Jones Communications is a disgrace to our community. It does not provide modern services such as high speed Internet access that most areas expect from their cable companies. It provides poor reception, limited channel selection, and totally nonexistent customer service. It continues to exist only because it is a government-protected monopoly.
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Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Jones has proved me wrong. The week before Thanksgiving, Jones mailed us a flier notifying us that they were adding a range of new channels to our Extended Basic service. On December 1st, they told us, we would be able to get the Cartoon Network (I have kids who have been waiting for this one), the Golf Channel, the Game Show Network, Tuner Classic Movies, Court TV, the Food Network, Speedvision (I had never heard of this one; it evidently is dedicated to the racing of cars, boats, airplanes, and motorcycles.), E! Entertainment, Style, the Outdoor Life Network, and the Home Shopping Network. Wow! And, on January 1 they were giving us TV Land! I was thrilled. Except that it wasn't true. December 1st came and went and it didn't happen. I bit the bullet and called Jones. As usual, I waited for half an hour while the company played a message over and over and over again saying that they knew my time was valuable. They knew my time was valuable, yet still insisted on wasting it. What arrogance! They appear to have recorded a message for the deliberate purpose of infuriating their customers. Let me add that I did not yell at the woman who eventually answered the phone. Can you imagine what it must be like to have her job? She spends her entire day answering one call after another. Each caller has been on hold for half an hour as a result of company policy, and has had to listen to that message rubbing their noses in it. Instead, I merely asked her why I wasn't getting the promised new stations. Her response, on the behalf of the company, was that it was all a mistake. Their marketing department had mailed the notices out, she said, as though that explained it. And I guess it did. What she seemed to be saying was that their marketing department is on par with the rest of the company. She did add that we mightget some of the stations next year. When I asked if that meant January, she said no, that it meant some time during calendar year 2000. Sure enough, weeks later the company sent out a letter confirming that the original letter "was sent to you in error," then tried to pass this off as "great news." We are checking out getting a satellite dish, now that local stations are available through that medium. We'll keep you informed. |