Breaking News - 6 Months Late!

Did you know that our cable TV/phone/internet operator was sold to a foreign company six months ago?  Yes it is true.  Suddenlink was purchased by Altice NV.  Did you see that on the local news?

You may have or soon will see the effects of the sale on customer service.  The new owner is focused on reducing costs at every level.  What does that mean?  It means fewer staff to answer the phone, correct problems, etc.  According to the WSJ, the management has created an investment committee that reviews and questions every expense, no matter how small.

"At Suddenlink, Altice created an authoritarian investment committee that scrutinizes every expense in hourslong meetings each week, as it does with all of its takeovers and will do with Cablevision. The goal is to use Altice’s global clout to negotiate better deals with suppliers.

“It creates consternation for about two months,” Mr. Goei said. “Then people realize, ‘Boy, I really don’t want to go to the investment committee. We just got 500 printers a year ago; we can probably extend their life one more year.’”

At Suddenlink, Altice didn’t announce job cuts when the deal closed. Instead, workers have exited in threes and fours each week as Altice has created new teams, contributing to what one former Suddenlink employee called a “culture of fear.” An Altice spokesman said the departures represented normal churn."

Welcome to the new globalism!