Making Sure Customers Get the Online Help They Need: Blogs, Tweets, and Forums

I don’t mind giving some big credit to the TWCable Help/Online Care Team every chance that I get. They work really, really hard monitoring Twitter and our Facebook page for customer care problems and getting people in touch with real solutions. They also take more than their fair share of static from Internet tough guys who say some really, really awful stuff to them all day long.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the truest measure of someone’s character is how nicely they treat someone that has to be nice to them no matter what.

That’s a digression, though.

I’ve noticed that we are getting more and more care-related comments here on Untangled. Some people are posting issues that relate, at least tangentially to the topic of the post – HBO GO problems in an HBO GO post, iPad issues in an iPad post are fine. Other folks just seem to pick any old post at random, then leave a cry for help in it. I think this happens when people are frustrated with the call center, maybe not super-savvy Web users, and just Google the first thing that occurs to them and leave a comment on the first search result.

That’s fine, too. The Internet is for everybody, and we want to help as many people as we can, whenever we can.

However, this blog was not designed to become an Online Care outpost. And our Online Care team is really pretty swamped between Twitter, Facebook, the Broadband Reports forums, and who know what else they’re tracking every day. I move around a lot, and often approve comments as they come in, which often means I’m doing this from my iPhone in the back of a cab in the middle of the night. I don’t always know the answers to everyone’s problems, but I feel that we’re obligated to provide some degree of a solution. That’s what we signed up for when we started this blog.

I’ve learned that every single social outpost we create will become a listening post for care issues. It’s just how the business goes.

So here’s what we’ve come up with:

Once a day, typically in the late afternoon, a representative from @TWCableHelp will review all the comments on this blog for the past 14 days. When appropriate, they’ll respond and get the commenter into a dialogue that is meant to resolve the problem. We don’t want to overburden the team with another place to track and respond in real-time, but we do want customers to get the help they need.

All this points to a much bigger need: some sort of an online forum with customer care as a primary focus.

So we’re building one.

We are developing larger, more involved Online Care forums that will not only allow agents to manage care in what we *hope* is a more controlled, easy to follow environment – but will also allow customers to help one another. We’d love to see a place online where people can get the care they need the moment that they need it, without having to call into a call center, wait on hold, any of that stuff. Call centers aren’t cheap to run, and nobody likes calling them, either.

All that is going to be a long time coming, though. We’re hoping for sometime in 2012, but beyond that, I have no date. You better believe that I’ll announce it here, though.

Categories: Customer Care, Future of the Industry, In the Community, What's New

TWC TV™ App Now Available for iPhone

Minutes after we launched the TWC TV™ for iPad® app last March, people began asking for it on Android and on the iPhone. It’s only natural – the universe of handheld devices is expanding fast, and we’re working hard to keep up. We announced that we had a version of the popular app for Android phones and tablets last month and today – we are thrilled to announce that you can now watch live TV, manage your DVR and change channels on your set-top box on your iPhone.

This feature is available at no additional cost to Time Warner Cable video customers that have a broadband connection.

Features on TWC TV™ include:

• Interactive program guide (IPG) – up to 7 days of listings. View detailed show descriptions including box art. Option to display “HD only” or “favorites only” by creating a favorite channel list.
• Search – search for programming by title or episode name and filter results by genre
• Set-top box tuning – tap on a network logo or “watch on TV” button within the program description to tune compatible set-top boxes directly to the channel
• DVR management – schedule one-time and series recordings on compatible DVRs directly from the IPG. Tap on the “DVR” button to see a list of all upcoming recordings and make changes or cancel recordings

Customers can download TWC TV™ from the App StoreSM, launch it, log in and scroll through the channel lineup to select preferred programming. Interactive program guide, channel tuning and DVR management features require a set-top box or DVR running the “Navigator” interactive program guide.

You can see a complete channel lineup after the jump.
Continue Reading

Categories: Content Delivery, Cool Stuff, Future of the Industry, app

Time Warner Cable Debuts “News 14 Carolina on ABC 45” in the Greensboro, NC Market

This month, Time Warner Cable launched News 14 Carolina on ABC 45 in the Greensboro, NC market and in doing so began to produce local newscasts for a broadcast affiliate for the first time. News 14 Carolina now produces newscasts Monday – Friday at 6:30 a.m., 6 p.m. and 11p.m. that air on the ABC affiliate WXLV.

At a time when many broadcast outlets are cutting back, News 14 Carolina is fortunate to be expanding in both staff and office space. Seven new employees were hired to help produce the additional newscasts which are referred to as “News 14 Carolina on ABC 45”and bear the News 14 Carolina brand.

There are a number of features viewers will be happy to see on the newscasts including the exclusive live lottery drawing for the Triad, Weather on the Ones – one of the most popular features of News 14 Carolina, the benefit of a 24/7 statewide news network featuring newsrooms in Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington and Newport and shorter commercial breaks allowing for more news content.

Cable news channels have produced segments, such as sports, for broadcast stations before, but there aren’t many examples of them producing full newscasts for stations. News 14 Carolina is available to Time Warner Cable customers in North Carolina who subscribe to video services.  Nearly one million consumers watch News 14 Carolina weekly.

“This is the first time a Time Warner Cable local news channel has produced newscasts for a network affiliate, and we’re a part of it which is very exciting,” said Alan Mason, vice president and general manager for News 14 Carolina. “It’s a great opportunity to expose our News 14 Carolina brand to thousands of viewers who are not Time Warner Cable customers in the Triad television market.”

Categories: Carolinas, Cool Stuff, In the Community, Programming

TWC WiFi Finder App Now Available for iOS Devices, in iTunes Store

Shortly before the holidays, I mentioned that our TWC WiFi Finder app was available in the Android Marketplace. Now, you can get the TWC WiFi Finder app for iOS products in the iTunes store, too. (Linked text goes to iTunes store.)

Right now, this app only works for our customers in Southern California, but will eventually be expanded to the rest of the country. Also, Windows and Mac versions will be available by the end of Q1.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Automatic authentication to TWC WiFi network. The app defaults your device to TWC WiFi connections where available and auto-authenticates and auto-connects when in range with a “remember me” feature. It’s an easy to use and reliable way to find and use TWC WiFi connections with no need to launch and login to the application after the first time.
• Online Hotspot Map with Available TWC WiFi Hotspots. There will be an easy-t- use visual icon that quickly gives TWC hotspot location using a variety of search methods.
• Offline Hotspot Listing – available TWC WiFi hot spots listed when not connected to any network
• Distinct Indoor and Outdoor TWC WiFi Hotspot Markers
• Turn-by-Turn Directions to TWC WiFi Hotspots
• Basic session usage
• Reporting capabilities

Categories: Broadband Penetration/Deployment, Cool Stuff, Future of the Industry, In the Community, Product Launches, What's New, app

TWC Research Program Reaches Third Year

 Today, we’re announcing the third year of the Time Warner Cable Research Program on Digital Communications, which awards stipends designed to foster research dedicated to increasing understanding of the benefits and challenges facing digital technologies in the home, office, classroom and community.

The 2012 Research Announcement (link goes to PDF) sets forth the program’s guidelines and list of research questions. Researchers affiliated with universities and not-for-profits are eligible to apply for the stipends. 

Applicants are asked to write a three-page summary outlining their approach to one of the topics and submit a brief resume for each author. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged, to provide the broadest possible insights. More information can be found at the research program website. The deadlines for submission of applications are April 1, 2012 and November 1, 2012.

Categories: What's New

The Wait Is Over: All Time Warner Cable Customers With HBO Can Now Use HBO GO/MAX GO

Finally, something we have all been waiting for. You have no idea how much it pleases me to be able to say this.

Today, right this minute, after a long negotiation and a brief beta test:

TIME WARNER CABLE CUSTOMERS WITH SUBSCRIPTIONS TO HBO/CINEMAX ARE NOW ABLE TO USE THE HBO GO/MAX GO APPS.

They’re available for download in the Apple app store and Android Market now.

Click here to download HBO GO app in iTunes
Click here to download HBO GO app in the Android Market

Alternately, to see all apps, you can visit our app site here.

Thank you for your patience.

Categories: Content Delivery, Cool Stuff, Future of the Industry, In the Community, Product Launches, Programming, What's New

We’re Announcing Another Round of Stipends in Our Research Program on Digital Communications

The holidays came a bit early this year for 4 scholars. 

Our Digital Research Program informed them just before the holidays that their research proposals had been chosen from a large group of applicants to receive stipends of $20,000. Launched in 2010, the Program engages the best academic and public policy minds to conduct research and provide insights into challenges facing the telecommunications industry. The resulting studies are published by the Time Warner Cable Digital Research Program. To stimulate debate and discussion, they are made available as free downloads at the Program’s Web site.

These stipends were the fourth such awards made as part of the Program. In all, the Program has made 16 awards to 23 leading researchers. Individual researchers affiliated with universities and not-for-profits are eligible to apply for the stipends. The deadline for the next round of stipends is April 1, 2012.

We continue to be excited about the Program’s potential, particularly since this round of applicants was large and impressive. As a result, the competition was fierce and we’re certain the resulting research will energize the debate in several important fields. As you will see below, the studies in this round relate to some of the most vital topics in our industry.

The following scholars were awarded stipends in this final round of 2011: Nicol Turner-Lee; Scott Savage and Donald Waldman; and Krishna Jayakar.

Below are brief descriptions of our scholars and their work.

Nicol Turner-Lee, VP and Director for the Media and Technology Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, will author a study called “Evaluating Minority Attitudes Toward Digital Privacy and Security.” She will examine how minorities define, understand and act upon information about privacy and security in the digital environment. The project will provide insights into policy recommendations for addressing the needs and expectations of minority communities with respect to why and how privacy and security matter.

Scott Savage and Donald Waldman, Associate Professor of Economics and Professor of Economics and Associate Chair of the Graduate Program, respectively, at the University of Colorado, will collaborate on “Measuring the Benefits of Localism.” This project will examine the effects of media market structure on consumer welfare, specifically as it relates to local interest and diverse content in local media environments. The results will increase understanding of how market structure influences consumer welfare and provide insights into the evaluation of media ownership and regulations intended to promote localism.

Krishna Jayakar, Associate Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Pennsylvania State University, has titled his paper “Promoting Broadband Access for the Disabled.” His work will examine policies and approaches aimed at improving access to broadband for those with disabilities. It also will assess the state of broadband network access for individuals with disabilities, evaluating products and services and adoption policies.

We are pleased that so many scholars have taken note of this program and stepped forward to help address some of the questions that face the digital community in future years. Let us know what you think about the work we are doing. More information about the program and a chance for feedback can be found at: www.twcresearchprogram.com.

Categories: What's New

The HBO GO/MAX GO Beta Trial Starts Today

We’re all pretty excited to finally be delivering HBO GO/MAX GO to our customers after a short beta trial. That trial starts today and should last several days, with the HBO GO/MAX GO app available to all customers soon thereafter.

Time Warner Cable’s SignatureHome customers will comprise the test group for this beta trial. Starting a little later this afternoon, we will email all our SignatureHome customers who are also HBO/Cinemax subscribers a link that will allow them to log in and commence our beta test. The email will go to the email address that we have on record for those customers’ My Services account.

If you are a SignatureHome customer with an HBO/Cinemax subscription, all you need to do is click on the link in the email and enter your MyServices username and password. Alternately, you can go here:

HBO GO beta link
MAX GO beta link

Access to the beta test will not work UNLESS you are a SignatureHome customer with an HBO/Cinemax subscription.

I’ve gotten a lot of tweets, emails, and comments from customers volunteering to participate in our early public beta, and I really appreciate all the interest. The decision to go with SignatureHome customers for our Beta trial doesn’t rest with me, though, but the reasoning makes perfect sense:

People want this app as quickly as possible – the input that I’ve been getting from our customer base hit its peak six months ago, and it’s been at a steady, high gush ever since.

Rather than spend time aggregating a large list of volunteers across our footprint, vetting them against various eligibility requirements, and making sure that each of our markets is equally represented to arrive at a final approved master list, we’re going with all SignatureHome Customers. This will allow us to take a representative sampling from across all markets – which have varied tech infrastructures – without overloading our systems.

Many of you will be wondering why we’re conducting a beta trial, too. It’s required prior to full launch, and it makes sense. Every cable system is a little different. Comcast and Dish just work differently from one another, and from Time Warner Cable. We’d like to take a little time up front to make sure that, if there are any glitches, we iron them out before all of the people who have been eagerly waiting for the product pile on and potentially magnify a less-than optimal (and avoidable) experience.

This beta trial is currently limited to PC/Mac and laptop access. In order to conduct a limited trial, we have isolated access during this period to the HBO GO/MAX GO beta websites, accessible via PCs/Macs and laptops. Once we confirm that Time Warner Cable’s authentication systems are working properly with the HBO GO/MAX GO services, we will broaden access to all HBO/Cinemax subscribers with a Time Warner Cable username and password, and allow access from PCs/Macs, laptops, iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones.

And, once again, we are working very hard to learn what we can and make this beta test as brief as possible so that all of our customers can finally enjoy HBO GO.

Categories: Android, Content Delivery, Cool Stuff, Customer Care, Future of the Industry, Product Launches, TV Everywhere, What's New

We Have A Deal With NESN: Looking At You, MSG Networks

We’ve got a little good holiday news for sports fans — our carriage of the New England Sports Network will continue uninterrupted.

From the official press release (linked text goes to the whole thing):

Time Warner Cable announced today that it has reached a long-term agreement for continued carriage of New England Sports Network (NESN). The agreement includes Time Warner Cable’s customers in NESN’s six state New England territory and customers outside New England who receive NESN National on Time Warner Cable’s Sports Pass in areas such as the Carolinas, Ohio and Wisconsin. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

What’s the most interesting about this story is what DIDN’T happen. The deal got done amicably, quietly, and well before the deadline. There was no brinksmanship, no posturing, and no expensive smear campaigns designed to frighten the people that enjoy the network. Sure, it’s short on drama. But it’s long on dignity.

America sees enough of this from its government. We’ve pretty much had enough of it — nobody wants it from their TV networks, too.

We just hope someone at MSG Networks takes notice.

Categories: Content Delivery, Customer Care, In the Community, New York City, Northeast, Programming, Retransmission Consent

“DIY” the Cable Way: How to Self-Install Cable, Phone and Internet

Nowadays there are resources to empower people to do almost all repairs, installations, etc. in their homes on their own. If you want to install a ceiling fan there are books that teach you how. If you bought a new gas dryer and want to save money by installing it yourself you can find instructions online.

It only makes sense then that you should be able to install your home phone, digital cable box and internet modem from Time Warner Cable – and you can. Take note, you must be already be a Time Warner Cable customer to self-install any new or upgraded service. There are two options to get a self-installation kit, complete with all the equipment and instructions you’ll need.

First, you can pick up a kit at your local cable store or front counter, or you can call Time Warner Cable’s customer support and request that one be mailed to you.

Why is self-installing services a good idea? For starters, it saves you money on the installation cost you’d otherwise have to pay if a professional technician from Time Warner Cable were to come to your home or apartment and install it.

It is also earth-friendly by not having a TWC truck drive to you. Last but certainly not least, it saves you time. You are free to get the self-install kit in the manner that suits you and you don’t have to wait for an appointment that interrupts a few hours of your life to set the services up. Win, win, win!

If you’d like to take a quick look at what’s involved in installing any of Time Warner Cable’s services, or you’d like to download any of the installation instructions, visit the Equipment Instruction Manuals online.

Still have some fears or trepidation about installing your own equipment? If you’re worried that it’ll be too complicated because along with your digital box you need to hook up a DVD player, stereo system, or gaming system, don’t worry, there are instructions for that as well.

If all else fails and you do need help with any of your installs Time Warner Cable has a dedicated customer care and online support teams that are just a call or click away.

In the immortal words of the 1998 classic film Waterboy, (starring Adam Sandler, whom I think is one of the funniest actors alive) “You can do it!” Or, if you need another cheesy catch phrase to get you motivated, Time Warner Cable is “The Power of You.”

Categories: Broadband Penetration/Deployment, Customer Care, Digital Cable, Home Phone, How-To, Product Launches