washingtonpost.com: Comcast's Perks to Montgomery Leaders Criticized. It turns out that you do have a place to turn to if Comcast has not been living up to its promises. If you have a complaint to file and you live in Montgomery County, Maryland, I urge you to do so. The number of complaints logged can be used as proof to local government officials that Comcast's customer service is lacking.
The link to the Washington Post article above is very informative. I suspect that the local government dealings that Comcast pursues is not a unique situation of Montgomery County, but nationwide. I am not surprised that they spend so much to retain favorable status within local governments. I only hope that over time, with the advent of broadband over wireless or over power lines, that Comcast realizes the value of good customer service and a competitive price to service ratio. Unfortunately, a competitive price is not currently a concern for Comcast here in Montgomery County.