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I think we need to add the word 'comcastic' into all of our vocabularies as a synonym for idiotic. As many of you may know, they're implementing a data cap on their broadband internet usage. So much for the 'unlimited' bit of their spiel, eh? Anyway, I went looking for information on their web site about it and, despite searching for both 'bandwidth cap' and 250 GB', I couldn't find anything until another site linked me directly to a help page (and even after I knew where it was, I *still* couldn't navigate to it!). Great customer service, as always.
And, yes, I realize the 250 GB is a far higher limit than a lot of companies - I know of some caps set at 60 GB. But seriously, they claim it will only effect less than 1% of the users, so... why bother? What, exactly, is it going to accomplish? So you limit a few people - are the rest of us (assuming I'm in the 99% who are not 'excessive users') going to notice a difference?
But the best thing? The funniest thing I saw in their FAQ?
If a customer surpasses 250 GB and is one of the top users of the service for a second time within a six-month timeframe, his or her service will be subject to termination for one year. After the one year period expires, the customer may resume service by subscribing to a service plan appropriate to his or her needs.
In other words, if you're one of our biggest users, we're not going to allow you to pay us for the service. BRILLIANT! I don't know why all other companies don't work this way. JoAnn would have banned me from their store a long time ago for cluttering up their floorspace as I tried to decide between the fluorescent pink and the electric blue yarn for my afghan, or compared the twenty million fabrics to pick the very best ones for my quilt. I mean, think of how many other people could have fit into my space! Sure, they'd lose out on the hundreds of dollars I spend there, but I'm sure they're mostly concerned with other people's elbow space and fast check-out times (even when there's no one else in the store).
Also, the bit about "by subscribing to a service plan appropriate to his or her needs" is pointless, because they're not even offering an 'excessive usage' plan. Which, you know, would have been a heck of a lot smarter. Tell people that 250 GB is the limit for the 'basic' broadband, and if you exceed that your bill goes up $10/mo. But I think this just goes to show that it's not about improving their service, or meeting customer needs, but about making due with what they have and not putting any effort into upgrading.
I do have a question, though: does anyone know of a good bandwidth use tracker for the Windows Vista sidebar? I found one for Firefox, but I want it to be able to monitor everything, including software updates and whatnot.
And, yes, I realize the 250 GB is a far higher limit than a lot of companies - I know of some caps set at 60 GB. But seriously, they claim it will only effect less than 1% of the users, so... why bother? What, exactly, is it going to accomplish? So you limit a few people - are the rest of us (assuming I'm in the 99% who are not 'excessive users') going to notice a difference?
But the best thing? The funniest thing I saw in their FAQ?
If a customer surpasses 250 GB and is one of the top users of the service for a second time within a six-month timeframe, his or her service will be subject to termination for one year. After the one year period expires, the customer may resume service by subscribing to a service plan appropriate to his or her needs.
In other words, if you're one of our biggest users, we're not going to allow you to pay us for the service. BRILLIANT! I don't know why all other companies don't work this way. JoAnn would have banned me from their store a long time ago for cluttering up their floorspace as I tried to decide between the fluorescent pink and the electric blue yarn for my afghan, or compared the twenty million fabrics to pick the very best ones for my quilt. I mean, think of how many other people could have fit into my space! Sure, they'd lose out on the hundreds of dollars I spend there, but I'm sure they're mostly concerned with other people's elbow space and fast check-out times (even when there's no one else in the store).
Also, the bit about "by subscribing to a service plan appropriate to his or her needs" is pointless, because they're not even offering an 'excessive usage' plan. Which, you know, would have been a heck of a lot smarter. Tell people that 250 GB is the limit for the 'basic' broadband, and if you exceed that your bill goes up $10/mo. But I think this just goes to show that it's not about improving their service, or meeting customer needs, but about making due with what they have and not putting any effort into upgrading.
I do have a question, though: does anyone know of a good bandwidth use tracker for the Windows Vista sidebar? I found one for Firefox, but I want it to be able to monitor everything, including software updates and whatnot.