THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410260118
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
In response to the letter to the editor concerning ``your cable television bill'' (The Clipper, Oct. 14), I would like to take the opportunity to correct some rumor or myth that surrounds this subject.
This consumer was angry, as are many service company customers; however, she is slightly misinformed as to cable company operations. The latest rate increase is what sparked this anger, but I would like to remind customers that the company had not increased rates (even for cost-of-living increases that all businesses incur) since April 1993. Due to the passage of the 1992 Cable Act, cable rates were ``frozen'' until the FCC and other government agencies reviewed the purpose of the act and decided how they wanted to administer it. The expanded basic level of service increased by only 84 cents. This alone was the increase in costs that we experienced from some of the customers' favorite channels, like ESPN or CNN.
In regard to the question of ``giving to the local community,'' TCI of Virginia has tried to do more than simply pull its weight. The City of Chesapeake has given TCI of Virginia a great place to operate our business, and for that we try to contribute in ways such as community donations and philanthropic contributions. The recent $8,000 donation to the Great Bridge baseball complex is our effort to bring more baseball fields to the city for all the children of the community. Other contributions consist of:
Operation Blessing's ``Back to School'' project, in which TCI was the only corporate sponsor in the city of Chesapeake. This program provided school supplies and clothing to underprivileged children of our community.
The March of Dimes' Walk America
The United Way
Chesapeake Jubilee
The Chesapeake Rotary Club's ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake''
The Easter food drive organized by the Social Services Bureau of Chesapeake
The Muscular Dystrophy Association ($10,000 in 1993!)
The Chesapeake Christmas Committee
The TCI Cable Advertising Sales Business contributes more than $20,000 annually toward public service announcements.
Perhaps the most effective is the TCI education project. This is an ongoing project which provides all teachers in Chesapeake with more than 500 hours of free quality educational programming and instruction to use with the more traditional means of teaching (chalkboard and books) in order to give our youth the education they need.
These are just a few of the many programs that we contribute to annually in order to make Chesapeake a better place to live.
It's tough being the only provider of a popular commodity, but for 25 years, we are confident that we have brought customers a good product and service at a reasonable price. At one time or another, a customer of a business has had a poor experience in service or perhaps product quality, but the key to success is to limit those, and make up for them elsewhere!
Thanks for being our customer!
Fred Lutz
Public relations director
TCI Virginia
Newport News by CNB