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February 7, 2010 3:19 PM

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If all were on the same page they would still bitch that it was being offered to new customers and not to people who have been customers for 100 years. If you must, go ahead and cancel. You are NOT eligible. Just because your neighbor paid less for his house than you did does not mean its wrong. They may have a better payments history, a better area, they like him better because he does not call and complain all the time.

3 replies

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MMD

February 7, 2010 3:57 PM

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But if they only offered it to new customers, at least it would be consistent and not based on factors unknown to the customer and/or the whims of a given customer service rep. The story as described where some current customers are eligible and some aren't is ok with you? Really? Logic fail.

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kujospam

February 7, 2010 9:35 PM

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This happens all the time. Look at layoffs. You really don't know all the reasons some people might get laid off and not others, and if those reasons may be valid or not.

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February 7, 2010 4:17 PM

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It's their company. They can offer whatever they want to whoever they want, whenever they want. Why can't people be content with what they have instead of going crazy for a free item that they previously managed to get by just fine without?

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February 7, 2010 11:38 PM

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I can be content with what I have as long as Cox can be content with not having customers.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 4:45 PM

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Sure. They can. And they can also suffer the consequences when their poor handling of a situation alienates customers. And the OP can cancel if he doesn't like how he's being treated. Which he did.

I have a hard time believing that all of the people who are bashing the OP would just take it in stride if all companies just started enforcing policies/making deals so arbitrarily.

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Kyin

February 7, 2010 3:26 PM

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I think it is kinda crappy for them to have had such little control over this promotion. But I still can't wrap my head around the fact that everyone seems to want something for nothing now a days. The fact is that your friend was offered the promotion via the flyer. You were not. Therefore you are not eligible.

6 replies

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Beave

February 7, 2010 3:48 PM

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This stuff happens ALL THE TIME. You'd think companies would understand the effects of deal sites like Slickdeals, Fatwallet, Anandtech, etc., which incidentally this deal was posted at all three of those sites.

In this information age word of a good deal spreads like wildfire, both good and bad. Most companies doing business online have learned that you don't offer freebies unless they're unique coupon codes. Even if marketing campaigns are targeted at very specific groups of customers or limited in quantity, word always gets out. \"Hidden\" links to printable coupons sent out to only people on their email list get posted online; coupon codes that get you something free or an insane amount of money off ($10 of $10) end up getting out. Sometimes I feel sorry for those sites or retailers because they're little guys who honestly didn't have a clue, but for a company as big as Cox, they should know better.

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February 7, 2010 3:46 PM

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Well, it isn't something for nothing. These people get stuck in a contract, like with cell phones. That means Cox is guaranteed to get paid for the long haul, or they'll get a nice cancellation fee.

Cox should have put, \"New customers only,\" on the flier and stuck with it. Either that, or give it to ANYONE who signs a contract.

That being said, Christopher seems to be behaving a bit like a princess.

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February 7, 2010 6:05 PM

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but it also says, upgrade from one level of service to the next.

Obviously, that is directed at existing customers, as ONLY those customers would have a base to upgrade from.

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February 7, 2010 4:16 PM

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Agreed. It was extremely poor planning by the marketing department to not know that this deal might go viral and not honor the deal if it did. Hasn't anyone learned from KFC?

That said, if Christopher was happy with his service in every other way and would have continued to do business with Cox had they not mishandled this promotion, I think \"princess\" is an appropriate word for his behavior. It was stupid of Cox to screw up the promotion, but it was equally stupid of Chris to take their universal screw up as a personal affront. I would have taken the 10 or 20% off my bill each month as an apology and put the money saved towards a PS3 of my choice.

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LadySiren is murdering her kids with HFCS and processed cheese

February 8, 2010 8:27 AM

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Had to giggle at the KFC reference. The Egg Farmers of America (the Incredible Egg people) learned their less on Friday after a poorly planned free coupon campaign went awry. I'm always amazed at companies that undertake these types of promotions without fully understanding that putting the word \"Free\" in a promotion will turn even the most mild-mannered consumers into a pack of frenzied, yapping hounds (yes, I'm including myself here). I'm shocked that my fellow marketing and PRistas keep making the same mistake.

That being said, I agree with the \"princess\" comment.

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February 7, 2010 3:30 PM

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It wasn't something for nothing.

It was upgrading to a more expensive plan, and committing to that plan for a year (contract).

Big difference.

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njack

February 7, 2010 4:40 PM

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It doesn't negate the fact his account was ineligible and thus proceeded with the \"I'm taking my ball and going home\" mentality. They made a good faith offer to make him happy, when they could have just told him to get bent.

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mmoschella

February 7, 2010 3:33 PM

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I don't understand this. The guy never got an offer, called to see if they'd honor his friend's offer, was told they wouldn't and now he's upset? That's like the guy in line at the supermarket who didn't buy a Sunday paper, thus didn't get the coupons the lady in front of him did, but still wants the savings.
Life's not fair, dude. Get over with it and stop wasting everyone's time.
Or is there something else to the story that you left out?

3 replies

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dg

February 7, 2010 8:03 PM

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It BS plain and simple. Effectively the company is saying \"we gotcha - no free cookie for you\". News to the company - if you want to keep me, I want a cookie too. Oh no cookie for me? Bye bye... the other company over there has a nice tasty cookie...

Companies ignore this lesson at their own peril

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MMD

February 7, 2010 3:59 PM

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RTFA. Some people who didn't got flyers got the deal. Some didn't. This doesn't stirke you as at least a little problematic?

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February 7, 2010 5:49 PM

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Exactly. To carry the allegory a bit further, its like the lady in front of you, who bought the paper, got the coupons. Fine. You chose not to buy the paper. Fine. But the cashier then hands the coupons to the guy behind you, who didn't buy the paper, either. Errr...that isn't fair, from the customer's perspective.

In the end, it was OP's choice to not appreciate being treated differently than others exactly like him. And, as an empowered consumer, he took his business elsewhere. I'm fine with that.

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February 7, 2010 6:59 PM

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Actually I'd say it's more like a lady at the front of the line uses her coupons and gets the discount. Then the guy behind her complains that he deserves the discount too and the cashier gives it to him. Then, just before she starts checking out your items, her manager comes over and tells her she shouldn't have done that and not to give the discount to anyone else.

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Silica

February 7, 2010 3:35 PM

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Personally, canceling your phone and internet service over this gaffe is an overreaction. Apparently Christopher viewed the trouble encountered in establishing new internet and phone service to be worth it. We have all heard the stories of the problems encountered in getting new services, so he may be back with another complaint. Sometimes companies make mistakes. It's life. Express your frustration. Get over it. Move on.

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February 7, 2010 3:43 PM

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How indubitably articulated. This gentleman does indeed sound like a little bitch.

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February 7, 2010 3:44 PM

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\"I made it crystal clear that it was because of the PS3.\"

That's unfortunate. I think people need to stop looking at what other people have on their plates and be happy with what they have.

If you're going to throw away 11 years of service just because you aren't getting a PS3, I feel sorry for you.

These things happen. I'm not affiliated with Cox at all but I can understand that this is an extremely costly venture and I respect that they cannot honor it with everyone.

Mistakes are mistakes. Get over it.

6 replies

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Roloboto

February 7, 2010 4:59 PM

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It's the principle of the thing...

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February 7, 2010 11:23 PM

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And the principle of my statement is that not everybody gets what other people have. He wasn't entitled to anything.

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Guppy06

February 7, 2010 11:44 PM

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Double-edged sword. I may not be entitled to the same deal as the next customer, but the business is also not entitled to have me as a customer to begin with. If Cox wants to shower gifts on new customers while taking existing customers for granted, they shouldn't expect their customers to stick around much beyond that obligatory contract period.

What if, after being a Quest customer for a sufficient period, the original poster qualified did get a \"Switch to Cox and get a PS3!\" offer, since he'd be a \"new\" customer again. Would you still say the original poster is \"overreacting\" and \"whining?\"

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February 7, 2010 11:42 PM

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Nor is Cox entitled to customers.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 4:06 PM

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Happy to see the offer being given out arbitrarily to some and not others? Just roll over and accept it when you have other options for service out of some sense of \"loyalty\" when it's clear the company doesn't care about your business? Really?

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February 7, 2010 11:33 PM

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\"Arbitrarily?\" Really? Are you going to take the post above at face value? Maybe it wasn't arbitrary.

The bottom line: it's a FREEBIE. You are NOT entitled to anything EXTRA.

And start thinking about it from Cox's position. Offering an \"unlimited\" supply of PS3s is a costly venture. Maybe they stopped honoring it because they couldn't afford to keep up with demand.

Personally, if I were Cox, I'd be happy to get rid of the \"I deserve it because some other guy got it!\" customer with an elitist sense of entitlement.

As others said, if he wanted a PS3 this badly, he should just buy it.

Like I said before, mistakes are mistakes.

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MMD

February 8, 2010 9:06 AM

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Sure - mistakes that got worse by the arbitrary (yes, I mean arbitrary) way Cox dealt with it. The way to handle it would have been to tell *all* current customers it was a new-subscriber deal only and offer them some sort of token of apology for the mistake. Instead, they made a giant mess of things and increased the public perception of unfairness.

Mistakes can be forgiven if those making them own up to them. Cox hasn't in this case.

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February 8, 2010 11:18 AM

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Sorry, I don't agree. If Cox was already fulfilling orders before it was discovered that it was a new-subscriber-only deal, they can't easily renege on their commitment to the individuals they already agreed to send the incentives out to.

As someone who helps run marketing promotions myself, the bottom line is that giving away prizes to just anyone is not something we have to do. When people like Christopher complain out of \"principle\" because he's apparently eying what others receive and isn't happy with his own circumstances, I feel sorry for these individuals and wonder why we bother to give away freebies to begin with.

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February 7, 2010 5:56 PM

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\"She then told me that anyone not on the original marketing mailing list who was told they got the offer would have their PS3 shipment revoked!\"

You need to read before you comment. In actuality no one except for the original group are getting ps3s. So why the hell would they give this guy one? Obviously he would prefer to act like a 3rd grader instead of accepting that he is not eligible and moving on.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 6:25 PM

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I feel like I'm the only one who *did* read the article. If *you* go back and read it, you'll see plain as day that the way Cox handled the doling out of PS3s was, at best, inconsistent. Some people got them, some didn't, regardless of who had received the original offer.

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February 7, 2010 5:46 PM

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Is there anything wrong with customers arbitrarily getting free stuff? Cox can send promotions to 1,000 random customers if it wants to. Maybe if he stayed as a customer, someday he'd be offered something for free, but instead he took his ball and went home.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 6:30 PM

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You're right - if Cox wanted to do a random giveaway, that's fine, provided they advertise it as such. What they actually did was create a poorly-worded offer that became random - whether you got it or not depended on how well you did at CSR roulette.

Don't people usually get annoyed at getting different answers/treatment depending on the mood or competence of the rep you get on the phone? That's exactly what happened here.

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crb042

February 7, 2010 3:48 PM

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\"offered the 10% off my bill, and kept upping the offer\"
how much more? 15%? 15% or so off my bill for a year would equate to the price of a PS3.

bringing up 2 points...
1 - either this guy can't do math, or he's too obsessed with getting a PS3 even at the expense of being less profitable than the cash.
2 - either the CSR/supervisor can't do math, or is too obsessed with offering cash instead of perhaps a cheaper PS3.

2 replies

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February 8, 2010 6:19 AM

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The key to understanding these \"odd\" interactions: > 80% of US public ≠mathematically literate. What you see is the result of an idée fixe centred upon the (perceived) necessity of obtaining whatever premium they (in their mind) are entitled to have. This in absolute disregard of whatever else (of possibly greater value) has been contra-offered.
Mathematics, it really adds up.

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February 8, 2010 6:14 AM

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The key to understanding these \"odd\" interactions: > 80% of US public ≠mathematically literate. What you see is the result of an idée fixe centred upon the (perceived) necessity of obtaining whatever premium they (in their mind) are entitled to have. This in absolute disregard of whatever else (of possibly greater value) has been contra-offered.
Mathematics, it really adds up.

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legalguy

February 7, 2010 3:49 PM

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WTF? This does not seem like rocket science - not even kindergarten counting. You get a flyer with a code, sign up and you get the PS3. You have no flyer and therefore, no code. Guess what? They didn't make the offer to you. So you cancelled your service? I'll bet they were glad to be rid of you. If I offer to sell a neighbor my car for $1,000 and he declines you cannot accept the offer for yourself. I didn't make that offer to you. As others have said, quit crying because you failed to clip the coupons! By the way, I have DirectTV - have had for a long time and now I see they are offering new customers 12 months of service for about half of what I am paying. Do you think I should call and ask for that deal and threaten to discontinue service if I can't have it?

5 replies

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TardCore

February 7, 2010 6:26 PM

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I did. and saved $30 a month. Was one phone call worth $360 a year in savings? You bet your ass it was! If they said no what was the loss?

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February 7, 2010 4:07 PM

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You should threaten to cancel in order to try to get the better deal (there's no reason not to). That said, if they refuse, you should consider your options and probably stick with DirectTV and not whine to Consumerist that the company will not offer you the same price as the guy across the state.

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February 7, 2010 11:43 PM

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You should threaten to cancel in order to try to get the better deal (there's no reason not to). That said, if they refuse, you should consider your options and probably stick with DirectTV

Well, as long as you like having a note on your account saying \"talks tough, but folds under pressure\". Agreeing to a lesser concession probably won't get you tarred with that brush, but if you threaten to leave and they don't make any concession at all, you basically have two choices: follow through on your threat or completely cede any chance you might ever have to have leverage with this company again. When you threaten to leave, you'd better be prepared to face this dilemma.

In the OP's case, the remediation offered was generous enough that he could've saved face, but, eh, his call.

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February 7, 2010 3:54 PM

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I agree with you 100%. This is pretty straightforward: no flyer, no PS3. Up until the part where the sales staff started making exceptions for people who didn't have the code, but still called in and wanted the deal. Do it once, and there will always be other customers who are upset that they didn't get the same deal.

So I guess we can blame the first person who had the idea to call in without a flyer code, and still got the PS3.

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wrjohnston91283

February 7, 2010 6:51 PM

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So I guess we can blame the first person who had the idea to call in without a flyer code, and still got the PS3.

I wouldn't blame him - all he did was try. I'd blame Cox for not thinking through making the exception for him.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 4:14 PM

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I find it amazing that on many posts a typical response is \"Don't like it? Don't shop there.\"

Yet on this post, the OP doesn't like a business practice and decides to take his business elsewhere - and gets accused of whining/overreacting.

Sure, stick with Cox if you like doing business with a company that enforces its policies arbitrarily. I applaud the OP for following through with his threat to cancel and telling them exactly why he was doing so. Maybe next time Cox will be sure to label their new subscriber promotions more clearly.

4 replies

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MissMostlyMittens

February 8, 2010 12:09 AM

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There's basically two separate issues that people are commenting on:
1. The op is a whiny little *****
2. Cox has poor business practices

The two are not mutually exclusive.

So bottom line Cox marketing dept caused a cluster ****. Which as a customer in a free market you can choose to just deal with it or go else where, but the tone of the Ops complaint is one of a little *****.

Sorry I know it's low brow but people like this are the reason the rest of the world looks at us like entitled infants constantly on the verge of a temper tantrum. Okay, I get it, boohoo little Johnie happens to have parents that can give him better toys (or more cookies) that I can't have.

Is it unfair, sure and that's life, but... grow up, grow a pair and get over it.

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February 7, 2010 4:25 PM

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Everyone is saying he was whining/overreacting because he was, in fact, whining and overreacting. If you're going to cancel, go ahead and do it. But don't get all pissy about how you want in on a promotion that you were never offered, or how you just want a free PS3 for no good reason. If you're going to act childish and whine about how other people have nice things that you're jealous of, then the company is much, much better off without you.

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njack

February 7, 2010 4:45 PM

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Surely it's his right to not like it and take his money elsewhere, I just think this guy completely overreacted. He isn't a new customer and he wasn't offered the promotion. OK, I get it. Make the effort to get the offer and they still refuse, but they do offer a discount, which they didn't have to. Have fun with Qwest Christopher.

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MMD

February 7, 2010 4:42 PM

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Amazing how you missed the entire point of both the original post and mine.

He canceled to express his displeasure at the poorly run promotion. The assumption that he's a constant complainer is unfounded.

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E. Zachary Knight

February 7, 2010 4:18 PM

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\"but hey, the free market and competition are a beautiful thing, and you can cancel and switch providers any time you feel like it for any reason.\"

I wish that were true. I am stuck in a nice area that has an ISP monopoly. They have the worst DSL in all of Oklahoma and the highest prices. There is no free market here. So o canceling and switching for me.

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thaJack

February 7, 2010 4:20 PM

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They do this with all of their offers. Those who are with a different cable company (provided one is available) or satellite will get a much better deal than people who have been with Cox for a long time.

1 replies

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February 7, 2010 7:57 PM

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What this tells you is that customers should regularly switch. Companies can offer better rates to a new customer, but not to you? Go be someone else's new customer.

If companies do not reward loyalty or longevity, why should anyone reward them with business, if there is a better deal to be found?

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February 7, 2010 4:21 PM

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I agree with the OP in canceling. A few months ago I saw a promotion on TV for Cable/Phone/Internet for $30 a month cheaper then I was paying for new customers. So I called and they wouldn't give me that price. So I went ahead and canceled as well. Is it fair that new customers should be paying LESS than loyal customers?

This is essentially the same thing. Just because I have been a good customer, I don't get the perks of new customers? Fine, I will take my business elsewhere.

1 replies

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Major Annoyance

February 7, 2010 11:18 PM

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What did you get when you BECAME a new customer?

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February 7, 2010 4:26 PM

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Somehow this must be Best Buy's fault.

At least that's what I learned in the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned On Consumerist.

1 replies

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Noir

February 7, 2010 4:42 PM

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Dude, it's the OP's fault, it's ALWAYS the OP fault.

Specially if he doesn't grows his cable at home.

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njack

February 7, 2010 4:29 PM

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I don't have Cox, but if he thinks he will be more satisfied with Qwest, I think he is kidding himself. My guess is he'll be back after the initial contract expires, or sooner. I have to give Cox some credit as they tried to make it right and keep a customer by offering discounted service. It's obvious they couldn't give everyone in a region a new PS3, but I guess some people aren't happy unless they get something for nothing.

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February 7, 2010 4:32 PM

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Although the reader feels miffed by this experience, those who didn't get the original code and yet got their PS3s were plain lucky. You're either lucky or you're not so he shouldn't take it personally. The Sales team don't really care for retention as long as they can get in new customers.

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February 7, 2010 4:49 PM

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Hmm. Cox screwed the pooch on this one, but Christopher may have overreacted. Which is his right as a customer, I guess, but you're not a Cox customer for the free PSP, are you? I assume you've stuck with them for 11 years for some reason other than that. I would have taken the apology discount and moved on. If you don't have a code, that sucks, but don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

I have Cox, but live in another state starting with the letter A. Haven't heard anything about PSPs here, so must be an Arizona-only thing.

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kyle4

February 7, 2010 4:54 PM

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I third this. I got to the end of the post and read \"I made it clear it was because of the PS3\" and thought, \"What a baby, just because you're not getting what they have you throw a fit.\" Sounds like a difficult customer to deal with.

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Roloboto

February 7, 2010 4:57 PM

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Heh heh, cox...

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February 7, 2010 5:02 PM

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I want to commend this guy and maybe slap him too.

I would have lied and said yes I have a code.
\"I don't have the flier now but can you put me down as wanting the offer and I will call back with the code when I get home?\"
I then would have asked my co-worker for his code.

I send a slappy face to the OP because if cox has done right by you for 11 years this was no reason to jump ship.
You were not included in a badly designed promotion and you tried to slip in under the wire and failed.
Move on and pay for your own game system with the extra money you don't spend on higher speed internet.

1 replies

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Guppy06

February 7, 2010 11:56 PM

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If a competitor has a substantially similar offering for a substantially similar price (i.e. ignoring sweetheart \"new subscriber\" deals from Qwest), what exactly is wrong with \"jumping ship?\" Brand loyalty works in favor of the business and against the consumer by artificially inhibiting the consumer's ability to find a better deal.

And in an industry where every business is offering deals to new customers but nothing but the same old bills to existing customers, it is always in the consumer's best interest to switch providers as soon as contractual obligations end.

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ben

February 7, 2010 5:11 PM

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I'm confused. If the deal was only supposed to be for new customers, then why would it say you could upgrade your service to get the deal. I could understand if they inadvertently sent the offer to existing customers, but they also accidentally said that you could either sign up for new service or upgrade your existing service? I'd like to see a scan of the ad.

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NarcolepticGirl

February 7, 2010 5:36 PM

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i dont understand the photo with this article.

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Dominar Rygel the XVI

February 7, 2010 5:40 PM

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Here's a novel idea: you have been paying them for service for 11 years, and they have been PROVIDING you with service..... a mutual relationship! I think at the least, you owe COX a PSP.

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February 7, 2010 5:41 PM

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The flyer was mailed to certain customers. The OP did not receive a flyer. He is not eligible. Why doesn't he understand?

Just because your neighbor got a deal doesn't mean you automatically get it, too. Cox didn't send out flyers to everyone, they didn't release an ad for the promotion, so I don't see what Cox did wrong on this one.

2 replies

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pgh9fan

February 7, 2010 6:26 PM

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Yes, his neighbor received a flyer and he didn't. However, please note that the CSR said the neighbor's offer will be revoked. Will they also revoke the neighbor's new contract? Will they let the neighbor downgrade to the service he had before he upgraded to get the PSP? I'd like to know these answers.

Also, if the OP dioesn't like the service and its marketing he's got the right to move on. And he did. 'Nuff said.

Ironically enough, after he's been with Qwest for a year he'll be getting a lot of flyers from Cox asking him to come back and giving him one sweet deal. I switched to DirecTV about eight years ago and my former cable company is still sending me mail hoping to get me back. It ain't gonna happen

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MMD

February 7, 2010 6:16 PM

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Again, for those who didn't read the article:
Some current customers got the deal, whether they had the flyer or not. Others did get the deal. The OP objects to the selective and arbitrary handling of the policy.

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$\"user-pic\"$

February 7, 2010 6:13 PM

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By his logic, I should be able to call Cox up and demand a PS3 even though I live in a different state.

If you didn't get the flyer, you aren't eligible for the promotion.

2 replies

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MMD

February 7, 2010 7:12 PM

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Unless you're one of the people who didn't get the flyer but called and got the promotion anyway.

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idip

February 7, 2010 7:38 PM

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Which is going to revoked anyway.

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cheviot

February 8, 2010 2:35 AM

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So they lied to other customers, telling them they'd get the deal if they upgraded. The customer's upgraded and now they won't get the PS3?

This sounds like a company with whom you want to do business???

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February 7, 2010 6:14 PM

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\"he offered the 10% off my bill, and kept upping the offer, but I made it crystal clear that it was because of the PS3.\"

Let's assume your bill is $100/month. If they offered 10% off, that's 30-months for a PS3. If you wanted only a bluray player you could get one for around $150 knocking the time benefit in half.

But that's only going on the original 10%. Let's say they upped the offer to 25% off. That's only one year for the PS3 and six months for the bluray player.

If your bill is higher, it knocks those numbers down even more. So, if it was me, I would've taken the deal and either bought the PS3 (pocketing the savings each month) or just saved up. Is it fair? Nope, but life ain't fair either.

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Bix

February 7, 2010 7:12 PM

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Was it a universal code or was every flyer different?

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February 7, 2010 7:57 PM

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I actually signed up with Astound in my area, and had everything all ready to go, the night prior to my install, I called Comcast. I asked about deals... While there were many, I specifically wanted what Astound was offering, and I would stay.

When Comcast went ahead and offered me a similar package, but said that they wouldnt offer anything else, I proceeded to cancel. 3 minutes later the guy came back on the line and said he could not only give me the deal he mentioned but also a few premium channels free for 3 months. Tickled I took the offer and called Astound and let them know I wont be needing their services.

I didnt THREATEN, I did negotiate and because the company wants to keep my business, and Id like to stay with Comcast over Astound, I did to a little research and got what I was looking for. I will admit that I was going to swap over to Astound, but found my friends were able to negotiate better rates.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

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mah1234

February 7, 2010 8:52 PM

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What a baby the poster is. Cox did nothing wrong! In fact, by honoring the promotion to those who accidentally received it, they went above and beyond.

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February 7, 2010 9:23 PM

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A similar thing happened with me and Earthlink -- they sent me a letter saying I could upgrade service and pay less than I was currently paying. Earthlink said they mailed it to me in error and would not honor the pricing so I canceled my account on the spot.

It didn't help them that their CEO is a Scientologist.

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eccsame

February 8, 2010 9:35 AM

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But they sent you the offer and then refused to honor it. This guy never received the offer, he just heard about it through a friend.

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Javarod

February 7, 2010 9:27 PM

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I wouldn't call it an over reaction considering how they treat their customers. While moving to my new place required me to switch to Qwest, had i looked closely, i would've even if i hadn't moved. Why?

Well, for six months a buddy of mine was living with us, he needed a phone, and doesn't like cell phones (yes, he's a bit batty), so we signed up. After he left, we dropped the phone, but the bill barely changed. Why?

Because they no longer offered any discount for having TV and internet, only for having all three (basically phone cost another $10/mo). We've been a customer for almost six years (for six months we lived in another Qwest only place), and we'd always had two services, and a discount for such. Qwest now offers a discount for just TV and DSL, and its $70, which is cheaper than Cox's package was, and its $130 now that the package doesn't exist. Big difference, and even when the Qwest package runs out, we'll still be saving $30 or so. I think Cox is getting greedy, and forgetting about their customers.

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DH405

February 7, 2010 9:53 PM

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So this person cancelled their otherwise satisfactory service because they didn't get a free PS3 for essentially nothing? They threw a fit and whined, trying to get their way, but failed.

#badconsumer.

2 replies

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February 7, 2010 11:46 PM

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Why doesn't the logic swing both ways? Why does Cox get to do a promotion it has no intentions of honoring? People's assumptions when they post really say a lot about them.

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February 8, 2010 4:00 PM

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It sounds like Cox is honoring the promotion. Some people were eligible for the promotion, some people were not. This guy is in the not eligible group.

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ZekeDMS

February 7, 2010 10:49 PM

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\"but hey, the free market and competition are a beautiful thing, and you can cancel and switch providers any time you feel like it for any reason.\"

Not so much for a lot of Arizona's broadband market. In Phoenix, you can use Cox most places, and Qwest in some. Qwest used to be a viable alternative but now refuses to upgrade their lines in any way, so for areas like mine you're just out of luck.

My area has gone from a T3 option to \"can't handle DSL\" in 10 years because they keep splicing in lines in new areas without ensuring the old ones work. My DSL was running in 1/2 speed safe mode (750kbps) and that still was prone to failure. On top of that, they ensure absolutely zero responsibility for the service by selling the line between your house/apartment and the pole to Covad, a notorious telecom middleman. If there's a problem, it goes to Covad, and if it's not between the house and pole, out of luck once again.

While I think canceling is a little far here, telecoms still have little to no competition to speak of.

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February 7, 2010 11:24 PM

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Too funny. I received one of the flyers and tossed it out.
I'm already a Cox customer and have the highest Internet tier.
The thought that I was somehow being cheated and should try to cash in on the offer never even occurred to me.

I may cancel my service because it is too pricy, but not because I didn't get a game console.

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February 7, 2010 11:28 PM

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But canceling an account because a CSR won't perpetuate the mistake and bend the rules for you? That is an overreaction

Summarizes everything I wanted to say. Good work Laura!

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yzerman

February 7, 2010 11:54 PM

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This just in... LIFE ISN'T FAIR!

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mmbb_c

February 8, 2010 12:54 AM

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Sensationalistic headline fail:
Syllogism.
Heresay.

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Sestos

February 8, 2010 2:32 AM

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They messed up in how they got the information out but the company does not owe everyone in AZ a free PS3, cannot even claim its false advertising since the flyer was addressing new accounts. If you dislike the service you can cancel but the main objective was to get new people to join Cox.

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Rachacha

February 8, 2010 8:48 AM

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The difference in price between the Preferred and Premier package is $13/month. The PS3 is $300, so Cox would recoup the cost of the PS3 in about 24 months for the OP. The offer was intended to draw in new customers (Just like the Verizion FiOS HDTV offer a couple of years ago), and was not intended for existing customers. An error was made for some customers, and Cox was rightly correcting that error.

Just wait till qwest offers free xBox (latest and greatest) and he is forced to jump to 2 tin cans and a string.

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SNAV

February 8, 2010 10:14 AM

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If the offer was for an upgrade as well as a signup how was that limited to new customers? Maybe they were targeting a specific area or maybe the flyer was missed in the mail, either way an upgrade in service represents new revenue and a service commitment over a month to month acct. FWIW

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February 8, 2010 12:22 PM

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I could only giggle when I saw \"Cox\" and \"bad taste in my mouth\" in the same story.

On the serious side: That's the problem with promotions nowadays. You'll piss off someone who doesn't qualify for the promotion due to some silly technicality. This always happens in the telecom industry with their phone promotions.

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February 8, 2010 2:10 PM

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I'm not one to use biblical references (since I kinda don't believe in them), but perhaps the parable of the workers in the vineyards applies. The farmer paid the workers who only worked a half day as much as those who put in a full. The all-day workers complained, but the farmer told them it's his money and he can decide to pay the others workers the same if he wants. It doesn't take away from what they received.

It's Cox's offer and if they gave away some PS3's to people who didn't deserve them, oh well. As long as they didn't deprive others, then they didn't do anything wrong.

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February 8, 2010 10:51 PM

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Everybody wants something for free. The only thing they want MORE than something for free is something expensive, for free.

And it's never their fault. It's always someone else's problem and responsibility and obligation to make them happy.

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Sheryl

July 26, 2010 4:17 PM

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This customer did not ask Cox to bend the rules at all, she asked them to HONOR the rules they committed to. Cox sucks for these reasons: they originally offered \"high speed internet\" and I pay $50 a month for it. Later the high speed divided into three or four high speeds. Apparently my $50 a month payment covers only the slowest of these speeds because my internet has become increasingly slower and slower (their way of attempting to have their customer's upgrade to a costlier tier). Another reason they suck, along with all of the major \"news\" stations, is they lie and they cover up and they support that type of behavior in our government. BTW Cox is listed within the government pages in the phone book. They deny they are a government entity and refuse to supply me an answer as to why they are listed in the government pages if they are not a government entity. This week, via Wikileaks, there has been posted a huge amount of classified papers describing various possible war crimes have been committed with regard to the U.S., Britain, the CIA, the FBI, the ISI actions in Afghanastan. The traffic to Wikileaks is unprecedented. I can understand a connection being slow to connect, but I can't understand the Cox Cable message appearing saying that I am not connected to the internet when I attempt to go to Wikileaks or to it's links. I am clearly on the internet. Questions to customer service about this phenomenon resulted in their usual vague responses: they said they were having a trend in that direction. I openly suggested they were blocking customer access to Wikileaks since they are a government entity and our government definitely does not want this to information available to the public. They denied being a government entity. I asked why they are listed in the government pages of the phone book. The person I was having the live chat with responded that he could not answer my question because he is a internet technician. My chat name I was using was not my actual name, but then he told me he could understand why I was angry and called me by my real name. Unusual but not really since they are trying to put a twist on our conversation to lead one to think I am paranoid. An angry, paranoid woman - dismissed easily. The truth being I am an intelligent woman and sick of the lies we are being fed and the fees we pay for everything from \"meter reading, metering, delivery charge to paying to pay a bill for God's sake. How rich do the rich have to be? What is it they don't have that we can give them now?
Okay, so Cox denys blocking customer access to Wikileaks and claims that there are other sites that customers are having trouble getting to as well. I inquire like what? It took a good 4 minutes to respond, and this is what they wrote...www.fools.com. In the meanwhile the CIA is laying in wait for the founder of Wikileaks so to bring him in for \"questioning\" while at the same time attempting to discredit him, make weak attempts to convince the American people that this man has somehow put our country at risk for exposing the many lies we have been fed about this war, while also being sure the story is not run on any of our wonderful corporate controlled news media outlets(ABC, NBC, FOX, etc). They don't even mention it...and Cox is blocking it's customer's access to the confidential papers as well. Cox sucks.

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Sheryl

July 26, 2010 5:03 PM

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This customer did not ask Cox to bend the rules at all, she asked them to HONOR the rules they committed to. Cox sucks for these reasons: they originally offered \"high speed internet\" and I pay $50 a month for it. Later the high speed divided into three or four high speeds. Apparently my $50 a month payment covers only the slowest of these speeds because my internet has become increasingly slower and slower (their way of attempting to have their customer's upgrade to a costlier tier). Cox lies and they cover up the truth and they don't care about their customers because they know they have the best internet around so \"good luck\" is their attitude when you express discontent. Bear with me on this - This week on Wikileaks, there has been posted a huge amount of classified papers describing various possible war crimes that have been committed in the Afghanastan war that involve our government, Britain, Pakistan, Afghanastan, our CiA, and Pakistan's ISI. The traffic to Wikileaks right now is unprecedented and it's founder is being supported and hailed for his courage in reporting the truth in journalism and their are a whole lot of government people who are freaking out. He was scheduled to speak in New York yesterday, but wisely did not appear as our CIA rushed to the location and were swarming like bees in an attempt to snatch him and \"detain him for questioning\". Havok is being reaped in the live so those who have committed wrongdoing, who have lied to the public, who have murdered and sacrificed the lives of innocent people. Our government is scared, and the CIA are terrified of the consequences they might have to face after we discover the lies they have told. They are attempting to discredit the information supplied in the confidential papers , discredit the journalist and acuse him of endangering the safety of the people of America and our soldiers in the war by making the truth available to the people. We are talking about the period from 1994 through 1997 or so. So what does Cox have to do with this? First of all, none of the corporate controlled media stations are even mentioning this HUGE story. They're writing about sea turtles being released back into the oil shores/waters in Louisiana, which I don't give a blank about. So I've been on the internet for hours surfing carefree everywhere I want to go - but when I try connecting with Wikileaks, I get the Cox generated message that one gets when their account has been temporarily suspended for nonpayment. THe one that says I am not connected to the internet - when I am clearly connected to the internet. I get on live chat with them. They give me a generic answer \"=Yes, we have a trend reported in the area.\" I tell them I think they may be purposefully blocking customer access to Wikileaks. They respond they are sorry. They then say customers are having trouble getting to many sites. I ask \"Like what?\". Four minutes later they type \"www.fools.com\". Right. I ask them if they might be blocking access to Wikileaks because Cox is a government entity. They deny being a government entity. I note they are listed in the government (blue page) section of the phone directory. Why? The response was that the person I was chatting with could not answer that because he is an internet technician.
W H A T E V E R.

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