TWC App Troubleshoots, Too

Customers want TV Everywhere, but do they want the ability to manage and troubleshoot their accounts from everywhere as well? Since Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) launched its My TWC app in late 2011, 1.2 million people have downloaded it in order to gain access to features like bill pay and the ability to manage service appointments via their mobile device."Looking at industry trends, 87% of people watching TV are engaging with a second screen while they are watching. People have their devices with them more than their home phone," said Rob Cerbone, TWC's VP of wireless product management.Thus far, 400,000 people are actively using the application on a monthly basis. A third of these people have been doing so to pay their bills. "People are paying their bill on the couch from a smartphone," Cerbone said, noting that the second most used functionality is visual voice mail.In July, TWC released the latest version of the app, which now will allow customers to self-diagnose service issues. "Our goal is to make it simple and easy for the customer to manage and engage with services," Cerbone said.Specifically, once they download the enhanced My TWC, subscribers can troubleshoot by selecting a symptom they are experiencing related to their phone, Internet or video service. The app, which is based on toolsets already available online and to customer care reps, can send a signal to reboot or reauthorize the box, for example."It's not going to solve 100% of problems, like if a wire to the house has been cut. But I think it solves a significant portion of problems for the customer," Cerbone said.The company says it is too early to tell whether the troubleshooting app will have an impact on truck rolls. While TWC will monitor this statistic moving forward, the primary driver for the app enhancement is to make it easier for customers to manage their services.Additionally, the app will notify customers when there are service outages or updates available, and provides real-time account activity as well as payment history.TWC is clear about the fact that the customer still has the option of calling into the care center at any point in the process. "We are trying to give customers options to manage their accounts," Cerbone said. "(But) the volume of customer care calls are mostly from mobile phones. (And) that doesn't mean the customer is outside the home. We (have) seen the majority of usage of the app is within the TWC IP space inside the home."Monta Monaco Hernon is a free-lance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].