Optimum Voice
What drives the big interest in Optimum Voice? Greed. Cablevision is greedy for offering a service they are unable to reliably provide and customers are greedy because they think they can get a service for 1/3 the price.
It's not just greed, it's also stupidity. The same morons that buy Roluxes off the street in NYC are the same morons that replace their primary telephone line with OV. Why does a Rolex cost so much more than the Rolux you buy on the street? It is the years of experience Rolex has in making watches as well as the quality of the parts.
You should look at telephone service the same way. Why do you morons think you will get the same reliablity and the same quality of service from OV as you got from POTS (plain old telephone service, aka Verizon). POTS has been perfecting their infrastructure for 120 years and have had a culture of the "Five Nines". That means an uptime of 99.999%. That's 5 minutes of downtime a year.
Cablevision has been working on their voice infrastructure for maybe 6 years and has a culture of incompetence. How many of you that have OV have been down for only 5 minutes in the past year? With POTS , you still have phone service if your lights go out, fat chance of that with OV. And you don't just have to worry about power outages. As stated earlier, the boobs at RFDN love to experiment with the UBRs, if that fucks the customer, WHO CARES? Outside Plant (OSP) performs maintenances and takes nodes offline all the time, if that fucks the customer, WHO CARES? Reliability and redundancy are not concepts Cablevision is familiar with. Verizon does maintenance all the time, they are also now installing fiber to the home (FIOS). Does that interrupt your service? Nope.
Since it is $35/month, people are signing up with OV in droves. Don't these idiots do any research? Why do they believe the bullshit the sales department feeds them? Do they buy cars based on the salesman's pitch? They probably spend 100x more energy investigating their next TV purchase than they did looking into the pros and cons of switching to VoIP. Look, if it works for you, and you have no complaints, that's great, good for you. But if you are having problems and after two tries Cablevision cannot fix it, THEN GO BACK TO VERIZON!!! Give it up! I can understand your frustration, but you're paying $35/mon and
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR YOU IDIOT!!!!
And that is just residential customers, if you are a business and you sign up for OV then you are the King of Idiots. There are some things you don't skimp on and phone service isn't one of them.
OV is the greatest thing since white bread if used as a second line. But if you use
it as your primary line,
YOU ARE STUPID
posted by OOL Tech @ 11:04 PM
31 Comments:
I had OV for 2 yrs now and the only time it went down was during a 1 hour Power outage. I have no complaints and if an emergancy was there I have my Cell Phone.
You must not live in Jersey ....
Coram.. Babylon .. Osssining..
...and since you had it for 2 years... You probably dont even have it wired to your jacks!
so you get a cookie !
IT is sad that you posture your self as very angry, because you make some valid points.
People would be more open to your presentation if you did not seem to be attacking them. I believe your anger at Cablevision is being misdirected to the subscriber base.
The Sales department is manned by Commissions Sales people, (about as ethical as a used car salesman), they will say anything to make the sale. People get MISSINFORMED all the time.
To blame the local subscriber is wrong, people grew up with MA Bell service, and to them a phone is a phone. They (most of them) have no concept of VOIP. They are just falling for the marking pitch. How many prospective subs would commit to VOIP as the Life line if they understood the limitations of the service?
I have had OV for over 2 years I havent noticed any outages on my phone nor has my alarm been triggered by UBR maintenance I have 2 cell phones so I enjoy paying only half of verizons price for this service, warts and all
"There are some things you don't skimp on and phone service isn't one of them."
Double Negative
Sincerley
-- The Grammar Nazi
Do you really want to get yourself fired? Don't you think that our management already saw that ( take a look as solution box appeared right after your first blog). Listen If you are so angry, why don't you quit before you get fired, sued and arrested? Your plan to unionize us failed months ago , is this your second attempt?
In defence of our coworkers and management, if you knew that 75-90 % of new hires quit within 1st year for various reasons, don't you want to bring your expenditures to a minimum. Also just because for someone english is their second language, doesn't make them less professional than you are. Remember for Einstein , english was his second language. Do you remember the time , when you came out of training? Trust me to more experienced employees you were dump.
POTS system had issues when it first came out and had problems years later. VOIP is the way of the future. My estimate that by 2020 it will be on the same levels as POTS today. We all learn by mistakes.
Hey man, don't get discouraged by any comments here. I'm sure some people don't have problems with OV. I did, and it was only then that I realized why I was paying $80 a month to keep my land line w/all the features. Reliability, the ability for each person on the line to speak AT THE SAME TIME (what a concept) instead of having it be like a walkie-talkie. It wasn't worth the discount to me.
I've been in tech support, and I'm sure the people who are complaining about your blog are insecure that you may be talking about one of them. :)
Most of them have no idea how difficult and/or clueless some customers can be.
Hope this blog stays around a long time!
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NOTE: I WILL REMOVE ANY POST THAT IS DEROGATORY AND REFERS TO ANYONE AT TSG BY NAME!!!
Do you really want to get yourself fired? Don't you think that our management already saw that ( take a look as solution box appeared right after your first blog). Listen If you are so angry, why don't you quit before you get fired, sued and arrested? Your plan to unionize us failed months ago , is this your second attempt.
In response, The drive to organize and gain respect will never die....we can fail 20 times as long as the drive continues and we finally succeed, and because there is no other way to make these incompetent idiots listen. Yes, he may get fired, but it will not be for trying to make things better for that is illegal. We have a right to organize. Nobody is getting sued except for your precious company. How many pending lawsuits??? Can't wait for my check in the mail from the time the company stole for all of us logging in before our shift. Write ups for signing in a minute late with outdated machines and software...ridiculous. Bet you're going to cash that check when you receive it. See what can happen when we act as one.
The drive to "Organize" only failed because of implemented fear from the company, in which you are trying to use again, fear of getting fired...who cares!!!! and that is illegal and terms for another lawsuit. Don't you think people who take this on have already calculated the consequences? They just don't care anymore, and are willing to stand up for the changes that need to be done to create a respectable and stable job. This is what happens to your employees here time and time again. Something is very wrong with the way this company treats it's employees and does things idiot.. wake up and smell the coffee. Please, do not give us some bullcrap about looking at our inner selves and who we are..LOL, you are clueless. Remember - Your best defense is a good offense. Union supporters should announce that they are union supporters. The employer then has direct knowledge and the employee enjoys the maximum protections under the National Labor Relations Act. The Company cannot claim ignorance of union involvement should they take any future action against that employee. And if they do please contact the IBEW, they are there to represent you if this does occur.
And I here there are quite a few lawsuits pending from ex-employees in several departments filed wihin the last year or so, whom are suing for just that..pro-union. Love the way this company cleans house after each drive and promotes those that kiss managements ass and help spread the lies and fear.
I could not agree with you more, Many businesses are reluctant to switch to VOIP because of the drawbacks, it's just not as reliable as POTS and I do not know if it ever will be. Of course it will increase in poularity, because fools are thinking of one thing only...immediate savings and not long term impacts. Think of all the lost revenue with any down time to a medium to Large sized business across several campuses, It could be disasterous for a company. Those that are willing to try VOIP are doing so by installing the VOIP hardware internally and building the infrastructure from the bottom up, then having an IT staff maintain it, you would be crazy if you were a CEO of a company and had to rely on an ISP do all this for you.
someone please post the information so I can join the class action suit.
I cannot find the letter after I moved and just remembered after someone typed it.
If anyone here is thinking that union will make a difference in their life, you are making a big mistake. We are already enjoying benefits similar, if not better than in some union shops. Unions are full of lies. They make everything sound like you will work on the beach under the sun with cocktail in your left hand and a girl on your right. Dream on. In reality look at city employees. All of them are members of a union and look at them, their salary is lower, benefits similar to ours. So if you really want to be a member of a union, quit cablevision and go take English exam and you can be a city employee. I worked both in union and non union shops and one thing I have noticed lazy people work in union shops. real workers in non-union shops. In addition, most unions are members of some sort of a bigger union. They (big unions) cheat, steal, lie and trust me, you will gain less in union shop than in one without it. If you think they will protect you, you are wrong. I saw 14 union members fired because one member made a mistake and even that was not completely his fault. Do you think that a union even tried to protect them? Nope. They just wiped their hands clean.
In addition it will take union about 1 year to organize, while it will take 3-6 month to outsource all cablevision employees to India. Then you, union supporters, will be biting you nails without a job and your savings will be dwindling each day. So in conclusion if you want to be a part of a union, quit cablevision and leave the rest of us alone so we can feed our families.
P.S. Even though it is illegal to ask previous employer why such and such was fired, most of them still do. As a result most of you, union supporters, look at future without a job since no employer (except gov't) in his right mind will hire someone, who tried to unionize a company.
P.S. I never knew, never did and never will kiss XXX (rear ends) of our management unlike you, who did it. Whatever I said here is my own opinion.
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This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Who ever said a union is perfect for every situation and will make a huge difference in ones life. Again, do you really think we do this from job to job? I found work after 15 days of being let go from your company and it is the job I intended to get from day one. I do not plan on organizing because they are treating me like a human being and not squeezing every second from me. I now work for Honeywell and they are a global giant in security systems. I will receive much better pay, raises 4% or better a year, 100% medical, 21 sick days and 3 weeks vacation yearly after 3 months, Oh, and a pension when I retire and yes I will retire because people here have and I see myself not burning out. With Cables Choice retirement, I had 2,000 after 4 years. At that rate I may get me a used car by the time I retire. The best part is, I feel I am less stressed than at TSG and the job seems easier for all this. So you see, what we are saying is the only way things will ever change for the better at Cablevision is to stand together and request it in your union. You will determine it's conditions, because management could care less about you otherwise. Other companies may have meetings or a real HR rep that listens to concerns(like Honeywell)...TSG has nothing but a sweatshop with a revolving door. So what union did you work for?? I have worked in a union and the difference was ten fold. Better pay, a pension, 100% medical, excellent raises. You are kidding yourself by claiming we make more than union reps (Verizon)etc., All earn a better living than we do and I know people from electricians to packers. Do you honestly believe they would leave them jobs to come work here and trade in what they are now getting for what Cablevision offers? and then consider how long you can do this before managements radar is on you...EXACTLY!!!! They will retire at their jobs, you will feel like a scrubrush after 5 years in TSG or the field. Don't give me that laziness crap, I know union workers that put anyone else to shame..working in subway tunnels and 120 degree heat, I don't think your being honest quite frankly, It sounds like something management wants to hear or you are just finding that you do not fit in a union but you do well in this freak show. Let's there are union workers that get things done right the first time, why because they are not in a rush and have rules and guidelines for everything. Quite honestly, I would love to see TSG try going to India, they would be crying all the way to bankruptcy or more likely rush the inevetible sale of the company before that happens. Are you saying all these people are not capable of working anywhere else in IT? The IT field is picking up steam, and those that feel that they cannot move on in this field, will find work with comparable pay elsewhere.... 12-18 an hour is not difficult to match. This is not AOL, we are extremely regional and it would not work, besides considering the initial cost of building the infrastructure for support centers in India to relay to our field techs would be huge, then there is the downtime...clueless and another scared/fear tactic. Do you really plan on being the first to retire here? Where did all your good co-workers go in the last 3 years?? If you plan on staying, fight for something better because lets face it, 40 cent yearly raises will not cut it. Property taxes on L.I up 42% sales tax now at 8.6%. You are kidding yourself, If it is just a job you want you can then work at wal mart they are very similar to us and are not union. Enough said for now.
p.s. one more thing... you say 14 union guys were fired for nothing, lets here the whole story, because that sounds more like TSG. True, guys can be without work for some time in a union when times are rough and there is not enough work for all it's members, that has happened, but in comparison, I've seen hundreds of TSG techs including myself come and go through your doors and thats just in the 4 years I have been employed. And for those that did not leave on their own will, it was usually something ridiculou with no recourse. You see the laziness you refer to in unions is actually the understanding of ones job/career and that it does not have to be some ridiculous marathon everyday only to benfit someones yearly bonus. Safety is first and foremost because what good is a job if you are not around to provide for your family. Unions are all about family, and making a living until you retire for your family, not burning out like some flare and having nothing in the end. A union can reflect what making a living should be here in the U.S.A. if ones employer has lost that understanding and vision of his employees in place of greed.
As far as the poster asking for lawyer information, you are all part of the class action suit,and you will all receive a check when settled in October. The only difference is those that signed with the lawyres are entitled to more money, and sorry, It is too late to request that.
still wating for a supervisor call back after 2 weeks, exactly what I hear from our customers everyday, company is just horrible on follow-ups. Either everyone is overwhelmed or our supervisors, (except for a few that actually worked the phones) are clueless and dread being on the phone with even just one customer.
You're right,why bother with OP? they're 10 more expensive than anyone else. I use Voip and work in the industry and have had no trouble with the service. Greed is 24.99 bill over an 80.00 bill.
I agree a union here is needed because all other avenues have failed, they are not willing to listen to employees concerns and are notorious for backlashing against anyone who raises any questions/issues. I am ready to leave if things do not get better as many other have. How can anyone in their right mind want to stay here just for a paycheck to feed your families, what about earning a living for something that is not as easy as it looks? Are you saying you are not capable of anything else? You will not make a living working here unless you are single and live at home with Mom and Dad. How long will you be capable of doing that under these conditions. You think 30-40 cent raises are fair for what we do in a year and all the nitpicking of seconds that will never enable anyone to maintain employment for any real duration of time. The gestapo like tactics they use. How many will make it here 20-30 years? It is they that should go elswhere while we take care of business for something long overdue. It does not have to be a union if the company would have understanding themselves, but we know that will never happen. I bet if it did go through, they would accept all the benfits of a union...what cowards.
union? ahahaha. for $11/hr tech support? do you have any idea how easily replaced by an indian call center you are? cablevision management would give themselves hernia's from laughing so hard.
Ya and I bet they would love to do that tomorrow right? So lets really see how easy it is to do without any planning, and lets see who wins the broadband wars if that happens. Verizon will surely keep their workers here and pay them a living wage, while we would suffer the same fate AOL did.
Is it really so "greedy" for a customer to want to pay less for phone service? You know, not everyone is the stupid, greedy, monster you imply. And I'm willing to bet that you don't just fork over money without looking at prices. Is that greedy? No, it's common sense. And some people need to save money. Get off your high freakin' horse and stop judging everyone.
And before you reply and tear me the shreds, I have a pots line.
If you don't like it, Look elsewhere. Economy is growing, jobs become available each day. There are companies hiring in the city and LI. So if you don't like salary and benefits do what Honeywell guy did, get another job in 15 days and enjoy your benefits like free supply of hydroflouric acid training materials. On the other hand, hey there are banefits in every company, but normally if you don't like it get another job.
If in your opinion this company doesn't pay enough, benefits are not up to your standards quit and find another company willing to pay more with better benefits. Noone is holding you here. The last time I looked around we were in capitalist US of A not in socialist Cuba. We have rich, we have poor and we have middle class. If you want move up in your class or to another class earn it, not BS with stupid ideas like unions. Lets see the look on your face if you will build your company from a skratch and one day Joe Schmo will come and say: hey, what you provide is not enough, we need a union. Trust me , you as the owner will oppose with all hands and all feet. You don't go into a new company with your own rules. You accept its rules and if it is not something that you like again - quit. As one person once said companies work to make profit, not to make their employees rich.
Now my point: You work for CV and you are not its owner so don't tell them what to do. Start your own company and you can make your own rules.
If they are outsourced to india, then most of management lose their jobs as well. LOL. New people will be hired, those that knows and works with companies in India already such as how dell does it. The rest of management that do manage to stay will enjoy staying in India 6-8 months out of every year.
Outsourcing is not as easy and appealing to all company as it sounds, especially not one as small as cablevision.
In reply to is it so greedy, what are you talking about and who is refering to the customer, I am refering to our owners and management being greedy, greedy in all they do is so they can get some lucrative bonus at the end of the year for cracking the wip on the techs, and greedy in that our VOIP service is the most expensive of its kind out there for no extra benefits. Greedy in that they throw around and waste money for everything except to improve the lives of the people making it for them in the first place.
And for the anti union people answer me this, If it is so much cheaper to outsource all of you, whay hasn't the company done that yet? They would jump all over that opportunity if it made any sense. And if you want to keep threatening that scenario, then why do they prefer to pay us more money instead of going for cheaper labor and on top pay union busting attorneys millions per year to keep you down and demoralized to stop you from getting what you deserve. It must mean something to them for having you guys stay in New York and those that can see the big picture know why. It would not make any sense to go elswhere and would cost them more initially. They are scared to death of you all speaking as one and organizing, but think you are to dumb or scared to do so. So people whom have forecasted this doom and gloom scenario for you, without even trying, will keep saying the same thing over and over, they will replace all of you, and make it sound so easy to do when it is anything but that. Its not even so much the little extra money and retirement conditions made better, it's more about making the changes neccessary for all of you to get to that point, which currently does not exist, again because of greed and managements end of the year bonuses
Of course everyone wants to pay less for their phone service, but that is where VOIP and POTS similarities end. Yes they are both phone services but everything up to that point are two different worlds. One relying on a protocol, power, routers, switches, IP traffic etc. and the other being simple and time tested. So the question becomes, how much are you willing to pay for reliability and having a dial tone when you pick up the phone, and what is that worth to you or your business.
You don't go into a new company with your own rules. You accept its rules and if it is not something that you like again - quit. As one person once said companies work to make profit, not to make their employees rich.
Now my point: You work for CV and you are not its owner so don't tell them what to do. Start your own company and you can make your own rules.
I agree, and in most companies this is true, but not here, they will never budge a millimeter for their employees unless we take action. We could just leave, but why? So many people in several departments feel the same way, does every other company have that? No!! So something is severely wrong and becomes personal to many. Why can't they make this a place that is enjoyable and a place you can retire at. One of the key things you learn in Business Management 101 is how do my employees feel working here, and a happy employee is a good employee. I guess they are to dumb to care and god forbid make any change because there business model will never change so you must. This company treats it's employees like parts of some machine and discards them at will. We are not asking to be rich or change rules that make common sense. We just want our piece of the pie already, we want conditions that will provide for our families until we retire, We want to be able to get to that point and not to burnout after 4 years. If we are in business to make money only, then what about all the money this company wastes instead of putting it back into their workforce? anti stadium ads, the Knicks, Rangers, RCMH etc., etc. I guess another high priced lawyer, player or coach for another season is more important than peoples livliehood and keeping your company going, because god forbid Jimmy D lets go of his toys.
get a life! OV is a good service and now and days HELLO! most people have cell phone so they don't need an expencive land line anymore
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