The other evening, I signed up for a "free trial month" small-platform offer through Roku, only to find the next morning that my credit card had been billed the amount of a monthly fee. I chatted with a customer service agent and upon finding out that trials are now only for new users -- not for prior users who would like to see if content has expanded since the year I thought it had been since my year-long subscription had expired, with no trials in between. It ("churning") used to be acceptable behavior once a year; it is no longer, at least with that platform. Then I was told the "month" would expire in 27 days! I blasted the CSA regarding clarity of terms and the accepted definition of a month.
I broke a New Year's resolution to 1) take the time to communicate with companies about unclear terms and changing policies for both clarity and, 2) to express pleasure or displeasure, but the latter should be first accompanied by thanking them for the things they do right.
So, Roku, thank you for providing so much free viewing material, I mean really good stuff, with primarily only 10-second Roku product ads and the occasional 30-second spot for other streaming platforms. Your TCL Roku TVs (I have 2) have held up very well and were a good value to purchase. That far outweighs the minor complaints noted above, and I am sorry to say I forgot my resolution altogether, It caught me on a bad morning.
