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Merger Has People Liking Comcast, Time Warner Brands Even Less

Customers already didn't like Comcast or Time Warner Cable very much according to most consumer satisfaction studies, where the two companies usually fall toward the bottom of the rankings. Now those reputations have become worse as consumers worry about the impact of the two companies' $45 billion merger. According to the latest data from YouGov’s BrandIndex, perceptions of Time Warner Cable have fallen to their lowest since last summer, when the company was engaged in an ugly retransmission feud with CBS.

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The YouGov BrandIndex "buzz score" tracks daily consumer brand perception by surveying thousands of Americans, who are asked to rank their negative or positive opinion of a company on a scale from -100 to 100.

While other cable companies have seen their brand perception remain static, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have both witnessed a precipitous fall since the merger was announced.

Imagine what's possible when the two companies have merged to become one, even larger disliked company?
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pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

Does customer service matter to the phone or cable company? Together they share a monopoly on our phone, internet, and near monopoly on cable TV. If customer service was important to get or keep customers, it would improve.
jarred
join:2014-02-27
Amelia, OH

jarred

Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

said by pandora:

Does customer service matter to the phone or cable company? Together they share a monopoly on our phone, internet, and near monopoly on cable TV. If customer service was important to get or keep customers, it would improve.

Exactly what I was thinking. As far as TWC goes, it is painfully obvious they do not care one bit about customer service and satisfaction. They exported all first tier services out of the country awhile back and they are as useful as the IVR that reminds you to reboot your modem. In fact, the IVR is better because it doesn't try to blame your equipment by default .. but that could be changed too!

Script readers are the worst for support when you have a legitimate problem. When you're explaining that you have packet loss so bad that sites wont load, and they want you to do a speedtest it just makes my brain hurt. I had to chat with support recently and was basically called a liar because I told them I could see the modem stats page. I was told customers cannot see that and I must have been getting it from a third part software. He changed his story when I told him I would be more than happy to send screenshots of the page I was viewing.

Support these days is a joke, but what options do we have if we want service?
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym

Premium Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

said by jarred:

Exactly what I was thinking. As far as TWC goes, it is painfully obvious they do not care one bit about customer service and satisfaction. They exported all first tier services out of the country awhile back and they are as useful as the IVR that reminds you to reboot your modem.

Have a source on that? When I call the local number, I get folks at the TWC office in SW Charlotte.
jarred
join:2014-02-27
Amelia, OH

jarred

Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

said by ke4pym:

said by jarred:

Exactly what I was thinking. As far as TWC goes, it is painfully obvious they do not care one bit about customer service and satisfaction. They exported all first tier services out of the country awhile back and they are as useful as the IVR that reminds you to reboot your modem.

Have a source on that? When I call the local number, I get folks at the TWC office in SW Charlotte.

Sure, call 513-469-1112 (our local number in Cincinnati) and choose the technical support option, I guarantee you'll be rocketed outside of the US within seconds. Only if I demand to speak with someone in a higher level am I sent back home, and it's generally to someone local. It used to be different, but for the past 3 years it's outside the US.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

Call Tier 3 in Columbus, and yes they will transfer to them.
jarred
join:2014-02-27
Amelia, OH

jarred

Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

said by OSUGoose:

Call Tier 3 in Columbus, and yes they will transfer to them.

Not sure I have the T3 number for Columbus, I only have the numbers available from the TWC site.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

Just ask, I had it and now i can't find it.
WhatNow
Premium Member
join:2009-05-06
Charlotte, NC

WhatNow

Premium Member

Re: Does customer service matter to a duopoly?

I have always gotten Charlotte but I have not called in a few months. I have never really had service problems until lately but something seems to be acting up. Been having problems getting Primetime on Demand to load at start up. I think the node for area is overloaded.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband to OSUGoose

Member

to OSUGoose
There is one Columbus number that will route you to sales in India. I'll have to find the number though. I get great success calling the Findlay number or NEO/WPA numbers.
TBBroadband

TBBroadband to jarred

Member

to jarred
That seems to be a Midwest issue. Other areas have yet to have anything done. The Midwest also is going back to Canada, ask for the States or your region. and you get put on hold for 30minutes only to hit the IRV again. Then disconnected. Chat works soooo much better though.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad to pandora

Premium Member

to pandora
It doesn't matter at all to them. They might send our press releases taking issue with the study/lauding their "fantastic" customer service, they might pledge to improve customer service, they might even take some steps to do that, but this is all PR spin, not actual attempts to improve.

In the end, most people getting their Internet service from the cable company or phone company have, at best, one other option. All too many of us have no other option and the cable/phone companies know this. If I don't like Time Warner Cable's customer service, who am I going to go to? Verizon's old, outdated, and soon to be retired DSL service? Expensive mobile ISPs? Dial-up? Time Warner knows they're the only game in town and that means they don't need to deal with trivialities like improving service or customer support.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to pandora

Member

to pandora
"Does customer service matter to a duopoly?"

Not really. You can't run something the size of a Comcast or AT&T like you would a mom and pop shop. It's just not possible.

When you get as big as these guys are they judge things in different ways. The look more at hard data instead of listing to customers. If they make an unpopular decision but the numbers show the opposite they will assume they made the right decision. I.E. if they introduce a 200Gb cap and the sales at the end of that quarter are up of the last quarter they assume they did something right.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

Simply put ...

people have been screwed over so many times by Comcast and Time Warner Cable,
that they KNOW by past experience that a merger "doesn't bode well" for consumers.
quote:
Franken: Comcast’s Previous Behavior Doesn’t Bode Well For Time Warner Cable Deal
In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler (see full text below), (Senator)Franken asks that the Commission “take into consideration Comcast’s past compliance with legal mandates,” including the conditions placed on Comcast’s 2010 acquisition of NBC Universal.

“To the extent that Comcast has a history of breaching its legal obligations to consumers, such history should be taken into account when evaluating Comcast’s proposal for future market expansion,” he writes.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Simply put ...

"To the extent that Comcast has a history of breaching its legal obligations to consumers,"

You know we could say the same about the Franken and his buddies in Washington. Your government hates competition.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

1 recommendation

newview

Premium Member

Re: Simply put ...

said by battleop:

"To the extent that Comcast has a history of breaching its legal obligations to consumers,"

You know we could say the same about the Franken and his buddies in Washington. Your government hates competition.

I have no great love for politicians, but in this instance Franken is right concerning Comcast and their "above the law" attitude.
Clu74
join:2014-02-28
USA

Clu74

Member

As if they care what customers think...

when they have little or no choice of alternate services. Welcome to the oligopoly, and as this youtube video states, "They don't give a....": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Mbbu-Wkyk/code
intok (banned)
join:2012-03-15

intok (banned)

Member

Re: As if they care what customers think...

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· ylZHHY08
wkm001
join:2009-12-14

wkm001

Member

Vote No

I'm not a fan of the merger but I do have to admit. When Comcast bought Adelphia in my area the quality of service improved significantly. Of course I pay a little more for that quality every 6 months...