Rant: Charter Communications

[pops]

<rant>I've got nowhere else to rant. I recently upgraded my cable television service and added VOIP (in addition to keeping my Internet service) with Charter Communications.

Charter is legendary for bad customer service and, according to Wikipedia "was involved in an accounting fraud in 2000/2001 (relating to the inflation of revenue and operating cash flow and cable subscriber numbers) for which four former executives were convicted in 2005."

In spite of that, I've had nothing but good experiences with Charter until now.

On my first statement after updating they didn't include the promotional pricing and included an installation charge that they had agreed to waive. After over an hour on the phone with their "customer service" they agreed to drop the installation fee and charge the promotional fee for all FUTURE use. However they refuse to adjust the charges for service between the installation and now. When all is said and done it will probably amount to about $30 and, given the problems of switching to AT&T and the higher speeds I can get with cable, I'll probably just pay it and never again recommend Charter to a client or friend as I have in the past. I figure one or two referrals and (down the road) losing me as a customer will cost them more than the $30. So I can pretend that satisfies me.

What I did wrong was not keep the confirmation number they gave me. So they refuse to talk about the issue. Even though, since they don't have the information in their database, I don't see how a confirmation number will help. Actually, judging from the BBB complaints I've seen, this is a practice with the company.</rant>

OK, I feel a bit better. Maybe someone will stumble upon this and choose a provider other than Charter and then I'll feel even better.

[dazzlindonna]

Be grateful you aren't stuck with satellite. I'd kill to have Charter back.

[rmccarley]

Pops, try writing a letter. Sometimes print is more effective than voice. Especially since letters are delivered to executives and voice puts you in phone tree hell.

Be sure to mention what you do for a living, how many people you've recommended to them in the past and that you "just don't feel comfortable doing so anymore". Unless they make things right of course.

[skitzzo]

I don't know if it's just me or maybe pops has rubbed off on me more than I realize but I've been amazed lately at how many businesses abuse their customers and get away with it. I'm not sure how but I'd like to blame Google if possible.

[rmccarley]

Originally Posted by skitzzo

I don't know if it's just me or maybe pops has rubbed off on me more than I realize but I've been amazed lately at how many businesses abuse their customers and get away with it. I'm not sure how but I'd like to blame Google if possible.

It's the protective thing. Got married, have something to care for - ♪♪♪♪ you Evil Corp!

How can we blame Google?

[pops]

Originally Posted by dazzlindonna

Be grateful you aren't stuck with satellite. I'd kill to have Charter back.

I'll forward you a few names of people you can start the killing with.

Originally Posted by rmccarley

Pops, try writing a letter. Sometimes print is more effective than voice. Especially since letters are delivered to executives and voice puts you in phone tree hell.

That's the next step. I have the president's name and the company address. Does anyone have Paul Allen's address (he's chairman of the board).

[pops]

OK, I posted a cartoon today. It wasn't about Charter but, in the text I mentioned my frustration with them. In less than a half hour I got a comment from someone at Charter asking for info and saying they will have someone contact me. I'll keep you posted on the results.

[pops]

Holy cr•p! We've gotten eight visits today from Google Finance's Charter page. This rant is listed on the page under blog posts.

[jrothra]

Originally Posted by dazzlindonna

Be grateful you aren't stuck with satellite. I'd kill to have Charter back.

I used to have Dish Network... can't have satellite where I live now. I enjoyed them... preferred it over cable. I had nothing but trouble with Charter here, too. I miss Dish Network.

Originally Posted by pops

OK, I posted a cartoon today. It wasn't about Charter but, in the text I mentioned my frustration with them. In less than a half hour I got a comment from someone at Charter asking for info and saying they will have someone contact me. I'll keep you posted on the results.

That's a great cartoon! It reminds me of an article written by my father-in-law.

You'd be surprised about what blogs do for customer service. This story recounts a similar incident with a different company. A blog article resulted in service.

[dazzlindonna]

John, do you live in the desert? If there's even a hint of rain here (or anywhere in a 200 mile radius), the satellite loses its signal. And since it rains here (or in a neighboring state) every day, I'm forever cursing the thing. Besides that, it's just downright slow when it is connected. Not as slow as dialup, but close enough to make it seem like dialup. I actually have an extra dish lying on the ground. Maybe I should set it up out in the field and use it for target practice. That might make me feel all better.