They Are Not …
Below you’ll see the transcript of a “live chat” I had with a Time Warner Cable representative tonight. I have deleted the name of the representative. He was doing what he was hired to do.
Time Warner may wonder why some many people dislike them. They may not care. Their programming tonight (Monday) was just dumb.
user Jim has entered room.
analyst (TW representative) has entered room
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:21:44 CDT 2009)>
Thank you for choosing Time Warner Cable Online Chat Support. My name is xxxx. Please give me a moment, while I access your account information.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:22:10 CDT 2009)>
Thank you for waiting.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:22:55 CDT 2009)>
I understand that you are upset about the airing of the Spurs game twice, instead of showing the Astro's on channel 54. Is this correct?
Jim(Mon Apr 20 21:23:03 CDT 2009)>
I have a comment only. I know that there is nothing you can do about it. The Spurs NBA game is on TNT. The Astros are supposed to be on 54. No. It's also the Spurs game. Some in the audience would rather see the Astros or both. But, only the Spurs are available. Bad choice.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:24:08 CDT 2009)>
I apologize for the inconvenience, and will be happy to assist you with this.
Jim(Mon Apr 20 21:25:00 CDT 2009)>
Further, in previous years (not tonight) when both the Rangers and the Astros were playing, TW would put one of the games on channel 77. Not this year so far. There are blank channels up and down the spectrum not being used, because TW has bumped stuff to the digital tier. It's not right.
Jim(Mon Apr 20 21:25:34 CDT 2009)>
You can't do anything about this, correct?
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:26:16 CDT 2009)>
I do understand your concern about this.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:27:00 CDT 2009)>
Even I would have felt the same way.
Jim(Mon Apr 20 21:26:58 CDT 2009)>
You do see my logic regarding the Spurs being on two channels, don't you?
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:27:20 CDT 2009)>
Yes, I certainly do.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:27:37 CDT 2009)>
Let me check for any updates.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:27:38 CDT 2009)>
One moment please.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:30:18 CDT 2009)>
Thank you for your patience.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:30:34 CDT 2009)>
I apologize for the delay; however, there is no update available at this time.
TW(Mon Apr 20 22:31:16 CDT 2009)>
Contractual agreements for carriage or removal of specific programs are negotiated at the corporate level and information about this is available withe the local office.
Jim(Mon Apr 20 21:31:53 CDT 2009)>
Please pass along my feedback on this programming. Even if it contractual, TW should run a crawl. Meantime the front office needs to take another look at their schedule. Please pass this along. Good night.
Here is the message: Don’t just accept what Time Warner Cable allows. Central Texans pay hard-earned cash for their “service”. I don’t want to hear about contractual issues. I want choice.
I haven’t written a screed in a while.
© Jim McNabb, 2009