Question about League Pass in Atlanta

[Guest]

League Pass Broadband really does have the worst customer service I've ever experienced.

http://deadspin.com/5956559/nba-league-pass-broadband-is-shit-and-you-should-not-buy-it

The poorest customer service aspect I have noticed this year aside from their delayed activation of my account for the first week is with my Kindle and the NBALP App. They keep pushing notifications to me, so I get updates of a "close game". As far as I can tell, a close game is anytime a game is within 8 points in the last 5 minutes. So pretty much every single game I get a notification pushed to me.

I got pissed about this (big surprise?), so why not just go in and turn off the notifications? OK, guess where the notification is in the Kindle version of the App? No where. It does not exist.

So I emailed them and the response was "hey just go in to the menu and turn off notifications! Thanks for subscribing!" I showed them screenshots to demonstrate there is no option to turn off notifications. No response. AH, I know the Kindle will usually get bad customer service because of the low market share and its restrictive version of an Android OS but this is pathetic.

[Admin]

Is there a place to turn off notifications in the Kindle itself for each app? That's how it is on iOS devices.

[Guest]

Is there a place to turn off notifications in the Kindle itself for each app? That's how it is on iOS devices.

You sunnuva . That makes so much sense and now I look like a buffoon for not thinking of that. Thanks for the suggestion, there is a way to turn notifications off for individual apps. No more NBALP App notifications!

[Admin]

You sunnuva . That makes so much sense and now I look like a buffoon for not thinking of that. Thanks for the suggestion, there is a way to turn notifications off for individual apps. No more NBALP App notifications!

Awesome! Glad that fixed it for ya. We all got used to settings in individual apps but I think a notification center type of thing where you can manage all of your apps in once place is a much better idea.

[AtLaS]

Monopoly? Get DirecTV or Dish Network.

Everyone knows Cable companies are essentially legal monopolies, especially in apt complexes. They all have their areas. Charter has a stranglehold on Athens, while Comcast dominates Atlanta. It is too expensive for many of them to penetrate established markets to gain a footprint in other areas. Regarding satellite, you have to have a balcony facing Southwest, secondly the complex will typically charge you a hefty fee. Consequently, customer service decreases while pricing and phony charges increase. We had comcast at my last place and we literally had to call every month to get it fixed (after waiting on the line for an hour). They were trying to charge us a leasing fee for our own modem, EVERY month after having it corrected each time. Just read this thread to get an example. It's a large form of profitability for them. http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Billing/Charging-me-for-my-own-modem/td-p/1234741

If there were any LEGIT competition the customer service would be better.

[AtLaS]

BTW thanks for the ballstreams recommendation, from the outside it looks like it could get shutdown, but they've been doing NHL since 2007 and have yet to be so I may try that.

[Guest]

Everyone knows Cable companies are essentially legal monopolies, especially in apt complexes. They all have their areas. Charter has a stranglehold on Athens, while Comcast dominates Atlanta. It is too expensive for many of them to penetrate established markets to gain a footprint in other areas. Regarding satellite, you have to have a balcony facing Southwest, secondly the complex will typically charge you a hefty fee. Consequently, customer service decreases while pricing and phony charges increase. We had comcast at my last place and we literally had to call every month to get it fixed (after waiting on the line for an hour). They were trying to charge us a leasing fee for our own modem, EVERY month after having it corrected each time. Just read this thread to get an example. It's a large form of profitability for them. http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Billing/Charging-me-for-my-own-modem/td-p/1234741

If there were any LEGIT competition the customer service would be better.

To call cable companies a monopoly is either a misuse of the term monopoly or a misunderstanding of telecommunications. You do realize that you are making a conscious choice of living in an apartment complex? No one forced you there. You have to make tradeoffs, you pay less in an apartment complex but pay more with your limited services. There are other areas you can live.

There was a time that telecommunications did have local monopolies, but that seems to only exist for extremely rural areas these days. Monopoly is not the term to describe telecommunications as there are multiple providers for internet and television service for 99.9% of the US population. Do these services have mark-ups? Of course. But the world is not all Monopoly or Perfect Competition.

I think this is what Duff was referring to in his short post, which I tend to agree with.

[Duff_Man]

You sure? I thought that DirecTV offered them in 1080p. I haven't had DirecTV in a long time but I figured they would surely be broadcasting in 1080p.

DirecTV shows a few movies in 1080p, but they are up-coverts. No regular network has cameras that can capture 1080p. Way too much cost to do upgrades and it would be a HUGE bandwidth hog. Best you get is 720p/1080i.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Duff_Man

[Duff_Man]

To call cable companies a monopoly is either a misuse of the term monopoly or a misunderstanding of telecommunications. You do realize that you are making a conscious choice of living in an apartment complex? No one forced you there. You have to make tradeoffs, you pay less in an apartment complex but pay more with your limited services. There are other areas you can live.

There was a time that telecommunications did have local monopolies, but that seems to only exist for extremely rural areas these days. Monopoly is not the term to describe telecommunications as there are multiple providers for internet and television service for 99.9% of the US population. Do these services have mark-ups? Of course. But the world is not all Monopoly or Perfect Competition.

I think this is what Duff was referring to in his short post, which I tend to agree with.

Yeah this. I'm just too lazy to type out the specifics.

[AtLaS]

Guys, i know that cable companies are not, by the definition, monopolies.

Of course I don't have to live in an apartment complex, I do have other options. But typically, each provider has a foundation at each location and you are typically relegated to one choice.

It's not a monopoly because there are "multiple" providers in the same area. However, what you will typically find is that you can ONLY get Comcast, or one of the others, etc at each location. So for large groups of people, there is no other choice and for them it's like a monopoly, i.e. deal with it or cut the cord. And, it's typically Comcast because Uverse still doesn't have a large footprint at many places in Atlanta.

It's also not just for TV, but also high speed internet. If you need also high speed internet, Comcast is typically your only choice. This is why the customer service is so bad, because they know that you don't have a legitimate 2nd option.

It's not only Comcast, when i lived in Athens it was like pulling teeth calling Charter. They are all like this because they understand their markets.

The problem is that it's VERY costly for companies to penetrate new market areas.

[Guest]

Everyone knows Cable companies are essentially legal monopolies, especially in apt complexes. They all have their areas. Charter has a stranglehold on Athens, while Comcast dominates Atlanta. It is too expensive for many of them to penetrate established markets to gain a footprint in other areas. Regarding satellite, you have to have a balcony facing Southwest, secondly the complex will typically charge you a hefty fee. Consequently, customer service decreases while pricing and phony charges increase. We had comcast at my last place and we literally had to call every month to get it fixed (after waiting on the line for an hour). They were trying to charge us a leasing fee for our own modem, EVERY month after having it corrected each time. Just read this thread to get an example. It's a large form of profitability for them. http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Billing/Charging-me-for-my-own-modem/td-p/1234741

If there were any LEGIT competition the customer service would be better.

Guys, i know that cable companies are not, by the definition, monopolies.

Of course I don't have to live in an apartment complex, I do have other options. But typically, each provider has a foundation at each location and you are typically relegated to one choice.

It's not a monopoly because there are "multiple" providers in the same area. However, what you will typically find is that you can ONLY get Comcast, or one of the others, etc at each location. So for large groups of people, there is no other choice and for them it's like a monopoly, i.e. deal with it or cut the cord. And, it's typically Comcast because Uverse still doesn't have a large footprint at many places in Atlanta.

It's also not just for TV, but also high speed internet. If you need also high speed internet, Comcast is typically your only choice. This is why the customer service is so bad, because they know that you don't have a legitimate 2nd option.

It's not only Comcast, when i lived in Athens it was like pulling teeth calling Charter. They are all like this because they understand their markets.

The problem is that it's VERY costly for companies to penetrate new market areas.

You see, when you first claim they are "legal monopolies" that is where people think you meant to call cable companies monopolies. How are we supposed to know that you mean the complete opposite of what you claim?

But it sounds like you are someone who doesn't search around for telecommunication providers much. Part of what telecommunication companies do is nickle and dime you as a way to try and extract more consumer surplus from you. One way of doing this is putting bogus fees on your bill to see if you will let it slide. For customers with a high opportunity costs, they will just say "F- it, they can charge me extra for services because it isn't worth my time" and all of the sudden more money for the company. For those with low opportunity costs, they will call up the cable company and complain. Lots of times this is just a simple phone call and they will correct the bill quickly. If you complain enough, they may even give you a large discount.

You ever called up a cable company and tell them that you want to cancel service because of something they did? Or that you have a better option? Try it some time if you have an hour or two to spare, you will be pleasantly surprised at how frequently a cable company slashes your bill when you signal to them that you have a legitimate threat to leave their company. They don't like to lose business and the marginal cost is so low to them that they will give you great deals. They won't just hand out these deals all willy-nilly though, they need you to reveal some information about yourself that indicates you will plausibly leave their company.

I had a buddy tell me a story of getting NFL Sunday Ticket and HBO for free from DirectTV. He was cracking up about how he DirectTV immediately started throwing offers his way when he said he was going to ditch them and go to cable. Want to know why this was so funny? Because the apartment complex he lived in was not wired for cable. The only option at his apartment complex was DirectTV or Dish. The person on the other end of the line at DirectTV don't know this! So don't think Comcast/Charter/Xfinity know that you cannot get DirectTV at your apartment! Tell them that is who you are switching to and just give it a shot.

[AtLaS]

You see, when you first claim they are "legal monopolies" that is where people think you meant to call cable companies monopolies. How are we supposed to know that you mean the complete opposite of what you claim?

But it sounds like you are someone who doesn't search around for telecommunication providers much. Part of what telecommunication companies do is nickle and dime you as a way to try and extract more consumer surplus from you. One way of doing this is putting bogus fees on your bill to see if you will let it slide. For customers with a high opportunity costs, they will just say "F- it, they can charge me extra for services because it isn't worth my time" and all of the sudden more money for the company. For those with low opportunity costs, they will call up the cable company and complain. Lots of times this is just a simple phone call and they will correct the bill quickly. If you complain enough, they may even give you a large discount.

You ever called up a cable company and tell them that you want to cancel service because of something they did? Or that you have a better option? Try it some time if you have an hour or two to spare, you will be pleasantly surprised at how frequently a cable company slashes your bill when you signal to them that you have a legitimate threat to leave their company. They don't like to lose business and the marginal cost is so low to them that they will give you great deals. They won't just hand out these deals all willy-nilly though, they need you to reveal some information about yourself that indicates you will plausibly leave their company.

I had a buddy tell me a story of getting NFL Sunday Ticket and HBO for free from DirectTV. He was cracking up about how he DirectTV immediately started throwing offers his way when he said he was going to ditch them and go to cable. Want to know why this was so funny? Because the apartment complex he lived in was not wired for cable. The only option at his apartment complex was DirectTV or Dish. The person on the other end of the line at DirectTV don't know this! So don't think Comcast/Charter/Xfinity know that you cannot get DirectTV at your apartment! Tell them that is who you are switching to and just give it a shot.

Yeah, i didn't elaborate on the "Legal Monopoly" comment so understand that it was misinterpreted.

I will tell you though, that it is not just a simple phone call to have them correct the billing error. You're usually on the line for 45 minutes, and it happens every month so those calls get old very quickly. I understand that it drives a lot of profit for them. The extra $7-10 really is nothing, but it's the principal of the matter that I won't let them get away with it.

You are also right about threatening to cancel. When I had DirecTV for 3 years, I had free NFL Sunday Ticket every year, by calling the retention department and saying I was switching to Dish b/c they're offering $39.99, and they would suddenly find some extra discount for which I "qualified" and throw in Sunday Ticket.

I did the same with Comcast last year, said I was switching to Uverse, and they were like, what day do you want service cancelled. I literally asked the woman, are you really going to lose a customer for a deal that you are giving to all new customers that sign up? And she was like, I'm sorry we have no promotions currently. Maybe I just got the wrong person on that one. I couldn't get DirecTV or Uverse at the time though, so I didn't cancel.

I'd be happy getting cable from any other company, but Comcast just rubs me the wrong way.

I think Ballstreams will work for me, plus I can use a friends WatchESPN for other games.

[Ruckus]

DirecTV shows a few movies in 1080p, but they are up-coverts. No regular network has cameras that can capture 1080p. Way too much cost to do upgrades and it would be a HUGE bandwidth hog. Best you get is 720p/1080i.

Cameras aren't the problem. Pro cameras all record 1080p, most even 4k and 5k. The problem is they make more money broadcasting in 720p and 1080i because bandwidth is less, in turn saving dollars. Cheap rich bastards.