Ah TWC. Will you ever stop actively trying to alienate customers?

I think not.

They're going to "loose a whole bunch of customers.."? Are the customers too tight now?

Terrible, awful. Good thing these people aren't the only choice in town.

/sarcasm

@pgh9fan1: It's a great typo when it's succeeded by:

...letters make words, words make sentences and sentences make paragraphs, which convey meaning. Unfortunately, your reply to me was completely devoid of any of those things.

We have had tons of problems with Time Warner HD service, too.
There have been tons of dishes springing up all over our condo development.
We are waiting 3 months for U-verse.

Nothing low class Eagle fans do surprises me anymore.

All I can tell you is welcome to Fios. Not perfect, but a damn lot better than the competition out there.

"What do you mean our 40 year old technology isn't working properly? Those cables worked before, and they work for others.... so it MUST be your problem. "

@nerdtalker:

Dishnetwork...Direc TV...torrents...

"Your internet service is equally as bad. I can be surfing online and watch as my signal drops from 54Mbps, down to the 40's, 30's, 20's, 10's and finally disconnect. Then it starts to cycle back up."

/facepalm

Someone's gotta tell this guy that his wireless reception has nothing to do with their internet service. Could be anything in the 2.4GHz range interfering with his signal: cordless phones, people who set their APs to overlapping channels, grandma's old microwave, etc. Or, he could just have a bad wireless router. Either way, as evil as TWC is, they can't be expected to come out to his house, do a site survey and troubleshoot RF interference.

@TorrentFreak: This "low-class" Eagles fan will abandon the high ground to point out (sarcastically) how classy it is to blame an unrelated event on an NFL rivalry. Besides, we all know this is the fault of those front-running Cowboys fans.

@larvaetron: I'm the OP. You make some valid points about the internet connection, although, I have my doubts due to the timing of my internet problems; during the day Mon-Fri the signal is good, but has problems during peak hours (evenings and weekends.) I suspect too many users on the same node.

Also, given all of the other problems that I've had with TWC's cable and customer service, they've kind of used up any benefit of the doubt that I'd normally be willing to give them.

@TorrentFreak:

fox is also on OTA in HD as well.

"You had no problem clicking 'reply' and no problem clicking 'send', but you forgot about the little buttons on your keyboard with all of the letters on them. You see, letters make words, words make sentences and sentences make paragraphs, which convey meaning. Unfortunately, your reply to me was completely devoid of any of those things."

Ummmm....zing? Hopefully Dave's HD was fixed in time to watch the Giants lose to the Eagles at home in the playoffs.

@davebg5: ETA: The signal strength of my router is never an issue...it is the speeds coming through my router that becomes an issue.

If my signal strength is "excellent", but the speeds drop, then wouldn't that indicate something other than interference with my router and the wireless reception that it provides?

A perfect example of how not to try to get your cable company to fix your problems.

Sadly I'm stuck with TWC as Verizon is no longer part of Maine. We have this company called Fairpoint that sucks even worse that TWC and sadly I had to deal with the Lego blocks on all my HD channels for two days straight. I called TWC and the said my singal was great and they had no clue why it was happening other than the cable box was having issues but this started happening on Friday night into Saturday and the problem went away on Sunday so who knows what the problem is or was.

At least my HD service is working great tonight but who knows if/when the Lego blocks will come back.

@glennski: Sadly it was. I can't help but think it was Karma biting me in the butt for my comments to TWC.

@davebg5:

Based on you quote of "54, 30, 20, etc..." you are seeing your wireless connection speed which is totally different from you cable internet connection speed.

If you want a accurate measure of your internet connection you need to connect a computer directly to your cable modem with an ethernet cable.

@AgitatedDot: But it's been aces in regard to getting Verizon to bring FIOS to my development.

@davebg5: It's possible, but without more detail (I know Linux provides it; not sure about Windows/OS X) there's no way to tell. In particular, even if you have excellent signal strength, there might also be a lot of noise (such as interference from neighbors' wireless or baby monitors). In any case, if you're seeing "54Mbps" drop off, that's your connection to your wireless access point, and not its upstream connection to the Internet.

Comcast isn't much better. I have "expanded basic" (90 channels) I counted 15 spanish channels, and 12 stations that are repeats of FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, but hey I get free random HD channels.

More excuses for TWC reps:
1. Sunspots.
2. It's fine on our end.
3. You have to upgrade to our super-uber-digital package to get that channel, can I transfer you to our sales department?
4. Today's National Turn Off Your TV Day.
5. The power is out.
6. I don't know.
7. You're behind on your payment, can I transfer you to our billing department?
8. Me no speaka the English.
9. Dominoes, can I take your order?
10. Turn off your system and then wait 30 minutes, then turn it back on. If the problem is still there, call us back. We'll be glad to help.

@yurkinator: We used to have a desktop connected via ethernet, but it was going through the same wireless router, not directly to the cable modem.

@davebg5: You better be ready to move your service over then, because TWC is just not going to want to deal with your vitriol after that one. There's no reason to resort to childishness. If you're done with TW, be done with them and move on. Don't make yourself look small in the process.

"Your TV service is horrible. HD channels constantly pixelate, freeze and cut audio. Sometimes to the point where it becomes unwatchable. This is not a problem with any of the wiring or equipment in my home, as verified by your own technical staff."

WORD. That is the daily diet for those of us with TW anywhere in the five boroughs of NYC, and not just with HD. I'm tired of calls, visits, resetting boxes, having signals sent etc. etc. Nothing helps. Sometimes channels just disappear entirely.

I'm also close to dumping them and moving to FIOS. I signed a 2-year contract for the discounts and because I knew FIOS wasn't coming here for a while, but the contract is finally up in the Fall. As soon as it is, I'm gone.

@pgh9fan1: He means they're going to release the customers into the wild, which could be a real problem once those customers start attacking other people.

I would love to have Fios in my area but TWC is really the only viable option at this point. I too am not happy with the quality of HD broadcasts. The main channel I watch, Yes Network for yankees games, constantly pixelates, the audio cuts out, etc. *sigh*

@GMFish:
11. Did you try rebooting?
12. Gophers chewed through the line

@Brad Thrun:

Where those of us who have seen the light will welcom you with open arms.

/been TWC-free for 1 month now and it feels great

I wouldn't reply to the OP's letter either.

Complaints should be short, polite and clearly describe the problem you are having. While there is never an excuse for poor customer service, the OP is never going to get the help he needs by writing a hostile diatribe.

Dave, who did you contact at Verizon regarding large install of FIOS?

@davebg5: Basically, if it's not hooked up directly to the cable modem via ethernet, you can't be sure it's Time Warner's problem. I've given up on wireless as it's too unreliable. Then I gave up on the router altogether. Solved most issues completely. Sometimes the modem itself is at fault. When I signed up for service in my name (switched from my dads name) I got a new router and I RARELY get a dropped signal or have to re-cycle the system to get it up and running again.

In this case, I think chances are it's something you can much more easily fix on your end (and you may actually be responsible for as well) as opposed to TWC.

Though, if I was in your situation with all the other issues, I'd definitely add it to the pot. All that typed above is just meant to be FYI.

@benh57: I pretty much just did an EECB, but directed it to any Verizon email addy I could find. Then a Verizon rep for my area contacted me and I put their marketing group in touch with the management office for my development.

And I thought I was the only one. I would switch to another provider, but I have come to like al the credits I get for receiving bad service, being lied to by online tech support, and being talked down to by any techs that get sent out. I guess I'll switch to ATT when the credits run out, even if it means I have to pay more.

I can certainly confirm that WNYW-DT is broadcasting in HD.

If the OP can set up a rooftop antenna (not a possibility in every area, I know), I'd suggest he'd do so. Digital broadcast in the NYC metro area is pretty good. Just point the antenna to the Empire State Building.

My grandparents seem to get a good digital signal with their rooftop antenna in Palisades Park, NJ (which is only a little bit further in from Edgewater).

@GMFish:
13. You should reinstall Windows.

On my television?

With analog TV going away, a lot of stations are converting their primary channel to digital and dropping their digital UHF channel. It's possible they've already done the conversion and have stopped transmitting on their old UHF channel. So, TWC would be partially correct that they stopped transmitting their HD signal on their UHF channel, but I'm certain they'd be transmitting an HD signal on their primary channel.

Of course, this is just speculation. It's very well possible that they haven't dropped their UHF channel yet and TWC is at fault.

@davebg5:

I know my Eagles don't disappoint. Victory over the division champions just to fail miserably later.

Bad service is created multiple ways. I prefer if a person does not know the answer, don't make something up that one would have to be a complete idiot to believe. If you don't know an answer, find someone who does or transfer me to someone who does.

Fortunately the TWC in my area was bought out by Brighthouse and their service has been far better in comparison.

I've been a TWC customer (unwillingly) for just over a year and have had all the same problems described here. Used to have FiOS and loved it, but alas, I moved to Manhattan and Time Warner is the only option in my building.

Laughed a bit at excuse #10 in GMFish's list. That's been the first suggestion almost every time I've needed tech support. Ironically enough, the one time they specifically told me not to reset the box was the one time it actually worked (I was desperate to fix it myself rather than waiting 4 days for a service call and decided to give it a shot despite their insistence not to)

Ah, the joys of the non regulation of the cable services. In many areas of our land there is no competition, and the big cable companies feel free to do what the want. There use to be much more comunity control over these companies, but for the most part that is history. We dumped analog tv to give us the joys of a system that does not work as well over the air, and puts us at the mercy of the big cable and satalite companies. Just think of the vast improvement in picture quality the mermered in our shell like ears. Well we seem to have been sold this line of bs, and now we are trapped.

I completely admire the OP's creativity in his approach to publicly discussing the defects in a product his pays for monthly.

Even more admirable is his ability to take 600 people with him when he switches to the competitors product.

I wish I had that kind of leverage against Time Warner Cable. Mabye then, I could finally get a DVR that works properly.

@nerdtalker: Yeah, I'm not one for bad mouthing my company, but if you're having this many problems, maybe your solution lies not with TWC, but with another company. I mean, its not like they're a monopoly.

Has anybody mentioned the absurdly horrible HD DVRs?

The DVRs in South Carolina are good; the ones they 'offer' in California are incredibly poor.

Why?

I literally /facepalmed myself at the 54mbps part. That is without a doubt the wireless being the issue.

I don't think America has 54 mbps connections anywhere for consumers, other than with Wireless-G. hehe

@davebg5: No. The signal strength of your wireless router is different from your cable modem signal strength. To prove my point, you can run a WLAN without any WAN connection.

I'm not sure what modem you have, but if it's a Surfboard I believe you can go to [192.168.100.1.] Also try [192.168.0.1] if that doesn't work. The numbers on there are your actual CMTS-to-modem numbers. That's what you want to post.

In regards to your wireless issue, either you've got a defective router or you've got a lot of RF interference there. If it's an RF issue, I suggest purchasing an 802.11n draft router/AP and also a card for that (if your computer does not already support that). 802.11n can use 5 GHz which is different from microwaves and most cordless phones.

@davebg5:

Dave,

Karma may have bitten you (and the Giants) in the butt, but I cannot think of a more fun and creative way to publicly describe the defects in a faulty product.

It never ceases to amaze me when Time Warner Cable conjures up a new ways to avoid accepting the blame for their defective products.

I wish I had your leverage with Time Warner Cable here in Hollywood. If I could legitimately threaten to cancel my service, and take connections to 600 other units with me, I just might finally be able to get TWC to provide a DVR that functions properly. Their Motorla DVR is full of bugs, which TWC refuses to fix.

Your actions are heroic!

@ludwigk: The OP is just one person that is leaving TWC and taking connections to 600 units with him. I would like to think that there isn't any Time Warner Cable Executive that would consider him small.

Consumerist needs to sticky a post on how to get help from service organizations utilizing basic human psychology. I see posts like this way too often on this site. Surprisingly being a douche bag, bringing up things that are not the company's fault (bad wireless connection in your apartment) and calling people incompetent won't get them to help you.