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Do We Really Need To Wait <em>That Long</em> For The Cable Guy? Probably Not

By

Jen Carlson

Published May 17, 2012

Modified May 17, 2012

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By

Jen Carlson

Published May 17, 2012

Modified May 17, 2012

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We recently received a tip that could potentially blow the door wide open on this whole entirely-too-long window of time we are all given when we await the cable guy. Last week our tipster, a Brooklyn Cablevision customer, was waiting for the internet repair guy to come by during the 2 to 5 p.m. window that was given. You know the deal... this kind of timeframe dates back to the dawn of the cable industry, and absolutely nothing about it has changed since. What this means is that we, the customers, must leave our jobs to sit at home and await the Cable and/or Internet Whisperer to fix up our technologies. Which is fine... but do we really need to be waiting that long? And if so, can't they give us updates the day of as to what time they may actually be showing up? The answers, respectively, seem to be "no" and "yes." Our tipster sent along the receipt showing when the Cablevision guy was there, and the a timeline of events.

That's a pretty common story. But then the technician goes on to say that the customer almost got him in trouble, because he was at home watching television (riiiiight), and the company was able to track him there. There actually were no previous jobs for hours, and no reason for this Cablevision customer to sit at home waiting when he could be at his job.

Has this happened with anyone else? Let us know. In the meantime, we've contacted Cablevision's Media Relations department and passed along the above tip. They are currently preparing a statement, and we'll update when we hear back. Most importantly, we want to know: if there aren't any other jobs, why can't they just give an exact time?"

Tagged

cable

cablevision

internet

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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