*click*

1-800-ATT-2020. Voice menu. Service requests. Denise. Confirm PIN on account. How may I help you?

Please cancel this account's U-verse TV service.

Okay sir. Let me route you to our Retention department.

Ed picks up. He's in the San Fernando Valley, 20 minutes from here. Another excellent customer service hire; his voice smiles over the phone.

Please cancel the TV service. We like the 'Net, but we're just not watching the television.

May I ask why, sir?

TiVo wins; it's easier and faster to use. Free HDTV on the channels that matter for college football is enough, and U-verse charges extra for HD even on the bare-bones package. We really haven't watched the U-400 stuff much in the last two weeks.

Ed asks minor technical and accounting questions. AT&T will turn off the service tomorrow. Please just pay the broadband Internet portion of the bill. AT&T will send a postage-paid coffin for the DVR, please wait 10 days for it, then return the U-verse receiver in it.

Re-enabling the service is a simple call to a friendly AT&T rep. A service tech would need to install a new U-verse DVR.

Makes sense, Ed. Thanks.

Thank you sir.

Everyone has a great day.