To Subscribe Or Not To Subscribe, That Is The Question: Paid Streaming Services

[Irlandesa]

It's not on my Hulu home page but it's now showing up on my Firestick home page.  I spoke too soon.  I was not out of the woods. 

[shapeshifter]

I'm considering geting HBO Max for $14.99/mo. long enough to watch 3 up-coming seasons of series. 
Or possibly with a Roku account?
Does anyone:

• have HBO Max (or had it in the recent past) and have any other wisdom to inpart?
• know if there a reason to get the HBO subscription through Hulu or Roku?
• know how difficult it is to cancel HBO Max?

I saw a on one of the Hulu pages about this yesterday that it could be canceled at the "next billing cycle," but I do not know what this means, and cannot find it right now.

TIA!

[peachmangosteen]

You can add it through Hulu and Roku. You can just cancel through the hbomax.com site. It's very easy. Also, I think if you get it through Roku you can cancel it through their website as well.

HBO Max has a bunch of really great shows but I find it so annoying because it gives me a 'connection error' constantly. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm considering geting HBO Max for $14.99/mo. long enough to watch 3 up-coming seasons of series. 
Or possibly with a Roku account?
Does anyone:

• have HBO Max (or had it in the recent past) and have any other wisdom to inpart?
• know if there a reason to get the HBO subscription through Hulu or Roku?
• know how difficult it is to cancel HBO Max?

I saw a on one of the Hulu pages about this yesterday that it could be canceled at the "next billing cycle," but I do not know what this means, and cannot find it right now.

TIA!

"Next billing cycle" should mean the following month (or quarter/semi-annual/annual, depnding on how you originally set it up), on the date your subscription bills your card/account.

Edited April 17, 2022 by SuprSuprElevated

[shapeshifter]

22 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

HBO Max has a bunch of really great shows but I find it so annoying because it gives me a 'connection error' constantly. 

The last time I accessed HBO Max (a year ago?) was via the Roku TV I inherited from my son-in-law. I didn't have any connection errors that I can recall.

But they have since canceled their Hulu and HBO Max subscriptions, so I was thinking of getting it temporarily to watch new seasons of Barry, Perrry Mason, and The Flight Attendant. However, Perrry Mason isn't until August, and the others are starting in the next week or so.

So I was wondering about starting and stopping and restarting the service, or at least maybe starting now and stopping in 6 months or so.

What sort of platform, devices, etc. are you using that give the connection error message?

I take it you have a strong enough Internet connection? My daughter and husband WFH so they have to pay their Internet provider (Spectrum) more to get some sort of extra strong/fast connection.

[peachmangosteen]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

So I was wondering about starting and stopping and restarting the service, or at least maybe starting now and stopping in 6 months or so.

I do that kind of thing all the time. I get services for specific shows and then cancel them until I need them again.

Quote

What sort of platform, devices, etc. are you using that give the connection error message?

I take it you have a strong enough Internet connection? My daughter and husband WFH so they have to pay their Internet provider (Spectrum) more to get some sort of extra strong/fast connection.

I'm using Tivo Stream. I don't have any problems with any other services so I don't believe it's anything on my end. I think it's an HBO Max problem. Or I guess it could be a problem with the combo of Tivo Stream and HBO Max.

[meowmommy]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm considering geting HBO Max for $14.99/mo. long enough to watch 3 up-coming seasons of series. 
Or possibly with a Roku account?
Does anyone:

• have HBO Max (or had it in the recent past) and have any other wisdom to inpart?
• know if there a reason to get the HBO subscription through Hulu or Roku?
• know how difficult it is to cancel HBO Max?

I saw a on one of the Hulu pages about this yesterday that it could be canceled at the "next billing cycle," but I do not know what this means, and cannot find it right now.

I have HBO Max and I use a Roku, but I get it through my cable service, so I can either watch it through the Roku app or go through the cable menu.  Previously I paid for it as a freestanding service through HBO.  In the beginning, I had an occasional connection problem, but I rarely have those any more.  I don't believe it's any harder to cancel HBO than any other streaming service.

My experience with "next billing cycle" means that your cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing month, not on the day you quit.  No partial credits, no refunds.  So if your monthly payment is on the 5th, but you cancel today on the 17th, you still have service until your next billing date of May 5.

[Irlandesa]

I had connection issues with HBO Max at first and it drove me crazy. In fact, if I try to watch on my Smart TV, I still sometimes get them.

It's why I got a Firestick.  But the best place it works is through my cable box now that they've added the app.

And since I'm able to get it from different apps, I don't think connection issues have anything to do with wi fi coverage.

[windsprints]

If you don't mind some ads HBO Max now has an option for $9.99/month with some ads.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Someone please tell me again just what good is Paramount +?! I thought it had all seasons of the original and by far, the BEST CSI. Nope. Only the first two seasons. So cancelled it again.🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Ans just upgraded Disney+ so I can continue to watch on Hulu.

[SunnyBeBe]

25 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Someone please tell me again just what good is Paramount +?! I thought it had all seasons of the original and by far, the BEST CSI. Nope. Only the first two seasons. So cancelled it again.🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Ans just upgraded Disney+ so I can continue to watch on Hulu.

Apparently, there’s regular Paramount and Paramount+.  I got regular last night and still couldn’t access the show I wanted.  Canceling it tomorrow.  It was free for 7 days.  
 

How do you like Britbox?  I am trying to locate two series and it’s very difficult.  I want Season 2 of an Australian series named  Love Me.  It’s really good.  Season 1 is on Hulu.  
 

And, I want Season 3 of a Canadian series Mary Kills People.  Seasons one and two are on Hulu.  
 

Why is it so difficult to find these?  With all the options, you’d think they’d be available.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

38 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Why is it so difficult to find these?  With all the options, you’d think they’d be available.

Tptb behind all these streaming services are playing the same bs games that cable companies did 25 years ago, by parsing out favored channels to force folks into paying more for what we really want to watch.  They are overplaying their hands, and are going to drive people to throw the damn TVs through the window, and go back to card games and tiddly winks.  I'm almost there.  Especially at a time when folks are struggling to put food on the table and gas in the tank, television will be one of the first budget line items to be erased.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

people [are going] to throw the damn TVs through the window, and go back to card games and tiddly winks. 

Hee hee! Tiddly winks. It's been a while.

 

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Someone please tell me again just what good is Paramount +?! 

I only have it because it's still on the TV my son-in-law gave me. I use it frequently to watch CBS shows at more convenient times (I love Ghosts).
And it's the only way I can reliably watch Jeopardy! on TV without cable. But I still have to watch it on YouTube if I miss it, because Jeopardy! doesn't allow any of it's broadcasters to do On Demand. So, if my brother-in-law and daughter cancel Paramount+, I might get Hulu Live to fill the gaps, because my leaf antenna doesn't get a very good signal here. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Why is it so difficult to find these?  With all the options, you’d think they’d be available.  

I did some digging and Season 1 of Love Me just came out at the end of last year in Australia and this year on Hulu. You can't find Season 2 because it doesn't exist.

As for Mary Kills People, it looks like Lifetime stopped airing and no other service picked it up.  That's what sucks with foreign acquisitions.  The original production company/country sets a rate to sell to foreign streaming services but if not enough people watch the show, they stop buying the rights to it.  I've been screwed by Netflix before with this.  They bought a slew of first seasons of Turkish series but never picked up the second/third seasons.

2 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Tptb behind all these streaming services are playing the same bs games that cable companies did 25 years ago, by parsing out favored channels to force folks into paying more for what we really want to watch.

They're doing exactly what consumers claimed to want when cable was huge.  Cable bundled channels together and you paid to get access to all of them even if you didn't want all of them.

So consumers said they wished they could pick and choose the channels they want to pay for.  And that's basically what streaming is offering.  You can look at their offerings and select the services you'd like to subscribe to. And now they hate that as well.

It's why I don't subscribe to Disney+ or ESPN+ but do subscribe to niche streamers like PBS Masterpiece, Acorn and Britbox.

But it does reframe how we think of shows.  Now it's not just about what channel they're on but who is the production company?  Is a show still under exclusive streaming rights with another streamer even though their production company has opened up its own service.  All of those are in consideration when trying to find shows.

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

They're doing exactly what consumers claimed to want when cable was huge.  Cable bundled channels together and you paid to get access to all of them even if you didn't want all of them.

That's not my issue. As stated above, Paramount + "states" it has shows on its platform--but only a few seasons of it, and not the entire series. JAG, I Love Lucy, CSI. So why bother subscribing to it, when they don't provide the entirety of what I want? At least with Netflix and Prime Video, I get all the seasons of retro/old and even recent new shows.

Edited April 18, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[SuprSuprElevated]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

They're doing exactly what consumers claimed to want when cable was huge. 

Not this consumer.  I don't want to have to pay $5 to $50 monthly for a myriad of streaming services to get one or two or a few shows I'll watch.  I didn't want to pay cable an upgrade for bundled shows I had no interest in, so I could get one or two I was.  Seems every month a new announcement of a show being moved to a streaming platform, requiring a fee to watch. 

I see this as the same strategy, your mileage differs.  

[Cloud9Shopper]

Netflix’s connection problems are getting so tiresome. Sometimes I just barely start a show and it immediately starts buffering or freezes for a few minutes. I can watch Hulu and Prime Video with rare issues but Netflix keeps raising prices while subsequently declining in quality. 

I’m considering just using Prime to buy the seasons of Gilmore Girls I watched already and that’s it. I’ll just have to deal with losing access to the originals I watch unless they get their act together. 

[tessaray]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

That's not my issue. As stated above, Paramount + "states" it has shows on its platform--but only a few seasons of it, and not the entire series. JAG, I Love Lucy, CSI. So why bother subscribing to it, when they don't provide the entirety of what I want? At least with Netflix and Prime Video, I get all the seasons of retro/old and even recent new shows.

It all depends on if CBS owns the show or secured exclusive streaming rights. The fact that all seasons of original CSI are on Hulu means that either another company is involved or there is a long term contract in effect.  They have been committed to slowly bringing back all their shows as existing contracts expire. You pretty much need Paramount+ if you stream Star Trek now.

[peachmangosteen]

25 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Netflix’s connection problems are getting so tiresome. Sometimes I just barely start a show and it immediately starts buffering or freezes for a few minutes. I can watch Hulu and Prime Video with rare issues but Netflix keeps raising prices while subsequently declining in quality. 

I rarely have issues with Netflix but, as I already mentioned, I have a constant problem with HBO Max while it seems no one else does. I also have issues with Hulu a lot and yet you don't. I don't get it lol.

[SunnyBeBe]

Hulu froze on one of my new Firesticks this weekend.  I switched it with another new Firestick and it worked fine!  How many Firesticks must I purchase to have access? It’s frustrating.  

I then had a nightmare trying to watch last week’s CMT Awards.  Omg!  Friday night I got it and watched about 20 minutes of it.   Planned to finish on Sat., but the next day, it wasn’t available. Tells me I need Philo , but after if got it, it’s only the pre-show and interviews!  Then it tells me I need Paramount. I got that, but still only the preshow…..then I’m told I need MTV!  Download that….not available.  I gave up.  I think I need Paramount +.

 To me, I have to fight too much to see stuff. Granted, I may have unusual taste.  I recall years ago, I had Spectrum (at that time Time Warner Cable) full package. I had all channels, all pay channels…HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc.  Plus, I had their DVR.  It worked well.  Even then, it was pricey, but worth it to me. I didn’t have to waste hours every weekend fighting to watch shows.  I recorded what I wanted to see and watched it when I wanted.  I can’t get a quote fir a total Spectrum package without giving them my contact information….no thanks to that.  Lol

Edited April 18, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I see this as the same strategy, your mileage differs.  

It's costly but different strategies because you aren't being forced to pay for something you don't want.  You elect to if you really want to watch the shows it offers.  

But I do think if the primary interest is a TV show that aired on a network, then just buying the show outright is probably cheaper in the long run than trying to find it on a service you otherwise would never subscribe to.

Except for Disney who are bundling their stuff.  And maybe HBO Max/Discovery+.

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I also have issues with Hulu a lot and yet you don't. I don't get it lol.

Oh Hulu is the worst.  It always freezes on me and unlike other streaming services where I'll occasionally have issues but know how to get them to work (via a different device or restarting a device), I just have to leave Hulu and come back to it until it works better.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

see this as the same strategy, your mileage differs.  

My preferred version of this strategy:

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

They're doing exactly what consumers claimed to want when cable was huge.  Cable bundled channels together and you paid to get access to all of them even if you didn't want all of them.

So consumers said they wished they could pick and choose the channels they want to pay for.  And that's basically what streaming is offering.  You can look at their offerings and select the services you'd like to subscribe to. And now they hate that as well.

--would be an option to pay per episode (with probably a price break for an entire season), with emphasis on the word "option," meaning that sometimes you just need to see the past week's episode that you missed because of an unexpected or unavoidable circumstance. Or you just discovered a show in its 2nd season and are willing to pay to see the first. I think of it like paying to see a movie at the drive-in before there was streaming--and I'm thinking of 1980s drive-in prices would be fair for an single current episode or an older season.

I think maybe Prime and IMDb and YouTube already do sell access to individual episodes, but I would like to see this across platforms and brands, like Spectrum and Paramount+, for example, so you don't have to sign up for a year, or even a month, and then jump through an exhausting number of hoops to cancel.

So, basically, I'm asking for what @Irlandesa describes as being what the companies are now doing in response to when "cable was huge" and "consumers said they wished they could pick and choose the channels they want to pay for," except now I believe we've arrived at a place where the stations tend to have much more content, so each content provider platform is as expensive (I think??) as it used to be paying for cable back in the day, if you adjust for the current value of a dollar compared to the yesteryear of cable.

Or, more succinctly: An episode or season today relates to a content provider the way a channel related to a cable service back in the 90s and early 2000s, but the marketing and packaging of content has failed to keep up.

 

[Guest]

18 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

That's not my issue. As stated above, Paramount + "states" it has shows on its platform--but only a few seasons of it, and not the entire series. JAG, I Love Lucy, CSI. So why bother subscribing to it, when they don't provide the entirety of what I want? At least with Netflix and Prime Video, I get all the seasons of retro/old and even recent new shows.

Eventually Paramount+ will be the place to watch them but it’s going to take time for pre-existing deals to end. CBS signed a massive steaming deal with Hulu in 2015 so CBS should get them back soon. It’s going to take a few more years before we really see what all the streaming services are going to look like. 

14 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 

I then had a nightmare trying to watch last week’s CMT Awards.  Omg!  Friday night I got it and watched about 20 minutes of it.   Planned to finish on Sat., but the next day, it wasn’t available. Tells me I need Philo , but after if got it, it’s only the pre-show and interviews!  Then it tells me I need Paramount. I got that, but still only the preshow…..then I’m told I need MTV!  Download that….not available.  I gave up.  I think I need Paramount +.

It is on Paramount+.

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

--would be an option to pay per episode (with probably a price break for an entire season), with emphasis on the word "option," meaning that sometimes you just need to see the past week's episode that you missed because of an unexpected or unavoidable circumstance. Or you just discovered a show in its 2nd season and are willing to pay to see the first. I think of it like paying to see a movie at the drive-in before there was streaming--and I'm thinking of 1980s drive-in prices would be fair for an single current episode or an older season.

Doesn’t this already exist? You can find most tv shows available to buy through streaming sites.

[Irlandesa]

23 minutes ago, Dani said:

Doesn’t this already exist? You can find most tv shows available to buy through streaming sites.

It exists for shows that have aired on regular format TV.  For shows that are streaming exclusives, you'd probably need to get a short subscription because they don't sell them episodically.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

It exists for shows that have aired on regular format TV.  For shows that are streaming exclusives, you'd probably need to get a short subscription because they don't sell them episodically.

True. I wasn’t thinking about streaming exclusives. I think I view those in a completely separate category. I do know that Paramount+ offers some of their originals for sale but they seem to be the exception.

On 4/17/2022 at 6:58 PM, SuprSuprElevated said:

Especially at a time when folks are struggling to put food on the table and gas in the tank, television will be one of the first budget line items to be erased.

This is actually why I prefer like streaming. I know that if I need to I can reduce my television down to $10-15 a month and still have plenty to watch. With cable that was never an option. I dropped cable when I couldn’t justify the ridiculous cost and love the flexibility that I now have. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

 Netflix shares plummet, after reporting first ever loss of subscriber base.

netflix-earnings-200-000-subscribers-lost

[tessaray]

I wouldn't be surprised if many of those were password sharers. Quite a few people split costs that way. (I give you my Netflix and you give me your Hulu kind of thing.) I know I kept Netflix long past the point where I would have cancelled a few years ago because my daughter used it. 

Which reminds me, I should probably cancel my Netflix again. 🙂

[proserpina65]

On 4/19/2022 at 5:03 AM, Dani said:

This is actually why I prefer like streaming. I know that if I need to I can reduce my television down to $10-15 a month and still have plenty to watch. With cable that was never an option. I dropped cable when I couldn’t justify the ridiculous cost and love the flexibility that I now have. 

I watch too many things on different networks for this to work for me.  It's far cheaper to pay for my satellite service than to pay for multiple streaming services.

[GHScorpiosRule]

7 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I watch too many things on different networks for this to work for me.  It's far cheaper to pay for my satellite service than to pay for multiple streaming services.

If I could get satellite where I live, I would.

But I'm definitely downsizing my cable now that a reasonably priced streaming service airs the shows I watch on MeTV.  And it allows me to record them, so I can bypass the gazillion commercials.

So buh-bye ComCRAP. I definitely need the internet, So I'll keep that. I hate my provider so much, because it won't let me downsize from the site. I'll have to call them after work this evening.

[proserpina65]

Just now, GHScorpiosRule said:

If I could get satellite where I live, I would.

But I'm definitely downsizing my cable now that a reasonably priced streaming service airs the shows I watch on MeTV.  And it allows me to record them, so I can bypass the gazillion commercials.

So buh-bye ComCRAP. I definitely need the internet, So I'll keep that. I hate my provider so much, because it won't let me downsize from the site. I'll have to call them after work this evening.

I definitely get the ComCRAP hate.  For internet, my only alternative to shitty Verizon is ComCrap, so I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[ABay]

NetSpeed has been very good to me and I still feel a warm glow when recalling the happy day I returned the dvr to Comcast.

I dropped Netflix and Hulu and picked up YouTube Premium just to be free of the badly-timed and frequent ads that cut into everything.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I watch too many things on different networks for this to work for me.  It's far cheaper to pay for my satellite service than to pay for multiple streaming services.

Who do get satellite from that is cheaper that multiple streaming services? I would be open to going back to cable or satellite but it’s also been a lot more expensive than just paying for  the equivalent streaming services. 

[proserpina65]

26 minutes ago, Dani said:

Who do get satellite from that is cheaper that multiple streaming services? I would be open to going back to cable or satellite but it’s also been a lot more expensive than just paying for  the equivalent streaming services. 

I have DirecTV, but I've had them for more than 15 years so I am getting some discounts for being a long-term customer.  And I do watch a lot of different channels, too many to depend solely on streaming services.  It all depends on what you watch on enough of a regular basis to make it worth it.  I do go over my viewing habits periodically to make sure I'm still doing the better deal.  I imagine the day may come when streaming everything is cheaper.

[SunnyBeBe]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I have DirecTV, but I've had them for more than 15 years so I am getting some discounts for being a long-term customer.  And I do watch a lot of different channels, too many to depend solely on streaming services.  It all depends on what you watch on enough of a regular basis to make it worth it.  I do go over my viewing habits periodically to make sure I'm still doing the better deal.  I imagine the day may come when streaming everything is cheaper.

Omg, a company that rewards long term customers!  Spectrum punishes theirs.  All good deals are for new customers.  After a while, they’ll raise the rates.  I deplore them, but feel compelled to keep it for now at my primary residence.  I use it to get On Demand at my country house.  I can’t even get the cost for additional services, without providing my name and address.  Ughhhh…

I just saw a story that Netflix stock plummeted today. They have suffered a big decline in subscriptions.  They are trying to figure out how to recover.  

[Irlandesa]

22 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I just saw a story that Netflix stock plummeted today. They have suffered a big decline in subscriptions.  They are trying to figure out how to recover.  

It's because they lost quite a few subscriptions but what's not being reported is that a lot of those are from Russia and they're out of Russia, I believe, because of the war.

And then there is the prices going up amongst good competition.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I have DirecTV, but I've had them for more than 15 years so

Before my parents retired and moved to India, we had DirectTV/Asian package, but also included the American channels, and the payments were affordable and reasonable. Not sure what the cost would be now, IF I could get DirectTV today.

Well, downgrading my service with ComCRAP didn't work; it would only shave off a scintilla from the bill. So, since I don't watch network television any longer, and I can watch what network shows from the Apps via Firestick, I cancelled my cable television service and the landline phone, that was part of a triple bundle, and am just keeping the internet. I'm going to look into other services that provide only internet to see if I can get a better price.

Fucking ComCRAP.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I have DirecTV, but I've had them for more than 15 years so I am getting some discounts for being a long-term customer.  

Interesting. Are the discounts a permanent things or do you to call occasionally to get them? If any of the providers I used would have dropped the tedious call and mention cancelling game and just gave me a set price I probably wouldn’t have dropped cable. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I keep a digital antenna with rabbit ears in a closet……just in case my cable goes out.  At times, I’m tempted to go off the grid and get rid of cable, internet, etc. Then, just keep one phone, either cell or landline and watch real free tv.  No internet.  If I did do that, I’d invest in a heavy duty outdoor antenna that I  would install up high, with lightning protection.  It’s not feasible to do that with my business, though.  I have a business phone line AND internet at my office!  It’s difficult to cut cost.  

[Jaded]

35 minutes ago, Dani said:

Interesting. Are the discounts a permanent things or do you to call occasionally to get them? If any of the providers I used would have dropped the tedious call and mention cancelling game and just gave me a set price I probably wouldn’t have dropped cable. 

The yearly ring around the posy with AT&T's retention department to get discounts were part of the reason I finally got rid of their U-verse TV (I still miss it sometimes). They got rid of the channel package with the lineup that would have been one step down, cheaper and almost all of the channels I was wanting to keep receiving. The next available package was too much of a step down for not much less then what I was paying.

The biggest issue I was having trouble with were the taxes and fees.  I had AT&T employees scoff at me when I'd mention how much I was paying in just those things outside of the actual package cost until they'd look my account up. The discounts used to cover those and take some off my bill then the discounts started to become less and less no matter when I called or how often. I wasn't calling multiple times a day or anything like that. The last two years they'd try and tell me I'd have to wait until discounts rolled off to get any new ones even if it was a few days before they'd be expiring. I'd have to make sure they prorated the next months bill to adjust for the newly given discounts for the next year.

It shouldn't be that much of a PITA to get somewhat decent prices or somewhere near the ballpark that decent would be in. I go to a deal forum for deals in general called Slickdeals and they have a DirecTV thread where longtime customers are at times not getting anything from the retention agents while others have more luck. I thought about DirecTV or DISH for a bit but didn't want to bother with more contracts and the satellite stuff where I am in the US. I've had YouTubeTV since last Summer which I got to better watch Olympic stuff. 

I apologize for the length of my post. I kept typing what was coming into my mind and didn't realize how long it had gotten.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Jaded

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I apologize for the length of my post. I kept typing what was coming into my mind and didn't realize how long it had gotten.

Heh. I just deleted my potentially even longer post because all of you already covered the nightmares of dealing with AT&T, DirectTV, and Spectrum.

[SunnyBeBe]

I have gotten substantial discounts on my business services by talking with the retention dept, with AT&T. It was a chore though.  It may be time to revisit that option.  
 

About 5 months ago I negotiated a great discount with Spectrum, but the rep said he had to go due to a technical issue and that he’d call me back in 1 hour, but he never did. When I called back and described what happened they couldn’t honor what the rep had promised me!  I have found that I get different answers from different reps.  It’s discouraging.  

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, SunnyBeBe said:

About 5 months ago I negotiated a great discount with Spectrum, but the rep said he had to go due to a technical issue and that he’d call me back in 1 hour, but he never did. When I called back and described what happened they couldn’t honor what the rep had promised me!  I have found that I get different answers from different reps.  It’s discouraging.  

If you ask the Spectrum rep to talk to the supervisor, and then ask to talk to the supervisor's supervisor, you can ask them to check the recording of the phone call with the promise. It helps if you know the date, but approximate should be okay too.

[SunnyBeBe]

Just now, shapeshifter said:

If you ask the Spectrum rep to talk to the supervisor, and then ask to talk to the supervisor's supervisor, you can ask them to check the recording of the phone call with the promise. It helps if you know the date, but approximate should be okay too.

I can try to find the approximate date, but since it’s been so long…I bet they would say they don’t still have the recording.  I wish I had done that.  Oh well,…..I’ll do that if it happens again.   I actually suspect that he knew the deal was wonky and that’s why he ended the call and didn’t process it.  

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I can try to find the approximate date, but since it’s been so long…I bet they would say they don’t still have the recording.  I wish I had done that.  Oh well,…..I’ll do that if it happens again.   I actually suspect that he knew the deal was wonky and that’s why he ended the call and didn’t process it.  

The rep I had thought mine was a crazy deal too. They still had the recording about 4 months later. If it was within a year, and if you can narrow it down to a few weeks, they should be able to locate it. But if you don’t want to hassle with it, I get that. Your time is valuable too. Plus, Spectrum will raise the subscriber's rate above the initial introductory rate each year anyway until it reaches the "regular" rate. At least that’s what the supervisor’s supervisor told me.

Edited April 21, 2022 by shapeshifter
Clarity and accuracy

[SunnyBeBe]

17 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The rep I had thought mine was a crazy deal too. They still had the recording about 4 months later. If it was within a year, and if you can narrow it down to a few weeks, they should be able to locate it. But if you don’t want to hassle with it, I get that. Your time is valuable too. Plus, Spectrum will raise the introductory rate each year anyway. At least that’s what the supervisor’s supervisor told me.

I wonder if it was the same rep! Lol

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I wonder if it was the same rep! Lol

Was it a youthful sounding female? 

[Spartan Girl]

Not sure if this is the thread to post about this but:

Netflix cancels a bunch of animated projects

Are you kidding me?! I’ve been dying for the Bone series ever since Netflix announced it, and now it’s been shelved because Netflix wants cartoons that make more Boss Baby numbers?! FUCK YOU, NETFLIX!

[SunnyBeBe]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Was it a youthful sounding female? 

No, it was a young man.  

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Dani said:

Interesting. Are the discounts a permanent things or do you to call occasionally to get them? If any of the providers I used would have dropped the tedious call and mention cancelling game and just gave me a set price I probably wouldn’t have dropped cable. 

One of them is permanent, the others tend to be temporary but I do get them frequently.  I pretty much always got a deep discount on HBO every time I called to activate it for Game of Thrones, usually at least half off and several times it was 3 months free.

15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Heh. I just deleted my potentially even longer post because all of you already covered the nightmares of dealing with AT&T, DirectTV, and Spectrum.

I guess I've been lucky with DirecTV/ATT.  So far, anyway.

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Not sure if this is the thread to post about this but:

Netflix cancels a bunch of animated projects

Are you kidding me?! I’ve been dying for the Bone series ever since Netflix announced it, and now it’s been shelved because Netflix wants cartoons that make more Boss Baby numbers?! FUCK YOU, NETFLIX!

I get it, but ultimately they are in the business to make money, and I guess they think that will make them more money.

[MaryMitch]

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It's because they lost quite a few subscriptions but what's not being reported is that a lot of those are from Russia and they're out of Russia, I believe, because of the war.

And then there is the prices going up amongst good competition.

Netflix lost me at their last price hike. I was willing to keep it for the few shows they have that I watch, but not after the cost went up AGAIN.  I might get it for a month when the next season of "The Crown" is out.