I'mASuper.com

So after some serious “thinking” and reviewing of facts and details, I’ve finally made a switch in both my TV Programming, and Internet Service Provider.

Here’s my old plan:
$14.99 Comcast Limited Basic TV (7 Channels)
$45.99 Comcast High Speed Internet (6Mbps)
——-
$60.98

Now, I’m a really cheap guy. If there’s any way to save money every month, I guarantee you, I’m going to find it. Hence the limited basic television. However, when Dish Network introduced there new TurboHD programming options, I knew I had to make a switch. Here’s what I did:

I canceled my Comcast internet account completely. I then signed up for Qwest DSL (1.5 Mbps) and TurboHD Bronze package. Let me give you the run down:
$39.99 Qwest DSL (1.5 Mbps)
$24.99 TurboHD Bronze (27 channels all in HD)
$05.99 DVR HD Receiver
——-
$70.97

Qwest charged me a whopping $10 activation fee, and guranteed me my price for life. Dish Network threw me on a 2 year contract, free installation (which went well), and a 50$ bill credit. In addition to that, because I told them a friend referred me, they gave my buddy 50$ off their bill, and gave me an additional 30$ bill credit.

With all the incentives that Dish threw at me, the installation cost me absolutely NOTHING out of pocket. In addition to that, I got an 80$ bill credit and my first bill was only 63$ for the first TWO months of service. If you’re not following along, that means that my first 2 months of service are free, and my third month is going to cost me about 13$.

Everything has been installed now for a little over a week, and I have to say I’m quite happy. Although I’m a computer enthusiast I don’t do a lot of downloading (No torrents or anything.. no time for that BS) so I haven’t really noticed that 1.5 Mbps downgrade from 6 Mbps Comcast. I also Work from home over a Cisco VPN, and haven’t noticed any real performance problems over the slower connection, even when working with SVN or using Remote Desktop to a server at work.

All in all, for 10$ more I’m getting a lot better TV service (Oh man how I love that DVR) and I don’t have to give Evil Comcast any more money.

Information on the $5.00 no phone line fee (Additional Outlet Programming Access Fee) is here.

I recently had the pleasure of flying with Whirlybird Helicopters in Layton, Utah.  What started out as a somewhat frustrating experience turned out to be a great example of good company management and customer service.

My wife had contacted Whirlybird Helicopters several weeks in advance to schedule a 30 minute introductory helicopter flying lesson for my fathers-day-gift. What a creative gift, Ah? The flight was scheduled for 10:00 AM in Layton, Utah.

To simplify things, we showed up at their office at 10 to 10 without any sign of anyone. Anywhere. To make matters worse, we had our two children with us, both under the age of 3.  After waiting for almost an hour and 15 minutes, we decided it was time to pack up and leave. It’s important you know, that in any other circumstance we would’ve been out of there much earlier, but I knew that if we left, we’d never be coming back, and I didn’t want to miss out on such an amazing opportunity.

It turns out that the instructor who was supposed to take me up had flaked out, and Adam (CEO)had driven over as fast as he could. Adam was a fantastic guy with a great attitude, and obviously a lot of concern for customer satistifaction. We were up in the air 30 minutes after he showed up. My instructor was incredibly knowledable, and he explained everything about the helicopter, and process.

I don’t want to set the wrong expectations for future customers of Whirlybird, so all I will say is that Adam was a gentleman about the mistake, and did way more than I expected to compensate me for our lost time and frustration in having waited for an hour. It was clearly and unusual circumstance, and not a situation he was pleased with. His resolution was way more than fair, and I left with a feeling of exhilaration at having flown a helicopter and the satisifaction of having been taken care of as a customer, despite a customer service hiccup.

I highly recommend Whirlybird for anyone looking to take helicopter flying lessons, or even seeing if it’s for them. They’re incredibly affordable (less expensive than almost everyone else in Utah, and incredibly professional) and know how to treat people right. You can find them at flywhirly.com.