Time Warner Cable answers reader questions
December 3rd, 2009, 12:08 pm · 54 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
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Readers asked questions, and Time Warner Cable’s local presidents responded. Mostly.
Back in October, I told readers that Time Warner was letting me meet Deborah “Debi” Picciolo, president of residential services for the West Region, and Clarence Caldwell, president of network operations/engineering for the West Region. Picciolo and Caldwell, pictured below on right, were willing to answer questions. So, readers asked away.
Picciolo and Caldwell were patient and responsive. And they’re relatively new to Time Warner. Picciolo joined three years ago from Comcast Corp. Caldwell came in 2007 from Cox Communications.
For those keeping track, Time Warner acquired the Orange County operations of Adelphia and Comcast in April 2006. Customers have had everything to complain about ever since, as Time Warner faced merging billing systems, customer service, programming, equipment. In Orange County, Time Warner combined its billing systems last fall. Picciolo said call-center operations consolidated in June.
During the interview, I concentrated on a few major questions:
- How much work is left in Orange County?
- Why are cable prices so high?
- When are we getting more HD channels? (Here’s an answer.)
And then there is the a la carte question many readers want answered: When will Time Warner let customers pay for only the channels they want to watch? These key questions I split up as separate posts and will publish them in upcoming days.
I went through all the reader questions that made it by my Nov. 1 deadline and categorized them. I edited some for clarity and consolidated duplicate questions and submitted them to Darryl Ryan, director of media relations. My instructions to him: Please answer all questions possible with simple responses. Follow-up questions can be asked later.
Not all questions were answered, but I’ve listed them in case Picciolo, Caldwell or Ryan would like to try again (Update: Here’s the list of unanswered questions). Answers are categorized in these topics:
Here are the questions:
Programming questions
Some background: I submitted questions to Time Warner during the first week of November and a day after my Nov. 5 interview with the presidents, they also sent me answers to all the questions. Since then, Time Warner has announced several new channels coming to Orange County lineups by Dec. 15. See earlier story: “Time Warner adding 21 HD channels in December.”
1. QUESTION: When are you going to add the Mountain West Conference Channel (MWC)?
Time Warner Cable: We don’t have an agreement with MWC but we are in talks with them.
2. Can we please get the NFL Network? Why can’t it be offered as a separate package?
TWC: We don’t have an agreement with NFLN but we’re still talking with them. We (and our customers) have been, and continue to be, tremendous supporters of the NFL. Our customers already spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year to watch the vast majority of available NFL games and football-related content on broadcast stations and ESPN. Without NFLN, most of our customers still see all of their home team games over the course of the season; customers in limited geographic areas might miss only one game of their home team. (Here’s the list of weekly NFL games.)
Spending so much on NFLN might keep us from making other investments that would better serve our customers’ needs 365 days/year.
[Gadgetress note: Time Warner also answers this question online, offering more details. In essence: Time Warner wants to make NFL a special sports tier but the NFL wants a broader tier, which would mean more customers would have to contribute to NFL fees whether they watch or not. Time Warner's last proposal was to offer subscribers NFL coverage on a per-game basis and give 100 percent of the revenue to the NFL. The NFL rejected this.]
3. Is HDNet coming back?
TWC: Time Warner Cable no longer carries HDNet.
[Gadgetress note: HDNet, owned by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, had wanted the channels off the paid-HD tier and offered on Time Warner's basic digital tier for all customers. Time Warner pulled the channels in May 2009.]
4. When will TW-LA be adding the Big Ten network?
TWC: We don’t have an agreement with the Big Ten network but we are in talks with them.
5. What about FEARnet?
TWC: Time Warner Cable no longer carries FEARnet.
6. Why do I get Spanish on half of my channels? I would like to see a cable package that would only include English speaking programs. Foreign-language channels make up at least 20 percent of the channels I receive. And can you take off the religious channels, too, unless I ask for them?
TWC: We are an all inclusive company, and we have diversity in programming, and we do our very best to make sure everyone is served.
7. Does Time Warner plan to offer movie extras to match what a DVD offers? Is it difficult to do this?
TWC: This option will be considered, tested and evaluated for its effectiveness.
8. Why are there three of the same channels? When are you getting rid of this?
DVR questions
9. Is there a fix coming for HD DVRs? The system continually “stutters” when fast forwarding or rewinding?
TWC: This is not universal problem amongst our customers; anyone experiencing this problem is encouraged to contact our customer support line. We will be there to service 24/7, and can replace a damaged box if necessary.
[Gadgetress note: Time Warner's customer service number is 1-888-TW-CABLE (1-888-892-2253), or you can send an e-mail, or chat live online with a service rep.]
10. If the DVR is recording two shows, why does it cancel a third scheduled show if the existing recordings go 1 minute over? Why not record the remainder of the show?
TWC: The DVR is programmed to record time slots of shows, and its priority is set to record to the time slots the user requested it to record.
[Gadgetress note: In other words, the DVR only records two shows at the same time. However, the reader's question may really be why does the box CANCEL the third show? As a Time Warner customer myself, I haven't seen this problem. The DVR won't let me do this because it is smart enough to know if I'm trying to record three things at the same time. What usually happens for me is the third show starts recording after the other two are done, so the beginning is cut off by a minute or so. Anyone else want to chime in?]
11. Can we go back to the previous DVR software?
TWC: Going back to previous, outdated software would not be conducive to forward moving progress in the technology industry.
[Gadgetress note: Time Warner began rolling out the new Mystro software during the summer to prepare for new features like "Look Back" and "Start Over," which let viewers who forgot to record a show rewind or start from its beginning.]
12. Why won’t TWC get rid of bad hardware? The (Motorola) DVR box we were issued has a problem of not being current with the commands given via the buttons on the remote control. It will either speed past programs by not stopping when selected, or at times will revert completely back to the beginning of a program. We are now on (Motorola) DVR box number three. According to several Time Warner service personnel who have replaced these DVR boxes, “this is a problem that Time Warner has been aware of, but there has been no solution as yet.”
TWC: New hardware being used.
13. How do I stop my DVR from going into “Sleep Mode”? The message pops up all the time on the screen saying that the DVR is going into “sleep mode.”
TWC: We encourage the customer to call customer support and a representative can help them, walk them through and resolve this issue.
[Gadgetress note: I'm a Time Warner Cable customer, too. On my DVR box, if you go into "Settings," there's something called a "Sleep Timer" that turns the box on or off. You have to set it. If this doesn't answer your question, ask it again to Time Warner's customer service (or here). Time Warner's customer service number is 1-888-TW-CABLE (1-888-892-2253), or you can send an e-mail, or chat live online with a service rep.]
14. Since channels are switching numbers constantly, why can’t I search by station name?
TWC: This option will be considered, tested and evaluated for its effectiveness.
Customer service, pricing questions
15. Why are we subjected to 20 questions whenever we try to cancel service?
TWC: Our customer service representatives want to help the customer. Before a customer decides to cancel, we attempt to check and see if there is anything we can do to help to prevent them from canceling service. In addition, we would like to know the reason why, so we understand why, in the rare occurrence, a customers decides to cancel.
16. Why do you share the Social Security numbers of your customers with so many of your employees?
TWC: This is incorrect.
17. When will bills be available online?
TWC: Bills are available online. We believe in “going green.”
18. When new HD channels become available, I would like to receive notification instead of just stumbling upon them months later.
TWC: We always notify our customers of new HD channels and movie previews in the billing statements and messages are sent to their cable boxes as well.
[Gadgetress note: It's true. That monthly bill has a lot of information.]
19. How can a consumer escalate a problem? And what is the escalation procedure?
TWC: The customer can ask to speak with a supervisor.
20. Time Warner Cable offers all types of incentives to NEW customers. Why do existing customers get overlooked? With the cost of services especially for us who have HD cable, digital phone and home internet, our bills can approach $200 a month. It would be nice to get a discount on a bill, an improved package price, etc.
TWC: We are always looking to “right-size” current customers. If a customer would like to be “right-sized,” we encourage them to call customer service and ask.
21. Do you offer a discount for multiple internet cable boxes?
TWC: No.
Reception, technical questions
22. Why does the signal cut in and out during commercials, on the HD channels?
TWC: This is not universal problem amongst our customers; anyone experiencing this problem is encouraged to our customer support line.
[Gadgetress note: Time Warner's customer service number is 1-888-TW-CABLE (1-888-892-2253), or you can send an e-mail, or chat live online with a service rep.]
23. How come since TW took over Comcast whenever I watch something on demand, in the middle of it, it turns black and white?
TWC: This is not universal problem amongst our customers; anyone experiencing this problem is encouraged to our customer support line.
24. Why is my DVR spinning and clicking at 5:00 in the morning?
TWC: This is not universal problem amongst our customers; anyone experiencing this problem is encouraged to our customer support line.
25. Can Time Warner Cable control the loudness of commercials or between channels on their cable network?
TWC: We encourage the customer to use their remote to control the volume.
[Gadgetress note: On my DVR, within the settings there is a feature called "Audio Range," which is found under Audio. If you select "Narrow" this is supposed to offer consistent sound levels.]
More answers are coming. Check back. I’ll post the related posts below.
Reader Comments
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Here's a list of TV/mobile companies helping consumers one tweet at a time. 
Do you really think these people care about you? No. They just want your money, will even have a devious fake smile to get it. These people know you have no other choice but to be gouged to death with taxes and fees. It makes me sick to even see these people who wont give you a choice, but will make sure “it fits everyone’s needs” WHAT A JOKE!
I even think its funny that an owner of a channel will want to include his channel into the basic cable for everyone to view and they take it off because they cant charge more for it. Isn’t this monopoly??
I really wish people would stop complying with this company so they will be forced to comply with the middle class — we pay their bills and keep them in business!
This is one Scrooge type of company!
What a joke, my cable bill is $200 per month and I don’t even get the nfl channel. They are making money hand over fist. Get the nfl channel and cut my payment in half or I will gladly move to dish.
$200 a month? Cut your services. I cut my internet from Standard to Lite. Timewarner “Standard Internet” is meant for businesses. It’s over 15mbs, you’ll never need that much speed for home use. You only need 1.5mbs from Lite Internet service, save yourself $16 a month.
Put the money in YOUR pocket not theirs.
Gee…what a privilege! I usually have to wait an HOUR to get the simplest questions answered…and their answer to EVERY question is”JUST UNPLUG IT AND PLUG IT BACK IN? OH…DIDN’T WORK…WE’LL SEND A GUY OUT BETWEEN 8AM AND 6PM NEXT WEEK”
how generous they are NOW when they want us to help them get their contracts changed!
Your lucky you got someone out in a week it took me almost two weeks and then when they finally came out it took them almost three weeks to fix the problem and four different techs to fix something they screwed up in he first place!
These are canned answers .Any dope in the office could do this but a couple of vice presidents .Can these two and add some decant channels with there big fat salaries .
We encourage the customer to use their remote to control the volume.So you admit the commercials are louder !!!!!!!! That’s not what your customer service says they say there is no problem.
Crime Warner.
I can’t believe that they said that response…I hate the volume issues (for me CBS is the worst) and they can’t even simply acknowledge it or give a solution- thanks to the writer to offer a approach. Clearly being a leader doesn’t require knowing anything about your own products…or showing respect to the customer
26- Why cant your servive techs set the volume level so all channels are the same?
The TV guide and Weather channel are super loud and others are to quiet
27- Why am I forced to pay $65 a month! for only 30% of the channels I want to watch!
If your going to charge me $65 how about a few free PPV each month or add Showtime!
Stop supporting the cable companies. Get satellite and force the cable co to beg for your business 10yrs from now.
I tried DirecTV; they were so much worse in terms of signal quality and customer service that I paid a $234 early cancellation charge to get rid of them after two months.
I’m planning to drop TWC in January and switch to AT&T U-Verse, just so I can get the NFL Network. Oh, and to make sure that none of MY money goes to the salaries of the two dweebs from TWC in this article. No wonder TWC is so bad; with these two in charge I’m surprised TWC is still in business. Oh wait, they’re the ONLY cable company available as this industry has local monopolies established and one cannot “choose” another cable provider.
“We encourage customers to use the remote to control the volume” ????
Talk about insulting their customers’ intelligence!
MY remote doesn’t control the volume anymore since they switched to Mystro. I USED to be able to. Now, if I don’t want to hear the sound I simply need to pause–not even mute works.
In addition, I prefer to save power when I am not home. So, I keep my monitor off. Previously, I would be able to turn on the monitor and rewind to the beginning of a program, up to an hour. Now, the program’s accessibility only begins at the moment I turn on the monitor. I think that’s stupid. And, as others mention, TW’s remedy is to have a service person replace the box. As if!
>“We encourage customers to use the remote to control the volume” ????
>Talk about insulting their customers’ intelligence!
.
I have news for these two morons!
1) Their remote for the digital cable box wont control the volume from the box
2) I have a 25″ Sony Monitor and it doesnt have a “Remote”
3) Its their own techs that are the stupid ones
If they cant maintain the same volume level on each channel modulator then they need to be fired and find techs who understand video and audio!
you know that commercial ALWAYS loud right? Congress trying to make a new law to force company to reduce the volume.
as for your #2,
Hit TV button, then hold up “set up” button untill you see TV button blink twice
Enter 0000
you will see tv button blink twice. Now you can control the volume.
Common, you lost the remove of your TV and now you want TW to babysit you on that too? get real.
Like I said my 25″ Sony M O N I T O R does not have a
R E M O T E!
It was never designed for a R E M O T E
You get real!
Hello, how come there are still people even bothering with TWC? There are alternatives that are much better. Have better packages. Better equipment. As well as customer service. U-verse, Vios, directV…
Of course they want to make money, devious fake smile and all. That’s the point, however, they still have to provide the best possible product they can, whether they do it on your terms or expectations is another matter. If you don’t like it switch.
Future PR lackeys, take note: this is a demonstration of the highest form of deflection on corporate non-speak.
As to question #10, I believe the person was talking about a scenario where you are recording two shows a 7pm, and one show at 8pm, and the 8pm recording is canceled because the 7pm shows record all the way to 8pm. At least, that is how I read it.
And LOL @ Question #20 and #21:
Q: How do I get a discount? A: Ask Us.
Q: Can I get a discount? A: No.
I agree with most of the above comments. Completely canned answers with absolutely NO NEW INFORMATION.
I am on my third cable box in three years and my bill keeps going up, up up… If I charged TWC for the amount of time I spent waiting for them to show up and “fix” my cable/DVR issues, I would get cable free every month for a year.
I have a better idea for an article: Survey readers and ask how many TWC customers would switch to a different service if it were available. I know I would! I HATE Time Warner Cable!
DITTO!!!!
Why are the spanish tiered packages significantly cheaper?
Actually wrote about this very topic: “Time Warner Cable offers cheapest deal in Spanish — not English”. Essentially, you don’t get as much stuff.
Is this their form of equality in the service they provide?
I’m already cutting services to cut my bill. I just might end up cutting everything.
Spending so much on NFLN might keep us from making other investments that would better serve our customers’ needs 365 days/year.
BOGUS ANSWER!! You’re not spending anything, you’re making money on getting the NFLN. You won’t put on NFLN because you won’t make as much as you want to…so much for caring about customers.
How about the CEO and his stooges take a massive pay cut
15 years ago the CEO of Totally Worthless was making 100M a year and then 50M in retirement plus he would get paid 10 years after his death!
And I though John Rigg-ass from A-Del-Pee-On-Ya was a crook!
I really do wonder about my service. I switched to cable to get the $10 per month deal when analog was shut down. I did it primarily because I could no longer get many of the digital feeds which I was getting completely fine prior to the switch. My understanding is that a few of the networks (local stations) realized that the signal for the digital channel was less powerful and “over the air” digital channels became a pain to receive for a few major network channels.
So back to my TW question is what are their plans for charging (more i am sure) when the initial year period ends? Will it be enough to bump me back to over the air?… since the stations should have their signal power issues fixed by first qtr 2010.
very curious
25. Can Time Warner Cable control the loudness of commercials or between channels on their cable network?
TWC: We encourage the customer to use their remote to control the volume.
HA HA HA HA!!!
Gee, thanks for the common sense. Talk about a whole lot of nothing with this interview (nothing against you Gadgetress). Now i’m CONVINCED I made the right choice by switching to DirecTV. Time Warner is a joke. They DO NOT care about their customers. With so many options out their, I’ll never understand how people continue to put up with bad customer service.
And seriously, the NFL excuse is just starting to sound lame now. I had 3 channels of the Food Network on the basic cable tier but no NFL on the basic tier? The NFL is watched by millions. It belongs on the basic tier. Why don’t you tell the truth and stop blaming the NFL? TWC wants more money for the channel by placing it on a Sports Tier, not the NFL.
Seriously, you guys are lame.
I miss the old days of Black & White & Free TV, w/Rabbit Ears !!
And I will have a TV Dinner & Martini while I’m at it !!!!!!! LOL
Some questions remain unanswered. The question was “Will HDNet come back?”, and the answer is not “We don’t carry HDNet”.
Also, if you examine their programming notes, not everyone is getting 21 new HD channels in December, the city of Orange is only getting about 13 or so, and is missing out on channels like BBC America HD.
Ok then……….I learned nothing from her answers. The prices are higher, the service is worse. The new display looks like it was designed with freeware and doesn’t work very well. (How about that recorded-show time indicator-a little line going along an unmarked strip…It’s a joke.)When you call TW, you get someone who obviously knows very little, and , as someone stated above, the extent of their knowledge is to “send someone out”, which is a major pain. Not all of OC is wired for Fios and/or U-Verse. And all this for $1200 a year. Direct TV, here I come…..
This is the worst Q&A I have ever read. These are all “politicaly correct” answers that don’t address the actual questions. Pretty lame TWC.
Check your cable bill, if you have TimeWarner Standard service for the internet, change to TimeWarner Lite, save yourself $16 a month. Only businesses use Standard (15mbs). For home use you only need lite (1.5mbs). That’s more then enought to surf the net, download or watch movies. Anything more then 1.5mbs and you’re wasting your money.
you are crazy do you even know anything about download speeds or are one of the many people that thinks download speeds will make your junk computer run faster?
This interview is a joke. The main problem with TWC is their CS support. First off, their low level tier support is outsourced, for the most part, in the later evenings to the Philippines. All the reps speak and read from pre determined Q&A cards. This is not helping anyone if you happen to ask about something beyond the scope of their cards, not knowledge.
Second, it takes FOREVER to have your case escalated (Try getting a problem with CA Internet Suite fixed, IT CANNOT BE DONE!) on top of that, depending on where it is escalated too, depends on how fast you get a reply. Escalate with CA and your waiting a few days to beyond a week (Hello still waiting for a call back after escalation and STILL not been called back by TW or CA, even after calling them to call me back.) Escalation for the most part means “This is beyond the scope of our card knowledge, we will send you to someone with book smarts. If this person cannot help you, we are sorry, but there is nothing we can do for you.”
TWCs PROBLEM IS CS! They lied about upgrade in service to Californians (Read up on the lawsuit which has since them forced them to resolve this issue after YEARS of litigation) They lie about being 24/7 CS (Half the time I am on hold for a few hours, just to be told my LOCAL office is closed, even though I am waiting for a CS rep from ANYWHERE to answer if there is an outage in my area or not. The list is ENDLESS yet it seems the most important questions asked was about pricing and channels. If it was FREE it would not be worth it, because the moment you have a problem you get to deal with CS!
This Q&A was just a waste of time. Hit the hard questions about the lawsuits against them for merging without fulfilling certain aspects of their agreement, and about all the complaints about their CS and ability to resolve issues WHILE TAKING OUR MONEY! They have one of the lowest CS ratings out there, and you could not even ask one question regarding how they are fixing it?
Hey Harnel — These are the questions readers asked. A few more posts are coming to tackle the bigger topics, such as what has Time Warner done lately in O.C. to improve service?
All you peeps just complain…and complain, yet NO action. Cancel the S**tty service, go down to BestBuy or Fry’s and get a Digital Over the Air Antenna – costs $35 and watch free TV. Buy a bike, join a gym, or get off the couch (the kids too if you have ‘em), in the long run you’ll have better health & a fatter wallet. I know, I did it!!!
>My understanding is that a few of the networks (local stations) realized that the signal for the digital channel was less powerful and “over the air” digital channels became a pain to receive for a few major network channels<
.
I wonder how many lost TV reception when they went full digital 20 30%?
Get ATT U-verse. It is GREAT. And the customer service is the best I have ever had with any of my overhead charges, elec, phone, etc. ITS GREAT. Get rid of TMC.
26. Will Time Warner’s customer service get any worse?
TW: Just call us and found out.
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009219