DATE: Saturday, June 28, 1997               TAG: 9706280305

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   69 lines

FALCON CONFIDENT OF BETTER CABLE SERVICE

When Tom Osterndorf took his post as regional manager of Falcon Video Communications, he knew improvements were needed.

Persistent complaints about cost, poor reception, service outages and frayed customer relations had led city officials to give Falcon 30 days to clean up its act.

Now, with that milestone passed and the city and a private consultant still assessing results of Falcon's efforts, Osterndorf is settling into his job. And he's full of confidence.

``It's encouraging that the things I have found here are things we definitely can improve on,'' he said. ``I came here knowing that the system had some improvements to make.''

Falcon has moved to provide better cable service, he said. Besides filling his position - there was no manager in Suffolk for seven months - the company has invested in new lines and new equipment, he said.

A new office manager has been hired. Two additional customer service representatives have been added, and the installation staff has increased.

``I knew my goal was to improve the system's reliability first,'' Osterndorf said. ``I see the customer service problem as second and the franchise relationship as third.''

Falcon came to Suffolk in 1984, with a 25-year franchise. Since then, the relationship between the cable company and city residents has often been rocky.

Two years ago, the sexually explicit Spice channel appeared where cartoons and family viewing were expected.

Cynthia D. Rohlf, assistant to the city manager, said the number of complaints from cable subscribers seems to have declined, but the city is still receiving complaints on a special phone line set up for that purpose.

The position that Osterndorf filled in early May was vacant after former manager Jack Edwards retired last September. Osterndorf's hiring was the result of a six-month, nationwide search for a manager to oversee cable operations in Suffolk and Nags Head, N.C.

Falcon also has the cable franchise on the Eastern Shore, but that comes under a different manager.

Osterndorf, a Midwesterner, has his degree in meteorology but got into cable TV when he happened to work in the same city as Star Cablevision's corporate headquarters. He stayed with Star for three years.

From there, he went with MidWest CableVision and stayed for five years. Falcon found Osterndorf on the Internet, where his resume was posted after he left a downsized Illinois company.

Osterndorf, 32, is married and has 8-month-old triplets. He makes his home in Nags Head, where Falcon serves about 22,000 customers on the Outer Banks.

With about 7,100 customers - and the problems the city's cable service has experienced - he said he plans initially to spend most of his time in Suffolk. Later, his time will be split.

Meanwhile, the city is waiting for a complete report from the consultant. Many of the improvements Falcon made were technical, Rohlf said. Once the report is in, the city will respond to the cable company, and officials from both will meet again.

``We certainly want to work with them,'' Rohlf said. ``But we're not going to let them off the hook. We want the best service we can get. We want to make sure that we're not in the same situation in another six months, that service continues to be at a high level.''

Osterndorf said, ``We have a plan in place now for maintaining the improvements we've already accomplished." ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

JOHN H. SHEALLY/The Virginian-Pilot

Tom Osterndorf is Falcon Cable TV's new regional manager serving

Suffolk and Nags Head. His goal is to improve service to cable

customers.

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