In this population, we are all undeniably individuals, but one self-evident truth among most of us is that our cable and/or satellite providers are total crap. It’s bad weather knocking the dish out of service, or sports games blacked out, or pricing spikes without any rewarding blowback for consumers. And it turns out Comcast customers may be the most outspoken of us all, as the Philadelphia mega-corporation has taken the top prize in Consumerist’s Worst Company in America poll, earning it the coveted Golden Poo award. It should look great on the shelf next to the one they won back in 2010, since this definitely isn't Comcast’s first rage-filled rodeo.
Comcast is only the second repeat winner in the poll’s nine-year history, with the catastrophe-plagued Electronic Arts taking the Poo in both 2012 and 2013. But E.A. was button mashed right out of the competition in the first round by none other than Time Warner Cable, the company that Comcast is trying so desperately to buy out and merge with. Even though the acquisition – should it go through on Wednesday, April 9 – isn’t expected to drastically affect cable subscribers across the nation, one has to wonder if it would have affected this poll had the merger taken place a week ago.
Of course, maybe everyone who voted for it is using this proposed merger to fuel their anger. One only needs to take a cursory glance at the Internet to find layers upon layers of Comcast hatred, a lot of it stemming from horrible customer service. But I don’t know that I would have guessed it'd beat out more headline-grabbing companies for the top honors.
As you can see in Consumerist’s tournament bracket below, Comcast was actually on easy street in the early rounds, only taking on marginally maligned companies Facebook, Yahoo!, and Verizon. The final four came down to Comcast against SeaWorld, the theme park that became a huge target after Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary Blackfish set it up as a mecca of monsters oblivious to death and suffering, and Walmart against Monsanto, the controversial and lawsuit-friendly biotech and agricultural company.
Do you guys agree with this? Is Comcast really that bad? But more importantly, will Lululemon Athletica take home the Poo next year? We shall see. In the meantime, stay away from banks, airlines and department stores and you should be in a good mood for most of 2014.
Because a company can sometimes only be as good as its customers, here’s Angry Grandpa going off on a Comcast service rep. Foul language is included.
