MacBethian Cable TV
Written: Jun 02 '07
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Pros: Not known to actually cause cancer or venereal disease, local channels mostly clear.
Cons: Wretched reception and reliabilty, customer "service" able to cause ulcers and hypertension.
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend Time Warner cable if any alternative whatsoever exists. If you must, get everything in writing.
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| foxfroggy's Full Review: Time Warner Cable |
Time-Warner is soon to be no more in the Houston market, becoming Comcast instead. Most of us who have it have called it quite a few other things already, none of them particularly flattering and some unsuitable for a family-viewed review. My over-all evaluation of TW cable service comes from MacBeth: "O horrible, horrible, most horrible!"
When I moved into my current residence, the TW cable was already in place. When it was no longer part of the lease package, I called to arrange to put the service in my own name. Air reception is so poor here that cable or satellite is pretty much a necessity just to watch local channels. And from the beginning, TW showed their true colors.
I asked if there were any new subscriber specials coming up or available and was told no. Three days after my install date, they offered free installation and a free month. "GRRRR" point number one. Installation was number two. I had requested the basic digital package and been quoted a price. What was installed was analogue basic at what I considered a high price for not much.Customer service was less than helpful in dealing with their error and never offered the slightest adjustment.
An install date, at full charge, was over a week away. (The special they offered that same week promised no more than two day waiting.)The installer was scruffy and more than a little unprofessional. In the middle of the install he simply disappeared and drove off without a word. Eventually he came back, claiming he needed a part. In the process, he let my elderly indoor only cat out. And, of course, the service was not what I had ordered. Not every channel had good reception, which he claimed was the fault of my set. No such problem exists with my current provider so that was also a fib or lame excuse.
Outages have been not uncommon, and the response is oddly the same when one calls "customer service" the name being a TW inside joke.I'm always told "we have no reports of outages in your area" as if I'm imagining the outage, and a service call no less than two days away. Getting bill adjustments for outages never happened without demanding it after the next bill failed to show it, always an "oversight."
And recently, a new gouge, with the online program guide being deleted along with some other channels and made a "premium" service requiring an upgrade and a price "adjustment." Curiously, TW calls this "existing programming changes" with the transition to Comcast.
Turning off the service was as much a hassle as getting it. They'll cheerfully take your money online but for "security reasons" won't let you terminate service. You must call their automated service (sic) line, with an average in this last attempt of more than 15 busy signals to reach one of those annoying menus and eventually needing to talk to a live rep anyway. On five occasions, the call disconnected while on hold.
When I finally reached the representative, I asked that the service be disconnected and stated than another carrier was already in place, but still had to argue with this yahoo about how they could "keep me as a valued customer." I felt like I had a compulsive speech disorder as I repeated that another carrier was installed and nothing would change my mine. Totally time after giving all the account info before being told they had done as I asked, 18 minutes!
As for the service itself, I see it as very expensive for what you get and absurd at the basic nondigital level. And reception cannot compare to the fiberoptic service from AT&T now in use. Some channels always had ghosting and interference and sound quality was never very impressive. Outages happened too often, some due to weather, some with no explanation at all, except one person who said that maybe rats and squirrels were chewing on my cable.
On second thought, "horrible, horrible, most horrible" may be going too easy on Time Warner or whatever they are calling themselves this week. The only way I would recommend this is if you had no other option whatsoever and were unable to otherwise use a television.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): ~50/mon
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Epinions.com ID:
foxfroggy
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Member: Pat Fox
Location: Houston Texas
Reviews written: 232
Trusted by: 89 members
About Me:
Cat-loving bookish Texan. Equal time for sushi, barbecue, classical music and classical hard rock.
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