Month: December 2011

  • Media Darling?

    Update: Here’s the link to the Wall Street Journal article I was interviewed for as referenced below. They  got a few facts wrong, but there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?

    Every three to six months, when his most recent promotional deal expires, Carey Anthony blocks out an hour of his day to negotiate with his cable company. Each time, the president of a software company in Los Angeles says he can knock $20 to $30 off his monthly bill.

    “Negotiating works every time,” says Mr. Anthony,46, who estimates he has saved more than $350 a year over the past decade.”Sometimes you have to threaten to cancel service, or switch to another provider, or sit on hold for an hour, but I’ve never failed to get a discount,” he says. “You just have to be diligent.”

    As prices for cable services have surged over the past 10years and the faltering economy has pressured household incomes, a growing number of cable customers face skyrocketing bills. Read more…

    Also here are some photos from Christmas. I’m leaving today for San Francisco to spend New Year’s Eve with the GLY gang and look forward to more sunsets on the shore like this. Happy New Year everyone!


    Best of the rest!


    Video from Christmas Morning


    December 19, 2011
    Got the following email this morning. I called the reporter at lunch and did the interview. The piece should be in the Wall Street Journal late this week or early next. She said I was an amazing consumer advocate with a LOT to say. LOL, that’s an understatement. This is what I love about the age we live in. Power of the people truly exists. Tweets and blog posts can change policies. Keep up the good fight folks!!

    Gmail Carey Anthony

    Wall Street Journal Interview Request

    Schuker, Lauren  Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 9:34 AM
    To:Carey Anthony

    Hi Carey,

    I’m a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. I was writing because I’d love to interview you for a story about cable service– I saw your post on Yelp and thought you’d be a great person for the piece.

    I’m at (212) 416-xxxx or on my cell (below) if you see this – please call me as soon as you can.

    Thank you so much, and I look forward to talking further with you.

    Lauren

    Lauren A. E. Schuker

    The Wall Street Journal

    office. (212) xxx-xxxx

    cell. (617) xxx-xxxx


    Here’s the full post she was referring to. Long, but worth the read:

      -  Sep 12, 2011  Public
    My Online Chat With Time Warner Customer Service Today:
    User Carey has entered room
    Analyst Serena has entered room

    Serena> Hello! Thank you for choosing Road Runner Internet Technical Chat Support. My name is Serena, How may I assist you?
    Carey> Fix my internet & phone service
    Serena> Hi Carey! May I know what is the issue with the service?
    Carey> We don’t have much time…it will probably go down again in the next 5 minutes
    Carey> It’s been going up and down for a week. Internet and phone
    Serena> I see, okay.
    Carey> If it goes down again you’ll have to call me on my cell which I entered in the chat intro.
    Serena> I apologize for the inconvenience.
    Serena> Let me run line test on your device.
    Carey> I have had no phone or internet already today at least 12 times…this is unacceptable
    Serena> I see, I understand your frustration.
    Serena> For all services down issue, we need to escalate the problem to our Cable Services Specialist.
    Serena> To fix the problem right away.
    Serena> Let me create a case id number for you here, okay?
    Carey> ok
    Serena> Please give me a minute.
    Serena> I just want to check, have you reset your modem recently?
    Carey> many many times
    Serena> I see, okay. 
    Carey> this has been going up and down for a week. Sometimes it stays down 20 minutes sometimes it’s back in 5
    Carey> crap, there it goes again
    Carey> call me on my cell…my phone just cut off
    Carey> internet will be next
    Carey> it’s back….are you still there?
    Serena> Do not worry everything we’ve discussed is documented.
    Carey> did you see that it just went down?
    Carey> crap, it’s doing it again
    Carey> Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    rrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
    Carey> I can’t live like this
    User Carey has entered room
    Serena> Yes, I am still here, I am waiting for you to enter the session again.
    Carey> I’m back
    Carey> but it will likely go down again soon. What do I do?
    Serena> Great!
    Carey> I can’t live like this
    Carey> I rely on my phone and internet
    Serena> I am now completing all the line test and I will create a case number for you.
    Carey> what’s the problem??
    Carey> now it’s down again
    Serena> I understand Carey, this will be fixed as soon as we can,
    Serena> Yes, I can see it.
    Carey> now it’s up
    Carey> so what is the problem?
    Serena> We are currently checking what is causing of the disconnection.
    Serena> Please make sure all cables hooked up to your modem is securely connected.
    Carey> they are
    Serena> Okay.
    Serena> Thank you!
    Serena> I am now creating the case number for you.
    Serena> Here is your case number is: 7221706. 
    Carey> what do I do with that?
    Carey> I see a Time Warner truck outside. Should I give him that case #?
    Serena> That is for your reference.
    Serena> I just want to check, is your cable service goes down as well, correct?
    Carey> not my tv…just my phone and internet
    Serena> I see.
    Serena> Thank you mentioning the Time Warner Cable Truck, let me check our maintenance dashboard if there are on going outages,
    Serena> I see.
    Carey> This has been going on for a week though. I called last week and was put on hold for 40 minutes then cut off
    Serena> There is an outage in the area.
    Serena> I understand.
    Serena>The description of the outage is Multiple node outages affecting phone and Internet services.
    Carey> When will it be fixed? I’m this close to calling Verizon. I can’t live like this.
    Serena> Our Top Technical Engineers are currently fixing the problem.
    Carey> What are there names and emails? I’d like to write them.
    Carey> now it’s down again
    Carey> I’m back
    Serena> Good.
    Serena> I apologize Carey, I am not authorized to disclose the information you’re requesting.
    Carey> I assume this whole week will be taken off my bill.
    Serena> I understand you.
    Serena> For that you may contact our customer care to raise your concern.
    Carey> I CAN’T EVEN CALL OUT ON MY PHONE HALF THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Carey> and I was on hold for 40 minutes last week before getting cut off!
    Carey> I am NOT calling customer care to raise my concern.
    Carey> I’ve just spent the last 40 minutes raising my concern with you
    Carey> and in that time, my service has gone down 6 times
    Serena> I understand your frustration, we need to wait until our field technicians fix the problem outside.
    Carey> If you can’t have somebody fix my bill, then just cancel the whole service3
    Carey> I’ve wasted enough time.
    Carey> 10 years as a customer and this is how I get treated??
    Carey> I am going on Twitter now to tell everyone to cancel Time Warner if this is the way I’m going to be treated after 10 years of loyalty
    Serena> To fix your bill, I’m glad to get you a billing specialist right now, for your service, we really need to wait until the technicians done with the maintenance.
    Carey> It’s been doing this for a week….just fix the bill! I shouldn’t have to waste any more time with your company
    Carey> Who’s the chairman of Time Warner?
    Serena> I’m afraid I am not authorized to disclose that information Carey.
    Carey> You’re not authorized to tell me who your boss is???????????????
    Carey> http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2011/03/TIME_WARNER_CHAIRMAN_38_CEO_JEFF_BEWKES_TO_PARTICIPATE_03-03-2011.php
    Serena> Yes I am not in the position. I apologize.
    Carey> there, I saved you the trouble…I’m getting his email address too
    Carey> that’s absurd
    Carey> when will this be fixed?
    Serena> I understand Ma’am.
    Carey> It’s SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Carey> 10 years as a customer and you don’t even know my gender?
    Serena> I am sorry.
    Carey> This whole transcript will be posted on my blog and on facebook, to show how absurd this is. Watch for it.
    Carey> What’s the number for Verizon?
    Serena> We do not have the number for Verizon Carey.
    Serena> Let me hand you over to Billing people to take care of your possible credits caused by this trouble on your end,
    Carey> it would save your ex customers time if you just transferred us to them…it’s the least you can do
    Carey> Fine, but when will this be fixed and how will I know? I’d like Jeff Bewkes to call me when it’s resolved.
    Serena> I understand, I will do it for you now.
    Serena> Please hold on to your case id number.
    Serena> I apologize again for all the inconvenience Carey.
    Serena> That is noted Carey.
    Carey> apologies mean nothing…you don’t even know my gender. I’m a human being you know. You work for giant conglomerate who is bent on making my life miserable apparently. If you’re really sorry, you should get another job.
    Serena> For now, since our engineers still fixing it, they haven’t posted estimated time of restoral but I assure you it will be fixed as soon as possible,
    Carey> What website do I enter the case # into to see if it’s fixed?
    Serena> The case number will serve as your reference for this conversation, everything is documented.
    Carey> What website do I enter the case # into to see if it’s fixed?
    Serena> The case number cannot be viewed on our web site, it will serve as your reference for this conversation where everything is documented.
    Carey> What good does that do me?
    Serena> It will server as your reference number for this issue and when I transfer you to billing.
    Serena> Please stay while I transfer you to our billing analyst.
    Carey>Please stay? What am I, a dog?
    Carey> This is gonna look good on facebook!
    Serena> I’m sorry. What I mean please wait and stay in this chat session while I get you a billing specialist.
    Carey> It’s a new world you know? You can’t treat customers like garbage any more and not be held accountable. You will lose customers if you can’t fix these problems. Don’t you realize that???
    Carey> Oh and tell the “billing specialist” to read the entire chat. I’m not repeating myself.
    Serena> I will.
    Serena> I will now transfer you.
    Serena> Thank you for contacting Road Runner Technical Chat Support, again my name is Serena, we value you as a customer. Have a nice day!
    Carey> You sure don’t show it!
    Serena> Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst

    Analyst Serena has left room
    Analyst Gustavo has entered room

    Gustavo> Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable. At the end of our chat you will be given the option of taking a brief survey. My name is Gustavo. Please give me a moment while I access your account.
    Carey> You can either refund the charges for my horrible service the past week, or cancel it completely and I’ll go to Verizon. Your choice.
    Gustavo> Good Afternoon. How are you today?
    Carey> Horrible
    Carey> I feel as if I’ve been raped by corporate America.
    Gustavo> I am sorry to hear that. 
    Gustavo> I understand that your services are down. 
    Gustavo> Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
    Gustavo> I will be more than happy to assist you. 
    Carey> Everyone there is sorry, but no one is doing anything.
    Gustavo> Unfortunately, I cannot apply credits unless the problem is fixed. And as the last analyst mentioned, the outage is ongoing. 
    Carey> It’s been ongoing for a week. When will the credit be applied. I’m not calling in again or sitting on a chat for an hour. This is YOUR problem, not mine.
    Gustavo> As a courtesy, I am applying a $10 credit. You can contact us back once the problem is fixed to receive the rest of the credit. 
    Carey> And when will that be?
    Gustavo> Our technicians are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. At this time, there is no known estimated time of repair. 
    Carey> As soon as possible? It’s been like this for a week! I need a better answer than that. I have to decide today whether to cancel this service I’ve had for 10 years. You obviously don’t care about my business or my loyalty.
    Gustavo> I am sorry but I am just giving you the information we have. 
    Carey> If you were really sorry, you’d try to find out what the problem was and when it will be fixed.
    Gustavo> As mentioned before, our technicians are already working, there is nothing else to do from our end. We need you to understand that this is something that cannot be handled online. 
    Carey> Then you should have told me that an hour ago before I started this chat!
    Gustavo> I gave you all the information I have in the system and applied the credit I could. 
    Carey> I CALLED last week and was on hold for 40 minutes before being cut off. If I can’t call or chat online, how is it supposed to be handled???
    Gustavo> We started the chat 15 minutes ago Sir. 
    Carey> I started the chat with Serena an hour ago!
    Carey> Don’t play semantics with me, because you will lose.
    Gustavo> That is a different department sir.
    Carey> So?
    Gustavo> It is being handle by the technicians who are already aware of the situation. 
    Carey> I’m still the customer. I’m still a human being. You cut me, I bleed. Have you no regard for your customers?
    Carey> So how will I know it’s been fixed? Will they call me? Send me flowers? Sky write? How?
    Gustavo> The services will start working fine. 
    Gustavo> And no, we will not contact you. 
    Carey> So basically you’re telling me I’m out of luck. Just wait, like I have been waiting for a week…for something I pay you $160/month for that should work and doesn’t!
    Carey> This is going to look great when it’s posted on facebook, twitter, tumblr and my blog. I’ll make sure to tag it with #timewarner #customerservicenightmare!
    Gustavo> Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
    Gustavo> It would be a pleasure if there is something else I can assist you with.
    Carey> OK, I’m going to call Verizon now to see if they care any more about me.
    Gustavo> Again, my name is Gustavo. Thank you for chatting with Time Warner Cable. We value you as a customer and are here to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you would like to take a brief survey, please click on “End Session” and the survey will load.
    Carey> LOL, that’s going to be a doozy of a survey.


    Here are the rest of the highlights of the past couple of weeks:


    Birthday dinner with Dreamer David Cho.


    A visit with Arielle and Baby Hazel.


    Roscoe at Runyon Canyon. More here.


    Office Christmas Party.


    Movie night with Claudio & Ryan and Chazz & Rio. More here.


    Orange County thunderheads, followed by a rare California snow storm!


    Late fall in Southern California. More here.


    Thursday family dinner.


    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. More here.


    My brother, sister in law and niece visit The Hotel Careyfornia.


    Merry Christmas from Chazz & Rio.

  • 5 Year Xangaversary

    Happy Holidays from The Hotel Careyfornia! 5 years ago today I started this humble little experiment in sharing my life with the world. In that time, I’ve written 707 entries and have devoted this space mainly to my photos and random musings. The Xanga community has been good to me. And though I micro-blog more often on facebook, Tumblr and Google + these days; this site will always have a special place in my heart. Though I’ve pretty much been absent from Xanga the past six months, I have not been idle. I’ve lost 45 pounds, hosted many foreign dignitaries (including President Obama!), and traveled a bit. Here’s a look at the highlights of the past six months; filled with lots of dogs, kids and sunsets. The captions will open links to whole albums of more pictures if you’re interested. I’m not sure when I’ll be back here blogging more often, but I’ll never be gone for good!


    Thanksgiving with the family. The kids are getting so big!


    Mini GLY Reunion in Santa Barbara


    Sweet Home Chicago


    Autumn in Chicago


    We hired Daniel to entertain when we rented out the Museum of Science & Industry!


    Fall on the North Shore


    Autumn Stormclouds


    Pumpkin Carving


    Trick or treat in West Hollywood


    Best Halloween Costumes


    Washington DC sunset


    President Obama’s visit to The Hotel Careyfornia


    More California sunsets


    Walking in L.A.


    Cider House Rules


    Here’s a video of one of the more spectacular sunsets from the roof of The Hotel Careyfornia


    And here’s a video I just made (12/13/11) of every sunset photo I took in 2011, set to music. Enjoy!