AGENDA #5g
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Petition regarding Time Warner Customer Service Issues
DATE: October 21, 2002
This memorandum provides information from Time Warner Cable in response to a petition from Mr. Bruce Egan. We understand that Mr. Egan has been satisfied with his subsequent discussions with Time Warner representatives.
BACKGROUND
On June 24, the Council received the attached petition from Mr. Bruce Egan, who requested a change in customer service procedures of Time Warner (Attachment 1). Mr. Egan specifically mentioned concerns that customers are not normally allowed to speak to Time Warner supervisors, and recommended an approach whereby Time Warner managers and the Town are automatically notified of customer dissatisfaction.
DISCUSSION
Town staff wrote the attached letter to Mr. Chris Van Name, Time Warner’s Vice President/General Manager on June 28, requesting a response to Mr. Egan’s petition and requesting that company officials consider methods that could be used by Time Warner staff to allow customers to speak to supervisors (Attachment 2).
Town staff held a meeting with Time Warner representatives on August 14, in which Mr. Egan’s petition was included as a subject of discussion. At that meeting, Time Warner staff explained that there is a company “escalation process” that customers could follow to speak to company managers. Time Warner representatives agreed to send a written explanation to Mr. Egan and copy to the Town, clarifying Mr. Egan’s options. On August 30, Mr. Van Name sent the attached letter to Mr. Egan and to the Town, inviting Mr. Egan to schedule a meeting with Mr. Van Name to discuss customer service ideas (Attachment 3).
Mr. Van Name also wrote the Town Manager on September 30, explaining that he planned to meet with Mr. Egan at Mr. Egan’s workplace to discuss customer feedback mechanisms (Attachment 4). On October 15, Mr. Egan said that his discussions with Mr. Van Name had been “very positive.” He said that Mr. Van Name had visited Mr. Egan’s offices at the University’s Information Technology Response Center and that further discussions may occur (Attachment 5).
CONCLUSION
We believe that the discussions between Mr. Egan and Mr. Van Name have been helpful in addressing Mr. Egan’s concerns. We also will continue to provide support to Mr. Egan and to other Town citizens who request assistance with their cable complaints.
ATTACHMENTS