THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603270106
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
A week after publicizing a special telephone number for complaints about Falcon Cable TV, city officials had logged about 200 calls from upset customers.
Earlier this month, the City Council authorized the hot-line to monitor such calls. Complaints about the local cable franchise operator had increased recently after computer failures during a severe storm in February knocked out service to the company's 7,300 customers.
Some were without cable for up to four days.
At first, the calls trickled in. Then early last week, city officials announced the 24-hour-a-day citizen contact and response line, and the calls increased.
About the same time, Falcon began sending notices to customers that rates would increase April 1.
Most hot-line callers have criticized the company's customer service and the rate hike, said Dana Brown Woodson, the city's public information coordinator.
``They're dissatisfied with the rate,'' Woodson said.
Under the new price structure, Falcon's basic package, which provides access to 35 channels, will cost $22.93 a month, or about five percent more than the current charge of $21.89 a month.
Rates for the next tier of four channels will more than triple, rising from 54 cents a month to $1.79 a month. The ``satellite package'' that provides seven additional channels will increase from $5.40 a month to $5.74 a month.
Falcon, which has provided cable service in Suffolk since 1984, has often been criticized for bad reception, poor service, billing errors, frequent outages and high rates.
Hot-line callers also have complained about poor service, Woodson said. Many were upset over long waits for their cable connection to be restored after the February storm, she said.
``They complain about how long it takes Falcon to handle calls and how long it takes the service technician to come out,'' Woodson said.
City staff members answer the hot-line between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. After office hours, calls are recorded on voice mail and city officials return messages the next business day.
City officials will use the information to analyze customer's complaints and respond as needed. MEMO: TO CALL
The number for the cable complaint lines is 934-3413.
by CNB