In 2017, the office of the New York state attorney general filed a complaint with the State Supreme Court, accusing Charter Inc. of failing to deliver the internet speed or reliability it had promised with its various plans and bundles.

Charter Inc. agreed to pay its customers $62.5 million in refunds and provide free streaming services and subscription channels.

But, media services companies should do more to make it up to customers after not delivering promised services. These media companies should change practices if they want a good reputation with customers.

“The problem it seems to me is that they have systemic unethical practices. Time Warner had contracted to provide fast and reliable internet service and it simply wasn’t doing that and the thing about it, I think is most disturbing to me, apart from not providing the service that they were legally obligated to provide, is that they knowingly kept this information from customers, in affect deceiving customers,” said Dana Radcliffe, an adjunct professor teaching ethics at Syracuse University.

Companies should charge only for what they can actually provide to customers. They should adopt and adhere to a professional code of ethics.

Customers should be aware and careful of these possible issues. They should study the details of the plan they are opting for and ask salespeople the meanings of the technical terms in contracts. After purchasing a plan, consumers should check their internet speeds — this can be done easily by using Measurement Lab.

“Reputation is a very fragile thing. It take years and years to build reputation and trustworthiness, and you can lose that reputation very, very quickly,” Radcliffe said.

Paul Sujith Rayi is a second-year masters student majoring in Information Management. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at parayi@syr.edu.

Published on January 29, 2019 at 8:12 pm