New Chrome Extension Automatically Negotiates With Comcast For Rate Discounts (fiercecable.com) 62
A technology company called Trim aims to take away the stress and displeasure associated with talking to Comcast service representatives. They have created a bot via a Google Chrome extension that negotiates with Comcast reps over the internet, seeking discounts for various services offered by the cable giant. FierceCable reports: Trim is marketing the tool in this somewhat hilarious YouTube video, which shows the subscriber, "Brian Roberts," typing his Comcast customer information (name, phone number, email, etc.) into the application. The bot takes it from there, initiating chat with a Comcast "analyst" named "Sukhwinder."
"Hi. I'm trying to lower my bill," the bot says. "I don't want to upgrade anything or change my plan at all. I just want to get the best possible rate for my area. Can you help?" As the video shows, users can engage in one of four classic video games as the chat slowly runs its course. (The Trim developers in the video choose Pong.) The bot has two settings: "autopilot," which lets you sit back and watch it negotiate for you; and manual, which lets you step in.
"Hi. I'm trying to lower my bill," the bot says. "I don't want to upgrade anything or change my plan at all. I just want to get the best possible rate for my area. Can you help?" As the video shows, users can engage in one of four classic video games as the chat slowly runs its course. (The Trim developers in the video choose Pong.) The bot has two settings: "autopilot," which lets you sit back and watch it negotiate for you; and manual, which lets you step in.
No they are not (Score:5, Informative)
This article is false, this is just in ideation phase, with some mockup.
If you watch the video, most of all they are a company for harvesting personal data, like correct addresses, names, phone numbers and services, which is valuable to marketers. These bozos don't do anything for you, you are a product for them.
Why read about fake news on FB or Twitter? (Score:2)
Fake (and recycled) news has been a staple of /. for a decade or more!
Re: (Score:2)
Hey now, the Alt-Right exists. I mean, their numbers in the US are probably less than 50,000 and the reality is they have all the political sway of leper colony. But they do actually exist.
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Define "alt-right" in such a way that isn't propaganda coming from the left.
What exactly does the "alt-right" believe. Who is its leader? Who funds it?
My guess, it is the new "Racist!" cry from retards who can't actually articulate what they themselves stand for.
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Your guess would be wrong. The left didn't invent the alt-right movement. The information you seek is available. If only there was a way to search for it on the internet. ;-)
alt-right movement (Score:2)
I don't like to reward churlishness, but here you go:
http://www.npr.org/2016/11/17/... [npr.org]
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Read the whole article. Interesting bit.
The only thing I can think of, is the Left has Streisand Effected the "alt-right" I knew nothing about them until the left told me about them.
"first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" - Mahatma Gandhi.
Guess which stage the left is on this?
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http://slatestarcodex.com/2016... [slatestarcodex.com]
The "alt-right" racists seems to be a very small number according to actual statistics. And according to this article "Mostly online". Please note, I am not making excuses to the racists, I am questioning the left's fascination with everything "racist". The artcle I posted the author (not a Trump supporter) makes the same case I just did, calling attention to a dispossessed minority (aka Streisand Effect). More liberals are talking about "alt-right" than there are members of
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no, racists are the new communists. Alt-right is the new sasquatch
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Well, back in my day, we had The Glorious Meept!! [slashdot.org] on Slashdot and a Clinton in the White House. And all was right in the world.
Now, run along, sonny.
they are saving your sanity (Score:2)
I call it sweet justice. All I feel sorry for is the poor drone having to waste their lives for a paycheck chatting to a bot. I hate that comcast or all the companies that try to profit through customer disservice pit theses drones against their customer.
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Comcast will quickly counter it by replacing their reps with bots that talk the customer into expensive upgrades and bundles. Better hope your bot doesn't lose the argument.
Re:No they are not (Score:5, Funny)
Of course, the story IS tagged BeauHD (BS) (Score:2)
Yes indeed. This for anyone who didn't notice the "BeauHD" tag. That's Slashdot's tag for "complete amd utter bullshit.
BeauHD almost makes one wish we could trade him for that guy who used to post those stupid misinformed hosts file tirades years ago, ABC or whatever he was called.
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He's still around and still peddling the same bullshit, just not as often as he used to. "apk"
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People in the gutter. More bots, less jobs, more homeless people in the gutter. It will also reach the hipsters that create those bots, though they may enjoy 20-30 years of "prosperity" on the back of others, while the society around then is crumbling, at there will be a morning, where they will wake up, and there will be no one left to steal from but themselves, they would have to exit their automated house, and get out of their automated car, into the automated grocery store, only to find out there is no
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That's a hyphen up there. Do you know where yours was supposed to be?
Re: I'll have my bot,, (Score:2)
People in call centers have no job, they have no talent or no skill
That is why they are in the call center
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I'm sure Automating negioations with Comcast... (Score:5, Insightful)
Will get you an automated reply which once Comcast figures out you are a bot, will immediately set you up to be charged the highest rate possible.
Of course, all the information you provide the "bot" (Name, address, phone number, account number and anything else you offer up like a fool) will be sent to the nice company who is just trying to get you the best deal from Comcast possible (or more likely, just create a customer list of known Comcast customers so they can sell your information to interested parties.)
Besides, Comcast, like other carriers, only offer their *best* deals to people who are leaving (turn it off! Now!) or New Customers who are shopping around and know what questions to ask. Usually the absolute best deals come with strings, like a 24 month term with an early termination fee that would make Warren Buffett weep and a *discount* only applied to the first month so they can legally advertise the too good to be true deal.
No BOT can manage this.... Trust me.. It's a scam trying to pass itself off as a way to get around a scam.
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They are trying to cash in on the success of that lawyer bot that fights parking tickets. The difference there is that it is a simple case of identifying legal reasons not to pay, and applying them. The rules are fixed, you make the right move and you win. It doesn't matter if they figure out it is a bot or see the same form letter a thousand times, the law is the law.
When trying to get a discount from Comcast there are no rules. Thus a bot will be ineffective.
Sullivan (Score:2)
We need a Chrome extension that would break Comcast up into pieces.
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I'm not suggesting you dismantle Comcast in order to get lower prices. I'm suggesting you dismantle Comcast because they are too damn big and have too much control of the marketplace.
I'm old enough to remember when there were a bunch of local ISPs and that's what brought prices down.
Sometimes, just enforcing the law is enough. There's far too much consolidation in telecommunica
BEWARE (Score:5, Informative)
This is a complete rip off. After getting your name and email address, they ask for cell phone number, then ask for login to your bank account. _Not until you do all of that will you get access to the software_. And then it doesn't work. Stay far far away.
BeauHD - this is a scam (Score:5, Interesting)
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BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR ONCE.
LOL. That'll be the fucking day
Filter error: Don't use so many caps
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I bet Slashdot was paid for this article and that's why it appeared.
Bot vs. bot (Score:2)
Since the bulk of the Comcast reps on the other end of the line are doing little more than entering the customer's comments and choosing from a list of pre-made responses, this truly is a bot vs. bot conversation. I've designed and built call centers for companies like American Express. The humans in the call centers are glorified text-to-speech engines with almost no knowledge or expertise on what they're discussing. They follow scripts and don't know how to deviate very far from their loops.
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Pretty much, except that there are no "Hosts" and no pleasant experiences with Comcast's CSR's.
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This is a scam (Score:4, Informative)
This is a scam. To work as an editor on a site for tech news surely some technical knowledge is required. Even my aging mother knows that zapping the monkey doesn't really mean you get a million dollars.
I suppose I can't expect much critical thinking, common sense, or hell, basic brain stem function from an avowed Democrat. BeauHD - bringing Slashdot scams your grandma is savvy enough to avoid and Trump hit pieces. I guess it beats jacking it to Hillary droning "stronger together" or whatever that crooked old bitch was on about.
A good case for AI. (Score:2)
If you have highly scripted Comcast employees from some back of nowhere, sic Watson on them.
You can only ask for discounts on a voice call (Score:1)
I haven't been with Comcast for about year now, but whenever I ask about promos or discounts on chat, they pretty much automatically tell me to call in to the billing/sales voice line and that they don't have the authority to make plan changes via chat. Perhaps some others can chime in with their experiences.
So by my experience, this automatic negotiator bot is a no go from the git go because you can't negotiate via chat.
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That's better than AT&T. They doubled my rate, I called to complain, they told me tough luck. I threatened to walk, they said go ahead and transferred me to the cancellation department. Where they were ever so diligent in cancelling. Not once did they try to stop me.
They had no interest whatsoever in retaining my business.
Did Slashdot just work with thugs to get our info? (Score:2)