I think we have to be really careful about anthropomorphizing companies.
The CEO has to make rules, one of which is that they charge fees for all boxes so that people have no incentive to try to game the system. The rule must be consistent across the board. He or she also knows that the people implementing this rule will be low-paid and are not the right people to make the choice about what excuse to accept.
Further, he or she (the CEO) realizes that if your house is destroyed, you're going to put in an insurance claim, including possibly for any lost property belonging to services contracted to the house.
For this reason, they're not cutting you a break. They need a consistent policy that doesn't have any loopholes. It's not much different than computer security, actually. You eliminate ambiguity and make upstream rules.
That isn't to say it doesn't suck. Then again, it's a drop of suck in an ocean of suck. I've seen the pictures of some of the devastation and my heart goes out to the people there. If I thought they needed my services, I would give them a discount.
This brings me to the meat of this rambling post: go Consumerist style but instead of complaining to Comcast, offer it up to them as an opportunity. You mentioned how they often go out and do community initiatives. Suggest to them that they reach out to the recently devastated and offer a free cable hook-up and services with monthlies at the regular rate. You never know, it could work out for them, since all the devastated homes will need some kind of internet, and whoever makes it easiest may win over the harried homeowners.
The CEO has to make rules, one of which is that they charge fees for all boxes so that people have no incentive to try to game the system. The rule must be consistent across the board. He or she also knows that the people implementing this rule will be low-paid and are not the right people to make the choice about what excuse to accept.
Further, he or she (the CEO) realizes that if your house is destroyed, you're going to put in an insurance claim, including possibly for any lost property belonging to services contracted to the house.
For this reason, they're not cutting you a break. They need a consistent policy that doesn't have any loopholes. It's not much different than computer security, actually. You eliminate ambiguity and make upstream rules.
That isn't to say it doesn't suck. Then again, it's a drop of suck in an ocean of suck. I've seen the pictures of some of the devastation and my heart goes out to the people there. If I thought they needed my services, I would give them a discount.
This brings me to the meat of this rambling post: go Consumerist style but instead of complaining to Comcast, offer it up to them as an opportunity. You mentioned how they often go out and do community initiatives. Suggest to them that they reach out to the recently devastated and offer a free cable hook-up and services with monthlies at the regular rate. You never know, it could work out for them, since all the devastated homes will need some kind of internet, and whoever makes it easiest may win over the harried homeowners.