Digital Life: How to handle bad cable service

USA TODAY columnist Steven Petrow offers advice about digital etiquette.

Q:  A few days ago my Time Warner service went out – completely. No Internet. No phone. No TV. I called and made a service appointment and was happily surprised (actually shocked) when they said they could come out the next morning. I was not so surprised when no one arrived within the time frame I’d be given, or when I called and was told they had no record of my appointment. Sheesh. Then the operator told me I had to wait three days to get another appointment. Anyway, three days later the technician came — early, in fact — and fixed the problem lickety-split. But here’s my question: The technician told me I would get an email survey to fill out, and that if I give a mark lower than a 7 he’d get in trouble. I don’t want to do wrong by him, but I don’t want Time Warner to think they can continue to get away with poor service like this. What should I do?

– Offline and Ticked Off

A: I understand your frustration, believe me I do, but please do not take out your ire on the Time Warner service tech. My guess is that he was doing the best job he could; so if the survey asks about the quality of the repair job, don’t let your anger blind you. When I posted your question on Facebook, one person who works for Time Warner replied: “Grade the service from the tech fairly. His/Her job/promotion/raise may depend on it. I know, I missed out on a promotion last year because of one substandard survey.”

If you have the opportunity to add comments, use that space to blast Time Warner. You won’t be alone: Time Warner Cable is one of the most disliked companies in the U.S. Why do I say that? Well, Time Warner (not to mention Charter Communications, which has announced its intent to acquire the cable giant) helped land the cable and satellite TV industry in the “dead last” position in a recent YouGov BrandIndex survey of consumer satisfaction. In the survey, Time Warner received a negative score, with both it and competitor Comcast garnering not only “the worst satisfaction ratings in the cable TV and broadband industries, but across any industry,” according to the blog TechDirt. That’s worse than the banks, airlines, and health insurers. The only organization we despise more than Time Warner is the IRS.

There, I feel better having written that – as you no doubt did in sending me your question. But when that survey pops into your inbox, take a deep breath and give the service tech the score he earned. Here are some other suggestions for what comes next:

-- In the “comments” section, explain clearly what happened earlier and why you’re so dissatisfied. Tell them you expect a refund for the time your services didn't work.

-- Send a letter to your local office repeating your comments, and requesting the credit on your next bill.

-- Send an email to the CEO of Time Warner (Robert D. Marcus) or Executive Vice President for Residential Services (John Keib). Copy your local Better Business Bureau, which you can search for here.

-- Write up your experience on Time Warner Cable’s Yelp page (check for local pages). I’m not sure whether they’re read but you’ll quickly see that you’re not alone.
Bottom line is, speak up. If nobody says anything, nobody does anything. Good luck (to all of us).

Agree or disagree with my advice? Let me know in the comments section.

Submit your question to Steven at stevenpetrow@earthlink.net. You can also follow Steven on Twitter: @StevenPetrow. Or like him on Facebook atfacebook.com/stevenpetrow.

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