.... to lie to and cheat their customers?
I've had cable/internet hooked up at different addresses probably 5 times in the past several years, and they've missed appointments then lied to me about it 3 of those times to try to get out of reimbursing me by giving me free installation (as is their "policy").

I had the standard 5-8PM installation window yesterday evening for cable. Left work early and got there at 4:50. Waited till 8:00, no truck, called them, the lady says a guy came out at 5:11 and no one was home. I told her that was simply untrue; i was home, and no one came by. The report the installation man left described my house correctly, so it's apparent he was there at some point. But i'm guessing he showed up about 20 minutes early, hoping I would be home because he was in the neighborhood, saw I wasn't there, then submitted a report that he was there at 5:11, hoping that was close enough to 5:00 that it would be believeable i wasn't there.

I had basically the same thing happen a few years ago, plus another incident where I called after they missed an appointment and they claimed it was scheduled for a previous date, and that I was the one that missed it before, but of course they hadn't bothered to call me when I supposedly missed my appointment.

So I'm wondering - will there ever be internal documents or memos leaked from places like TWC that outline practices for customer service and technicians to follow to retain customers and avoid paying for their mistakes, or is this knowledge just passed on by mouth to TWC employees?

7/4/2006 9:51:27 AM

id wager that plenty of companies do shit like that, nothing new.

7/4/2006 9:58:49 AM

I don't know about TWC but those documents certainly exist for Bellsouth's DSL department. We had a clear and strict set of instructions to follow in all situations which in many cases included the use of straight up lies.

7/4/2006 9:58:54 AM

yeah I had the same thing except I was outside in front of the house the entire time.

She was like "Sir didn't you go inside to go to the bathroom?"

Me "Of course I did but my front door was open, there was a mower still going and my car was drying. And I was only in my house for the time it took to pee"

She argued with me until I asked for a supervisor. That settled the matter.

What happens is that the installers are paid by the call. So if you aren't there they still get paid. I don't think it's the full amount but if they have to wait (because they are early) it's less money they make. I've had it happen 3 times total now but only once they fought.

7/4/2006 10:04:50 AM

you should be able to bitch out of most charges, thats how our society works.

7/4/2006 10:06:53 AM

She rescheduled for Friday - I told her I didn't expect to pay the $73 COD for the installation, and she said that's "not possible". I told her I expected some kind of compensation because I scheduled this appointment 3 weeks ago, and now I have to wait nearly another full week without TV/internet at my house. She "talked to her supervisor" and gave me $20 off the installation

7/4/2006 10:26:59 AM

The problem is the field technicians are contractors, not employees of TWC. It's unscrupulous contractors cheating both you and TWC.

7/4/2006 10:30:19 AM

Wait, TWC has free install right now. Unless they won't free install when you move for current customers. I'd call back and say you'd like to speak to a supervisor and explain how you were lied to, then argued with and will be going with Satellite if you have to pay for install.

If they go "okay" they are violating a huge policy they have about never losing a customer.

Remember you've been a customer for how long? They have more than made up their money for that.

7/4/2006 10:46:25 AM

yeah, all you have to do is call and talk to the super for any company and say you are going to their competitor

you should have been able to get the installation fee waived and money off for at least 6 months

7/4/2006 11:53:57 AM

Quote :

"The problem is the field technicians are contractors, not employees of TWC."

bingo.

7/4/2006 12:19:26 PM

people are lazy - that is every company's standard practice

7/4/2006 12:21:59 PM

Ive never paid for installation in all 4 of the apartments Ive lived in. Maybe I just happened to always do this during a free install period, I dunno, but Ive never paid for it, whether it was new service or transferring service.

Quote :

"yeah, all you have to do is call and talk to the super for any company and say you are going to their competitor"

A few months ago I called and told them I was switching to Dish and wanted to cancel....the guy took a few minutes and said "Ok, you are scheduled for disconnection on...". Didnt even make any kind of counteroffer or anything. I called back and got $20 off my monthly bill since I wasnt actually ready to go through changing providers.

7/4/2006 12:40:16 PM

yeah i dont understand this crap about installation charges, i've never paid an install charge in the places ive lived.


seeing as how you'll be paying them a monthly service amount which is at least $50 (ours is currently $140), they shouldn't charge shit to install equipment in your house.

7/4/2006 12:53:27 PM

TWC has always called me before actually making it to the appointment. Not only in NC, but also in MN.

You should always give them your telephone number and ask them to call you before they come to your place.

7/4/2006 2:41:31 PM

Get satellite.

TWC was supposed to come by between 8 and 11am and at 8:05 we got a call saying that a technician was at the house but no one was answering. My wife and I were there eating breakfast and shit. Well, turns out that when you press the bottom half of our doorbell it pushes in but doesn't ring. I would have assumed they were lying but shit happens. Luckily the guy was still in the driveway.

7/5/2006 12:11:34 AM

The shitty software on satellite receivers coupled with no on demand video is enough to drive me away from it.

7/5/2006 2:10:05 AM

The HD package on Dish Network is worth it.

7/5/2006 1:26:00 PM

Quote :

"She "talked to her supervisor" and gave me $20 off the installation"

yeah, i would call back and get it for free

7/5/2006 2:19:34 PM

Actually, last night for the first time, I actually hooked up a TV to the outlet and it turns out Basic Cable is already active. I figured this might be the case because I closed this account 1 year ago before I left the country, and turned in my cable box and modem myself, and I wasn't aware of any TWC service actually coming to the house to install a filter or whatever.
So I called TWC this morning and said since basic cable is already active, I'll just come by the office and pick up my HD Digital box and the modem and install it myself. So then he accused me of stealing cable because I have an "illegal connection" since TWC hasn't officially hooked it up - when it was their own damn fault for not disconnecting it properly in the first place a year ago, and told me now the service man has to come out to make sure everything else is ok.

I'm going to drive by the office in Cary today anyway and see if they'll just give me the boxes and activate my account.

7/5/2006 2:26:46 PM

They won't give you the box. They require initial instalation. THe only time they generally will give you a boc in person is if you are simply swapping one out for a new model and such.

7/5/2006 3:45:00 PM

they won't give you an HD box at the office

also, you should demand to be pro-rated the amount of time your cable hasn't been working.

and you only get $20 credit each time they don't show.

finally, quit being a pussy and call them up like a million times in a row. you have to be such a drain on their resources that they will do whatever it takes to make you happy. what's so awesome is that since they have a gov. sanctioned monopoly, they aren't allowed to tell you to take your business elsewhere.

P.S. always ask them for their name and customer service reference number (you'll have to beat them around the bush to get that, but they'll give it to you eventually after trying to give you the issue number instead). That usually intimidates them and puts them on their best behavior in case you're working with Monica LaLiberte WRAL's FIVE ON UR SIDE OMFG!1

[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 4:15 PM. Reason : s]

7/5/2006 4:12:09 PM

yeah, well, this incident hasn't really been that bad - i'm just complaining for the sake of complaining, and for the principle of them treating their customers like shit because they know we have no other options. I've had worse incidents with them in the past, as i'm sure others have had much much worse also. really, all i've lost now is 4 days of HD Cable and internet at my house - not a big deal in the long run.

7/5/2006 5:00:09 PM