Cablevision - Optimum Review

THE MOST HORRIFIC CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

25 DAYS AND COUNTING WITHOUT SERVICE.
FIBER OPTIC LINE IS RIPPED OUT OF BOX AND NEEDS A CONTRACTOR TO REPAIR. OH IT'LL BE 24/48 HOURS MISS.

YEAH RIGHT.
OH WE WILL CREDIT YOU THE DAYS YOUR MISSING. GREAT! ANY IDEA HOW LONG THAT'LL BE? SORRY MISS WE CANT SAY!

HORRIFIC!!!

Besides they suck with customer service. They have the biggest time frame windows. Who can stay home 10am - 8pm ridiculous. And then they don't even show. Waiting on my third appointment. I was told to change my number to avoid spam calls and still got spam calls. Until they told me i had to sign up for another service to avoid the spam calls, which means i never had to change my number. I'll be happy when i go back to Verizon

If I could give them less than one star I would.

I had an internet only package through Optimum. The rates were spotty and so-so, and the price would continually rise the longer I was on the plan, but that's become the industry norm. It's not good, but you can learn to accept that because it's like that everywhere.

Where Optimum stands out from the crowd is in their exceptionally poor customer service. To begin with, you should know going in that it's essentially impossible to speak with a human being. Optimum has constructed a phone tree and digital assistant that will simply refuse to connect you with a human being as often as possible.

During service outages, Optimum will deny you the ability to speak with tech support on the basis that they already know you don't have service. I will repeat that again because it is so insane it deserves it: In situations where Optimum is able to accurately predict you will need tech support, they intentionally deny you the ability to connect to tech support.

Also, beware that Optimum uses a pre-pay model with the specific intent of denying you any refunds. Because you have already paid, they can never offer discounts to you on past issues because they have already collected their money.

Lastly, the process of canceling service is horrible. I have had at least 3 agents, including a manager, hang up on me. Two separate agents lied to me about the process for returning equipment. (Including one who simply made up an appointment that they claimed had been scheduled.)

I heartily recommend doing everything in your power to never do business with this company ever. ISPs get a really negative reputation, but even among them Optimum stands out as being aggressively user-hostile and approaches flat out fraud and illegality in their behavior.

Horrible service! WIFI turns off at least three times a day and I have to call the company to get the service turned on. Cable connection poor! Hiudson Valley really need another cable company in this area that can provide quality services.

What do I NOT like about this business...EVERYTHING! Optimum is the worst company ever. Their customer service wait times (on hold) are beyond comprehension - I was on hold for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes and spoke to 4 different people, all of whom were useless. I have been charged repeatedly for a service I had canceled (and I returned the equipment in person) yet, they have no record of any of it and no one seemed to care or know how to recify the situation. I finally got someone who "assures me" the service has been removed from my bill. Meanwhile, I need to jump through hoops to get my money refunded. As long as they are the only game in town - nothing will really change.

Terrible cable company. The bill was never the price they originally told me, it increased after the two years and there was no way to lower it even though I never used the phone it would be higher without it. Beyond that I constantly had channels that were "temporarily unavailable" I tried over and over again to get it fixed to no avail. They would never call back when they said they would, they honestly didn't care I was having a problem. Happy to say I just canceled!!

With millions of customers , obviously not everybody will have a great experience. Mine was excellent minus one star.
I needed service on a private road with a confusing postal address and while initially Optimum said they were not the carrier for that road when applying online, I called, because Optimum is what cable mover said.
The representative (Beverly) went to great length to figure this out, had a field review done, called me back on a Saturday and eventually I got hooked up as promised and almost immediately.
Turns out their service was always there with a great signal, but due to 7 years of nobody living at the house they couldn't tell.
Installer arrived as promised and figured it all out in 45 minutes. Despite everything working right away, he still made sure all pole connections were up to date. Very helpful installer , even dug me out of the snow.
Then comes my one star deduction for trying to get the ordered plan corrected .
An endless loop of voice prompt options, none applying to my problem. Dialing "zero" will not get you the operator to figure out who you should speak to.
That is bad!!!!
Ended up doing an online chat and figured out what has to be done too get my plan corrected.
All in all one should not expect a perfect world, especially in cable.
Just keep going until you get what you want :
PUT UP WITH IMPERFECT HUMANS. (IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO ONE THAT IS:-)

April 5, 2018 Update
Cable industry customer service at its finest (sarcasm), as in confirming bad reviews all cable companies get..
Got overcharged, credited incorrect and now the saga begins:

Website directs one to FAQs or one can chat, so:

1) Chat with Javier, explaining things.
While polite he could only see what I can see on the website and not issue a credit. Somebody will call me within 4 business days.

Yes, if you had you bet money that would not happen: You would have won that bet!

2)Another chat with Javier, who did not remember me, besides my situation being very specific! Maybe Javier is just the chat name showing up and multiple people answer under that name or Javier has a bad memory? Promise to get this to the "escalation team" Somebody will call me within two working days.

Yes, if you had you bet money that would not happen: You would have won that bet!
3) Figured out from a convoluted web layout how to contact Cablevision by e-mail. Clearly everything is set up, so they do not have to talk to you or do anything! E-mails do not allow attachments and generic reply is we'll get back to you within 2 days.

Yes, if you had you bet money that would not happen: You would have won that bet!

4) Decided to call and got Scarlet, who could not understand what I was explaining, but finally got to verify that what I was explaining was correct.
Told her it's my 4th try and that they do seem clueless on how to handle things. Never mind promising replies that never happen.
She promised to accelerate it to the "escalation team" and I would be called within 2 days.

Yes, if you had you bet money that would not happen: You would have won that bet!

All of this over an incorrect charge of $ 79.00 which should have been credited on the first try and a few $;s incorrectly credited.

Initially I was planning to stop by the local office, except I expect that the
reps in that office do not have the authority to issue credits and would djust promise to send it to the "escalation team" and I would get.........

Now I'll try my luck with a letter and I predict I will not get an answer.
Maybe we get lucky and at least get the credits which are due.

In summary, the company is definitely overwhelmed , badly organized in customer support and/or understaffed to take care of even the simplest issues. (Mine is very clear)
They do not even assign a case ID (I asked for one) to keep track of an issue.

For now I would rate customer support as 5 minus stars if available.

On the positive side , the cable connection, wifi etc. work flawlessly.

The representative that I dealt with was very pleasant & helpful. Made my experience painless.

Worst Service Ever! ! !
On Phone for over 1 hr on hold. No contact thru on line chat. Wish I could find a reliable company

They will lie to you and tell you one price and it will be another. The customer service is horrible. They don't care and they will tell you that. Please find a different company.

I have never encountered a company that no regards for its customers. A service person came to house to set up my service. After he was done, he told me to call Customer Service after 30-40 minutes- if my services were not turned on. needless to say, my services were not turned on. They never showed up after five calls and complaints. Optimum is a dysfunctional company who charges the customers astronomical prices for poor services. I wish there were a 0 star selection because this company would fit that low standard mark.

Cablevision/Optimum is the WORST cable provider. Called yesterday to set up new service. Appointment made for the following day between 2-5pm by a woman named Talia. The next day, at 4:00pm, I called to verify the cable technician was coming. The rep put me on hold. Several minutes later, the Cablevision rep said he spoke with the technician and that he was on a job and that he would be on his way shortly. We waited until 5:20pm. At that point I called Cablevision and they now said an appointment was never made for today and that a technician wasn t coming. I asked to speak to a supervisor. He said standby and then he hung up the phone.

Cablevision reps lie to customers. The rep never made an appointment that I asked for. Furthermore, reps don t call technicians on site. Another lie. The best was when I made a final call to ask to speak with a supervisor. The rep said supervisor was busy and wouldn t speak with me. Really? I take the day off to have cable and internet installed, plus their reps are dishonest?

The next step is to file a small claims court complaint against Cablevision for loss of time away from work. Additionally I will contact the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General for the State of NY. Unfortunately Cablevision is a monopoly in the Hudson Valley.

Shame on you Cablevision. You have the worst customer service. I would have given you ZERO stars but this review won t allow me to do so.
Sent from my iPhone

Ended up with Verizon saved $50 a month for all three cable TV, internet & land line. $50!

The employees are good
The installers are great. optimum online would be out of business if Verizon ran Fios in

Customer Service is unprofessional,. Communication is limited and snotty.
Customer Service does not thoroughly explain options
.

Always having problems with them especially with customer service. Just got WiFi again with him and the dude didn t even put it where I told him to put it so now I have to plug everything and do it myself. Didn t let me test the wifi before he left. I hate that this is the only internet company I can get. Also your customer service people need to tell me what the total of everything is before just asking for a card.
I was told it would be 59 dollars. Card got declined because it was really 117 dollars. Called back to complain and the lady ARGUED WITH ME about it. Update! Months later and still having the worst problems with them! Account closed and never going back. It s so sad that optimum has a 2.8 rating.

After Issias I ve called optimum about 80 times (not exaggerating) between them ending my calls and being disconnected from India we haven t had cable internet or phone in a week they will not give me a credit on the account fix the issue or offer anything to compensate for this issue I spend 200$ a month on this company I rely on my WiFi to work from home and I can t drive because I have two broken shoulders so I can t use public WiFi or hot spots. All we have gotten was a cheesy corny script read by someone who barely speaks English in another country- appointments that were apparently made and actually not made so no one ever came out - a down line dangling in someone s driveway-we can t even get clear directions on how to cancel and switch to Verizon. This company is horrendous and should be ashamed. If you have a choice get any other company at least maybe they will answer your calls !

Service keeps going down bill keeps going up. I was told a year ago I got optimum 100 internet for free. Then my bill increase and they were charging me 5 bucks for the 100 speed service. So I bumped it down to 60. Now they are chatting me 5 bucks for 60 speed. Service went out last Sunday and no reason given. Now it's down again. Going back to Direct TV.

Office staff is pleasant but they aren't the issue. Service is about the worst I've ever seen. I am working on now a 72 hour service outage (NO SEVERE WEATHER ISSUES). Technician arrived today after almost 48 hours without service and found that there is NO SIGNAL for internet/telephone service coming from the pole to my house. He then tells me it will be another 24 hr wait until they can get a technician with a bucket to repair or replace what he believes is a faulty distribution amplifier on the pole. For what they charge and considering there are no weather related issues even a 24 hour window is excessive. I have filed a complaint with the PSC lets see where that goes!!!!

Went into pay my bill and ask about the new altice service.

Good service. Agent was really helpful in solving my Bros phone problems

So my 80+ year old parents have no service - the only ones on the block with out service -they get a service date of July 28th LOL 8 days ? really? Not to mention it is IMPOSSIBLE to get a person on the phone on the "Customer Service" line - what a complete and utter failure. 40+ minutes to see if I could get a better time - had to hang up.. A complete disaster of recorded prompts asking the same thing - its like the phone system is designed to make you hang up - so they have less volume. Try being 83 and taking care of a sick wife also 80 and navigating the "Customer Service" line. LOL fail ! Come on Optimum , I mean really?

My cable box burned out and had to be replaced. I took the box back to optimum to be replaced and was given a totally different box. After getting home and spending an hour on the phone with a technician trying to boot the new box. It was determined a technician would have to come to the house and hook up the wires to the box. No instructions came with the new box. I was called the morning the technician was on the way and was told if no one was there we would be charged $80.00 for a service call. Well. I received my bill today and was charged $80.00. I called Optimum and was told service calls cost $80.00. You get charged either way. I am exploring other options and getting rid of optimum. This company is scamming people.

Rates for internet raised under the guise of infrastructure. My guess is that it was approved since the only other method of service is FiOS? Over the years I dropped the package, then the television, then the phone, and now back up to close to 100 per month for just internet. Even last night the modem reset and took its sweet time restoring access. Heck, maybe it was the rumored infrastructure in action.

Nothing special- it's cable company office. Never crowded so that's a plus.

My wife and I called the first week in June for service for our new house. After nearly two months and literally hours of time invested on the phone and waiting at the location we still do not have service. To add salt to the wound they charged us $300!!!
We are suppose to move in Monday and will have no tv or internet.
This has been the most horrendous service experience. The management is incompetent and cannot coordinate. There is zero communication internally when you can actually speak to someone in this country.
Avoid this company like the coronavirus!!!

Switched to Verizon more then 2 years ago.....Cablevision just has poor customer service

During the recent storm outage 5 days. No reps available to speak to unless you wanted new service. Very disrespectful to all customers - central Hudson had reps during the entire period -May 2018 storm.

There is a HUGE difference between the old and the new owners... and it's not good. Verizon FIOS might be the better bet?

Not only is this service and company blank expensive, the customer service is Bull SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
That blank automated person speaking drives me crazy.
I am paying a fortune for their top internet speed and my speed is 28 mb/s. Calling Opitmum is not a choice. They really suck.

Besides being overpriced, the service department is absolutely horrible. There seems to be no way to escape the automated phone dialog when the problem at hand does not fit any of their predefined scenarios. It is a long drive to their Wappingers office but that seems to be the only way to talk with someone.

Customer Service is non existent. Can't get a human on rhe phone to save your life.

Horrible service, horrible support, horrible company. But we have no options.

Thought Optimum service was bad ...now that they re Altice it s even worse! Didn t know it was possible. Keep charging more and more and doing less and less. Now they are charging me $10 a month for a router that is 10 years old! If they had any competition they d be done.

No one there. One person trying to help 12 people worst service ever

Absolutely horrible! Service is not reliable at all. Apparently the weekend and beautiful sunny days are bad for optimum's internet and will cause outages randomly. On top of unreliable service, they lie to try to get you to sign up and are nasty to you when you call in to rectify the issue. I was told they would waive to activation fees, yet they were charged anyway and the customer service staff were incredibly rude when I was trying to discuss the situation with them. I wish that monopolies really were illegal and some other internet providers could come into this area and force some competition into the region. Not having competition has lead to unchecked price increases and lax customer service standards. The FCC needs to allow actual competition in the markets instead of bolstering these monopolies!

Over priced poor service charges u for everything can't get another provider TV should have stayed free

Extremely helpful in exchanging our cable box which went bad on us. Only complaint is they should have brought it to us for what we pay every month. Personal service is non existing.

We had a great setup call, Jeremy our tech was outstanding, courteous and efficient. Thanks again and very happy with the TV and true speed of our internet. Comcast provided us with 50mps and it ended up as just about 25mps, we are experiencing 47mps and paying less.

the worst customer service ever. They don't care about loyal customers. They are offering 64.99 a month for400 speed modem. They want me to pay 104.99 a month for the same speed modem
They would not budge on the price. When I told them that I was going to switch to Verizon , they basically said go a head. I've been withe optimum for 12 years , since they merged with altice they are horrible. Time to look for a new internet provider.

Called Optimum and the customer service rep who boasted several years of experience with the company in multiple departments didn't know how to troubleshoot connectivity between 2 sites. This guy saw the configuration i made on the router for a previous project and told me it was that. and that i should open up "the ports", and enable port triggering and put my computer in the DMZ. I mean the more he talked is the more he revealed his ignorance to technology. I proved to him that the issue wasn't the router by having him try to connect, it didn't work for him either and he still wrapped up the call with telling me to make all sort of unnecessary changes to the router. What if someone had actually listened to this guy and got hacked?

Worst internet and worst customer service on the planet.

Maintenance crew alw as ys courteous and knowledgeable.

The customer service whether walking into their office or speaking to them on the phone are always professional, helpful, and courteous.

Update..4/25...I've been in contact with Shaun via email. He has offered to make an accommodation that we believe is fair. Approximately same fee, with an addition viewing option. I never expected to get everything for nothing. Just a little more of what we wanted, without so much of what we don't want or need. Thanks! 4/10...Can't live with/without them. The people are nice. The service is good. The options for channels is too restrictive. The pricing is too high, in my opinion. Too many channels I have absolutely no use for, and the programming on many is dreadful.

Frustrating experience. Disconnected the service, returned my box, modem and equipment only to be told that my billing cycle started on THAT SAME DAY. So as a result they would bill me a for a whole MONTH of service even when everything was returned and I literally had no way to use the service (that I didn't even want). I was told it was company policy. This is NOT a policy I was aware of after being a customer for 5 years. BEWARE: false advertising there is a CANCELATION FEE- not prorating customers for disconnecting on their terms creates a fee.

Here you get to watch the same runaround you'd get on the phone in person. Place is good to make payments and to return or exchange equipment. Other than that, stay away especially from the one they call Jessica who is rude, opinionated, unwilling to help, reads from screen and doesn't listen.

paid patial was never told if i didn't pay the whole bill which i didn't have on me which i had at home they shut my cable so back i had to go back the next day and pay them they are the worst cable company i have to use because they are the only one in my area without any thing that has to put or on my poperty

Worse company ever! Switched to Verizon yesterday. Wish I can give a zero! Takes 1 hour just to speak to a rep.

I've never seen a company so incompetant or poorly run, that cares so little for its customers. This business wouldn't know what customer service was if it came up and bite them in the face....if they even make a profit it would have to be strictly accidental. After being overcharged for years...empty promise after empty promise...hours of my life wasted on hold...all to no avail!! Please, do your blood pressure a favor, and avoid any business with this company. What they need is some competition, and seriously, it wouldn't take much.

EDIT: I bumped the stars up to 3 after a gentleman (Tito, I think) was able to resolve 3 of my issues, finally. He followed through with everything, now I hope they start to listen to their customer base, because there's lots of room for improvement.

Very polite clerk, tucked away off route 9, hard to find.

Young lady at desk was extremely polite, and professional. And very helpful

By far the worst internet provider in my area. Unfortunately I m stuck with these guys or dish where I currently live. My internet has gone down 5 times just tonight and counting! 0/10 wish I could get Verizon Fios where I live

Optimum is the worst cable service I've ever dealt with. Customer service by phone is poor, online service is poor and they dont have a phone app to troubleshoot your system. Avoid if possible I miss Spectrum, I think I might be going to Verizon.

Prices are too high, especially if you want access to their numerous hotspots. Only giving 2 stars because of the staff who were nice-ish.

This company is the worst. Impossible to speak to a human. They re a monopoly in the area and will rip you off and don t have a care in the world about their customers.