I suppose it’s a fait accompli to gripe and kvetch about Time Warner Cable. The rates go up almost every other month. You can set your sundial to the time when they’ll show up for an installation. And they rival the post office in trying to upsell you on their various packages and offerings.
Well, I got a surprise yesterday.
Last night, I had to do some shopping over at Colonie Center, and I happened to walk by the new Time Warner Cable store on the mall’s upper level. That reminded me – the TWC remote for my cable box has been acting flukey of late. I can’t change the channels without pressing several times on the buttons like a pachyderm stomping on a melon. I’ve changed the batteries in the remote, I’ve stood two inches away from the cable box to operate the remote, nothing.
So when I saw the TWC store, I remembered my problems with my current cable remote. May as well stop in and find out what can be done.
As I entered the store, I was immediately greeted by a storefront attendant. And I knew what this meant. They would ask me if they could help, they would take my name, and then I would have to wait until my name was called before I could speak with a customer service representative or salesperson. Yeah, you know the two other companies that do this? Verizon and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Oh well, maybe the storefront attendant can at least direct me as to whether I need to bring my remote back to the store, the remote AND the cable box, the remote AND the cable box AND my television…
“How can I help you, sir?”
“Well, my cable remote is starting to die. I’ve replaced the batteries to it, I’ve tried everything, and – ”
“Just a second, sir.” And with that, he reached under his podium and pulled out a plastic-wrapped new cable remote, batteries included. He handed me the remote.
“Take this,” he said. “Put the batteries in and everything will be fine.”
“But I still have my old remote, I didn’t bring it with me, I hadn’t thought of stopping in the store today.”
“No problem,” he smiled. “Just bring it in with you the next time you visit our store. Have a great day, and thanks for using Time Warner Cable.”
Okay… um… did I miss something here? The guy didn’t ask my name, he didn’t ask what type of TWC service I had, he didn’t try to upsell me on a TWC package that I don’t need… he just handed me a new remote and told me to bring the old one in whenever I had a chance. That’s doing a nice.
When I got home, I put the fresh batteries in the new remote, and the cable box responded instantly. Fantastic.
Now all I need to do is program my television to work with the universal remote and…
Hmm. Press the device button, hold it for five seconds, aim the remote at the television, press a series of numerical codes…
No reaction.
I checked the included paperwork, looking for the codes that would match up with my television. Uh-oh… my TV brand isn’t listed.
Aw, crumbs. I got the remote control to work with the cable box, but now it doesn’t work with the television. None of the codes I entered seem to get the remote to cooperate with the TV.
Oh well. Good thing I still have the remote that came with the TV itself. I guess having a “universal remote” means you need all the remotes in the universe. So even though TWC did a nice and just gave me a new cable remote, it just traded one annoyance for another annoyance.
Thanks, Time Warner Cable…
I guess.
Chuck The Writer 
I don’t think remotes matter much. It’s the converter they’re interested in ($250 or more, last I recall). 🙂
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Chuck,
It might be worth a call to TWC; I had a similar problem with the remote not working with my new TV, and the rep walkied me through the maze on the telephone and I got it working.
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The problem with TWC is that their software seems like it was developed by a 4-year-old with a graphing calculator. Actually, that may be offensive to 4-year-olds and calculator manufacturers everywhere. And to think, Time Warner “upgraded” their programs multiple times over the past couple of years. The choppy, unresponsive system is just the tip of the iceberg from what I hear from almost everyone who uses TWC (or is forced to use due to a lack of alternatives in many areas). Failures to record, random outages and bad reception are just a few of the other common complaints.
Also, their rates are abhorrent. Increases are clearly intended just to boost their bottom line and are not in any way used to improve the service. Their explanations about increasing costs are also disingenuous because I’ve heard of many instances where people have been able to “barter” for a lower bill. Usually prices are set by a combination of cost, demand and other factors to make a business competitive, but TWC’s prices are so fluid and apparently negotiable that they’re obviously arbitrary. There needs to be some action taken to break up this monopoly or encourage competition so areas stuck with only Time Warner aren’t left in the stone age during the height of the Information Age.
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Just a bit of information:
I love Dish Network. Approx $49 a month now…full year (no HBO/Max/ST), then approx $80 after the 1st year. If you refer family and friends, each person gets $50. I believe you can do this numerous times throughout the year. ALL programming is now in our hands (via computer) and is instant, i.e., add or delete channels. I can’t say enough about Dish Network…TRULY.
PS: We don’t have DVR (or whatever it’s called) around the house—just satellite telvision.
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Just saw this article. I’m surprised the TWC clerk didn’t ask for your name or account number, etc, because they do charge for remotes now. Look at your bill.
We ditched cable and got a digital antenea and a Roku player to watch Netflix and Huluplus. Don’t miss cable or the bill that came every month.
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Maureen – yeah, I was kinda surprised too. Maybe the guy figured that I wouldn’t be re-selling this remote on the black market cable remote market.
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Hey chuck, honestly you sound like a miserable chump. Atleast the guy tried, those tech problems are deeper than front counters
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