Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Getting back to basics ­ basic cable ­ feels good

I feel good. I recently called AT&T Broadband and told them to reduce my cable service from Expanded Basic ($42 per month) to Basic Cable ($12 per month). I did it for two reasons.

First and foremost when they reshuffled the Expanded Basic menu while increasing the price, they took away channels I enjoyed! Additionally, I was protesting AT&T's policy of charging a fee ($1.50) to set up an automatic payment plan. Every progressive company I know (including utilities) encourages such automatic payments because they know it is beneficial to the customer and the company.

My request got their attention. The customer service representative who took my call was courteous and even offered me three months of Expanded Service including digital service for three months at $10 per month. It was tempting but I said no thanks. A generous offer but it didn't solve the problems I had identified. So now I have an additional $30 per month to use as I see fit, an opportunity to make better use of my time, and a slightly increased sense of empowerment.

What's my next step if things don't improve? How about no cable TV?

Gerald Gillette

Peachtree City

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