Last night, I was one of more than 700 Westport customers who lost power, because it was windy.
It was restored about 3 hours later (thanks, CL&P!).
When I got home this afternoon, there was a voicemail from Cablevision. My internet should be working, they told me — not that it was their fault, they added — but if it wasn’t, I should try to reboot.
And if I didn’t know how to do that, I should just go to www.Optimum.net.
I checked the date. Today is October 23.
Not April 1.
Whenever cable (Optimum) goes down and you call them, the message is usually something like “yes, there is an interruption……” and for more information go to Optimum.com online. Of course, if your cable is down, so is your internet probably, since it’s all from Optimum. But I love that answer, shows they really care about their customers…….NOT.
Hilarious ! 😉
Dan, did the caller identify himself as Yossarian?
Well, Cablevision is definitely on top of social media. I just got this direct tweet: @danwoog Hi Dan if you need any help with your services we will be happy to assist you. #heretohelp ^MM
April Fool Dan
That’s up there with the telephone number to call for “Power Outage Updates” broadcast on our own municiple television channel 79.
There is actually something very serious here. When the power goes out, in our area not only does TV fail, because there is no TV except cable, but almost everyone’s phone fails, because internet fails. That’s because power to the cable system fails. In olden days, you had a shot at the phone working because phones had their own power. Now, you are dependent on cell service. But as we know, the towers only have battery backup for 18 hours or so, and cells don’t have e911. You could be running your a/c and PlayStation on a whole house generator, but you are on your own.
That is why in Irene and Sandy, the only source of really useful information in was the Staples radio station. (And thanks!) But you couldn’t call out to anyone, even 911, to summon help.
So when Cablesvision robocalls you when power comes back on not only are they telling you how to keep from calling them for their #1 service headache, they were also telling you, Hey, in an emergency, we weren’t here for you. The Titanic had better communications with rockets.
As I recall, after Irene our power and cable were out for several days but we never lost our landline phone service. When power came back on Cable service was still out. Finally called them after a day or two to find out when service would be restored.
The helpful Cablevision telephone rep (who was in Iowa, India or the Philippines I imagine) noted when I called that I did not have Cablevision phone service and suggested that I could save money if I switched to them. I responded that I wouldn’t be on the phone with them if I had cable phone since all cable services were out. Person said, “oh” or something equally astute.
I agree, Dan. Really Cablevision?
Cablevision is a Joke . I recently updated my service , including a new cable box . The tech who came to my house was from a subcontractor service they use , who works on commission . He was a total Butcher . He didn’t have the proper tools for the job , and never programed my remote control . His supervisor had to comeback and correct his mistakes , and was shocked at his shabby workmanship . The supervisor gave me his direct phone number , if I had anymore future issues . As far as my phone , I kept my At&T hard line . They still work during power outages !!!
As a safety precaution, I have one wired telephone plugged into a phone jack which, even during the hurricane Sandy outage of 7 days, was operative, The cordless phones are terrific but at least one of the wired landlines is a great safety item for every home.
Diversity of providers and technologies provides a better backup in case of failure. I still have an AT&T (soon to be Frontier) POTS (plain old telephone service) wire connection for some phone calls, but also Cablevision Internet access for my phone calls over the Internet. Beyond that, having a smartphone can give one a third option to make phone calls and backup Internet access in the case AT&T and Cablevision are out.
Regarding going to optimum.com when the Cablevision Optimum Internet service is out, most people have smartphones that include a Web browser, so even if terrestrial-based Internet services fails, wireless Internet services is generally available.
The worst part about having diverse providers is that it typically means that we have to pay multiple times for the same service (voice and/or Internet).