Charter's 'All In': Stepping Up Customer Service With a New Customer Satisfaction Guarantee

When I received an unexpected knock on my door from a Charter Communications representative earlier this week in North St. Louis County, I was pleasantly surprised. He wanted to know if I had been enjoying my services. When I said that all was well, the representative said that was all he needed.

Since this was something that had never happened during the time I’ve been a customer (which has been for more than a decade), I reached out to Charter public relations representative, Jessica Hardecke, who told me that the visit was related to a new campaign the company recently rolled out.

“The person that knocked on your door was likely one of our door-to-door sales reps,” Hardecke said. “One of their jobs while they’re out selling is to also make sure that current customers are happy with their service.”

Charter says it’s been working on making “meaningful changes to its operations that directly improve the quality and consistency of its customers’ overall experience.”

The company recently announced the launch of a new national customer service initiative it’s dubbing the Charter ALL IN Customer Guarantee.

John Birrer, Charter’s senior vice president of customer experience, said the company is putting its money where its mouth is and holding itself accountable to its customers.

“We stand behind our products and services, and we’re providing more tools and resources to our teams so they can make each customer experience great,” Birrer said in a press release. “We’re approaching our business differently, always putting customers’ needs first.”

Hardecke said that another example of the company’s commitment to its new customer guarantee is the upcoming addition of 28 new HD channels, as well as a “huge channel realignment” that will make cable products easier for customers to use.

“These updates speak to our commitment to giving customers the best technology, the fourth pillar of the customer guarantee,” she said.

The company is also offering two-hour scheduled appointment windows, Hardecke said.

“Some companies tell you that they’ll ‘be there in the afternoon’, but you as a customer don’t have any idea if that means noon or 4,” she said. “At Charter, we give you a specific two-hour window, such as 8-10 or 12-2, and we promise to be there within that time.”

She said the company’s technicians also do numerous things throughout the installation to ensure that they meet the service guarantee.

“One of the most visible (and often times surprising) to the customer is that they will put on boot covers before entering a customer’s home,” she said. “The reason for the boot covers is because we respect our customers’ property and we don’t want to track any dirt or anything else into their home.”

In a press release, Charter said it’s ALL IN Customer Guarantee makes four key commitments to customers, including a 30-day money-back guarantee, a service experience guarantee, a reliability guarantee and a product promise. The program launched Mar. 12.

“We’re committed to delivering a great experience, and the Customer Guarantee sets standards of what customers should expect from us, and what we’ll do to make up for it if something goes wrong along the way,” said Steve Apodaca, Charter’s president of operations.

Are you a Charter customer? How has your experience been with the company and its services?