Do We Really Have A Better Choice?
Written: May 31 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cable Modem Service/Cable TV service is flawless.
Cons: Same run-around that Bell Atlantic gives when it comes to service appointments... also, they have a VERY BAD Rep when it comes to Customer Support.
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| Captainsoon's Full Review: RCN Cable |
I tend to make judgements about Companies that offer services and products according to how they advertise.
In New York City, you can't go anywhere in Manhattan without seeing RCN's (Residential Communications Network) advertisements plastered everywhere.
Their ad campaign basically is:
Why should people have to live with only one choice in Phone/Cable? (In NYC it's Bell Atlantic/Time Warner Cable).
Now, I HATE Bell Atlantic with a vengeance, I've had countless battles with RUDE, OBNOXIOUS, INCOMPETENT Bell Atlantic "customer service" operators and twice in the past cancelled phone service with Bell Atlantic due to their poor handling of customer complaints (i.e. their technician never came to a schedule appointment, I lost a day of work, and they said I would have to reschedule....that it wasn't their problem if their technicians don't make scheduled appointments). I blame Bell Atlantic for having to go without a phone for two years of my life in New York City.
Any Way:
I've been with RCN as my telephone/Cable TV/Cable Modem ISP for two months now.
Their telephone service is cheaper than Bell Atlantic's:
Compare some features Bell Atlantic charges $6.95/month for Voice Mail,
RCN charges $3.50, both services work the same way.
The local/regional phone service I have costs about $10 less per month with RCN than with Bell Atlantic.
With the Cable TV, I have all the same channels that Time Warner offers plus the Disney Channel(which I don't even care about because I don't watch it) for $10 less a month than TWC.
The reason why I signed up with RCN though, was to try their cable modem service.
I have to say that their Cable Modem Service is Great.
The cable modem runs two ways, I'm renting the modem box (a 3Com external ethernet cable modem) from RCN and the service is great so far. I've never had a problem with it yet, I'm always connected, never have connection problems, never get cut-off, I can download a MP3's Extremely fast (a 10Meg file takes about 1-2 minutes, compared to 1/2 an hour to forever on a 56K modem).
My bills all work out to about $110/month for the Cable modem/Telephone/and Cable TV, you get two bills per month, one for the cable TV and one for the phone.
I've heard NIGHTMARISH stories about their customer support, luckily I haven't had to deal with them....yet. And Hope I won't have to.
When I had my phone and cable installed, I had all day appointments for both (on two separate dates-one for phone and cable, one for cable modem), I was told the appointments would be from anytime between 8am and 5pm. This isn't exactly great, but it's the same thing Bell Atlantic and Time Warner tells you, you can't have a specific time allotted for an appointment.
The thing that made me happy was that for both of those appointments the technicians arrived by 10AM and were done by 11AM. I had service installed with out a hitch, my cable TV has been working great, and my Cable Modem ROCKS.
I wish I could say the same about the Phone (I was disconnected once, but reconnected after I called and informed them about the problem, they said my line was crossed with someone else's), but after dealing with such bad service with Bell Atlantic for five years, I'm happy to do business with RCN.
I'm also SAVING about $25/month by using RCN rather than Time Warner and Bell Atlantic.
All In All, I'm Very Happy with what RCN offers, I've never gotten good customer support from any company except for SONY (including Apple Computer!) so I'm not surprised that people complain about their support, but I do have a good time using the cable modem service they offer and my cable TV is clear and works well.
Lastly TO REPEAT: Their Cable Modem Service ROCKS, FAST FAST FAST!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Captainsoon
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Member: Greg Soon
Location: Long Island City, NY
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
I'm from California. I live in New York.
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