Charter Joins Customers' Conversations, Integrating Social Media into Customer Care

Care team always looking for opportunities to reach out to customers

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 17, 2009-- Eighth graph last sentence should read: Charter’s Social Media Customer Care team can be followed on Twitter and contacted at DSLreports.com under Umatter2Chtr. (sted: Charter’s Social Media Customer Care team can be followed on Twitter and contacted at DSLreports.com under Umatter2Charter.)

The corrected release reads:

CHARTER JOINS CUSTOMERS’ CONVERSATIONS, INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO CUSTOMER CARE

Care team always looking for opportunities to reach out to customers

The way people communicate with each other continues to change. Not long ago, Charter Communications, Inc. (PINK OTC: CHTRQ) talked to most of its customers either face-to-face in their homes, at our offices over the front counter, or on the telephone. Now customers can chat with and “tweet” Charter, too. Wherever, whenever and however Charter is engaging with its customers, making it a quality experience is a top priority for the company.

For about a year, Charter’s Social Media Customer Care team has been interacting with customers; reaching out and responding to them on Twitter™, Facebook© and MySpace sites as well as blogs and online forums like DSL Reports. The five-person team has interacted with more than 7,000 Charter customers nationwide so far this year, and the number continues to grow daily.

“Charter is committed to improving the customer experience by communicating in whatever way our customers want,” said Joe Stackhouse, Senior Vice President of Customer Operations for Charter. Charter has always explored alternative ways of connecting with customers while continuing to improve the more traditional means.

“Our customers enjoy access to some of the latest technology that can be found in video, high-speed Internet, and telephone services,” adds Stackhouse, “and we want to make doing business with Charter easy and provide an experience where customers enjoy each interaction with us.”

Social Media won’t replace other forms of interaction, but rather extends the reach and effectiveness of Charter’s customer care efforts. Millions of calls are taken each month in Charter’s care centers, representatives are available to assist in person at more than 300 sales and service centers nationwide, and agents are on hand to provide help via online chat.

A tweet may contain only 140 characters, but a great deal can be communicated not only to, but from customers, according to Mr. Stackhouse. The Charter executive regularly sees messages from customers seeking help and return tweets from those who received great service, like: “You guys seem to actually CARE,” “That’s a great attitude,” and “Thanks for the extra support.” And sometimes, a tweet gives a shout out about Charter to other customers: “The Charter team rocks!”

Charter has hired additional Care agents and has provided all of its agents with extensive training over the past two years. Charter is committed to evaluating all options for improving service for customers and the company was recently recognized for its creative thinking with a Best Customer Innovation by a Cable Operator award for its “Day of Service” program, where a dedicated Charter team assists customers with any questions on the day of a service appointment. The award was presented by CableFax Magazine, a decades-old industry publication.

Charter continues to take a proactive approach to customer care and growing its presence in alternative areas where new and potential Charter customers are networking. Charter’s Social Media Customer Care team can be followed on Twitter and contacted at DSLreports.com under Umatter2Chtr.

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications, Inc. is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter Digital Cable® video entertainment programming, Charter High-Speed® Internet access, and Charter Telephone®. Charter Business™ similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, video and music entertainment services, and business telephone. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. On March 27, 2009, Charter filed a pre-arranged plan and Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Charter believes its operations are strong and expects to continue operating as usual during the financial restructuring. More information about Charter can be found at www.charter.com.

Source: Charter Communications, Inc.

Charter Communications, Inc.
Anita Lamont, 314-543-2215
anita.lamont@chartercom.com