I understand what the phrase means, but you made zero effort to explain why it was that

a) others were making the arguments you attributed to them (no one explicitly did), and
b) why your "argument" (which was really just a statement plopped in the middle of a thread) was in any way superior.

If you're going to whine about how snark on the intertubes just isn't up to your standards of argumentation, then the reasonable thing to do is to at least put some effort towards rectifying that from your side.

Apparently this was a promo that was supposed to only last a year. When the rate went up last month, I simply called them and said "Is there anything we can do about this? Are there any promotions out there for the same price?" And there were for some reason! The lesson is it doesn't hurt to simply ask for a lower rate. Just be nice and make the CSR feel like you're both working together.

$20 off for 12 months.
Free HD-DVR upgrade from a STD receiver.
Free HBO/SHOW for 6 months.

It's so obvious that there really isn't much more to say in regards to that specific argument.

@jeffbone:

I thought they were all named Echo, Sierra, or Whiskey. Are you ready for a treatment?

[www22.verizon.com]

Apples to apples, eh?

Now that we're looking around again, and especially for the few houses we're looking at, Fios is a requirement :P

I of course was referring to The Consumerist article... (I'm back pedaling as fast as I can...)

You complain about the horrible wrongness of snark and sarcasm, but your own cryptic comments and "everyone else is wrong!" statements don't lend themselves to the substantive debate you claim to be searching for. Talk about holier=than-thou, dude.

@vastrightwing: Keep arguing that the medium defines the quality of the content. Everybody who attempts to make this point is wrong and only trying to appear intelligent or holier-than-thou.

Also, still laughing at all the people who believe that the medium defines the work and the irony that these people probably believe themselves intellectually superior while maintaining such a ridiculous belief.

Now starting the "Kick Comcast to the curb" countdown clock...

I wrote about free ways to get cable tv shows in another consumerist article:

How To Cut The Cable/Satellite Cord And Remain A Couch Potato

@moneymatters: Food Network has a lot of programming, though, so if you're not into the endless amounts of Food Network Challenge shows, Hulu is useless because they have clips of other shows, but not full episodes.

I can't wait to tell those twats where to stick it when I call to cancel phone and cable, and hopefully, internet.

Prepaid phone to keep the number he's had for years and years, a slower, but non-TWC internet (probably/hopefully), and hulu, OTA HD, and itunes for TV "needs".

Every time I see an article like this, the free over-the-air option is never mentioned.

Yes, I know some people can't get good reception. And you can't get decent sports anymore. But for most, it's a valid option.

Can't see all the latest cable shows? Boo hoo. We're talking about saving money. It's all about sacrifice. And really, is missing a TV show really a sacrifice?

I pulled the plug 15 years ago. Just at the rate I was paying at the time ($30/month), I've saved $5400.

And, some free advice: if you can't laugh at yourself, you'll find life cold, short and not worth living.
(If this is too much for you to bear and you contemplate suicide, can you send me your unused booze first? KTHXBYE!)

For everyone else, i suggest doing the same thing - research to find out what the best deals others are getting are, and then contact the company through all their contact points - and don't say yes until you get the deal that you want. It may be on the chat or on the phone - but usually you can find a good deal.

I felt that the purpose behind this article was intended to try and help the public save money on cable and/or satellite television. However, some of the author's personal opinions on the quality/value of television in general seeped into the article which resulted in being distracting from its actual purpose for some. In general, that is a bad idea and it is unnecessary if you are trying to get a lot of people's attention and understanding regardless if one thinks that some people are just being too sensitive. You will never please everyone and will always offend someone, but there are good practices to minimize such things which did not occur in this case. Maybe FMF cares about that. Maybe not.

@TCama: Yeah, I just checked Verizon's Virginia website, and we're not even on the list of sites where fiber optics are being laid down. It's sad.

@vastrightwing: Marx wasn't talking about television programming when he wrote that.

Your post is dead-on. Unfortunately, this site (and the internet in general really) is filled with bitter people that attempt to make themselves feel superior by lecturing other people on some topic unrelated to the post or the idea of a consumer blog. (See any Walmart related post) It's really unfortunate, as I'm sure it scares away people who could actually make a worthwhile, on-topic contribution to the discussion.

The horribly ironic thing is, I just want PBS so that my kid can watch Sesame Street! I should not have to pay for cable to get goddamn PBS! But full episodes of SS aren't available anywhere online and our digital antenna reception is a mess, so cable is our last best option. Argh.

I've just been trying the antenna/netflix/hulu route, but the wife has been complaining more frequently about being behind on shows and missing cable channels like HGTV and Food Network. *sigh*

Verizon has a website that you can go to to check your install status. Cable checks that site to see if you are REALLY cancelling or if you are just saying that to get a better offer. If you are set to get Verizon and they verify that, you are considered a "new" customer and they can give you a better rate - something they don't get anything for doing if you are a "current" customer.

It's all about manipulating the stats.

@Goatweed: I would gladly pay more than I pay right now if I could get FiOS. I wanted to cry when my apartment complex said they didn't have FiOS access.

@Dwight K. Schrute: Well, a stadium, but that's outrageously expensive and what's the fun in holding binoculars to your face the whole time?

@Tightlines: I didn't read it during election season, but I'm not sure his religion has anything to do with this post in particular. Even if he had said that TV was offensive, tainting the minds of children with its sex, drugs, violence, etc. it wouldn't be an assertion based on religion. I know a lot of people who aren't religious at all and think a lot of TV is crass.

My point is, I think you're reading into the statement too much, and that it's possible that you're just clouded by distaste for his religious principles.

I do get most of the humor found on this site and the articles presented. At times, it is a bit over the top and I don't always agree with the resentment towards Wal-Mart.

@chauncy that billups: I've got a ton of TV already, so I don't know if I can add yet another show to my already-packed TiVo schedule. I'm always tempted though, because Alton Brown rocks.

@squinko - has 50 followers, what more do I need?!: You mean Iron Chef America or the Japanese Iron Chef, which I find to be very bizarre. Maybe it's the fact that I like Iron Chef America a ton and think any episode with Mario Batali is worth watching repeatedly.

@Tightlines: The dude from Bible Money Matters isn't the one that wrote the blurb that made GMFish all butthurt, though. BTW, GMFish, if you're getting all bent out of shape over this post, you should probably try another blog.

I find threatening to cancel and comparing apples to apples when asking for a lower price works. I was "blessed" with service issues early on as well so I tend to throw that around as I negotiate pricing as well.

$350 cash back, no HD fees for a year, HBO, Showtime, Starz free for a year.

@Pasketti: Live sports = can't be seen anywhere but TV.

I have a 2-year contract with Comcast that's set to expire next week after which my rates will jump about $100 a month. I'm hoping to get my contract extended somehow.

@chauncy that billups: And Next Iron Chef has Alton! WOO!!

Here's a tip: the medium does not define the quality of the content.

@GMFish: Have you been around long? Condescending rudeness is part of the Consumerist's shtick. Sure they offer great consumer advice, but they're trying to do it in a modern humorous manner. You can do that on the internet, you know. Honestly, you can get the same info at other sites, but can you get the attitude?

"People can get a hamburger anywhere. They come to Chotchkies for the atmosphere and the attitude." Office Space

Although the reaction to yesterday's post was ridiculous, it was understandable to a certain extent (I guess). This here, you're reading it with your angry glasses still on.

I wanted to take Directv up on their online offer of Starz/Showtime, 3 months at $12.99/month. When I clicked their option, they said it wasn't COMPATIBLE with our current package. We were locked in at a $54.99/month price, discontinued package. We had to upgrade our package to the $60.99/month in order to get the deal.

w.t.f.

I did it only because our contract is up in November. I'll cancel them and go to Dish if they can't offer me something better than almost $80 a month for basic TV.

I called Verizon and when all was said & done I'll be keeping the same programming I have now with MUCH faster speeds/reliability for almost $10 LESS than my current package - and a 2 year lock on the bundle pricing.

It's always best to call and see what they're willing to offer and bounce competitors off each other - this applies to ALL companies, IMO.

@aka_mich: That has been my experience as well -- Charter simply won't deal over chat, you have to call.

@pecan 3.14159265: If you like Top Chef, you'll love the Next Iron Chef. The caliber of talent is far superior, and there is plenty of drama. and the challenges are INSANE. I love it (especially compared to this season's top chef snoozefest).

If you want TV, watch the shows on Hulu.

If you want movies, get a Netflix account.

We have a computer plugged into the TV, and watch the shows on that.

@Tightlines: What exactly do the free money finance blogger's religious beliefs have to do with Consumerist's blanket generalization (which was obviously a joke) about America's tv habits? GMFish is too sensitive, and you're too judgmental. In other words, par for the course in the comments section.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with numbing your mind every now and then. To think otherwise is a bit snobby and uptight, wouldn't you agree?

Not everything people do has to be an exercise in deep intellect, you know.

There always has been some intermixing with the pro-consumer crowd and the "kill your TV" bunch - you know, the people that think if something's on TV, it's garbage, but if the same thing is printed on paper, it's esteemed literature.

Curiously, several stories from the Bible probably wouldn't be able to be aired in prime time if made into a TV show. Oh, crazy America! :)

@dvdchris: Reality TV is mind numbing crap (except for Top Chef). Then you get dramas and sitcoms, the minority of which are actually good. I've been enjoying my scripted TV shows, thankyouverymuch.

Who cares. If FMF wants to create a post about how cable and satellite TV is worthless crap, he/she/it is perfectly free to do that. However, this posting was about saving money. His opinion about the quality of the service and his implied opinions about those who want the service only detracted from the purpose of the posting.

To put it another way, anyone who's interested in saving money on cable or satellite TV would be turned off by the tone of this posting. And anyone who dislikes cable and satellite TV would not be interested and would not read it in the first place. So why post it? To piss off readers apparently.

This is why I can not wait to move next year. Verizon is so much better and resonable than comcraptic and they are my only choice at the moment. I should just see if I can get a Jersey law firm to hire me now.

I'm thinking both sets of employees have the power to give you the same deal. But, the comcast employees are rewarded more for getting consumers to stick to as close as the base rate as possible. Whereas it doesn't mean that much to the outsourced employee.

In the end I still canceled because it was impossible to be on the internet for more than 5 minutes without a disconnection. I had 3 techs come out and say the entire building is having the problem, our signal is unstable, they're working on it. When I continued to call [India] tech support, I was told it was absolutely not a problem with Charter. He told me his tools said it was my network card (lol? I have a router hooked up). Obviously, problem not fixed. When I got off the phone with him he somehow had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to upgrade my 5-meg connection to a 10-meg for only an extra $15/month! 10 minutes later when I called back to retention, the CSR somehow had a magical tool that could check signal levels and prove my theory. Weird.

How would an outsourced contractor have more leeway in cutting deals than the employees? If anything, I think it would be the other way around.

Do you want people to read this site? Your plan to alienate everyone is bound to fail. If you don't like TV, put it on your blog. Let's keep this site devoted to consumer issues. Not on your rude and subjective opinions we care nothing about.

I canceled and haven't regretted it for a second.

When I tried that with DirectTv, they told me that they did not have access to some of my information (I had called previously) and that I had to call. I now have Dish. The cable company in my area is a little locally owned thing and they are woefully behind on their technology.