Make Government Work !

[Uncle J]

Those chickens all came home to roost when Direct TV and Dish Network came along and gave the people a choice in who would get their money .

For a bit, but then Direct TV got bought by AT&T and became just as bad.

 

[Riven]

For a bit, but then Direct TV got bought by AT&T and became just as bad.

And now they're all in the same boat because younger people are forsaking cable tv altogether and opting to stream all of their entertainment.

 

[Uncle J]

And now they're all in the same boat because younger people are forsaking cable tv altogether and opting to stream all of their entertainment.

Sorta. It's more that Gen Z's tend to not watch "shows" the way we usually think of it. My Gen Z kids mostly watch Tik Tok, Twitch, and whatever vids their friends share with them. It's pretty rare for them to watch an actual show.

Plus, streaming is facing a dilemma. Most platforms are losing money (only 3 are making a profit: Netflix, Hulu, and WB Discovery), with the main problem being customers who only sign up for a month or two then leave. Plus, a lot of people don't want to have 5 or more separate subscriptions, let alone pay "premium" prices for ad-free service. Sometimes when you add it all up, it's not much different than the cost of cable or satellite. Add in the convenience of a DVR, and suddenly cable/satellite is more competitive.

Streaming platforms really need to offer better bundle options and do something about ads. That's why I keep hearing that we're effectively back in the 90's, where we can't just pick what we want to pay for and we can't skip ads.

But then, this is life in a corpocracy.

 

[Uncle J]

Thought I'd share one of my more memorable stories from my time as an in-home customer service tech.....

As I described earlier, at that time (late 90's) we were upgrading to the new digital cable system, which involved installing cable boxes and giving people new remotes to work the boxes. Well, one time I got a work order for a guy who had his new cable box installed the previous day and was saying he couldn't get all the channels.

So I went to his house and asked him to describe the problem. By all appearances he was an entirely normal guy, lived by himself, had a nice house with nice things in it, had family pics around, etc. And then he tells me....."This cable package is supposed to have over 400 channels, but you gave me a remote that only goes up to 9".

At first I wasn't sure if I heard him right, so I picked up the remote and started channel surfing and said "Well, the remote seems to be working now". He shook his head and said "No, it only goes up to 9. There is no button for channel 10, 11, or anything higher." So I explained that if he wanted to go to channel 10, he needed to hit the 1 button and then the 0 button.

I kid you not....he didn't get it.

He immediately asked "But what if I want to go to channel 59?" I said "You hit 5 then 9". He shook his head and said "But what about channel 201?" I said "Hit 2, then 0, then 1".

This went on for about 3-5 minutes before I finally got a sheet of paper and wrote down instructions on how to use the remote to turn to channels above 9. When he saw that he was very happy and even later called our office to say how helpful I was.

It was events like that that caused me to tell my kids they should get a customer service job at some point in their lives, just so they could see the sort of people customer service agents have to deal with.....and to see for themselves that there really are some folks out there who have "issues".

 

[hawkman]

It was events like that that caused me to tell my kids they should get a customer service job at some point in their lives, just so they could see the sort of people customer service agents have to deal with.....and to see for themselves that there really are some folks out there who have "issues".

My dad always said everyone should work for the general public at some point , you will learn things .

Back in the old days I repaired VCR's . A man brings a VCR in with a tape stuck inside the machine . He tells me it is a video of a dog running a rabbit and he needs the tape returned to him unharmed if possible .
The next day I have removed the tape but I have not repaired the VCR yet . The customer drops by and I hand him the tape . Later when I have the VCR repaired and he comes to pick up the repaired VCR he said ," Where is my tape that was stuck in the VCR ?" . I said I already gave it to you . He argued the point but I told him the man that came got the tape looked a lot like him .

 

[Uncle J]

My dad always said everyone should work for the general public at some point , you will learn things .

Clearly good advice!

Back in the old days I repaired VCR's . A man brings a VCR in with a tape stuck inside the machine . He tells me it is a video of a dog running a rabbit and he needs the tape returned to him unharmed if possible .
The next day I have removed the tape but I have not repaired the VCR yet . The customer drops by and I hand him the tape . Later when I have the VCR repaired and he comes to pick up the repaired VCR he said ," Where is my tape that was stuck in the VCR ?" . I said I already gave it to you . He argued the point but I told him the man that came got the tape looked a lot like him .

You could've asked.....do you have an identical twin?

 

[jasonc]

My dad always said everyone should work for the general public at some point , you will learn things .

Back in the old days I repaired VCR's . A man brings a VCR in with a tape stuck inside the machine . He tells me it is a video of a dog running a rabbit and he needs the tape returned to him unharmed if possible .
The next day I have removed the tape but I have not repaired the VCR yet . The customer drops by and I hand him the tape . Later when I have the VCR repaired and he comes to pick up the repaired VCR he said ," Where is my tape that was stuck in the VCR ?" . I said I already gave it to you . He argued the point but I told him the man that came got the tape looked a lot like him .

Sir I need an ac compressor for my cooper ,he is told there is two types ,he is also told that the measurements of the diameter of the pulley .the guy calls back an hour later with a part number reference and the reference is to the same part problem one or the other .he has no clue about cars.wont fix it but wants to pay for the part but have a shop that the parts store deals with install it because he wants to save .yet can't figure out what is what .

I can dig up those stories all day .

 

[hawkman]

Sir I need an ac compressor for my cooper ,he is told there is two types ,he is also told that the measurements of the diameter of the pulley .the guy calls back an hour later with a part number reference and the reference is to the same part problem one or the other .he has no clue about cars.wont fix it but wants to pay for the part but have a shop that the parts store deals with install it because he wants to save .yet can't figure out what is what .

I can dig up those stories all day .

Ordered a RCA TV part from the distributor , waited a couple of weeks and the box arrives . I open the shipping box and get out the small part box and open it but it is empty , no part .

 

[Riven]

Thought I'd share one of my more memorable stories from my time as an in-home customer service tech.....

As I described earlier, at that time (late 90's) we were upgrading to the new digital cable system, which involved installing cable boxes and giving people new remotes to work the boxes. Well, one time I got a work order for a guy who had his new cable box installed the previous day and was saying he couldn't get all the channels.

So I went to his house and asked him to describe the problem. By all appearances he was an entirely normal guy, lived by himself, had a nice house with nice things in it, had family pics around, etc. And then he tells me....."This cable package is supposed to have over 400 channels, but you gave me a remote that only goes up to 9".

At first I wasn't sure if I heard him right, so I picked up the remote and started channel surfing and said "Well, the remote seems to be working now". He shook his head and said "No, it only goes up to 9. There is no button for channel 10, 11, or anything higher." So I explained that if he wanted to go to channel 10, he needed to hit the 1 button and then the 0 button.

I kid you not....he didn't get it.

He immediately asked "But what if I want to go to channel 59?" I said "You hit 5 then 9". He shook his head and said "But what about channel 201?" I said "Hit 2, then 0, then 1".

This went on for about 3-5 minutes before I finally got a sheet of paper and wrote down instructions on how to use the remote to turn to channels above 9. When he saw that he was very happy and even later called our office to say how helpful I was.

It was events like that that caused me to tell my kids they should get a customer service job at some point in their lives, just so they could see the sort of people customer service agents have to deal with.....and to see for themselves that there really are some folks out there who have "issues".

How did you go from the cable guy to scientist? Did you... evolve?

 

[Uncle J]

How did you go from the cable guy to scientist? Did you... evolve?

At that time jobs in my field were rather scarce, so every now and then I had to take whatever job I could get. Fortunately it all worked out.

 

[hawkman]

At that time jobs in my field were rather scarce, so every now and then I had to take whatever job I could get. Fortunately it all worked out.

Science is your calling as they say , your field of work you are enthusiastic about . You want to help the world be a better place . Am I close ?

 

[Uncle J]

Science is your calling as they say , your field of work you are enthusiastic about . You want to help the world be a better place . Am I close ?

Yep. I've worked in conservation biology for almost 30 years now.

 

[jasonc]

How did you go from the cable guy to scientist? Did you... evolve?

Mam says coaxial is of the devil .