From: franz@hspice.portal.com ()
Subject: Re: pressure those nasty Bay Area cable companies!
Organization: Meta-Software Inc., Campbell, CA
Distribution: ba
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 01:12:07 GMT

Well, I'll tell you my cable story.  I grew up in Fullerton (Orange County)
and when we got cable, it was a local company that was pretty good and
responsive.  Then they got bought out by UA Cable and the quality took
an extreme nosedive.  The cable went out at least once a week (usually
during your favorite show) and when you called, the phones were always
busy.  The people in my town started writing letters, to no avail.  Then
they started writing letters and calling their local representative
when the cable went out.  The result?  Fullerton (generously) gave them
6 months to clean up their act or they'd kick them out.  UA Cable screamed
and said they couldn't kick them out, but after 6 months, the service was
improved to tolerable.  (They were still jerks, though.)  Later, my father got
into a dispute over a bill (he paid it, they said he didn't) so he let them
cancel it.

So a few things to do: 1) Write letters to the cable company.  Send them
  return receipt requested.  2) Call your local representative.  Start with
  the city council and work your way up to state or federal.  3) Write your
  representative.  4) For each 24 hour period of non-working cable, delete
  a day's worth of money off your bill (after all, you couldn't watch it and
  you're paying for it).  5) Cancel your cable.  The Bay area does get the
  basic channels, though not as many as LA.  If you want more (without the
  commercials), get a satellite dish.  It will pay for itself in cable bills
  in a few years (though you do have to lug it around with you when you
  move).

Post Script:  Be glad you don't live in Santa Cruz.  In SC, you're lucky if
  you get 2 channels to come in clearly.  You practically have to get cable
  to watch TV.  The plus is, even though it's UA Cable, they've been pretty
  reliable (at times *more* reliable than PG&E in SC) and they've upgraded
  to the bigger cables (so we get *lots* of channels).

Obviously, a lot of people all over the country are disgruntled with their
cable service.  That's why there was a bill placed before Congress on the
issue of regulating the service.  Of course, the cable companies were
definitely against it.  I don't recall the outcome.

-fran(lookingfortheperfectjob)z

To: ba.general
Subject: Re: pressure those nasty Bay Area cable companies!
Newsgroups: ba.general
Organization: Meta - Software
Cc: 
Bcc: 


Well, I'll tell you my cable story.  I grew up in Fullerton (Orange County)
and when we got cable, it was a local company that was pretty good and
responsive.  Then they got bought out by UA Cable and the quality took
an extreme nosedive.  The cable went out at least once a week (usually
during your favorite show) and when you called, the phones were always
busy.  The people in my town started writing letters, to no avail.  Then
they started writing letters and calling their local representative
when the cable went out.  The result?  Fullerton (generously) gave them
6 months to clean up their act or they'd kick them out.  UA Cable screamed
and said they couldn't kick them out, but after 6 months, the service was
improved to tolerable.  (They were still jerks, though.)  Later, my father got
into a dispute over a bill (he paid it, they said he didn't) so he let them
cancel it.

So a few things to do: 1) Write letters to the cable company.  Send them
  return receipt requested.  2) Call your local representative.  Start with
  the city council and work your way up to state or federal.  3) Write your
  representative.  4) For each 24 hour period of non-working cable, delete
  a day's worth of money off your bill (after all, you couldn't watch it and
  you're paying for it).  5) Cancel your cable.  The Bay area does get the
  basic channels, though not as many as LA.  If you want more (without the
  commercials), get a satellite dish.  It will pay for itself in cable bills
  in a few years (though you do have to lug it around with you when you
  move).

Post Script:  Be glad you don't live in Santa Cruz.  In SC, you're lucky if
  you get 2 channels to come in clearly.  You practically have to get cable
  to watch TV.  The plus is, even though it's UA Cable, they've been pretty
  reliable (at times *more* reliable than PG&E in SC) and they've upgraded
  to the bigger cables (so we get *lots* of channels).

Obviously, a lot of people all over the country are disgruntled with their
cable service.  That's why there was a bill placed before Congress on the
issue of regulating the service.  Of course, the cable companies were
definitely against it.  I don't recall the outcome.

-fran(lookingfortheperfectjob)z