Image Credit: Ray Smithers
Until a few years ago, many people were very satisfied with the customer service provided by Charter Communications. In fact, even when something went wrong, the customer service representatives (or at least their supervisors) were able to handle any nearly any issue that came up.
That was before Charter began to employ outsourced call centers. In 2006, Charter began to close American call centers and customer service departments in order to reduce costs. This caused more than one thousand American employees to lose their jobs.
While there is still a Charter Communications corporate office in St. Louis, area customers won't generally reach a local representative when they call in.
In fact, a St. Louis customer is more likely to reach one of Charter's outsourced call centers, currently located in Cainta, Philippines; Panama City, Panama; Mexico City, Mexico; Laredo, Texas; Moundsville, West Virginia; London, Ontario; Trenton, Ontario; Kamloops, British Columbia; Amherst, Nova Scotia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Brasília, Brazil.
And, while these representatives are very nice people who can't be blamed for their employer's mistake, many don't speak English functionally, causing increasing frustration among Charter's customers.
"It would be nice if American companies hired American citizens in America to do the work that needs to be done! Companies just aren't willing to pay a living wage," says Charter customer Errin Neuner.
One St. Louis customer, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that she spent four hours on the phone with Charter's representatives to resolve a billing problem. The main issue, she said, was that five of the seven people she spoke to during that time seemed to be literally reading from a screen and didn't seem to comprehend the problem she was trying to explain, most likely due to their limited understanding of English.
She suggested that, at the very least, Charter should consider adopting stricter standards for their outsourced employees. "So what if they're working for a different company," she said. "Charter has the right to demand that the outsourced company provide higher quality employees--at least provide employees who speak English."
Another customer, Samantha Schoenhaar, said that she had so many problems with Charter's customer service department that she finally switched providers.
"Many times we have had problems with the internet going down, and when we would call for help, getting any help from customer service was nearly impossible," she remembers. "They would always treat us as if it was our fault and made it seem like we basically were idiots."
Polly McWilliams, a St. Louis area customer, said that she too made the switch from Charter. "Almost every time there was a hard rain, our Charter cable would go out," she said. When she would call for help, Charter's representatives would blame the outage on the weather or the electricity, rather than handle the problem themselves. "So I'd spend a long time on the phone on hold before they'd agree to come out to fix it," she said. "In addition to this, they continually raised my costs per month without any added benefit!"
These customers aren't alone. Many St. Louis area families are experiencing the same kind of "customer service" from this company. And, since Charter recently filed for bankruptcy, it doesn't look like customers can expect to see much improvement. Even the Better Business Bureau posted the following warning about Charter's services.
"The Better Business Bureau has received numerous complaints regarding this cable, digital TV, and high speed internet access provider. Complainants primarily allege that the firm had improper billing practices, referred customer bills to collection agencies in error, provided poor customer service, used misleading advertising, provided defective internet or cable performance, used improper sales tactics or misrepresented the actual costs of installation and service, failed to properly install or maintain service, damaged customers' property, and failed to honor service appointments. "
So what can customers do? Does Charter have a monopoly on the St. Louis area's cable system as many believe? Unfortunately, if you want traditional cable, they do. Still, other providers like Dish Network, DirectTV and even AT&T are offering satellite television services, and many St. Louis area customers say that it's worth your time (and money) to make the switch.
Comments
Outsourcing of jobs is one reason Americans are stuggling to find work right now. Although I am not a customer of Charter, I have had this problem with many of the companies I do use. Many companies today do not seem to feel the need to maintain customer satisfaction. It is great that you are letting people know about this company so they do not fall victum to it themselves.
There is no excuse for this and it drives me crazy when this happens to me. We pay good money for these companies' services, and when there is a problem, we should be provided with upstanding customer service from knowledgeable employees who speak English fluently and can solve problems promptly and efficiently OR pass you to someone who can. Good for you for calling attention to this problem!
Charter has earned themselfs a good reputation for poor customer service. I wont say that outsourcing is the cause. The installation process can be exausting and leaves people frustrated.
Charter is the worst. In addition to the customer service troubles, the people that come to install are contractors and I've had some that were completely unprofessional. I've had 5 people "fix" the same problem and I still have poor picture quality. I was about to switch to AT&T, but then I had a problem with my cell phone (also with them) and spoke to a customer service rep who told me twice that Illinois was a city. You can't win anywhere these days.
Tonya Kemble
St. Louis Parenting Examiner
I have also had horrible trouble with Charter in the St. Louis area. When I call I can never talk to anyone who speaks English as a first language. Also, if I want any type of customer service I go see only one individual at the local Florissant, MO office and talk to her. IT is pretty bad when there is only one person in a multi million dollar company that can help you and all she is supposed to do is take your money. I hate this company. If they did not offer the Video on Demand free with service I would be an AT&T cutomer. Heck with AT&T we can Tvo 4 shoes at once...right now I can only do 2.
Charter does not care about their customers or the time they wait on the phone. They want to charge their customers for their time. What about the time the customers could charge for waiting on Charter? I will never go back to Charter!
Outsourcing of jobs is one of the ways that American companies have to utilize to stay competitive in todays market. This is one of the factors that have contributed to such dramatic job losses in our country. It gets more difficult for companies to pay a living wage and provide cheap goods and services. It is the Wal Mart mentality, and we are on a spiral to the bottom. We won't see this stop until our standard of living is brought down and the third world countries economies are brought up to an equivelencies.
While we have had no MAJOR issues with the actual cable service the customer service is another story all together. We have had EVERYONE of the above situations but it is our only option due to our house having restricted satelite reception. Considering Charter is a COMMUNICATIONS company they do a horrible job at communicating with the customer and in house about availability of equipment and personnel.
I'll admit outsourcing jobs to other parts of the world hurts Americans, but at the same time companies right now are having to make some hard choices about that. Direct TV & Dish Network as well as AT&T also outsource there customer service. Charter has improved it's customer service a great deal over the last 6 months. Charter is currently hiring over 150 new CSR's for the Vancouver WA Call Center and is expanding in many other area's all over Charter creating more american jobs. Charter is also updating it's billing system for 44% of Charter customers from the old ICOM system to CSG witch is what Comcast & Time Warner use. Were expanding our HD line-up in almost every system, providing new equipment and faster more reliable services for all customers. Don't give up on Charter so fast, all companies have there problems but at least there fixing and improving it. Direct TV & Dish Network... not so much. Thats my 2 cents.
Thanks
Matt
Their problem starts from the installation. Installer filled in the wrong workorder, wrong code and end up charge the wrong price.
Can't they do it right the first step?
To Matt: I sincerely appreciate a Charter rep coming in to comment and let us know the plans for the future. Regarding the "hard choices" made by Charter to begin outsourcing, I would expect such a choice to benefit customers--yet I've seen no decline in pricing and a significant decline in customer service. Before outsourcing, I could call Charter if my cable went out and often times they would show up the same day (or at the latest, the next day.) Since then, I have had to wait several days on more than one occasion and haven't been compensated for the loss in service...aside from all of the other issues. Plus, as other commenters have mentioned--since people in a different country are sending reps to my home, they are often unqualified to do the job (because they're not given a clear work order, I assume.) Very frustrating for many, many people.
Again, thank you so much for your comment. I am glad to know Charter is aware of the problem and have hope that things will change.
“Their problem starts from the installation. Installer filled in the wrong work order, wrong code and end up charge the wrong price.
Can't they do it right the first step? “ Tanya, would you agree with me if I said that same scenario could happen with any other company as much or more often then it does at Charter? Did you know that 89% of all companies that sell a product that has to be installed in a consumer’s home are done wrong or improper leading to malfunction and dissatisfied customers? This can happen to anyone at anytime, yes it shouldn’t but at the end of the day sitting behind those computers in a call center environment.. Were all just human and mistakes can happen. Charter has a great Quality Control team that listens and monitors calls all day long, it’s impossible to listen to each and every call but they are working day in and day out to improve customer service and mistakes like botched installs and wrong codes. Like I said before stick around, things are changing
Hi Angela! Just an update, since you posted this article I pulled it up at work and sent it out by email to my entire call center and had a manager send it out to the other call centers. I wanted them to know and let see how some customers felt, were all human here at Charter and we care what customers think about our operations and our outsource call centers. I would say about every co-worker I know plus my team of 20 Retention agents, send in coaching’s daily to the managers in those outsourced call centers for those reps messing things up. Once Charter comes out of the bankruptcy here by the end of the year (hopefully in the next 2 months) I believe things will change with that as apart of the restructuring. *CONT*
*CONT* , Sorry to hear about what’s happen to you with our service, trust me it’s not our goal to keep any customer waiting for days to fix things, sometimes in some areas that happens though because of the qouta. Last comment I’d like to make regarding “yet I've seen no decline in pricing” you wont, Charter services are very reasonably priced, were actually lower than Comcast & Time Warner, I don’t compare our prices to Dish Network or Direct TV because the value in the service is just not there with Satellite. I do understand there a competitor, but everyone at Charter knows that and we are very aware you can get tv for $14.99 for the first 6 months of a 2 year contract.. the rest of the time.. well thats subject to change. We are though rolling out all kinds of new 2 year packages when you bundle services, we now have Cable/Internet only 2 year plans as well, and during the 2 years our prices don't change. I hope to pull up your account Angela in the near future :)
Matt--THANK YOU so much for sending the article to your co-workers and other staff members. I genuinely appreciate that you've come back to update us on this situation. It's great to know that Charter is aware of the concerns we all have and that there are actual humans who care about our satisfaction! :) Have a great weekend. :)
Look at the wages the top employees in the companies are making and then tell me again why they "need" to outsource jobs to stay competitive?!?
I just TRIED to resolve an issue with Charter CS this morning - a horrific and maddening experience. Bottom line: I ended service in Dallas, TX, in May, I live in New Orleans, LA, where the bill has ALWAYS been received in the mail. They owed my a refund of $154.95, per their email of 6-11. No refund yet, they said they didn't have my address! All of that after being disconnected 5 times by their crack CS representatives. This is what happens when you have a lousy company that depends on people speaking (or trying to speak) a second language in the area where language is critical: communicating with a customer regarding a problem. My $154.95 is a drop in the bucket, but it does make you wonder if their financial situation makes them want to keep my few bucks, and yours, and yours, and ... They had my address, and they could have sent my money. Pathetic company, I will NEVER do business with them again.
Bruce, it does take 6-8 weeks to print out the check and send it out from the date of witch the disconnect at the residence took place, not from when you called in that day, so by my time/dates off the top of my head you may have a few more weeks, and if your address was inputted wrong witch that can happen it may take another 6-8 weeks once the address is corrected because they have to cancel out that check and reprint a new one. I asure you we don't want to keep your $154.95... if you want me to look over your account e-mail me at darkspear@comcast.net, thats a personal e-mail you can get ahold of me at, just leave me your account number and I'll e-mail you back. And yes I don't live in a Charter area so I have to use Comcast lol. I'm more than happy to help customers out so feel free to e-mail me and I'll awnser questions and review accounts, for security reasons I wont be able to change anything on an account unless you want me to call you back, then I'd be more than happy to :)
I work at a call center for Charter, and I can't tell you how many times I have customers calling in wanting to decrease their pricing because of some crackpot offer that DirecTV or Dish is offering. When will people realize that DTV and Dish really aren't lowering your prices, they're increasing them.
Example: if you have Cable, Phone, and Internet, paying let's say an average of 140 a month (not including Pay Per View or some other extra stuff), and then you see an ad for Dish or Direct for "29.99 for 6 months", it requires a 2 year contract in which your prices will go up to roughly, on average, between 50 and 60 dollars a month for REPETATIVE and GARBAGE channels. "We have over 200+ channels" is a good marketing strategy, it grabs people, but it also causes problems with customers staying satisfied with their programming, because 60 of those "200 channels" are either shoping or repeats.
I have dish because I can't get charter by me, and out of the 250+ channels I have *CONT*
*CONT* I get quality Original programming out of maybe 100 of them if I'm lucky. The rest are either "Dish view from Space", "Information", or Shopping/Repeats. What would you rather spend your money on? Quantity or Quality? 3 services versus 1 service?
I've had customers call to switch to Charter, and object to a preliminary price point, but after you do the math it's a no brainer.
If you have service from ATT at lets say 50 bucks a month for phone, with DSL service at let's say 30, that's 80 right there for Phone and, in most areas, max speed of maybe 3 meg internet.
Then let's say you have DTV or Dish, at an average of 60-70 bucks a month. That's about 140 there or so, for Repeat Channels, Weather interruptions, Tying up your phone line for DSL service.
I'd think our prices are pretty reasonable in the long run.j
Also, Charter isn't a monopoly in any area. Any cable company is more than welcome to run their own Fiber Optic line, they just don't want to do so.
I have Charter bundle and it is not reliable. Several times in the past weeks I have had to talk to the tech support person. They were rude, gave conflicting explainations for the problem (trouble in my area...no trouble in my area) and I had to do the trouble shooting. I am not a techy person and I resent having to try to trouble shoot rather than having real customer support. I cannot rely upon having a telephone or computer service from one moment to the next. I am seriously considerin dropping the.
I happen to be a call center rep for Charter Communications and I'm located in Kentucky. The nature of cable/internet/phone is that if you don't have problems, you aren't going to call us. Starting off right there we face a problem. You're angry and upset when you call us. I assume everyone here has a job. How would you feel if people called and threatened you all day?
Personally, when people call me with problems, I do everything in my power to help you. Most problems can't be resolved by telephone, especially when equipment isn't working correctly. Therefore, we have to send technicians.
People complain about appointment dates. Well, I'm sorry, but there are millions (literally) of other customers who need appointments too.
If people would only call in, willing to work with a representative instead of getting defensive, your service would be so much better.
We aren't trying to swindle you out of money. We don't get any bonuses for stealing your money. Stop treating us like we ar
To Jacii and the other Charter reps: You should recognize that while customers are frustrated by the limits imposed upon you by your company, no one feels that you are personally to blame. As discussed in the article, it is the company and its policies that are the problem. They don't empower you and the other reps to do what is necessary to satisfy the customers. Plus, the company chooses to outsource many call centers to places where English isn't always well spoken and understood, making it even more frustrating for customers.
Thank you for your comments!
I am appalled by the customer service at Charter Communication, it is HORRIBLE. In the past 2 weeks, I have been rudely spoken to and hung up on twice by a Charter representative. If I were in an area that I could change back to Time Warner, I would drop Charter immediately. Perhaps their executives should consider a few customer service training classes for employees.
I used to work for Charter and though all cust are not clueless the ones that are made my job difficult. If the modem is online but they can't get online they call us instead of the pc manuf. If they have basic cable without a box they complain and bash us because they don't have a remote to their tv and to change chans they need to purchase a universal remote or rent a box from us. Charter is not that bad, and Dish and Direct TV are no comparison. I know, I don't live in a Charter area and have Dish. All I have to say is read between the lines because they don't have a grace per to change ur mind in and their prices are much higher than Charters once that 6mon promo ends. Plus Charter serv's a lot of areas in the sticks that the other big comp's do not want and would not take even when Charter tried to sell them when they were first in bankruptsy (which they are not in anymore) so don't think if Charter leaves the others will take up the slack.
Horrible service. Every time it rains for more than a few hours there is a service outage. Even during good weather some channels come in subpar. I've used Time Warner, Cablevision and other services. This is the worst of the lot so far. They are quick to charge nearly $60/month for a dismal lineup of basic cable but no so quick to manage outages and customer complaints.
I have had Charter now for 10 years. Every time there was a problem it was resolved and handled and they always were upfront about the solutions and reasons. Making a switch to Direct TV or AT&T would not be much better. Direct Tv is rated even worse than Charter by the Better Business Bureau (seriously, check it out). Also AT&T is extremely slow as compared to Charter internet and you pay extra if all you carry is their Internet. I will stick with Charter but I do not see how all these problems can always be labeled their fault since I have never had major problems with them.
Charter is Cheater!
Charter cheating your internet speed as "high" as 1MB/s. The Truth is only 0.1MB/S. It means none email attachment, none youtube, even none VOIP. I was hooked by $19.99 two months ago, then I can not tolrence so "high" speed any more. I saw Charter gives $39.99 for 8MB/s internet plus local TV. So I am Ok for this price and book it online. The 800 gay told me the rate will rise up to $59.99 six month later. I am also Ok.
However, HOWEVER, Charter send me a bill of >>>$79.99<<<<!
I call their 800 number, a female told me "since I had been $19.99 customer for two month, so I am longer be qualified for the $39.99! " So ugly. I cancel all services from CHEATER. I will never come back again until it died.
I am one of those bad customers reduced to yelling at the service rep. In my defense, I am very tired of trying to explain a problem to someone with a limited grasp of English who always seems to be reading from a script that is not related to any topic I am discussing. Every time I get a rep who can barely make him or herself understood I heave a sigh and dig in for a long and completely fruitless conversation. If I had any other options, I would be long gone. Sadly, if I want cable and internet here I am stuck with Charter. And I hate them. Simple as that.
I can say with all honesty as a Charter Employee that everyone on my team cares. I am sorry so many have written their problems here... I wish I could help each and every one of you. We do care... we have a culture of caring about our customers and I do apologize from the bottom of my heart for those who have trouble.
I have had trouble with my local provider (not charter) a lot... it happens in all markets. Every now and then a line needs work, or equipment goes bad. All I ask is that you do call in and keep track of who you talk to. Be nice to us we do care, and we have a special team that will talk to you on the day of your appointment. If anything goes sour please call on that day... you will talk directly to an escalation specialist who will listen and they have power to do anything necessary to make it right. That's the most important time to call in is the day your install or service appt happens... those reps are specialists. Maxine
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!