"Honey, get the claw hammer. We're going down to Comcast"

Fed up with lousy service from Comcast, Mona Shaw, 75, and her hubby grabbed a claw hammer and went to their local Comcast office to settle a score. She destroyed a computer and phone before cops got involved. "Now do I have your attention?" she asked one Comcast employee. (Washington Post | Multichannel News)

Comments

[KellyMac]

HI-LAR-I-OUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Soo]

And that is why I won't switch from my satellite.

I may not watch my TV very often, and usually just for the weather or a show on Discovery or History, the weather may knock out my signal for awhile, but I have great customer service with my system!

[lld]

I threw out the Adelphia guy when he came to my house (a day late) and "tried" to hook up the cable. He didn't want to leave, but changed his mind when I went to call the police. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with his supervisor and they sent a new guy out the next day. The new guy was great and I got a year of free cable from them. The whole story about why I threw him out is too long, but he definitely deserved it.

[Jim]

Cable companies are a joke. There is no such thing as customer service with them. They have a monopoly that we pretty much can do little about. I have been a customer of time warner for 25 years. Last week we were shut off for being 12 dollars short on the bill. The mistake was theirs, but too bad they said we were late in payment.

[Jessica]

Ha, That'll show em'! I only wish I could have been there to see their faces. I always get great service from my dish guys, but i know what it's like to talk to a machine or a really rude lady about fixing a problem. I just try to remember that i get grochy at my job some days too.

[jimmyjohn]

How can a judge hear this case with a straight face? There truly is a new hero in town.

[elchampino]

Crappy service is a significant (though not the main) reason why I don't have cable. I just rock the Netflix like there's no tomorrow.

[pnwguy (no relation)]

We've had Comcast for years (NOT for phone service, however) and, for the most part, customer service has been great. Service calls really wnet down when they went digital.

[SwarthyTroll]

Hilarious indeed.

I have had issues with the "customer service" people from Cablevision but the guys who actually come out and do the work are good guys. They have to put up with a lot of crap from both their bosses and the customers who finally get a human face to yell at.

[debilsadvocado]

I wonder if she knows Soo's mom?

[Cherie]

Pissed Off Comcast Customers UNITE!!!!!

[Cherie]

When I had NUMEROUS problems with my cable company (TWC) a few years ago I went to their web site, copied their Mission Statement, got the number for the main office and called the VP of Customer Relations and left her a message quoting their mission statement and then explaining my experiences. She called me back the next day....they must've noted my file...I've never had problems since then. I noticed a few months ago they removed the contact numbers and names of execs from the site. Go figure.

[invah]

Gee, I have never felt like doing that.

Meanwhile, has someone set up a defense fund for them yet? I would totally contribute.

[flatdaddy]

Why haven't two DJ's from a cheesy country music station written a song about her already?

[whyaskwhy]

I am not one to advocate violence but that lady deserves a medal. What can you do when you play by the rules and get ignored?

I think most of us have had those types of situations where you would love nothing more than to cheerfully strangle the person on the other end of the line. It may not be their fault directly but they just happen to be the not so lucky one on the other end. Especially if they don't understand you and you can't understand them. Makes it kinda hard to make a complaint if the person on the other end can't write in English.

Round of applause for Mona!

[pnwgal]

Who among us hasn't been tempted to head down to the local Comcast office and destroy it with a claw hammer?

I hate Comcast. With a passion. We went to cable when we moved and I've wanted my dish back ever since. Customer service sucks and the people they send out to do any kind of work are idiots.

I'll see your round of applause, whyaskwhy and raise you a standing ovation for claw hammer-wielding Mona!

[Bob]

I can sympathize. Thankfully I have not had that kind of problem with Comcast, but I have heard the stories. Of course the officials of the company say that their records don't match what she claims.

[1270]

been pirating satellite for years havent paid ah bill

[Beppo]

It took me over a year to get Comcast to come out and switch my TV to digital cable. A freakin' year. The first three guys came in and looked at my 36-inch TV as if it were Godzilla and said they couldn't hook it up. The fourth guy - several months later- set it up in 10 minutes and left. I haaaaaate Comcast.

[Henje]

Mona is 75! and still swinging a mean claw hammer. I can't wait for curmugeon-hood so I can mow my lawn in the nude, keep chronic cats, never throw out the newspapers, commit assorted felonies in public places and demand free donuts.

Maybe I should start practicing now.

[pirate wench]

I have heard so many bad things about Comcast - it's the only option for cable in our area (i guess we could get sattelite), but after everything we've heard we've opted for no television at all. you can downlaod any episode you want to from a pirating site anyway.

Okay, and maybe I'm being totally naiive here, but isn't the US economy/ govt. supposed to not allow for monopolies? I thought I learned that in high school - maybe something's changed since then. Why is this an exception?

[Soo]

My mom did something similar way back in the day. She was flipping through the channels and discovered Madonna on MTV. She called and called, but no one would answer, so she went down to the local office. She asked if she could have "that damn slut channel" taken off, and she was told it was part of the basic service.

She arranged for someone to come and shut it off. She took off work (two jobs) to wait for them all day, and they never showed. Meanwhile, she's calling and no answer. So she unhooked the box and its cable from the wall, and went back to the office. They told her no, she had to wait for them to come pick it up, and that if there was anything wrong with the equipment, she'd be liable for the damage. She allegedly said, "Damaged? I don't give a flying f*ck if it's damaged or not, but if it matters to you, then here you go!" then started slinging it around by the cable, letting it go so that it smashed into the front window of the office.

She then told them to send her the bill for the box, but if she got another month's bill for cable service, she was coming back "bigger ammunition."

Of course, that was back in '87. Customer service for cable companies has generally always sucked. Some people get lucky and get great service. Most people do not.

[Oriole]

How do I hate Comcast? Let me count the ways....not the least of which was when Mr. Adams installed a satellite dish, and I called the local Comcast office to cancel our service. No problem. Hah! I kept getting monthly bills, on which I'd note that we'd cancelled the service, along with the date and the name of the customer service rep I'd spoken to. Seven months later (receiving bills the entire time, and returning them as described) a Comcast serviceman is knocking at my door, threatening to disconnect my cable unless I pay this huge bill. I explain to him that we'd cancelled the service long ago, Mr. Adams had disconnected the cable and we hadn't used their service for some time. He *still* stood on my porch and continued to threaten to disconnect my cable. Oy!

[Henje]

Soo, I am soooooooooo in awe of your mom. Although it must have hell for breakfast to live through. And if she is still alive, maybe you ought to tag her with geo-locator, so innocent civilians will know where she is.

Still, have you considered writing a book --something along the lines "I TOLD you not to mess with my mom"

[Dick Tater]

No one is forced to subscribe to cable. The couple's behavior is inexcusable and while jail time would be counterproductive, I do hope the couple is forced to reimburese the company for any and all damages. If you don't like your cable company, switch to satellite. If you like neither, read a book.

[Jim]

wang spud, just go home will ya!

[G-Man]

I have to agree with the Tater on this one. I'm not sure why the newspaper is treating her like a hero. Most of us get pissed at other people or companies , but we don't go around swinging a hammer and destroying someone else's property.

I have Comcast (formerly Adelphia) and never had a problem with them.

"Okay, and maybe I'm being totally naiive here, but isn't the US economy/ govt. supposed to not allow for monopolies? I thought I learned that in high school - maybe something's changed since then. Why is this an exception?"

Wench - They aren't really monopolies anymore now that you can get service through a satellite company or in some areas now the phone company. There are some industries (including cable before people could get service through satellite or phone company) that are recognized as natural monopolies. In the case of cable it would be a mess to have a bunch of cable companies running wires all over the city. They are regulated though and aren't allowed to just jack their prices up any time they feel like.

[BallstotheWall]

She shouldn't have been hitting the machines and computers as they did nothing wrong. The people on the other hand...

[debilsadvocado]

It would be appropriate for them to pay damages, with a senior discount. And if they stay with Comcrap, a pro-rated bill for their inconvenience, or a few free months. Funny as a story, but sorry behavior for people old enough to know better.

[Cherie]

While no one is "forced" to purchase cable...if cable is your best option...you're screwed because you only have ONE cable company to choose from. I agree with P/W...I thought the government was against monopolies?
As I said earlier, I have Time Warner Cable, but I've experienced the same problems as many of you above. When the cable companies can start competeing against each other, our rates will go down and the quality of service will go up? Any chance of that happening? Henje...you seem to have an "in"...spill what you know!

[Henje]

Happy to oblige, but this one is a hell of a mess. Such a mess that it could ONLY have been created by an act of congress. Which it was

The 1996 Telecommunications Act (aka The biggest government giveaway in the history of human relations)

Briefly the act was SUPPOSED to encourage competition, but instead it rammed industry consolidation down the throats of the american public. It reduced the number of major media companies from 50 in 1983 to 10 in 1996 and from 10 in 1996 to 6 in 2005. (Sense a trend?)

It also dumped media ownership regulations which led to a huge decline in the number of radio station owners, although there has been a significant increase in the number of commercial stations.

Now we have ad hoc monopolies that are immune to anything short of a 75 year old woman with a claw hammer.

wiki has all the details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

[G-Man]

Cherie - Cable doesn't work like that. They wouldn't be able to just share each other's lines. I think you'll see a lot more competition from the phone companies in the next few years.

I do know someone filed a lawsuit again all the cable companies to offer a la carte channels which I'm all for. I watch maybe 10 channels regularly, another 10 occasionally, and the others never.

[Henje]

One other point about people "not having to buy cable" That's true, but not to the point.

Avenues of communication are a publically held common resource, NOT private property. As such they should be equitably distributed and serviced; not held hostage to the highest bidder.

[thomas]

Henje; are you implying that Congress rid us of potential monopolies with good intentions, to be mystriously replaced by an untouchable ad-hoc system of more stations owned by fewer individuals? Not to mention the major media players. It's hard for me to believe that this isn't exactly what a majority had in mind.

[troschne]

Soo, that is a GREAT story. Thanks for the laugh! I think my mom would have liked your mom--she was never one to be screwed with, either!

[Henje]

Thomas,

It is my contention that a good many yachts were paid off that year.

Common Cause notes that since 1997, just eight of the country’s largest and most powerful media and telecommunications companies, their corporate parents, and three of their trade groups, have spent more than $400 million on political contributions and lobbying in Washington.

Now I'm not saying $400 million influenced any one to do anything. As they say in Texas, if you can't take their money, drink their whiskey, screw their whores, and vote against 'em anyway you don't belong in politics. But $400 million is a lot of jack in anyone's jeans.

[Soo]

I would also like to point out that many years later, when my mom had finally cooled off over this, she decided to get cable again. She was blacklisted until a competitor started up! Interestingly, she's never had a complaint about them.

She's mellowed a bit with age. Or maybe it's just that she's no longer responsible for my criminal of a sister and the rest of us!

[thomas]

Here it would be referred to as free market capitolism. In developing countries, we call it corruption.

[Dave]

She's a spunky old gal. I wouldn't mind buying her a beer.

[Me]

"Damaged? I don't give a flying f*ck if it's damaged or not

No offense to your mom, Soo, she sounds like a great lady, but with a mouth like that, why was she so concerned about the "damn slut channel"?

[yucca]

kill your television

[Soo]

My guess is that after slogging away at her 2nd waitressing job that day, Mom wanted to come home to the 11 o'clock news and not Madonna prancing around in a black bustier with booby tassels at a peep show while schmoozing it up with an underage kid.

[notapunk]

I know when I had Cox there were more than a few times a claw hammer would have come in handy...

"I do know someone filed a lawsuit again all the cable companies to offer a la carte channels which I'm all for. I watch maybe 10 channels regularly, another 10 occasionally, and the others never."

Posted by: G-Man | Oct 18, 2007 12:17:28 PM

Most that is offered in packaged deals are a few the folks watch and the other 159 that don't sell but pay to be there. Let the market decide, not some dimwit flunky!
It's hard to just block channels because when they are not being watched enough, they slip in a program that folks actually will watch but as a rule, for my part they can take Lifetime, BET, all the shopping channels, any telemarketing channels, any religious channels, MT video crap channels, the liEbral so called news channels, most local programming channels, and dozens of others (takes up too much room to list) and shove them where the sun don't shine. They are wasted electricity. A la carte all the way!