Sensing that not all was well in their Southern California empire, it seems that Time Warner axed their local cable executive due to reports of “maddeningly long — and sometimes futile — waits to reach a human by phone.” As a customer who recently experienced their bottom-rung phone center, I say “What took so long?” Maybe I’m just lucky in most of my other consumer transactions, but I don’t recall the last time a customer service rep has out-and-out lied to me the way Time Warner’s phone center reps did in January.
Time Warner seems to have decided that it will take two executives to clean up their mess. That’s cause for hope for their cable customers. In the LA Times article, however, Eric Burton, the fellow who managers their local call centers is quoted as saying “But we do feel comfortable that the quality is at a level that we can build on.” This may be just corporate happy-talk. On the other hand, if that’s your true opinion, Eric, I’d recommend polishing your resume.