I have always hated Charter Communications with the fire of a thousand suns, but two weeks ago my hatred was taken to a new level.
I tuned into the Grammys on Feb. 11th to watch what would be one of the greatest reunion performances of all time. The Police were getting back together with their first performance airing live from the Grammys.
Imagine my dismay, and the dismay of reportedly 100,000 other Charter subscribers, when I was met with static instead of Sting crooning ""Roxanne.""
Charter has said the outage may be due to vandalism of a fiber optic cable at a junction box near WPS Health Insurance, 1717 W. Broadway.
While the outage was not Charter's fault, the manner in which they handled the outage was completely backwards and childish.
I called Charter three hours into the cable and Internet outage at my apartment. After sitting on hold for more than 20 minutes, I finally got through to someone.
When I explained the outage, the woman said that ""I probably forgot to pay my bill,"" with a tone implying that I was irresponsible. When I replied that we had paid our bill and I had the check receipts to prove it, she said, ""Well then I don't know why your cable and internet are out. How am I supposed to know why it is not working?""
How are you supposed to know why it's not working?! You're the cable company! I realize, ma'am, you're not the one physically going out and investigating the outage, but someone from Charter should have called the customer service reps to let them know the extent of the outage so they could tell worried customers.
Biting my tongue after the woman on the phone pled ignorance, I asked, ""Can you tell me when our service will be back up? We all have homework to do and need the internet for our homework.""
CLICK.
I sat there in shock for a few seconds before yelling obscenities into the dial tone. Instead of helping me or giving me any indication as to what was going on, the woman was first rude to me and then hung up instead of answering my question.
This frustration is not limited to me being upset that I missed my '80s band reunion.
The American Customer Service Satisfaction Index reported that for the first quarter of 2006, all cable and satellite companies experienced an increase in customer satisfaction, except Charter Communications.
Charter experienced a 2 percent decrease while the rest of the customer satisfaction rates for every other cable and satellite company in the country improved. What does that say about our cable provider?
You may be thinking, ""I hate Charter too, Laura, but what can I do about it as a UW student?""
More than you'd think. Charter Communications is offering a refund for all those who experienced a cable outage on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007. While the actual refund for a day's worth of service will probably be less than five dollars—we deserve it. We are poor college students who pay for a service and deserve compensation when that service isn't provided. I encourage everyone to call Charter's billing department at 800-581-0081, or Brad Clark, the city's cable coordinator, at 261-9115 if they need assistance.
My fellow Badgers—it's time we unite for our cable rights and stick it to the man.
Or as my friends The Police would sing to all of us—""Seems I'm not alone at being alone ... I'll send an SOS to the world.""
