To the editor:
As I write this letter, Brazil is playing in the World Cup but my television does not work. I have service from Comcast.
I have tried calling Comcast, more than dozen times, but they do not pick up. I tried the internet, which is slow but works, but Comcast’s web site is down. I called the township. They tell me it’s a regional outage. There’s no prognosis for the return of service.
The Hopewell Township Committee has introduced a renewal agreement for Comcast. There are all sorts of goodies in there for the municipality and for the schools. The township even receives a nice percentage on Comcast receipts. I guess that offsets our taxes, a good thing!
But, what’s in the contract for the customers? Are you a customer of Comcast? Do you have any concerns or complaints? Is their customer support all you want it to be? Do you feel that your concerns are being met or ignored by the company?
For years, my service was quite poor. As a result, there have been a whole series of Comcast service folks in my home. One tried to put the ground on the gas pipe. One told me that my $100 gold-plated, high-performance cables were the problem and replaced them with standard Comcast cables, providing no compensation for what he expropriated.
I complained repeatedly about the poor performance in my home, and they finally replaced their 25 year-old wiring. Overall, my service now is mostly fine. But this letter is not about me or the World Cup.
How old is the cable wiring to and within your home? Do you think that the township should have addressed customer concerns township-wide before offering up a 10-year extension?
Imagine if they still had a Cable TV Advisory Committee to address such concerns. Imagine if they had conducted a survey of residents before agreeing to extend the contract. I suggested both of these steps many months ago but I was ignored. Only now that they are approving the contract are they about to re-establish the Cable TV Advisory Committee, dormant for more than a decade. That will be way too late to matter.
Please consider attending the Comcast public hearing at the next township committee meeting on Monday, July 30. Yes, that’s right, in the middle of the summer when lots of folks are away. Comcast promises to have a representative there. In my experience, it’s hard to get Comcast to listen. Perhaps they will listen then and there.
Jon Edwards
Hopewell Township
