If you have Time Warner cable or internet service, you know how downright awful this service is. Just moving to a new apartment six blocks down the road led to the girlfriend and I having to wait at the apartment four days while they first brought us this awful Moxie box from 1997, and then brought us a Motorola box that wouldn’t show us the channels, to On Demand never working.. and most recently, to when we bought an HD TV and told them that we wanted them to bring the HD box over. They arrived, hooked up the box, and didn’t even bother to mention that we didn’t have HD DVR, so that’s another day of waiting around the apartment for them.
Well fuck that. I’m switching to DirecTV. No this isn’t an advertorial for DirecTV, I just see their dishes on the balcony of every apartment building around me, and I saw a commercial that says they have 85 HD channels.. oh and they get NESN, and I need to see the Red Sox.. AND I need to be able to DVR those games in HD, which they also offer apparently.
I’m still shopping around for high-speed internet options in Southern California, but again, Time Warner has got to go. I’ve had the internet go down at too many crucial times to bother with it anymore, and now add the fact that they’re looking to start charging customers based on bandwith. This is ridiculous, long gone would be the days where you see your friends sitting on your buddy list saying they’ve been idle for 18 hours.
Time Warner Cable makes you actually have to consider the fact that their customer service is just really really, unforgivably bad. Customer Service experience never enters my mind unless I’m at a Target in a sketchy area. Even then, I just wait patiently as the cashier talks to her friend on the phone while she scans my items. That’s fine with me, that experience is over and I’ve forgotten about it by the time I get to my car. Time Warner Cable, however, makes it impossible to forget how bad their customer service is, because you will never, EVER, have a positive experience with them. Whether it be the mind-numblingly dumb customer service rep that ensures you that everything is a-ok with your cable and then it’s just flat-out NOT, or the “contractors” that they allow to go to their customers’ homes to perform service work. My favorite of these contractors is the buddy teams that come out and watch rap videos or stunt bloopers on YouTube, “to make sure your high speed connection is working.” Oh snap indeed.
The fact that Time Warner is the worst service that ever was is not a new revelation. I wish someone had handed me a Welcome To California brochure that told me the last thing I should do is sign up for Time Warner Cable, but that didn’t happen. Let’s not forget the big class action suit against Time Warner Cable by, well us. I, like plenty of others new to LA, signed up for the seemingly convenient all-in-one cable/internet package through this awful, awful company. But people have been complaining about Time Warner Cable for a while now. GearBits was complaining back in 2005. The ISPGuide had a thread about how awful Time Warner’s internet service is, also back in 2005. Bloggers like myself, AnyIon , Sara Morrison, Brendoman, and KelliAmanda, have remained silent for a while, but it’s time everyone is made aware of this, and you KNOW your company is in trouble if there’s a Yelp page tearing you apart.
For even more grips about Time Warner Cable’s suckage, see this page on Consumerist.
If anyone has any tips on good deals for high-speed internet, that isn’t looking down the road of idiocy toward charging by bandwith, let me know. I want to be as far away from Time Warner Cable as possible.
on Feb 4th, 2008
[...] they will not call you. I haven’t encountered customer service this bad outside of a call to Time Warner Cable. Not to mention that the hours at this place are awful.. 9-6 M-F and then 10-4 on Saturdays. [...]
on Apr 27th, 2008
I totally agree. I have the Time Warner All-in-One package and have lost my telephone and inet THREE TIMES this week. I run a home-based business, so this directly interferes with my ability to earn a living, hence pay their bill.
I am seriously considering cancelling my Time Warner telephone and broadband service and transferring to ATT. I can’t switch to Dish, because my apartment balcony doesn’t have the correct skyline exposure.
I HATE TIME WARNER. THEIR RELIABILITY IS TERRIBLE.
on Dec 10th, 2008
[...] emails.. but no web access. What’s the deal Time Warner? Do you have to suck this hard at EVERY service you offer? [...]
on Dec 26th, 2008
[...] up and walk around on your roof and drill holes in the wall and floor because DirecTV is actually a better alternative to Time Warner Cable… the getting to know your new [...]
on Jan 29th, 2009
Your problem is that you’re a Red Sox fan.
on May 27th, 2009
Yes Time Warner sucks… for a real hoot check out what people are saying on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twcsucks
on Jun 19th, 2009
I moved to LA from New York. It appears the TWC has a monopoly on the cable internet business here because believe me I looked really hard to find another company. We tried a couple but they were incredibly expensive and their internet was slowwwwwwww.
Time Warner Cable STILL SUCKS. I just called to pay my bill and was hassled by a computer for over 5 minutes before I could talk to a real live person. I wanted to pay my bill. The computer told me it would cost a little over $2.00 to pay my bill on the phone but that I could go to one of their locations or do it online for free. I thought “that’s lame” and decided and to do it online.
I try to register for a new account by entering the account number and zip code on my account – as it’s printed on my bill. The system tells me that my account doesn’t exist. I think “cool! I guess I don’t have to pay if my account doesn’t exist!” But I’m not stupid so I called back, did battle with the robo-receptionist again, and got to Erik, ID #iri.
Now, for what it’s worth, Erik read his scripts in a way that made me think he wasn’t even reading a script and overall did his job well. He even offered to waive the $2 fee for paying online. I don’t know why, but it’s good he did or I would have had to have a chat with him about that.
I found out in this call that Time Warner has my wrong social security last 4 digits, and wrong birthdate on the account. I don’t know how this is possible unless they entered the wrong info somehow because I definitely know my birthday and social.
I also found learned from Erik that I would be getting a phone call from their automatic survey system to ask me about my TWC experience. I said “No thank you. Please cancel the call. I don’t talk to computers on the phone.” Erik informed me that the call could not be cancelled and asked me to hold.
At this point I hung up because I wasn’t going to hold while they figure out how to appease my anger at being forced to accept robo calls from a service I hate anyway.
Oh yeah – and our internet service goes out EVERY DAY at least once.
on Jul 2nd, 2009
I’ve been having such an awful experience with Time Warner, that I had to google “time warner sucks” and came across this funny page.
I actually live in Cleveland and it’s been one nightmare after the other. They installed the wrong service (twice), gave us broken remotes (twice), lied about installation charges, didn’t credit our free install coupon, the sound has been messed up, the picture has been pixelated and freezing (twice), I’ve had to go down to the customer service office (three times) to get things changed, and they still didn’t credit my account for everything they screwed up.
Not to mention the DVR and Guide are from 1990 and so difficult to use.
I’m so angry, I don’t think we can get anything else in this area. I used to have DirecTv but I can’t have it in this building (IT WAS THE BEST THING EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR).
Looks like I might have to go slam dunk this cable box on the floor of the customer service office today….
Thanks for letting me know that there are others who share my pain… even if it is 3 time zones away.
on Aug 28th, 2009
I HATE TWC Time Warner Cable !
This is the 3rd time I have had to pay for over a week of service- when I have spoken to people on the phone the service is broken!!!
This time I called over a week ago and they said the soonest someone would come would be the next Friday (8days later)!!!! The window they required; 2PM-6PM thats 4hours.
So I had to take the day off from work today so I could wait for the TWC to show up. At 5:51 I get a voice mail saying, “this is TWC, its 5:50 and I have a guy in front of your building but since you are not home please call our #”. M.F.er! You didnt even ring the fucking doorbell!!! I sprint for the front of the building and there when it is still 5:51. No one in site! No TWC van anywhere! I ask the guy out side if a car has passed, he said, “no one has driven by in atleast 30mins. I am waiting for my sis.”
I called the number right back @ 5:53 and mother fuckers say their system is down! They cant even get their own shit working!
Finally after lots of yelling and the supervisor its 6:10 and the TWC Fucks are comming tomorrow morning between 8-12.
I am soooooooo pissed!!!! I took a day off of work!
As soon as there is a new provider in my area I am done!!!!!!!!
I am PISSED!!!!
on Mar 10th, 2010
Well…..This is why everyone hates Time Warner. I posted an ad on Craigslist and a Time Warner employee responded. These are his words sent from his TW email account..” guys like you fuck it up for the rest of us who actually PAY for our cable…don’t be an ass…do it right and pay your fee every month like the rest of us do!!!” Then he goes on to say “Ohhh well cant say I didn’t try to warn you…lol once a felon always a felon I guess…bet you’re a welfare cheater too hmmmmm food stamps fpr cash and all that??? Or do you just whore yourself out on the street corner for nasty old guys who want dick???? If you actually have one that is….” All this from his work email mail account. After I cut and pasted every name from the Executive Management Team and informed him that I was going to forward every email to each and every person on that list, this is what I got “Actually I know when im beat..what can I say..you win”. And when I CC him in on a few emails that I had forwarded I got this “Ok I have apologized what more do you want I will be lucky to make it through the day…” and “Again I apologize you have won…I am gone thanks” Then I replied “maybe I should forward these emails too? Look, next time you decide to mess with someone you don’t know maybe you will think about it! I only started CC you in on half of the emails that I forward to every Time Warner Executive Management person. THINK DUDE!!!!! Your work email!!!! and I’m the dumb ass? who’s the ass now? Have a great day! or not!” and got this in response “I do appologise..you are right” All this on company time. maybe this is why Time Warner Customer Service is so bad! They are all on Craigslist answering ad’s on company time.
And This is why I hate Time Warner!!!!!
After I forward this to every Executive Manager do you think I got a response. Not a one!!!!!! They don’t care!
on Apr 23rd, 2010
Request a “Inhouse” tech??? There are just as many bad “inhouse”tech's as there are contractors! If “inhouse”tech's are so great than why do the contractor's have to do your post wires??? Why? because “inhouse” tech's don't have the necessary skills and don't want to actually work! If it wasn't for the contractors you “inhouse” tech's would actually have to do your own dirty work! Contractor's get all the shit work you “inhouse” tech's are too good to do. And Contractor's don't get the free cable and weekends off like you crybaby “inhouse” tech's get!One of these days the contractor's are going to tell TW to F@%* off and you crybabies will see what it is really like to have to work!
on Jul 4th, 2010
I recently got the 24 month lock in fee but it seems like my bill is a lot higher than what they quoted me back in April. Did this happen to you? If so, do you think I could get out of this 24-month period because they are not charging me the rate they said it would be? Let me know. Rick
on Aug 10th, 2010
[...] that Time Warner Cable has pretty much flat out sucked for a while now. I posted my own thoughts here and here, but my friend Virginia G. has an update for us: Apparently it hasn’t gotten any [...]