When I got Verizon FIOS internet service and cancelled my Charter cable modem, the Charter rep asked why I was cancelling.  I told her that I’d gotten FIOS.  She had no clue as to what that was, and I had to explain it to her.  I also explained to her that there was no discount or anything else they could do to keep me, other than to offer comparable bandwidth (which given their cheesy 256Kbps upload caps I just don’t see happening).  I think that last bit finally convinced her to give up on the stupid retention script and cancel the service.

They still didn’t have a clue when I got FIOS TV and called to cancel my subscription.  But at least they didn’t hassle me too much.  That was last fall.

Last night I got a call from Charter’s telemarketers.  It started out with some spiel about how they had an offer that could save me money over FIOS.  I didn’t let her finish the sentence, as I’ve learned from long experience that you must never let them get their flow going.  Which is why I took a deep breath and said, “I have absolutely no desire to go back to Charter; please put me on your do not call list.”  I try to include the do-not-call part in one quick sentence, so they can’t hang up fast enough to claim they never heard it (which I’ve had happen with some telemarketers; as soon as you say “do not call” you hear a click). 

She stumbled for a second, and then branched to the standard long-wait to get on the no-call list speech.  If Charter is such a high-tech company, why does it take them 30 days to take you off their call lists?  Sounds like an excuse to keep bothering you for another month.

Not that it really matters, because they can take their crappy bundles and cheesy slow “high speed” service and stuff ‘em.