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Cablevision Issuing Sandy Refunds
Even if Your Outage Was Caused by Power Issues
Cablevision has announced that the company will be doling out service credits to customers impacted by Sandy -- even if their outage was solely due to lost power. “Many of our customers have been severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and we want them to know that credits are available for the period of time that they have not had Optimum service, including when electrical power was not available,” said Kristin Dolan, Cablevision’s senior executive vice president of product management and marketing. “In addition, customers will not be responsible for any damage to Cablevision equipment caused by the storm, and will be able to exchange damaged equipment at no cost.” Cablevision is urging customers to call in for refunds within thirty days of their service being restored.
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elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

1 recommendation

elefante72

Member

Classy

Refreshing. It's bad enough with the disaster, it's another to get bills for damaged equipment. We'll see how Verizon handles this situation.

There is hope for corporate America.

Not to be cynical, but I think they will get comped by FEMA or insurance, but this is first class regardless.
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

Re: Classy

I know the Dolans and Cablevision get hammered a lot for various reasons, but they seem like a pretty good company overall in focusing on their customers.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to elefante72

Premium Member

to elefante72
its a good move business wise. they can write this off in their taxes as a business expense while also not gaining the negative PR of sending a bill for the cost of the DVRs in someone's home that washed away or burned.

The cost of new hardware is very likely far less than the cost of negative PR. Money is recovered in a mere months at what cable costs these days. Bad PR lingers for years.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to elefante72

Member

to elefante72
There are certain types of claims you can make as a business for this type of disaster so I would imagine they are going to make claims and take write offs so that it balances out in the end.
jjeffeory
jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
Bloomington, IN

jjeffeory to elefante72

Member

to elefante72
Very good. Much better than Charter was for Katrina in Louisiana, MUCH MUCH BETTER.

NickD
Premium Member
join:2000-11-17
Princeton Junction, NJ

NickD to elefante72

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to elefante72
Better than the company that told a customer to "look around the neighborhood" for their cable box after a tornado.

Comcast is also opening up its Xfinity Wifi hotspots all over its service area for the next 2 weeks.

Thirsty 3
@bellatlantic.com

Thirsty 3

Anon

Nice

It's nice to see a carrier do that without being slammed in dslreports or consumerist. It's the right thing to do. And they didn't have to be forced to do it.

WHT
join:2010-03-26
Rosston, TX

WHT

Member

Cost Comparison

Lost equipment value...Millions of dollars.
Good public relations value...Priceless.

Ut98Ex
join:2012-07-11
Georgetown, TX

Ut98Ex

Member

Re: Cost Comparison

I'm really glad that companies seem to be stepping up and doing the right thing. I'm a Vonage customer and they put a very nice post to their New Jersey employees in Facebook informing them that they are welcome to use the corporate facilities to house themselves and their families as well as providing meals, etc.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678 to WHT

Member

to WHT
said by WHT:

Lost equipment value...Millions of dollars.
Good public relations value...Priceless.

Millions of dollars in there way of thinking like how does a 4-5 year old box cost the same price as a new one that is also billed at higher rate then there bulk price.

Melody
@optonline.net

Melody

Anon

Dropped Services


I realize there are storm issues going on in the area but this outage is not an isolated incident for us. Also, why is it suddenly a storm issue four days later when our services were working fine even during the storm? We have Optimum Cablevision at home and in our business and I have issues with their service in both locations (two different towns). My home service is a bundle. Since the first week I've signed up with them, my cable services have frozen on a daily basis. I've had them in twice to check the box and the problem. It is still unresolved. The best answer the technician could give me is that the hookup in my development is not good and signals are just weak. Even with my laptop plugged directly into their modem the signal is weak.
At our restaurant our phone and internet services crash on a monthly basis. I find myself on the phone with their customer service reps at least once a month. I am never given an answer other than we are working on resolving the issue. I don't need their $2.00 credit. I need a reliable service. It would be nice if they refunded the business we are losing on a Friday night because we can't take orders over the phone and we cannot process credit cards. Then I'd be appreciative.

Just another point... They charge us top dollar and unlike Time Warner and Comcast Cable who offer a couple of months of free Premium channel service they offer nothing. When I inquired about it they simply said you are getting free On Demand. Yeah sure... On Demand that doesn't offer any movies and a menu that is soooo slow I can't even use it.

Can't wait to have Fios offered in this area! I'm going to try Roadrunner in the meantime.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

Re: Dropped Services

FiOS?

Didn't Verizon basically freeze FiOS?

NY Tel
Premium Member
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY

1 recommendation

NY Tel

Premium Member

Re: Dropped Services

said by fifty nine:

FiOS?

Didn't Verizon basically freeze FiOS?

Yup. Unless it is already built out in your community, Fios will not be coming to a "theater near you" as they say.

I thought this move by Cablevision was phenomenal irrespective of what motives people think they may or may not have.

This is more than the right thing to do.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080 to fifty nine

Member

to fifty nine
said by fifty nine:

FiOS?

Didn't Verizon basically freeze FiOS?

Let's see Verizon do something similar... doubtful..
Rekrul
join:2007-04-21
Milford, CT

Rekrul to Melody

Member

to Melody
said by Melody :

I've had them in twice to check the box and the problem. It is still unresolved.

Couple funny stories...

Back in 1999, I started seeing weird problems with all the New York stations on Cablevision. This wasn't even though the box, it was happening right on my cable-ready TV and VCR, which indicated that the problem wasn't on my end. I called to complain and they insisted on sending a tech out. He took one look at it and said that there was nothing he could do.

To make a long, long story short, this problem continued on and off for about six months. Each time I called to complain, they acted like this was an unknown problem and wanted to send a tech to my house. It turned out to be a bad transfer link between NY and CT, which was affecting both Cablevision and Comcast. I learned this after talking directly to one of their engineers. Apparently whenever they switched to the backup feed, the problem showed up. I'd call him, they'd switch the feed and everything would be good for a month or so, then it would happen again. It only got fixed permanently after I wrote a letter to the head of Cablevision's engineering department.

Then in 2005, when they switched to all digital for their pay channels, I was seeing more weird problems on all the movie channels. It would happen at least once an hour and was a problem with the box, because switching channels and then switching back, would temporarily fix the problem on that box. Changing the channels somehow reset the box's firmware. Despite numerous calls and mailing a video tape of the problem to Cablevision, this problem went on for over a month.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Incorrect headline..

"Cablevision Issuing Sandy Refunds"

Shouldn't it say "Cablevision Issuing Sandy Credits"? A refund would imply that they are giving money back to the customer.
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT

tired_runner

Premium Member

Clever wording

Sandy refunds... Almost sounds like Karl is trying to say the Dolans have a sandy vag..... for this


aztr0
join:2007-10-28
Brooklyn, NY

aztr0

Member

Good decision.

Good decision. Good for PR. I remember when some guy had some issue with some other company after a crisis and that company continued to bill and they didn't see what the right thing to do was until media got involved. By that time, it is too late for reputation.
CXM_Splicer
Looking at the bigger picture
Premium Member
join:2011-08-11
NYC

CXM_Splicer

Premium Member

Maybe I am missing something...

Cablevision offers to not charge its customers for a service it couldn't deliver and they are commended for it? Very strange situation... I guess so many companies act like total assholes that when one does what they are suppose to do it seems like monumental charity.

I should probably be thanking them too... I don't have Cablevision but all these years they haven't been charging me. Thank you oh gracious Dolans! You are too kind.

xirian
Premium Member
join:2003-01-26
Beacon, NY

xirian

Premium Member

Re: Maybe I am missing something...

said by CXM_Splicer:

Cablevision offers to not charge its customers for a service it couldn't deliver and they are commended for it? Very strange situation... I guess so many companies act like total assholes that when one does what they are suppose to do it seems like monumental charity.

I should probably be thanking them too... I don't have Cablevision but all these years they haven't been charging me. Thank you oh gracious Dolans! You are too kind.

Its the fact that they were proactive in it and even offering to waive fees for ruined equipment. Other cable companies, including comcast, will tell the customer to file a claim with their insurance and make it a pain, and then change their mind after the fact when they get bad PR. Cablevision skipped that step.
CXM_Splicer
Looking at the bigger picture
Premium Member
join:2011-08-11
NYC

CXM_Splicer

Premium Member

Re: Maybe I am missing something...

It would be interesting if the cable equipment was covered by insurance the cable companies have against major disasters and they billed both their insurance and the customer's insurance. I would guess for an individual incident (like a customer's house fire) they would recover the equipment charge from the customer's insurance but for something like this? I am not sure what cable company is in Louisiana but were the customers billed for their cable equipment after Katrina? You also have to consider FEMA... what are they going to give Cablevision in 'assistance'?

Sorry, I just don't see this as an altruistic offering on Cablevision's part... more of PR move.

Hmmm, just found this in FierceCable's piece on the 'news':
quote:
Most homeowners and renters insurance policies cover cable and satellite TV equipment. Look for cable MSOs to file claims with insurance companies used by subscribers to recover some of its costs from damaged equipment.

»www.fiercecable.com/stor ··· BFYABKj0

So far, the best thing that has come out of Cablevision in regards to Sandy has been the transmission of News 12 (Cablevision's own local news production) audio over radio stations to provide customers with storm related info. Once power goes out, many people's only link to the outside world is a battery powered AM/FM radio. The New York stations will provide general coverage info but News 12 does a much better job for local Long Island info. Kudos to Cablevision for that decision, it was proactive and helpful.
MyDogHsFleas
Premium Member
join:2007-08-15
Austin, TX

MyDogHsFleas

Premium Member

And, the PC PR continues

Every company and organization and government that has any connections to Sandy's area of impact has their PR dept going full out to show their empathy and support for those impacted. No one wants to be in the spotlight as a bad actor. Hey, nothing wrong with helping people out, but press releases and media photo ops on top of that are just distasteful, to me anyway.

andre1977
@optonline.net

andre1977

Anon

great...

now if they would only answer the phone, I can get my credit