OptimumOnline → Re: CV's use of contractors

last I remember, they were using 13 contracting companies..and yes, quality does take a big hit as the jobs are usually incomplete or done incorrectly. I remember many nightmare stories about stealing, wires exposed, jobs 1/2 done, no shows, pc's that crashed etc. and the tech leaving and not coming back, and most of those led back to a contractor. They are paid based upon the number of jobs they completed in a day...didn't matter if they were done correctly, the contractor knew he had to race through his route to get $100 for the day.... integrity will play a big factor with a new player in town, but I bet they do nothing about it because they are stubborn in changing anything that hurts their bottom line.

jaa, contractors do not get a 401k, free cable, retirement or any of the benefits of an in house employee at CV, they work for peanuts, and the company takes advantage of it. Hmmm, I Wonder how Verizon can do all the things CV claim they could not do with a union workforce. Don't see a fraction of the amount of disgruntled employees coming from the other respectable companies. Don't see any of the workers of these companies creating websites that bring up these issues either.
The way I see it, things would only get better for the employee and the customer by reatining quality techs and installing some pride and morale in a field that currently has none, you will here it echoed by workers of all cable companies, the difference being even Comcast and TW have some unionized divisions...CV has None, unless you want to include the workers at MSG.

Many unionizing efforts have come through CV and some are still pending, the field techs should have been union long ago if it weren't for fence hoppers at the last second. They have the best shot if they can overcome the fear. But with such high turnover, it becomes almost impossible, and they are well aware of that. I have seen it first hand, they install fear among their workforce, intimidate, give themselves plenty of reasons available to terminate employees with all they must meet, weeding out those that show frustration, having professional union busting attornies available on speed dial, holding captive audience meetings, promoting those that turn on their fellow workers to benefit themselves only... etc, etc.

If anyone out their has ever worked for this company...they know exactly what I mean...It's a horrible place to work, I would not recommend it to my worst enemy. And for any of you that have called throughout the years, you must see a decline in the quality of troubleshooting, would never waste my time calling them, because they are trying to get you off the phone any way they have too..even if it means lieing.....

If that is true, then the solution seems pretty obvious to me. They should quit working for the contractor, double their pay/benefits, and only have to do half the work.

Cablevision has always used contractors. They installed my Cable at my home and did a great job. It's good that the little guy gets a piece of the cake.

So CV uses contractors with lower paid, lower skilled workers to do some of the low-end work. Makes sense - why have (and pay) a rocket scientist to clean toilets?

If people were willing to pay 20% more, CV could have all in-house people do the work to a higher standard. They probably believe most consumers are willing to put up with the lower skilled, lower paid contractors rather than pay the higher rates. OF course, they could be wrong.

Trust me, they could easily do it without raising rates, CV makes plenty of money, and if they just held on to the hundreds of millions wasted on VOOM and the anti-stadium ads alone......they could readily waste money at the drop of a hat but when it comes to offering quality and putting back into their workforce and customers..... it is not in the best interest of maximizing profits and putting the golden egg in the pockets of a few by keeping everyone in line and demoralized. They have been so used to doing things there stubborn way for so long because they put a clamp down on the monopoly, just providing enough in regards to what is written by law, nothing more, just keep the turnover wheel churning along. Wonder how Verizon can do it all and at the same time offer a better service at the same price or less, of course they are a much bigger company, but with the revenue CV brings in, that is irrelevant.

I thought Verizon used contractors, just like CV. VZ employees are stringing and lighting all their fiber? Guess I was wrong.

Of course they do to pick up some of the workload with the nationwide upgrade and rollout of FIOS and FIOS TV and keep up with such a large network, but the majority of them are UNION and they cannot just be tossed out for getting hurt or speaking out, they are a different caliber than CV techs. We were constantly pounded on ethics and Quality from management because they know it is a problem, but what do they expect when the workers are treated like slabs of meat. If they want quality, why not treat your workforce as if they were that caliber?

Contractors that are good and want in Verizon, will eventually find a way in to make an honest living...you can also get in at CV with the high turnover, but you will not make much more than you did as a contractor and be pushed like an ant, you will not last to make it a career....that is the difference.

On the other side of the coin, the majority of CV's field techs are contractors...why? are they rolling out a brand new fiber network? NO!! The company does not care how many times it takes to get it done right or how long. The one important stat they were missing from the many one must maintain for employment, was repeat calls for the same issue, or first job closures, should be extremely important to any competant manager running a business.

They have been so used to that way of thinking for so long, with no competition around. The majority of the sups and managers at CV were rejects that did not make it at Verizon. They just see initial savings on paper and never think long term...they will only change things when forced too by law.....we won a class action suite for non paid time logging into our tools before our shift, people written up for signing in 1 minute late....and to this day they deny any wrong doing...how typical.

I truly am surprised they are still in business, then again they make a ton by taking advantage of there workers..... and with competetion, maybe things will finally change for the few poor people that have put in so much time and just feel trapped.

Yes, Verizon uses contractors for FIOS. They did for mine in Northern NJ. They ran the fiber from the pole to the side of my house the weekend before the install was to occur. When the Verizon tech doing the install showed up, he looked and said "They ran the wrong wire. They ran underground cabling and not overhead cabling.".

The tech then proceeded to climb the pole, disconnect the new wiring that was just run the past weekend by the contractors and re-string wire from the pole to my home. Luckily, I'm only 2 houses away from the main distribution point, so it wasn't too much of an issue.

So CV uses contractors with lower paid, lower skilled workers to do some of the low-end work. Makes sense - why have (and pay) a rocket scientist to clean toilets

Because they are not cleaning toilets....something anybody can do with their eyes closed.....they are providing a service that people are paying for and many people rely on a daily basis. They are troubleshooting complicated issues at times. It has become as important as any other utility you rely on....

doesn't have to be a rocket scientist either, just someone at least trained in basic plumbing and bacteria growth, and has been doing it for years giving him experience to fix a problem....

Everyone wants the most server for the least cost. They want the best product for the cheapest price.

Many times the above are mutually exclusive. Remember when a VCR was almost $1,000? Now they are $29-50 and you wouldn't pay more then that. Do you think you get the same quality and service?

Why do you think corporations outsource to India & China for IT resources or Help Desk? Because it's cheaper and in order to provide a product for less, which you the consumer demand, they outsource.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. No one is willing to pay more for OOL or io... so how does CV provide more for the same cost?

Geek, I am trying to understand the question...as I mentioned, your monthly bill does not have to increase at all, they can easily do this.....but will not because they found a way to generate even more profit by keeping the workforce moving along and out the door....your analogy with the VCR is comparing a product to a service...products will come down in price over time and improve...your services degrades immensely and you are still paying the same price, if not more for that degradation. What have you received in return (not including the free upgrade of 15/2 only because of competition)...a discount on your bill?

Besides I should expect both quality with my physical modem and quality service for what I pay.... yes, we should expect both for any product that includes services that are part of the package....talking to some clueless rep right out of high school is just as bad as trying to decipher someone from India.

As far as outsourcing your missing another big factor as to why companies outsource..they have found another way to maximize profits at the expense of american jobs, remember this current administration is very favorable to business and has shown lack of concern for the average worker...they are stripping away rights and are against unions in providing people with an honest living with an honest wage. Then you have companies like CV that take full advantage of all that and will provide only what is required by law.

Outsourcing actually hurts many companies in the service sector that thought they would save initially, but soon learned the opposite...most obvious with ISP's and computer companies...look at AOL...ever try dialing India lately....people cringe at the thought of it, especially when I had to refer them out to AOL or Dell when working at CV...you mean I have to call them, they would rather cancel service or buy another PC...

Dell tried it and had to bring most of it back in the states due to a boat load of complaints from customers.

It is not because people could care less about getting quality service...it is all about greed, especially with this company....but without people complaining and demanding better, I guess you do get what you pay for, and a big reason why people probably get more correct answers here rather than from the tech at the company.

Not true as far as I'm concerned. We tolerate less quality because we pay less. Would you throw out a $1000 VCR? I'd throw out a $50 VCR as the cost of repair would be more then something new, same as a PC. We want things (typically) for the least cost. We all know quality (products, services, etc) costs more.What factor am I missing? You just agreed with me!Again, I agree with you. Read a blog post of mine on this exact subject back in March 2004 at »www.levinecentral.com/da ··· 011.html and you'll see we are apparently in agreement.Here's where we seem to move apart. I think it's because we as consumers want to pay the LEAST. Look at all the posts here... many people don't want more bandwidth, they want the same or less for less money. In order to reduce their revenue, they need to reduce costs. In order to reduce costs, they can reduce headcount, other expenses, levels of service, etc. It's the consumer that is causing the companies to continue to deliver the same service for less.

yes, I would also agree with your final statement, but I still think greed is a factor as well.

Outsourcing was used as a ploy from CV to keep everyone in line when they thought they would lose a union election...Those that knew any better knew it was just that...a ploy to frighten people.

Reality is, they knew how badly it would have hurt if they really meant what they said. They would be screwed....Imagine an ISP in a local geographical area getting it's support overseas...it would be suicide and never work as customers would leave in droves. Communication between call center and field techs would be incoherent to say the least

When I access a website, it does not matter if the server is running next door or on the other side of the world.

When I'm talking on the phone, the quality of communication does not depend on whether the person is next door or on the other side of the world - it depends on the person to whom I'm talking.

Greed is the entire factor. Minimizing costs and maximizing profits. I don't think CV cares about anything else.