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The last thread I could find on this subject was a year ago, and technology changes and improves (as does customer service). Can anyone who has ATT Uverse or Comcast Xfinity weigh in as to how good or bad the service is? Do not care about phone--just TV and Broadband. Sports are not a huge deal either, but we do watch a lot of On Demand and movies. Any input would be appreciated.
I would personally avoid Comcast (Xfinity - tried to change the name to change the reputation but it's the same old awful company). The service can be terrible, they are pretty good at letting you know they could not care less if you are a customer or not, that they don't need you. They will keep you on the phone for hours every month if there is something that needs fixing, and constantly try to find loopholes to suggest it is your fault if their equipment doesn't work, so you will have to pay for the tech to come out. They say they will refund your money if you cancel within the first 30 days, but let me tell you, you will have to really fight to get your money back. Also, if you saw anything recently on that recorded cable cancelling story, it is just like that - customer service will try to keep you on the phone forever and argue with you about cancelling, and repeatedly try to sell you new products as if they hadn't heard you.
Comcast in Miami is known for recycling broken equipment. What they will do is install new at your place with equipment they just picked up from a complaint at another place. Sometimes they'll wrap in a bag and say it's new, but usually it's not. Then you call to say the service is not working properly, they'll often schedule an appt. for you for maybe a week or two away but hassle you about crediting you for the period of non-service, and try to come up with reasons why it's your fault it's not working. When they finally come out, they replace it again with another broken piece they just picked up at the last call. I know this because when I had them, I found the service people to be the only decent employees in the company - they were nice people who were very honest and good at their jobs, and multiple times I heard the same story for them, that they were frustrated that this is how the company operates (at least in Miami). After a few visits to my home, one told me he was supposed to use the used one, but he had grabbed a new one from the truck for me because he felt bad for me - and sure enough, after 3 equipment tries, this one actually worked! One of the reasons for this equipment problem is that many of the boxes sit in the trucks, and the salt air corrodes the internal electronics - hence this faulty used equipment is a problem in both Miami-Dade county and Monroe county. I had very bad experiences with Comcast/Xfinity in both counties.
I had much better experiences with AT&T. I tried Uverse in Miami, and found the company to be respectful, and the service to be pretty good, with no real issues. But, it was too much money. When I moved to Monroe County, I gave up cable service altogether in favor of a life with only internet - which is very doable given how many shows broadcast online now, plus podcasts, Hulu, and Netflix. I pay 1/3 of what I paid before and don't really miss it. After all the Xfinity nonsense and rudeness again, I switched to AT&T even though my neighbors warned me that no one down here really uses it and it's supposed to be slower. True enough, they don't have fiber optic cables yet in the Keys, so you have to be on old-time DSL. However, I must say that I work from home, and I found the AT&T DSL to be far faster than the Comcast cable ever was - and they gave me working equipment the first time around. It is faster than I recall DSL being actually, with no issues streaming multiple videos on one computer at the same time. I pushed my luck and lowered to 3mbps to lower my bill further, and that was where it started to jam up. So I learned that AT&T's 6mbps DSL is the slowest you can go and have it still be really fast, but it's still cheaper than Comcast.
When I had the cable, Uverse had extensive options and gave me no problems, and the customer service was much better. Sometimes too if you have phone through AT&T, you can convince them to give you a discount, or to waive installation fees. Note: They will tell you they can send you a $100 VISA gift card to start service that will cover equipment, and if you need installation of some sort they may offer yet another $100 card to cover that. That's fine, they will send it, but you need to keep on the rewards dept. (get their number) if you don't receive in 4-6 wks. They had a mishap with me and it took 8 MONTHS of calls to finally receive mine. The next thing I did with them, they kindly just waived the fee rather than making me deal with that again. And at least they were sympathetic.
The people at Comcast were the rudest customer service reps I have ever encountered, frequently starting arguments with me for no reason (other than probably stress), showing total disdain and disrespect for me as a customer, and just a shocking amount of anger that must come from working there all day - I had several different people just start shouting at me when I said my equipment didn't work and I needed a new box, and then when I asked quietly if I could speak to a manager actually disconnect the call! If you don't get the name and ID/extension of the person right away, that call goes unrecorded and you have no proof when you call back. Never again would I call on that company for anything. They had the nerve after I cancelled and finally got my refund months later to put me on their mailing list so I got junk mail from them about once every 2 weeks, and even calling to ask to be removed from the mailing list took 45 minutes, during which I kept getting put on hold, and then they asked me a full 4 times if I was SURE I didn't want the junk mail. Ugh - what a waste of the short life we have to live on this planet.
Hope that helps you avoid some of the headaches. Truthfully, it is disgusting that we have so few options in Miami to get good and cheap service. Many other major cities have far more competitors, and much lower prices. I personally think the best way to save money on cable in Miami is to play the 6-month rule. These companies have 6-month introductory prices, and then jack the price way up so you have to keep renegotiating. They generally will take you as a new customer if you haven't used them for 6 months minimum. The cheapest way to handle this is to get DirectTV dish in the dry season when there are usually very few storms (their company by far has the best customer service and is responsible about their equipment, but totally impractical in the rainy season when you'll never have any service), and then switch to AT&T Uverse in the rainy seasons. That way you always get the lowest prices they have to offer, and you should have decent service pretty much all year. But again, I found dumping cable altogether to be really freeing, and far cheaper.
.... and the salt air corrodes the internal electronics - hence this faulty used equipment is a problem in both Miami-Dade county and Monroe county. I had very bad experiences with Comcast/Xfinity in both counties. .
Great writeup. Thank you.
I am moving close to the beach on South Beach. Are you saying the salt air will corrode things like for example, an iPad that i plan to use almost every day on the beach?
I will also be keeping my windows open for as much of the year as possible. Will this affect the computers in my apt?
I am moving close to the beach on South Beach. Are you saying the salt air will corrode things like for example, an iPad that i plan to use almost every day on the beach?
I will also be keeping my windows open for as much of the year as possible. Will this affect the computers in my apt?
Thanks
I don't want to hijack the thread from its original topic. If you want to discuss further, you should probably start a new thread. But here's what I know:
This is something I'm still learning about. I used to live in Kendall, where salt air was not much a problem, but it was for companies whose equipment trucks went all over the county regularly. Then I moved to the Keys, but have not quite been here a year yet. What I've learned is that you have to be careful to protect your electronic and metal possessions as much as possible, because living by the sea is highly corrosive to them. So, people who own vehicles are advised to rinse them off - especially underneath - at least once a week to prevent the bottoms rusting out, or eventual electrical problems. You have to take care of tools and house fixtures like front porch lamps, rinsing them or greasing them up from time to time. You learn to buy things that are resistant to rust, either due to coating, being made of aluminum, or things made of plastic - which last much longer in this environment. I have read that internal appliances like TVs, computers, refrigerators, A/Cs, etc., tend to have a much shorter lifespan on the coast than they do in far inland. I haven't been here long enough to test that theory out, but I do know it is an issue for things like cable box equipment sitting outside in a truck all day with the door frequently opening and closing.
I don't think it's immediate. But if you're going to expose your electronics and metals to open sea air all the time, you might expect them to die a few years earlier than the average. I would recommend limiting unnecessary exposure - do what is worth it to fit the lifestyle you want to have, but keep in mind the higher cost of living oceanside in terms of replacement items, and don't expose them on days you don't really care either way.
A note, your intent to keep the windows open is admirable, but not always practical in SFL. Most of the year, even when the temps are not that high humidity is much higher than the rest of the country. All of that moisture hangs out in your walls and air ducts, and creates mold. If you don't cycle the A/C for roughly an hour at least once a day with the windows closed (especially during the rainy season), or the heat during the one or two cold weeks we get, mold can grow really easily and make you very sick. I'm not saying never open the windows, but do keep the salt air corrosion and threat of mold in mind. Before SFL had A/C, these were constant problems. Just keep it in mind and cycle the air from time to time, and keep on the lookout for signs of mold, excessive moisture (especially in bathrooms), or you feeling chronically unwell when you're at home.
One thing that might help with taking electronics to the beach, is that they are making some models now that are waterproof. That might be a good idea there anyway, and the sealing would probably also help keep salt air out of the internal circuits.
Sorry for going off topic, OP. Hopefully some of this info might be helpful as you set up your entertainment stuff too, with your new cable package.
Thank You StarFishKey! To OP - sorry didnt mean to go off-topic, i will start a new thread on this.
Regarding ventilation - the reason i ask is that i will have a whole-room ventilation system going 24/7 (for health reasons).... it exchanges heat/cold and some humidity. I will start a new thread on this too :-)
I used to have AT&T DSL for years and years. We live in an area that has fiber optic but for some reason AT&T couldn't bring speeds over 1.5MBPS to my neighborhood. I waited and waited while they kept telling me soon. No UVerse either. Everyone touted how awesome having fiber-optic would be but it was never utilized. Had to switch to Comcast because 1.5MBPS is just not doable these days. I have 20MBPS with Comcast. At first I rented the modem. After a couple of months I bought a Motorola Surfboard and the service greatly improved. I was still having periods of down time though. Comcast came out and did something outside that has fixed things for good. It is extremely stable now. I do have to pay $65 a month because I only have internet, nothing else. My son lives a few minutes away from me in the Hammocks where UVerse is available and his internet is cheaper and he says it's extremely stable although it is slower than mine. He has to use their equipment. He lives in TX also and has Comcast there and he says it's extremely unstable. He hasn't called to complain about it yet so maybe it can be fixed. He said over there AT&T is more expensive than Comcast, here it's less.
So everything from price, to speed, to reliability varies from company to company and place to place. You're lucky to have options for high speed though. I wish I did here because that's how you can negotiate your price with whatever company you choose. Comcast knows my neighborhood has no choice if they want faster than glorified dial up.
I used to have AT&T DSL for years and years. We live in an area that has fiber optic but for some reason AT&T couldn't bring speeds over 1.5MBPS to my neighborhood. I waited and waited while they kept telling me soon. No UVerse either. Everyone touted how awesome having fiber-optic would be but it was never utilized. Had to switch to Comcast because 1.5MBPS is just not doable these days. I have 20MBPS with Comcast. At first I rented the modem. After a couple of months I bought a Motorola Surfboard and the service greatly improved. I was still having periods of down time though. Comcast came out and did something outside that has fixed things for good. It is extremely stable now. I do have to pay $65 a month because I only have internet, nothing else. My son lives a few minutes away from me in the Hammocks where UVerse is available and his internet is cheaper and he says it's extremely stable although it is slower than mine. He has to use their equipment. He lives in TX also and has Comcast there and he says it's extremely unstable. He hasn't called to complain about it yet so maybe it can be fixed. He said over there AT&T is more expensive than Comcast, here it's less.
So everything from price, to speed, to reliability varies from company to company and place to place. You're lucky to have options for high speed though. I wish I did here because that's how you can negotiate your price with whatever company you choose. Comcast knows my neighborhood has no choice if they want faster than glorified dial up.
So ATT installed the fiber optics but couldn't hook you up to it? Isn't Uverse the only tv they have? I have ATT cell and love their customer service--I've been with them for 15 years. I was automatically going to use them until I read about the slow internet speeds and some customers said the picture wasn't that great--which is the whole point of fiber optics, and that the On Demand choice was not very good. Do you never used them for internet with the fiber optics--just DSL?
I would personally avoid Comcast (Xfinity - tried to change the name to change the reputation but it's the same old awful company). The service can be terrible, they are pretty good at letting you know they could not care less if you are a customer or not, that they don't need you. They will keep you on the phone for hours every month if there is something that needs fixing, and constantly try to find loopholes to suggest it is your fault if their equipment doesn't work, so you will have to pay for the tech to come out. They say they will refund your money if you cancel within the first 30 days, but let me tell you, you will have to really fight to get your money back. Also, if you saw anything recently on that recorded cable cancelling story, it is just like that - customer service will try to keep you on the phone forever and argue with you about cancelling, and repeatedly try to sell you new products as if they hadn't heard you.
Ok--so I read and have heard horror stories regarding Comcast while researching. Their bad customer service is infamous. Yet a friend works for the company and is treated really well--great pay, benefits and opportunities for advancement. Anyhow, I had Verizon FIOs for 7 years and before that Brighthouse. Brighthouse sucked except they would give old customers the same promos they gave new customers (for the most part). Then they got really bad so I switched to FIOs. The FIOs customer service and technicians were horrible. They over-expanded too quickly. The bills tooks me 6 months and many hours to straighten out--it was like a full-time job. Finally it stopped, but every time there was a technical issue, which was for a while, it was a nightmare. Then finally for the last few years all the problems seem to have been solved with their servers and firmware. The picture was great, everything worked and we had to leave them when we moved and I was actually sorry to not be able to get FIOs any more.
So now my conscience says I should go with ATT, but my desire for speedy internet and a large variety of programming is saying Comcast. I'm kind of hoping that Comcast has gotten better or that I can figure out how to deal with them. When I had to call Verizon, I would keep calling back until I got a smart person. It made a world of difference when making things happen, whether it be equipment upgrade, technical issues or promotions. If I was dealing with an idiot (someone who gave me info I knew was incorrect or just had no answers) I would say thanks, hang up, and call back. This system usually worked, and I'm just resigned to having to deal with it until the equipment and software works correctly.
I'd really be interested in hearing from anyone who has Uverse just to know what it is really like.
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to my neighborhood. I waited and waited while they kept telling me soon. No UVerse either. Everyone touted how awesome having fiber-optic would be but it was never utilized. Had to switch to Comcast because 1.5MBPS is just not doable these days. I have 20MBPS with Comcast. At first I rented the modem. After a couple of months I bought a Motorola Surfboard and the service greatly improved. I was still having periods of down time though. Comcast came out and did something outside that has fixed things for good. It is extremely stable now. I do have to pay $65 a month because I only have internet, nothing else. My son lives a few minutes away from me in the Hammocks where UVerse is available and his internet is cheaper and he says it's extremely stable although it is slower than mine. He has to use their equipment. He lives in TX also and has Comcast there and he says it's extremely unstable. He hasn't called to complain about it yet so maybe it can be fixed. He said over there AT&T is more expensive than Comcast, here it's less. 
