Time Warner to credit affected customers
by CAITLIN MURRAY Correspondent

After three weeks of dealing without cable television and Internet access - the longest downtime in the region - some Amherst residents finally got service restored late last week. Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable announced its plan for compensation.

Deanna Diakos runs a small travel agency out of her home called Friend Ship Travel. But Diakos said the business specializing in booking tours and cruises couldn't operate without cable Internet.

"I was open, but I was unable to work," she said. "I had to turn away three clients. I told them my Internet was down, and I couldn't check flights."

As of last Wednesday, 1,500 Time Warner customers in the region were still without cable. But Time Warner Marketing Communications Vice President Steve Jaworowski said crews are working quickly, and full restoration is expected this week.

Many delays were merely a matter of residents not being home when crews arrived, he said, and crews went door to door late last week to complete repairs.

"Throughout the course of the week, we're doing a lot of door knocking, seeing if everything is OK on the outside, whether their cable is working inside," Jaworowski said.

Now that the vast majority of Amherst is back on track, many who went weeks with a dead TV are asking what's next.

Jaworowski said customers who had power without cable will automatically be receiving cash credits from the cable company.

"We're going to reimburse people on their bills in December based on the type of service they have," Jaworowski said. "They will get credited from $1.18 to $3.84 per day."

In addition, all Time Warner customers, regardless of whether they lost cable or not, will have access to premium channels Starz Kids, Family, and HBO Family for two weeks during late November and early December as a "thank you," according to a company press release.

Amherst Court Clerk Cheryl Hall said she wasn't bothered by the lack of cable at first, but after a couple of weeks, the frustration grew. The Eggertsville resident couldn't talk to her 2-year-old grandson in North Carolina via Web cam without the Internet.

"I think that's what I missed most, not being able to talk to him," she said. "I usually talk to him a couple times a week."

And though Sandy Maiwald said she didn't miss watching TV, her husband, Joe, was thrilled when the tube lit up again.

"My husband was excited because he missed Sabres games," Maiwald said. "We had to go to restaurants to see the games. My husband was elated."