uTime Warner Cable Admits Its Customer Service Stinks. Pinky Swears To Do Betterr

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  Once again, a company is attempting the tactic of being honest about the public perception of its awfulness. This time, it’s Time Warner Cable, which really wants customers — most of whom have no other choice for broadband service — to believe it gives one little bit about their satisfaction.

  The company took out a full-page ad [PDF] over the weekend in the NY Times, in which it acknowledges that “We get it. We know how you feel about cable companies. We’ve seen where Time Warner Cable falls on customer satisfaction surveys and we know the ‘cable guy’ jokes by heart.”

  But since admitting you’re horrible is only the first step toward becoming not horrible, TWC outlines a number of ways it intends to do exactly what customers pay it to do, including offering one-hour arrival windows for service calls.

  Of course, it’s really easy to offer those windows. Anyone can make a promise. But will install/service techs be able to make those appointments and what happens when they don’t?

  Another promise is to have someone out to your house within 24 hours of losing service. Again, we’d like to know what accountability there is for this.

  TWC is also pledging to reduce on-hold times for calls. It’s also letting you schedule a time for the company to call you back; that’s if you trust them enough to call you.

  The best way to keep call times short is to keep people from calling, so TWC is pushing its My TWC app for paying bills and everyone’s favorite form of customer service — online chats with someone who is also chatting with a few dozen other angry customers.

  In addition to the in-print self-flagellation, TWC created some TV ads that poke fun of its image:

  In a blog post, TWC’s something something of corporate communications admits that “we know we have a long way to go to win your trust and respect. Funny commercials do not change that. What will change it is consistently delivering great products AND a great customer service experience. We are determined to do just that.”

  TWC is also determined to make its merger with Charter go, and polishing its public image may go some way toward making that deal a reality.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uAmerican Airlines Co-Pilot Lands Plane Safely After Pilot Dies During Flightr

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  In a tragic turn of events, an American Airlines pilot died on a red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston early Monday morning. The plane carrying 147 passengers and a crew of five was diverted to Syracuse, NY, and landed safely after the co-pilot took over the controls.

  The airline hasn’t released any information about the pilot or how he died, and didn’t specify if he passed way on the flight or after the plane had landed, but said in a statement that the focus now is on the crew member’s family.

  “We are incredibly saddened by this event, and we are focused on caring for our pilot’s family and colleagues,” the airline said in a statement to Mashable.

  The co-pilot radioed in the medical emergency to the Syracuse airport, saying that the captain was “incapacitated,” and requested clearance to land.

  The airline sent a replacement crew to Syracuse to staff a plane and get customers to their final destination in Boston this afternoon.

  Co-pilot lands plane safely after American Airlines pilot dies on flight [Mashable]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uSchool Supply Love: Maker Of Sharpie Pens To Buy Company Behind Elmer’s Glue For $600Mr

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  If you thought the pending billion-dollar merger between Staples and Office Depot was the only office supply wedding in the works, then you might not have been prepared for the $600 million union between the maker of Sharpie pens and the owner of Elmer’s Glue. 

  Sharpie maker Newell Rubbermaid — also responsible for Paper Mate pens, Rubbermaid storage products, and Graco strollers — will add Elmer’s Products Inc.  and its brands, including X-Acto blades and Krazy Glue, to its sizable roster.

  The newly acquired businesses will become part of Newell’s writing sector when the deal is completed — expected to occur before the end of the year.

  Elmer’s is currently operated by family owned investment management company Berwind Corp.

  Newell says that in order for the deal to move forward it will divest its Levolor and Kirsch window covering brands from its decor business.

  “We are delighted to welcome the Elmer’s team and their leading brands to our company. The addition of Elmer’s adds even more firepower and long-term potential to our building growth acceleration and margin development story,” Michael Polk, President and Chief Executive Officer of Newell Rubbermaid, said in a statement.

  [via Reuters]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uService Offers To Cancel Your Comcast For You For $5r

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  Breaking up, as the classic song states, is difficult to accomplish and often involves having to escalate your request to the Retentions department where things can get emotional and downright needy — at least when you’re talking about breaking up with your cable company. That’s why one service says it will cut your Comcast cord for you, for a fee, of course.

  A company called AirPaper claims that if you pay them five bucks and provide them the info needed to call Comcast on your behalf, they will be the ones who have to repeatedly explain “I don’t want landline phone service or an alarm system or two free months of The Movie Channel” instead of you.

  “We take care of the process on your behalf,” reads the company’s FAQ. “In the event there are complications, we reach out to you to either get the needed information or let you know if we won’t be able to complete the process for some reason.”

  AirPaper says it has plans to navigate other annoying bureaucratic mazes, like getting a parking permit in San Francisco or getting a visa for travel to China.

  Let’s just hope they don’t get into the business of waiting in line for you at the restaurant.

  BIG NOTE SO NO ONE YELLS AT US: We have not tried this service and therefore can’t say anything good or bad about it, or whether it works at all. We are in no way endorsing or recommending it. We’re just pointing out that it exists.

  [via Geek.com]

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uReport: Butt Dials Are Clogging The 9-1-1 Systemr

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  What’s an emergency management department to do when 9-1-1 calls are spiking, but there aren’t enough workers to cover all those calls? San Francisco turned to researchers in an effort to understand a recent surge in emergency calls, which has been putting a strain on its emergency resources, and found that butts are to blame. Specifically, when someone’s backside accidentally makes a 9-1-1 call.

  While it’s good for personal safety that mobile phones can call 9-1-1 without being unlocked, it’s creating a headache for call centers: San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management turned to Google to help identify what’s been going on, after call volumes increased 28% between 2011 and 2014, reports the BBC. Though calls were up, staffing levels remained the same, forcing workers to put in overtime.

  Google published a report noting that butt-dialing is severely taxing call handlers, as it takes time to answer those phone calls, then figure out if it was a mistake or someone calling with a real emergency who can’t speak, for whatever reason. Each and every butt-dial involves follow-up, which took on average, a minute and 14 seconds to do.

  In the case of the San Francisco 9-1-1 center, 80% of workers said in a survey that tracking down those calls was a time-consuming part of their already busy day, with 39% saying it’s the single biggest “pain point” in the job.

  This research was only focused on San Francisco, but butt-dials are a widespread issue for emergency management departments across the country. The Federal Communications Commission estimated that in New York City, butt-dials made up 50% of all incoming calls from mobile phones.

  “If my anecdotal experiences are remotely accurate,” FCC Commissioner Michael O’Reilly wrote last year in a blog post, “it would mean that approximately 84 million 911 calls a year are pocket-dials. “This is a huge waste of resources, raises the cost of providing 911 services, depletes morale, and increases the risk that legitimate 911 calls – and first responders — will be delayed.”

  The Google team discussed the research at the Code for America summit, as part of a larger conversation about software development and how technology can better help services we all use every day.

  “In order to make good decisions, you need information, and this is an important step,” the Google team said.

  ‘Butt dials’ – a strain on US emergency systems [BBC]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uOperator Of Bogus Debt-Relief Scheme Must Return $7.9M To Harmed Consumersr

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  The operator of a bogus debt relief scheme that federal regulates say only left consumers deeper in debt must provide some actual assistance to those affected by the program in the form of a $7.9 million judgment imposed by the Federal Trade Commission. 

  The FTC announced today that it has closed a portion of its May 2014 complaint against DebtPro 123 and its operators by ordering ringleader Bryan Taylor to provide $7.9 million in relief to consumers affected by the operation, which promised to provide legal advice, settle debts, and repair credit, but mostly just left them in even worse financial shape than when they started.

  Under the FTC’s stipulated order [PDF], the remaining leaders of DebtPro 123 – including Ryan Foland, Stacey Frion, and Kara Wilbur Taylor – were also ordered to pay $7.9 million. However, that judgment was suspended because of their inability to pay.

  The FTC says the judgment to be paid by Bryan Taylor – who admitted to the agency’s allegations – will be deposited in a fund to be used for consumer redress.

  According to the original complaint [PDF] against DebtPro 123 and its leaders, the scheme worked by requiring customers who signed on to the program give operators access to directly debit their bank accounts. The company would then take out a fee of up to 20% of a customer’s total debt owed.

  “Defendants collected their fees as a portion of the monthly payments, front-loading the fees,” read the complaint. “For many consumers, more than half of their monthly payment went towards Defendants’ fees. For consumers who were in the program longer than eighteen months, Defendants also charged a $49 monthly ‘maintenance fee.’”

  Additionally, the FTC alleged that the defendants told consumers to stop paying and communicating with their creditors. However, the company often didn’t start any sort of negotiation with creditors until after the customer had received letters from creditors warning of an impending lawsuit for failure to make payments on their debts.

  When the defendants did do negotiating, the FTC claimed they “rarely, if ever, negotiated settlements with all of a consumer’s creditors.”

  Despite paying substantial fees to DebtPro 123, the FTC said consumers’ debts often increased, “causing them to lose their homes, have their wages garnished, lose their retirement savings, or file for bankruptcy.”

  Consumers who attempted to obtain refunds from the company were met with multiple obstacles – such as complicated forms and notarization requirements – that often prevented or delayed such requests.

  In addition to paying the $7.9 million judgment Bryan Taylor, along with the other defendants, are banned from selling debt relief products or services, prohibited from making unsubstantiated claims for any product or service, and making material misrepresentations, either directly or through others, about any product or service.

  Additionally, the FTC order bars the operators from telemarketing without keeping certain records and making certain disclosures; profiting from customers’ personal information; and failing to properly dispose of customer information.

  The FTC said on Monday that it will continue to see default judgments against six corporate defendants: DebtPro 123 LLC, Allstar Processing Corp., Allstar Debt Relief LLC, Allstar Debt Relief LLC, Redwave Management Group Inc., and BET Companies Inc.

  Debt Relief Scammer Settles FTC Charges by Agreeing to $7.9 Million Judgment [Federal Trade Commission]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSupreme Court Shuts Down Attempt To Move Oakland A’s To San Joser

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  Professional sports teams relocate all the time — just ask the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, who moved moved to L.A. and then back home again in a little more than a decade (and who are among the lead prospects to fill the pro football void in L.A.). So it would seem no big deal for the Oakland A’s to only move about 50 miles away to San Jose, right? Not quite.

  This morning, and without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to a years-long legal battle over San Jose’s ability to lure the A’s with the promise of playing in something other than an ancient stadium named after the shortened URL for a discount retail website.

  More than 90 years ago — long before the A’s had even left Philadelphia for Kansas City, let alone Oakland — the Supreme Court first exempted Major League Baseball from federal antitrust law because these “exhibitions of base ball” are a “purely state affair” and therefore not governed by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

  Later courts acknowledged that this is a wrongheaded interpretation of the financial operation of MLB, but decided that since Congress had allowed the league to create laws that would revoke pro ball’s antitrust exemption, that it should continue.

  According to the MLB constitution, teams must play their home games within a designated operating territory. For markets where there is only one team, that may provide some flexibility, but with two MLB teams in the San Francisco Bay Area, it puts limits on where either can operate.

  The A’s want to get out of O.co stadium and south to San Jose (not far from where the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers recently relocated), but that city falls within the San Francisco Giants’ territory. A move there would require at least three quarters of MLB clubs to sign off.

  Rather than move for a quick vote among the owners, in 2009 the league instead formed at “special Relocation Committee” that apparently didn’t do much. After several years of waiting and sitting on land that couldn’t be developed without the league’s okay, the city of San Jose sued the office of the MLB Commissioner, alleging violations of state and federal antitrust laws.

  They alleged that the long delay caused by the Relocation Committee was attempt by the league to preserve the Giants’ local monopoly. A U.S. District Court, citing the long-held antitrust exemption for MLB, dismissed most of the claims against MLB, but San Jose appealed, arguing that this exemption doesn’t apply to antitrust claims relating to franchise relocation.

  But in early 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals came down against the city’s effort to bring an antitrust claim against MLB.

  In a 3-0 opinion [PDF], the Ninth Circuit notes that earlier Supreme Court precedent clearly extends antitrust exemption to the “business of providing public baseball games for profit between clubs of professional baseball players.”

  Thus, according to the appeals panel, it is “undisputed” that the issue of franchise relocation is directly related to the business of exempt business of professional baseball.

  “The designation of franchises to particular geographic territories is the league’s basic organizing principle,” reads the opinion. “Limitations on franchise relocation are designed to ensure access to baseball games for a broad range of markets and to safeguard the profitability—and thus viability—of each ball club. Interfering with franchise relocation rules therefore indisputably interferes with the public exhibition of professional baseball.”

  For now, the A’s will remain at O.co, where they have a lease for almost another decade (with an option to move out in a few more years).

  [via SFgate.com]

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist