Charter rolls out national cable reward program

Down in the dumps with customers, the nation's fourth-largest cable operator, Charter Communications Inc., is trying freebies to boost its image and differentiate its services.

Charter, whose customer service ranked at the bottom of the industry in a recent independent survey, on Monday announced a rewards program for customers nationwide.

Called "Live It with Charter," the program offers subscribers points based on how much money they pay Charter for video, Internet and phone service.

Subscribers can redeem their points for prizes ranging from high-definition televisions to tickets for Food Network shows to credit for Charter services.

The St. Louis-based cable company said customers liked the program when it was tested in the East Coast last year and a version rolled out in Reno, Nev., in 2006. Retention of customers improved and they were willing to spend more per month.

Charter can use some customer goodwill. It tied with Comcast Corp. for last place in a May report from the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Last month, criticism from privacy advocates and two members of Congress led Charter to drop plans with partner NebuAd to send subscribers ads based on their Web usage. And in January, the company mistakenly deleted the contents of 14,000 customer e-mail accounts.

But Charter said the rewards program is more about differentiating itself in a competitive marketplace.

"There are customers out there who see us as interchangeable with other companies that provide Internet or phone or video," said Paul Belle Isle, director for loyalty and retention marketing. "This is one of the things that make them see us as unique."

He also said Charter is working on improving customer service. In the spring, the company adopted a policy of calling or e-mailing new customers within 24 hours after installation to make sure there are no glitches. It also routes customer calls more quickly and gives priority to the newest subscribers, Belle Isle said.

But Brock Meeks, a spokesman for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that criticized Charter's Web tracking plans, said Charter has to do more.

"Gimmicks won't work," Meeks said.

He would like to see better transparency between the cable company and its subscribers, especially when it comes to how customer information is handled.

Shares of Charter fell by 4 cents to 99 cents on Monday.