Have you ever stopped in a store or some public location and just stared a big-screen TV and think to yourself, “I only wish” because of the price? Well, most people have probably thought that at one time or another. How cool would it be to order that TV and the Sunday Ticket?
Unless you can’t get the Cowboys games where you’re at, getting Sunday Ticket should be the second step, with the first being getting that hug HD TV.
Again, there’s a problem: the price. However, there is a solution: Aaron’s Furniture.
At Aaron’s, you can rent, buy or rent to buy and can count on Low-Price guarantees. You will pre-approved automatically with no credit check required. You can set up whichever monthly payment plan works best for you whether it’s six month, one year, 18 months or two years.
If you’re looking for furniture, electronics or appliances, Aaron’s is the place for you. Located all over East Texas, including one on South Broadway in Tyler, Aaron’s is easy to find and is available for all your furniture and electronic needs.
If you’re renting an apartment for about 6-12 months, you might want to consider Aaron’s. If you don’t have the money upfront and you only need the furniture or appliances for a brief period, why not rent? It’s a win-win situation because nobody beats Aarons; nobody.
Now, let’s talk about how great it would be to watch whatever NFL game you want, whenever you want.
It’s been about a year and a half since I wrote my original article on Southern Utilities Water Company in Tyler, and still their service has not improved. Their unhelpfulness, and extremely poor customer service has made this company a source of real frustration for Tylerites like myself. Unfortunately, their lack of concern for customers is not limited to the company’s owners. Evidently the employees who work there are tired of the complaints of unhappy patrons and now make a point of maintaining a sarcastic and superior attitude.
So why am I returning to this topic? Because; I’ve had yet another disagreeable encounter with the business just today. When I arrived at the drive through window, (which by the way I did before four in the afternoon because that is when they close), I realized that I’d forgotten my bill. I explained to the girl what had happened and she responded with a blank stare and a “you’ll have to go inside for that.”
Now I realize that this in itself would not be a huge issue but I had my three year old with me, which was why I selected the drive through in the first place. I let slip a rye chuckle and asked “don’t you have a computer there that you can just pull it up on?” She responded with slightly more emphasis and a great deal more sarcasm: “You’ll have to go inside for that.”
So what she successfully communicated to me is that the kids working at Sonic have greater technology, and probably knowledge of that technology than one of the oldest utility companies in the Tyler area. I won’t detail the story of my encounter inside the building, but while I was not disruptive I did make it clear that I didn’t appreciate the company’s complete disinterest in the satisfaction of its clients. “As far as I can see there’s not a single thing this company is willing to do to make its patron’s lives easier.”
There are two ways to pay your bill with Southern Utilities: a check through the mail, or cash or check on location. There is still no website (which seems unheard of in today’s business climate), there’s no phone payment method, and they don’t even accept check or debit cards. The lady behind the desk didn’t care. Big surprise. Is there anyone in the East Texas area who wants to start a new business? I suggest servicing water to those who don’t qualify for city water. I can give you the names of numerous folks in our area who quickly sign on to your service.
I like television a lot. I realize this should be sort of an embarrassing confession for someone who has aspirations of appearing deep, intelligent, or very religious but its true. And I am a relatively intelligent person of faith. I should say that: first off, with work, and a three year old little boy, I’m pretty busy, so while my television is often on, I don’t pay super close attention all the time. Secondly, while I enjoy TV, I’m not indiscriminate about what I watch. I have often been appalled by the A- moral, even hedonistic messages presented on television, so I was pleased to receive a packet from the people at the Nielsen ratings group asking me to participate in the ratings polling this fall. This is something I’ve never done before.
Now I have to say that were it not an opportunity to put in my two cents regarding what is or should be on television, I would certainly not go to the trouble of participating. I don’t actually watch much network TV. I watch a lot of cable news, (Fox in particular), ESPN, the History Channel and the Travel Channel. Of course the boy watches Nick and Nick Jr. I had always assumed that the ratings groups simply monitored what their control groups watched for a week and assembled the results into a report of some kind. It had never really donned on me to question how they monitored my viewing.
Seems like kind of a stupid assumption now that I know otherwise. In actuality there is a fairly detailed log for selected viewers to fill out. It runs day-by-day, evening-by-evening for a whole week. The participant enters the names of the times, programs and channels he watches, as well as the number of people watching with him and their ages. Frankly the whole thing is a bit intrusive but it gives the viewer an opportunity to express an opinion to a venue that actually matters.
TV Ratings in Tyler Texas
In spite of the fact that completing the logbook is a little too much like homework I plan to my best to complete the survey. It seems like a more reasonable approach to influencing the networks as well as the cable and satellite providers than boycotts and angry letters of protest. I would encourage anyone else on Nielsen’s list this fall, to participate as well. At least this way you know someone’s listening to your opinions. For more information on Nielsen and how they gather viewer response, try visiting their web site at http://en-us.nielsen.com/content/nielsen/en_us/industries/media.html.
6004 S Broadway, Suite 100, Tyler – (903) 561-9393
5393 S Broadway Ave, Tyler – (903) 324-1117
4601 South Broadway Avenue, Tyler – (903) 939-1808
We have been having so many problems communicating with AT&T. Our cell phone bills in Tyler Texas have been higher than they should be. We decided that we should go up to the store and talk to them about lowering our bill. When we had gone up to the store we had explained that we are thinking about cancelling one of your phones. After we had expressed that the bills were more expensive than we had originally agreed on, they told us that we only had to pay less than half of what was on the bill. They had also told us that we would be getting $150 back on our next bill.
When we got our next month’s bill it was twice as much as the month before, and it stated that we had not paid the month before. We have been having a lot of issues like this one. The issues started to happen when we got the package deal. We got internet, direct TV, and two cell phones on one bill. Although this deal saves some money, it is really stressful that AT&T keeps on messing up our bills. It is really frustrating that when we go to the store they tell us one thing but then when we get our bill in the mail it states something completely different.
When we bought our phones we had got them from the Tyler Wal-Mart. We went up to the Wal-Mart phone section and talked to the guy that worked for the electronics. We had told him that we wanted to cancel our phone. He told us that soon AT&T will not be offering the unlimited internet package and that if we decide to cancel or switch phones we will lose the unlimited internet. He explained to us that soon other companies that Tyler Wal-Mart sells phones for are soon going to offer unlimited internet, text messaging, and phone calls. Soon we will be moving our cell phone service over to this smart phone, because we are tired of having to talk to so many different confused people about the problems on our phone bills.
For those readers who’ve been following my Tyler Texas Suddenlink saga I would like to offer this afterward. (Sorry Donny, I just want to be sure to offer our readers some proper closure). I eventually contacted the Suddenlink rep who offered to assist me in negotiating a better deal on my cable and internet service. After pulling teeth to get to talk with someone with decision making authority, I appreciated that a representative of the company was taking an interest in my case. Fortunately, most of the conversations took place via e-mail as well, so as not to take up any more of my time. The central problem I had was that each person I spoke to seemed to tell me something different. (I must have talked to five or six different people). This seems to be symptomatic of dealing with a large company like Suddenlink, with so many separate departments and entities, that they tend to function like separate businesses. The trick is to find someone who can cut through all little bureaucracies and make a definitive decision. Admittedly this is much easier said than done.
After a couple of emails I was told that a local supervisor would contact me to discuss my service. I spoke to the local super briefly over the phone and we came to an agreement. First off she compensated me for my time. Secondly, she offered to look at my account and see whether or not I could be given the advanced tier like I was originally offered by the disembodied voice I spoke of in my last article. As it turned out she was unable to offer that package at my current rate, but she did offer me thirty days free trial. I thanked her but declined. I’d rather not get used to having the additional channels and then have to either let them go or start paying eleven dollars a month more for them. With my tendency toward procrastination, I’d probably just end up keeping them. So in the end I didn’t get everything I wanted but at least I received satisfaction.
What does the future hold for Suddenlink and me? Long term it’s difficult to say. Having found some people there who are willing to assist me has made it easier to consider sticking it out and acquiring additional services over the long haul. If my service continues as it is now, I may be a Suddenlink customer for a while. To review my story, look for the following titles in this order, on this site: Direct TV or Suddenlink, Which One, Hard to Decide Hmmm? and Suddenlink Internet Service in Tyler Texas. Also, visit Suddenlink’s website at www.suddenlink.com.
