Published by JPLand on 08 Dec 2008 at 12:47 pm
Free - example #2
Want a bad example of something that is “free”? Too bad, I’m giving you one anyhow.
Let’s just suppose for a moment that a friend of ours has found himself with a TV capable of displaying HD (high-definition). And, for the sake of this example, let’s suppose that said person lived in middle Georgia, had cable, and wanted to explore the beauty of various channels that are broadcast in HD. Are you with me so far?
OK, so this “friend” of ours goes on the cable company’s website and is amazed to learn that eventhough he has the basic of most basic cables, some HD programming is available for free….make that free*.
Apparently, the company gives HD signals for “free”. According to the fine print, however, you have to have their special converter box in order to view these channels. Well, I’m not a stickler for details, so I call to inquire about how much this costs…I mean our friend called to see how much this box costs. Not for sale. What?! You mean they won’t sell me the box? Correct. You can only rent it for a monthly fee.
Since I’m a resourceful guy, I started looking around to see what commercially available options there are out there. Not so fast, Buck-o. The cable company claims that commercially available boxes will not work with their signal. (This might be a bluff, but it’s an expensive one to call.)
So here’s what it looks like. The company offers this service “free”, but the only way to get it is by paying a monthly fee. Doesn’t sound free to me. Surely there’s something I’m missing. I called the company. After making sure I had all the details, our conversation went something like this:
Me – “So the service isn’t really ‘free’, then is it?”
Cox – “Yes, it’s completely free!”
Me – “Can I buy a box to watch it?”
Cox – “No, you have to rent the box from us.”
Me – “Let me get this straight. Your service is ‘free’, but I can’t utilize it unless I pay a monthly fee?”
Cox – “No, that’s incorrect. You can use it, but you need to pay for the equipment rental.”
Me – (trying not to yell) “If I don’t pay some monthly amount to your company, I can’t view the channels, right?”
Cox – “correct”
Me – (giving up) “THEN IT’S NOT ‘FREE’”
Cox – “Well, if you want to look at it that way, you’re welcome to do so, but we provide this service free to our customers.”
Me – “…..”
So there you have it. A free service that comes with a monthly fee. Isn’t that nice of them? Good thing I protected the identities of my friend and the company.
Alana on 08 Dec 2008 at 3:57 pm #
Having once been someone who had to sell stupid things to people who didn’t need them, I feel kind of sorry for these guys. It’s a lousy job, and you are often forced to spout nonsense because someone who gets paid way more than you do says so and you need the paycheck.
Once a telephone company tried to sell us a long-distance plan. Xander told them we already had a calling card that gave us calls for 3 cents per minute. The person on the phone said, “Well, we can give you 4 cents per minute.” Xander–who I must remind you is a mathematician and not to be fooled by such fast-talking–said, “Yes, but 4 cents is more than 3 cents.” And the representative said, “Well, yes, but with 4 cents per minute, you could have a PLAN.”
JPLand on 08 Dec 2008 at 4:07 pm #
Having a plan does come with its rewards, you know. What if something completely expected happens? Not to worry…you have a plan!
Mike M on 13 Dec 2008 at 9:23 pm #
I feel your pain. As a “friend” of mine just bought a tv that is HD ready. After crunching the numbers I determined that in LA it costs you $17 to receive “free” HDTV. I can get 3 network channels in HD for truly free. It would actually cost me more because I would need to upgrade the TIVO to be able to record the “free” HD.