Charter 2000 Annual Report Download - page 2

The challenge in Michigan: integrating five newly acquired systems – each with different manage-
ment philosophies, little customer growth, and few advanced service deployments – into Charter.
So Bill Shreffler, senior vice president of operations, “drafted” Charter employees to play
together on a single team, dubbed the Michigan Blizzard. Employees were energized with goals and
incentives, empowered to improve customer service, and challenged to aggressively roll out
advanced products. A statewide “halftime” rally in August – featuring legendary Michigan
coach Bo Schembechler – celebrated goal-topping performance and pumped up the team for
the second half. The results: a consolidated customer contact center with 24 x 7 service, improved
system operations, and digital customer growth that exceeded the target by more than 20 percent.
Charter team members (from left) Mickey Wieciech, John Badenski, Joe Esbrook, Amy Simon,
and Aaron Burbey rally at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome in Marquette.
On the cover > >
Blizzard of activity
achieves quick
turnaround!
In the year 2000, Charter Communications, Inc. integrated millions
of customers and thousands of employees into one company.
We exceeded our ambitious financial goals and
ranked among the leaders in all key industry measurements.
We crossed the million customer mark for digital video service,
hundreds of thousands of our customers have high-speed Internet service,
and tens of thousands experience interactive programming.
Video on demand made its debut in thousands of Charter homes.
We continue to lead the industry in advanced
technology development and deployment!