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In 2005, I worked for Adelphia Cablevision, and let me tell you all something. I have been working in the telecommunications industry for 15 years and have never been at the loss for words as I was after Hurricane Wilma blew through.
When I worked at the phone company, I was always under the impression that the phone was one of the most important utilities needed to operate, second to the electric. I was dead wrong. Last year, we dealt with Hurricane Wilma in South Florida, and it caused thousands of people in three counties to do without their electric, phone, and cable TV. I had hired on at Adelphia three months before Wilma, and I thought it was amazing how people find it more devastating to be without cable TV than without their phone service.
October 24, 2005 was when it all began. Two days later, I returned to work and dealt with the onslaught of calls, mostly angry over the fact that they were without their only form on entertainment. After about a week or so of this, it made me cringe listening to some of my co-workers practically fed up with the customers. One guy told a lady, "Maam, it's only your cable TV, not your iron lung." I kept thinking of how many write ups were going to take place over this. But, the fact was the responses from customers were the same. Many did not care that there were others out there in the same position as they were and did not want to hear that power and phone come before cable does in repairing them.
However, I was no exception to this. One lady I will never forget, seasonal, of course, called in screaming and yelling at the same excuse we kept giving customers, "The technicians are working on the problem." That, of course, was not good enough. On and on this woman went to where she told me, "My neighbors all have their cable TV except for me!" I was so tired of hearing this, but with this lady, I nearly lost it. I responded with, "Maam, have you actually gone door to door and verified for a fact that every single person around you has cable TV except for you?" something Luckily, I was not being monitored at that time, but I know it would have meant immediate discliplinary action. The good part on this was it shut her up, because she knew what she was saying was not correct. I also felt like saying, "Lady, I had no idea neighbors in certain neighborhoods knew everybody's business, including whether or not you have cable TV or satelite, or whether or not you eat Cheerios or Maalox for breakfast!" I get along great with my neighbors, but I have no idea, nor do I care about everything that happens behind the closed doors of their houses.
The story that made headlines though was the woman who called the president of Adelphia in Colorado, screaming and yelling, telling him she didn't care that other people were in the same boat as her. The next day, she had her cable back! It outraged everyone, employees and customers alike. And, of course, many other customers caught on to this technique, also calling the president of the company.
The misconception many people have about cable TV is that it's a utility like the phone, electric, gas, and water. I'm sorry, folks! Cable TV is not a required utility, it is a luxury you can do without! I was actually happy not to have the TV for a few days being it's used way too much in my house.
It was such an awful experience that luckily, I went back to work in the phone industry, where I actually belonged. They were still dealing with their share of outages, but were not dealing with the thousands of nasty calls that Adelphia was. I do not miss it, and it was a lesson learned on just how nasty, rude, arrogant, and selfish people can be.
When I worked at the phone company, I was always under the impression that the phone was one of the most important utilities needed to operate, second to the electric. I was dead wrong. Last year, we dealt with Hurricane Wilma in South Florida, and it caused thousands of people in three counties to do without their electric, phone, and cable TV. I had hired on at Adelphia three months before Wilma, and I thought it was amazing how people find it more devastating to be without cable TV than without their phone service.
October 24, 2005 was when it all began. Two days later, I returned to work and dealt with the onslaught of calls, mostly angry over the fact that they were without their only form on entertainment. After about a week or so of this, it made me cringe listening to some of my co-workers practically fed up with the customers. One guy told a lady, "Maam, it's only your cable TV, not your iron lung." I kept thinking of how many write ups were going to take place over this. But, the fact was the responses from customers were the same. Many did not care that there were others out there in the same position as they were and did not want to hear that power and phone come before cable does in repairing them.
However, I was no exception to this. One lady I will never forget, seasonal, of course, called in screaming and yelling at the same excuse we kept giving customers, "The technicians are working on the problem." That, of course, was not good enough. On and on this woman went to where she told me, "My neighbors all have their cable TV except for me!" I was so tired of hearing this, but with this lady, I nearly lost it. I responded with, "Maam, have you actually gone door to door and verified for a fact that every single person around you has cable TV except for you?" something Luckily, I was not being monitored at that time, but I know it would have meant immediate discliplinary action. The good part on this was it shut her up, because she knew what she was saying was not correct. I also felt like saying, "Lady, I had no idea neighbors in certain neighborhoods knew everybody's business, including whether or not you have cable TV or satelite, or whether or not you eat Cheerios or Maalox for breakfast!" I get along great with my neighbors, but I have no idea, nor do I care about everything that happens behind the closed doors of their houses.
The story that made headlines though was the woman who called the president of Adelphia in Colorado, screaming and yelling, telling him she didn't care that other people were in the same boat as her. The next day, she had her cable back! It outraged everyone, employees and customers alike. And, of course, many other customers caught on to this technique, also calling the president of the company.
The misconception many people have about cable TV is that it's a utility like the phone, electric, gas, and water. I'm sorry, folks! Cable TV is not a required utility, it is a luxury you can do without! I was actually happy not to have the TV for a few days being it's used way too much in my house.
It was such an awful experience that luckily, I went back to work in the phone industry, where I actually belonged. They were still dealing with their share of outages, but were not dealing with the thousands of nasty calls that Adelphia was. I do not miss it, and it was a lesson learned on just how nasty, rude, arrogant, and selfish people can be.
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