Reddit, if we truly want to combat the practices of a company like Comcast, I propose the following...

I've contemplated posting this with some time and I've tried to keep it as brief as possible. The TL;DR is this, by rallying together as a large group of informed customers, we can negotiate and demand a better service.

The Problem If you've ever tried to negotiate with a company to demand cheaper service, I'm willing to bet your efforts were almost entirely in vain. I've tried. And failed.

This is primarily because we, as individual consumers, constitute a minuscule proportion of a company's overall revenues and have little impact on what level of service we can demand from them.

Of course, each company is entirely aware of this - they understand their customer base is entirely decentralized and has no negotiation power.

The Solution The solution isn't a major revolution but it is simple; an organized community where collusion and information is disseminated amongst all users. Trade unions have been doing this for years, where their members work together to achieve a common goal.

The situation is no different in dealing with companies.

If I, as a consumer, stop buying widgets from Company A then it is quite unlikely Company A will care all that much. However, if one thousand customers stop buying widgets from Company A then it is much more likely to take notice - and better yet, take action.

Here's a hypothetical scenario. We organize, right here on reddit, a substantial group of several thousand customers, from across the United States, that are unhappy with a particular type of service. Utilizing these large numbers, we can enable a bargaining process with different service providers to achieve a favorable outcome; notably, lower prices and better customer service.

The first target. Internet Service Providers.

If you do a quick search on reddit for "Comcast" you'll see an overwhelming amount of responses that fail to paint the company in a positive light:

From user /u/dannfuria

Comcast’s Corporate response to my recent Reddit front page post (“Comcast’s Notorious Unreturned Equipment Fees”) sends clear message: Comcast does not give a sh*t about customers – unless your story goes national.

From user /u/seeasea

Comcast, without my permission and knowledge, adds services to my account and charges me extra for it. Details inside.

From user /u/fredandlunchbox

If I was paying Comcast for the service I actually receive, I'd be paying less than $3/month. Instead, I'm paying $78.

There was, at least, some humor to be found in this thread title from user /u/ZackFair

How long could Bruce Banner deal with Comcast before becoming The Hulk?

It is inherently obvious that Comcast has a complete disregard for providing a quality level of service with some customers left with no other option but to bring, what should be, trivial issues into the public domain, to force an acceptable response from Comcast.

Of course, this issue isn't solely a characteristic of this company alone.

The real problem is that Comcast can afford to weather some bad PR, given their large market share. One customer isn't going to make a difference to them. Ultimately, you and I, the customers, are left with few options to negotiate with the behemoth.

In light of all the negativity, customers have started to take action... Just take a look at the /r/WarOnComcast subreddit. While individual action is to be commended and lauded, the power of collective bargaining can be used as a strong tool to demand better service and better prices from the company or their competitors.

Losing 50,000 customers is bad. Losing 50,000 customers to a rival company is worse.

The Next Step

This first stage is to gauge reaction and promote discussion on the topic. So reddit, what are your thoughts? Is this something we can work together to achieve?

Edit 1 Look how /u/astrodog88 got better service in this thread