I recently was compelled to go to the office of the cable company. I’ve probably been in this store twice in the last decade and a few times at their previous location. Walking into the store reminded me of a similar experience at a Microsoft Store. That is the complete make over to make it look like an Apple Store. The familiarity of this simulacrum was immediately shattered as I walked in. Rather than be greeted by a perky millennial, someone yelled to me from the back to sign in. I’d made an appointment online and proceeded to wait 20 more minutes for what should have been a very simple transaction not involving any money. Just gimme the modem and I’ll be on my way. The may be aping Apple but they are still the cable company. It’s like that line from Multiplicity, “You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it’s not as sharp as… well… the original.”
The other thing that struck me is that as I looked around, I did not see any indication that I could get cable service from this business. Nowhere did I see an HBO poster or a channel line up. There was just one TV. I didn’t see any cable boxes or DVRs. It looked like they wanted to sell me a phone. I can’t imagine why someone would buy a phone from the cable company. That make no sense.
I guess they’ve given up on the cable business are are trying to compete with the phone companies. It’s sad, really.