After receiving a cacophony of complaints from angry customers over its reaction to Tropical Storm Isaias, Optimum has delivered an update for residents who are still without service in the wake of the storm.
Isaiahs shook East Coast trees and limbs on power lines and power poles, leaving hundreds of thousands in disarray when they lost electricity and cellular services.
In the days after the storm, there have been a flurry of complaints coming from power providers and Internet / WiFi customers who are envious of returning to normal while still fighting the COVID-19 -crisis.
Many have noted that they are unable to contact technical support at Optimum, while others felt that Optimum had no answer as to when they would repay their services.
“As you probably know, this storm caused widespread damage,” said John Dullaghan, Altice’s government liaison. “The vast majority of service issues for our customers have to do with commercial impact.
“To the extent that there are impacts on our plant due to the storm, we need to make sure the situations are safe (no live electrical wires) before proceeding,” Dullaghan continued. “We work as quickly as possible to recover services if the power is not related to loss of commercial power.
“There can certainly be scenarios where energy drops (on and then off), which is typically the result of our services falling up and down.”
On social media, Optimum posted: “Severe weather events such as Tropical Storm Isaias have a huge impact on the restoration process and our teams are working hard to get your services refunded.”
In response to the call, Optimum provided new information on the process of counter-repair that takes place during severe weather events.
Optimum notes that electrical power is needed for cable and Internet services, including power to appliances in homes and business locations such as TVs, set-top boxes and modems. It also includes power to our network facilities and equipment in the area.
If electricity has been restored to your home or business location and someone is not yet able to access optimal services, it could be because the power entering their network comes from a commercial power source other than the power that ‘ t enter the home or business location.
“Technicians may not be able to start work until the energy company completes its repairs, so customers may experience some lag time between when power is restored and their Optimum services restored,” officials noted.
“Dead trees, streamlines and other weather-related problems cause damage that makes access unsafe for our employees and customers, so we need to take precautionary measures to ensure service is restored in a safe manner.”
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