Somebody is lying

My wife and I had several complaints about Adelphia. I was hoping that the Time-Warner takeover would be an improvement. Surprisingly, Time-Warner took Adelphia's impossibly bad service and made it worse. The television prices are outrageous, and the channel line-up is mediocre. But the true horrors lie in the customer service. In the first month after we had cable internet installed, there were five major interruptions of service. Extended periods of time with no internet access is torture to a blogger, but detrimental to a student at an on-line college.

My multiple calls into their customer service centers have not improved my opinion. Their pre-recorded messages are near award winning. *"If you are calling about service outage in your area, there is no reason for you to call, we are aware of the problem." and *"Due to the unusually high call volume, your call can not be completed at this time. Please try again later. (click)" The real live customer disservice agents are not much better. They put the resent into representative. *"I can't find you anywhere, you don't exist." *"There is absolutely nothing I can do." *"It's too bad that you have been without service since yesterday afternoon. I'll give you a credit for the inconvenience. (two minutes of dead air later) OK that credit will be two dollars. Have a nice day. (click)" And my personal favorite, *"I have to transfer you. Don't worry, your call will not be disconnected. (click) ....... (dead air) ...... (dial tone)"

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As a DirecTV employee in Boise, I had DTV service, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bekah however was not a fan (that whole east coast broadcast time confused her). She's always won the cable versus satellite argument, but now Time-Warner has helped me sway her opinion.

This morning's editions of the Spokesman-Review and CDA Press both reported news of the dispute in between Time-Warner and local FOX affiliate, KAYU. A local blogger put it best... Time-Warner sucks. The dispute is much like a playground brawl. The little kid (KAYU) picks a fight with the school bully (Time-Warner) and then complains when he gets his butt kicked.

Barring Time-Warner's last minute realization "I'm an idiot," FOX programming will be removed from the cable line up in North Idaho at midnight tonight. This is not the first time Time-Warner has found themselves in this type of dispute with a FOX affiliate. A few FOX stations in New York recently battled with Time-Warner.

Even if Time-Warner fixes their rectum-cranium inversion and makes a deal with KAYU, it is too late for us. Bekah ordered DirecTV today. Hooray!

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Here is an interesting snippet from Time-Warner's website, funny how deceptive those cable companies can be.

KAYU SAYS ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

(He started it)
NO; IT'S ALL ABOUT WHAT'S RIGHT FOR TIME WARNER CABLE CUSTOMERS

(What would be right is for Time-Warner to pull their head out of the sand)

Notice to Our (not so) Valued Customers
It is possible that local Fox affiliate Kayu will no longer give Time Warner Cable permission to carry its channel after December 14, 2006.

KAYU is asking for Time Warner Cable to pay for its signal (just like they charge Dish Network and DirecTV); a signal they give away for free over the air (as long as you don't mind fuzzy lines and static interference during all of your favorite shows). Time Warner Cable's position is that cable customers should not be penalized for KAYU's insistence on getting paid to stay on our cable system. (Instead cable customers should be punished with our astronomical prices and inept customer service.) Time Warner Cable made good faith counter offers (good faith means you do it our way or else...) to KAYU during these (non) negotiations; however, KAYU has rejected them all. (We haven't given them much)

We are working hard (doing nothing) to keep this channel on your lineup.
In order to ensure you continue to receive KAYU no matter what, Time Warner Cable is providing customers with a free A/B switch*. The equipment will allow you to continue to receive KAYU off-air with a flip of a switch (because everybody loves bunny ears).

Technicians are standing by

call 888-###-#### (You may have to wait a while)

For updates on this situation, go to www.twc-northwest.com.
It's not too late! (JK) Time Warner Cable encourages you to call KAYU directly at (509) 448-2828 (they can probably explain this mess better than we can) or email KAYU at www.fox28spokane.com under the contact section to tell them they should negotiate (provided we participate) in good faith (remember, do it our way or else) with Time Warner Cable in order to keep the channel on your lineup.