Charter closing payment center
Molly Shore
Charter Communications subscribers who wish to pay their cable bills
in person or return their cable boxes will have to break from their
routine beginning this weekend.
On Friday, the cable company is closing its Burbank payment center
at 601 S. Glenoaks Blvd, officials said.
Craig Watson, Charter’s vice president of communications and
public affairs, said closing the office is part of an overall
strategy to make the company’s operations more efficient.
“Because we have a long-standing center in Glendale, we felt it
would be another place where Burbank residents could go to pay their
bills and pick up or return equipment,” Watson said.
Serving two adjacent communities allows Charter to conduct its
business efficiently, he said.
“We can provide excellent service on the phone and in person,” he
said.
Beginning Saturday, subscribers can pay their bills in person
inside Charter’s Glendale office at 6246 San Fernando Road, or put
their payments in the drop box of the lobby at Burbank Water and
Power at 164 W. Magnolia Blvd., said Sheila Stevens, Charter’s
director of fiscal operations.
Although Charter is closing its Burbank payment center, its
administrative and marketing offices at 601 S. Glenoaks Blvd. will
remain open, Stevens said.
Notification of the closure was included in bills sent earlier
this month to all city customers, and a notice was posted in the
payment center’s lobby.
Interim City Manager Dave Newsham said he just recently learned
Charter was closing its Burbank payment center.
“It was just a business decision,” Newsham said. “They didn’t have
to come to us for approval.”
Newsham, who will renegotiate Charter’s contract, which expires
in 2005, said the city will work with Glendale in the renegotiation
process.
Both municipalities will carry out an extensive customer survey,
he said.
“We will see what citizens think about the current level of
service and what they would like to see in the future,” Newsham said.
If customers indicate they want the payment center reopened in
Burbank, that will be part of the negotiation package, he said.