Today I have to rant. Grab your soapboxes and join me if you like.
I love my husband, but we have different ways of looking at things. My feelings are "If it's not broke, don't fix it". Rob thinks more along the lines of,"this is boring, let's do something different". I think it's a gender thing and we're not the only couple that faces this little issue.
Now, how do you feel about the term "bundle"?
If it's a bundle like this, it's fine with me.
If it's a bundle like this, you have my full attention.
But if it's a bundle like this, you'll need to drag me kicking and screaming.
Why? I like technology, really I do. You might even say I love technology. I love to play with the newest gadgets. I have three Kindles, one just for reading books, one for checking email and reading blogs and that sort of stuff and one for watching movies , listening to music and playing games. I have an electronic sewing machine that is smarter than I am and I love almost anything made by Apple.
Yesterday we became bundled. We used to have our television service with one company, our telephones with a different company and our internet with still another company. As of yesterday they are all serviced by the same company. It makes me feel queasy to put all my eggs in one basket. Now we are at their mercy and from what I've read and heard they aren't all that merciful.
If one goes down they all go down. If rates go up, they all go up together in one giant bundle of bucks.
Are you all bundled up? Are you happy about it? At least for the moment all my devices are working, so I can't complain about that, but.........
Rant over....for the moment.
17 comments:
I'm with you. I got unbundled when everything went off and I was totally helpless. I considered buying carrier pigeons.
Now I have all different companies and after comparison shopping I'm paying less than I did when I was bundled.
We are 'bundled' here too--I had those same feelings that you did and do, but knock on wood (!!!!) we've never had a problem!!
We only have a 'bundle' of landline phone and internet. Though SHE has a kindle that SHE loves, She doesn't even use a mobile phone! Technology is great when it works.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
Good rant! I agree.Barb of Ernie and the furkids :-)
I actually have to call and talk to customer retention about our damn bundle... they raise the rate every year, and every year I call and see what I can get out of them... we've had a DVR free of charge for 2 years, among other things...
I have a local ISP that thinks bundling is where its at, so I have cable, phone (just one landline, isn't that quaint?) and internet service which started out a couple of years ago at $98 a month and is now up to $103 which isn't too bad, I suppose. Cheaper, anyone?
Jo
My smarter than me sewing machine is having an issue and I don't want to be without it long enough to have it fixed. What's a girl to do?
We were bundled until the rates went so high we couldn't do it any longer. plus they offer all these great prices but only if you are new - if you've been with them for any length of time - too bad for you. Now we have internet and tv through the same provider and no home phone at all. And I use a free email account. It works.
g
Oh gosh Sue. We are going through this right now. We are switching to DSL, bundling both land line and cell plus high-speed internet. It is $65 per month cheaper to go this route, but that's not why it's happening. This move is precipitated by getting a new TV, which is new-fangled and HD, etc, requiring some changes no matter what. blech. It requires 2 different work crews to come in: one to install the satellite dish, the other to add a phone line that our cable company destroyed 10 years ago. By this time next week I hope it's all working. I have doubts. And hardly ever watch TV.
Not a fan of bundling; gives the provider too much control and no incentive to earn your business because they know what a hassle it is to have to change everything at once when they provide crappy 'service.' But customer service has by and large gone the way of the dodo these days. Hope it works out for you. Maybe the telecom companies are less arrogant in MO than they are in MD.
I have 4 landlines and internet for $144. Cable is a different company and outrageous. But to get the cheap satellite prices, you have to sign a 2 year contract, and after 6 months the price will be the same as the cable price. So every other year I call cable, whine, and they cut the rate in half for 6 months, as long as I agree to stay with them for 2 years. Oh, and for the Scotties? I have a cell phone, which I carry when I go out. Some months I might reach double digits in minutes used! And I have sent 5 texts over the years! How's that for out of it?
Ha! We aren't bundled for that very reason. Internet and phone are together, but it's not all bundled and I'm fighting the good fight. I'm a fan of free market enterprise.
We are "semi" bundled. About a year and a half ago we started having all sorts of problems with our Internet service. It was a major pain because our DSL line was provided by our phone company, but we had a separate Internet Service Provider, so each of them would blame the other for the issues we were having and we'd get bounced back and forth with nothing ever resolved. Now we have phone, DSL line, and our Internet service all provided on one bill by one company. I think we ended up cutting our monthly bill by about $15 by doing this. When I called the phone company to make this change, they also wanted to add TV to our bundle, but I've kept that separate. The bundle we have has a fixed rate for the first five years. When the price goes up, I'll probably eliminate a bunch of services that we don't need (call waiting, etc.) I remember in the days before we had Internet or satellite TV, we paid less than $20 per month for phone service and TV was free (antenna). *sigh*
I am not sure how much benefit there is to keeping things separate. We have cable and Internet together. The price just keeps going up and up, but the service is pretty darn good. Plus the competitor offers some one year honeymoon prices and then they go up too the whole thing is way too expensive not matter what, but it is now too much a part of our lives to go without. Even my brother up in the forest of California (the aging hippy) who has shunned television and cable has an Internet connection and cell phone.
Mango Momma
I agree with you...not a fan of bundling. We have, however, been ranting between the two of us because the cable bill keeps going UPPPPP!! I call and complain every six months or so, but this is getting ridiculous. Now, we are toying with the idea of either switching to a dish...or canceling it all together. What tv we do watch, I usually watch on my ipad...but I have to admit that I would miss my HGTV!! The rest of the stuff I can pretty much do without. My husband and I both have separate cell phones with separate companies...I'm with Sprint, he is with Verizon. The cable and internet are together with Time Warner ... for the moment. We canceled our home phone years ago. Like you, I covet anything made by Apple and I totally love my Kindle!! :) Happy Sunday! xo Jeanne
THe thyroid med for my cat comes in a one ml syringe. I give 0.1 ml to her ear tip and rub it around. She is a cat and although a great one, the daily pilling was getting to be unhappy for her. She has respiratory issues too, so we try to keep her happy as possible at 16 ripe years of cat age. !
We is bundled on Verion Fios, so far so good and cheaper den TIme Warner.
Woofs and Licks,
Maggie Mae and Max
PeeS Mom LUVS her MacBook Pro and Ipad but her has a nook not a kindle. :)
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