Frontier Communications plans to improve service in Texas

Frontier Communications acknowledged Friday that the cut-over for phone, Internet and TV service customers in Texas has not gone smoothly.

The company, which took over Verizon’s landline business April 1, outlined an action plan to assist customers who have had problems since the cut-over.

Some customers have had billing problems, while others have had Internet outages or were unable to access premium channels, like HBO. Customers have also said they have been unable to get customer service representatives on the phone or technicians to make repairs.

“We know how critical our services are to the lives of our customers, and our customers rank highest on our priority list,” said Rhonda Lutzke, Frontier’s South Region president in a statement released Friday evening. “In order to better serve our valued customers and to resolve any issues they might be experiencing, we’ve developed a multifaceted action plan that includes current and future measures that we’re taking to assist customers.”

Lutzke said the company recently completed training 450 former Verizon technicians, which allows Frontier to perform more installations and repairs, almost 1,000 a day. Technicians from Fort Wayne, Ind., and additional contractors are also helping operations.

Texas customers are being routed to Frontier’s U.S.-based call center, and call answer times now range from 30 seconds to two minutes.

Frontier will also issue credits to customers who have reported a service outage with credits reflected on a customer’s bill no later than the end of June.

“We are sincerely sorry for any service issues our Texas customers may have experienced due to this transition,” Lutzke said. “As we work toward the future, we want to make sure our customers know that every one of them matters to us and that we will continue to strive to earn their confidence and trust.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Frontier Communications plans to improve service in Texas."