Sad day…

After cutting the cable cord BC (before Covid), we’ve decided to re-connect.  Like so many others, we’ve been in the wireless world for home internet and TV.  We used Tablo for free broadcast TV; T-Mobile’s “5-G” wireless internet; and a few subscription entertainment services such as Netflix and YouTube TV.  Sound familiar? 

Looking back I can see now that we followed the progression Clayton M. Christensen wrote about literally last century:

FUNCTIONALITY.  Once two or more products credibly satisfy the market’s demand for functionality, customers tend to choose a product and vendor based on RELIABILITY.  But when two or more vendors improve to the point that they more than satisfy the reliability demanded by the market, the basis of competition shifts to CONVENIENCE.  Again, as long as the market demand for convenience exceeds what vendors are able to provide, customers choose products on this basis and reward vendors with premium prices.  Finally, when multiple vendors offer a package of convenient products the basis of competition shifts to PRICE.

Our overriding reason for cable cutting a few years ago was cable companies propensity of surprise billing and price increases.  In hindsight we’re actually more aligned with what Adamson and Dixon wrote about in The Challenger Sale ®:

… while we might have assumed that things like price and willingness to customize would top the list for decision makers, they're significantly less important than widespread support and ease of doing business.

Hmmm “widespread support and ease of doing business” am I dreaming? 

My wife is the patient one.  She’s also the technology savvy one.  But even she has capitulated.  Too many program interruptions due to buffering; re-booting; disconnecting the wireless box; calls to tech-support, which after waiting countless time on hold being told, “Everything looks OK from our end. We’re showing you’re connected.” even when we weren’t connected.  We’ve added equipment; swapped equipment; and come just short of throwing equipment, all to no avail.  We should have known better:

Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window.                                 

Steve Wozniak

Re-enter Comcast lurking in the wings for frustrated former customers like us I suppose.  We still remember their issues back in the day.  Buffering; dropped connections; waiting on hold for countless time only to be connected to a rep that couldn’t solve the technical problem from off-shore.  It seemed the only thing Comcast was good at was similar to the general contractors Norman R. Augustine wrote about:

Anyone who has ever built a house will understand the only thing that the general contractor ever manages to get out on time are the bills.

So here we are; back where we started.  Time will tell if cable technology is truly any better.  Comcast has already changed our pricing expectations even before we’re connected!  As it turns out the lower monthly price requires a direct debit to our bank account and the promotional price is good for 2 years and then will go up.  Is that our favorite, Unknown Sage in my ear?

"DEJA MOO”:

The feeling you've heard this bull before.

Wish us luck – we’ll need it!

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.