Pay-TV Companies Offer More Service—For a Price

Actor Patrick Stewart cast the spotlight on Time Warner Cable’s customer service last September, tweeting that he’d “lost the will to live” following a struggle to set up a new cable account with the company. The former Star Trek star isn’t alone in his belief that dealing with the Cable Guy is worse than a Klingon encounter. Two months earlier, No. 4 cable operator Charter Communications had to evacuate its office in Duluth, Minn., after a customer unhappy with his Internet service threatened to blow up or set fire to the building. That customer was apprehended by police; Stewart simply signed up with satellite operator Dish Network.

Now some pay-TV companies have come up with a way for customers to get better service: Pay more for it. Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest operator with more than 12 million video subscribers, last month launched an advertising blitz for its $200-a-month concierge service called SignatureHome, which includes “a certified technician” to customize your devices and a “team of specially trained Personal Solutions Advisors” to provide “24/7 help by phone and online chat.” Customers also get high-speed Internet at up to 50 megabits per second and two multiroom DVRs. Satellite service DirecTV offers a protection plan for customers that includes “complete system coverage,” “24/7 phone support,” and “fast and convenient repair service” for an extra $5.99 a month, on top of the $100 most people spend for monthly service.