened to me.

 

[Marty M]

Don't forget that the show will be rebroadcast on HBO 2 tonight. This might help a little, but I know you sholdn't have to wait an extra day to see something you have paid to see the first day. I hope you can negotiate some kind of credit for the missing day of service.

 

[Dave E H]

AHh another reason to get DTV. You can at least watch it at 6pm or 9pm - the 6pm feed on the east coast is in HDTV - DEFINITELY worth it (I work my sunday schedule around it!)

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Today's SF Chronicle said that AT&T had a receiver go out at 8:55pm Sunday night that provides the HBO signal. It was apparently fixed or replaced 2 hours later.
I got an email response from AT&T after contacting them through the website and letting them know I could get no customer service access Sunday night:
"I understand and I do apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced with not having the HBO channel as well as, in trying to contact our customer service department.
We have credited your account in the amount of $2.23 because of HBO channel not functioning properly yesterday. This amount will be reflected on your next AT&T Broadband Internet Service billing statement, or as soon as possible, depending on your billing date. Please remember that your current billing cycle may have already passed. In that case, the credit will appear in the next one to two billing cycles.
Once again I do apologize for the HBO channel not functioning properly, as well as the difficulty you experienced with contacting AT&T Broadband customer support.
Thank you again for contacting AT&T Broadband."
No explanation for the HBO problem, a boilerplate apology for no HBO and no customer service, and I get a whopping $2.23 credit on my next bill.
[sarcasm on] Wow, if the HBO channel can go out on the Sopranos just 26 more times, I'll get a month of digital cable FREE [sarcasm off].
:frowning: :rolleyes

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I can't believe that any cable company, much less one of the biggest, doesn't have a redundant backup feed and an automatic failsafe switch to put it online instantly if the main feed fails. It costs almost nothing.

 

[Lee L]

Well, I don't have cable but this applies to satellite as well. Most of these companies charge you a penalty if you break your contract and pay late and a fee to reconnect your service if you get cut off. Why do they always offer a buck or 2 instead of paying the customer a similar penalty for breaking the contract with them.