Comedian Eugene Mirman Publishes Cable Company Gripe

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Nearly everyone has had customer-service woes, whether it’s missing luggage after a flight or sitting on hold for hours on end. But not many people have taken their annoyance this far.

Stand-up comic Eugene Mirman wanted to get cable TV, Internet and phone service installed in his new apartment. So he called his local cable company, Time Warner Cable, and set up an appointment. When nobody showed up, he called Time Warner Cable, only to find that the appointment had been moved without anyone telling him. After jumping through more and more bureaucratic hoops — and getting his appointment moved several times — Mirman finally got the service he wanted. But he wasn’t done with the company just yet.

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Mirman decided to publish an open letter to the company, and took out a full-page ad space in two local newspapers to air his (hilarious) grievances. The letter says Time Warner Cable “is run like an ill managed Soviet factory” and “act(s) like a controlling, abusive husband on an episode of Law and Order.” And that’s just the start. Watch Mirman read his letter aloud below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3i3bKMzGaU&w=450]

Time Warner Cable responded on its blog, in a refreshingly apologetic fashion:

I really wish that this hadn’t happened, and I really wish it never happened, but we can’t hide from the truth: this is neither the first nor the last time that we’ve miscommunicated with a customer, inconvenienced them tremendously, and screwed up what appears to be a very simple task. I’m sorry this happened, and I’m sorry every single time it happens.

The statement mentioned how funny the letter was, and that they’re taking major steps to improve communication with customers. It just goes to show: If you can’t kill them with kindness, a little humor goes a long way.

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