Time Warner Cable Should Value Its Customers

Posted Tue July 24, 2007 12:00 pm, by Rebecca E. written to Time Warner Cable

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I have been a Time Warner Cable customer for about a year, since I moved to Temple, TX last summer. I am in the Heart of Texas area, which originates in Waco, TX. Overall, my cable TV, internet, and telephone service have been acceptable, with the exception of a period of time last month when I had several outages over the course of a few weeks. However, I'm not writing about the cable service, but the deplorable customer service I receive any time I have an issue.

Each time I have a billing question or technical issue, I have to wait on hold for anywhere from half and hour to two hours. Much of the time, I don't even have that option as I often receive a busy signal when I call. This morning I called about a simple billing question, waited on hold for about 45 minutes, and was then disconnected. Since my speaker phone was across the room, I know that the disconnection was not caused on my end of the line. I then called back over the course of several minutes, only to get busy signals. I finally got back through and was told by an automated voice that the current hold time is approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes. I elected to be called back when it is my turn, so I now have to wait by the phone for the next two hours.

I am generally a patient person, so one instance of this type of problem is not something that would cause me to write a letter. However, this happens every single time I have a problem that requires me to call. If the issue is that my service is down, that means I have to use cell phone minutes to wait on hold. Each time this happens, I feel myself getting closer and closer to making a call to AT&T about switching to their telephone, DSL, and Direct TV services. It would be an expensive and inconvenient change, but I am having a harder and harder time staying with a company that doesn't appear to value their customers.

Please help me feel like Time Warner values their customers by staffing call centers such that hold times are more acceptable. This is not the only problem I've had with your company, but it may be the one that finally pushes me to seek another source for TV, internet, and telephone services.

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Re: Time Warner Cable Should Value It's Customers by RowdyRetailer Posted Wed July 25, 2007 @ 12:56 PM I always am the first caller, if they open at 8am for example. Calling anytime after that, you will have to wait. They probably are understaffed but if you have ever worked a tech line, you would understand. Its amazing some people can change the channels on their tv, some people are that electronically challenged. Reply Thanks for the tips. . . by Becka E Wed July 25, 2007 @ 3:22 PM on time guarantee by jeff48 Thu July 26, 2007 @ 6:59 PM Re: Time Warner Cable Should Value It's Customers by Ryman Posted Wed July 25, 2007 @ 12:48 PM To echo what someone else said, ask for sales. It doesn't matter what the problem is. For some reason the sales office always picks up right away and is able to handle billing, service call scheduling and other issues. Found this out recently and it has worked so far. I will say, Time Warner is light years ahead of Comcast when it comes to customer service. If you are lucky enough to get a Comcast rep on the phone, odds are they won't be able to answer your questions, or they will give you bad information. The Time Warner people I have dealt with have been very friendly and seem to be well informed. Good luck! Reply On hold by Bill R Posted Wed July 25, 2007 @ 11:06 AM Rebecca E., I feel your pain. I too deal with Time Warner for my TV Cable and AOL. I have noticed that when I call their number and get a busy signal I find out later that they were experiencing technical difficulties in my area. That is pretty common so I have taken the busy signnal to be code for they have a mess on their hands, hang up and do something else. AOL through Time Warner is another excersize in futility. Some aspects of the service T/W handles and others AOL. Either way you better pour yourself a tall tea when calling because you will be there for a while. If calling AOL it will be handy to have a backup ice tea available as well as a India/English cross reference dictionary. Good luck on your letter and drop back and let us know what they say. BillR. Reply Re: Unacceptable Customer Service by BellaSera Posted Tue July 24, 2007 @ 12:40 PM Great letter. I also have Time Warner Cable, and although I haven't had problems getting through, I know others have made the same complaint you have. Here's a tip I learned from a sales rep (not from TWC): when you call, press the button for "sales". They always answer their phone! (Of course, then they'll probably transfer you to customer service, anyways.) Reply