Suddenlink FYI

Suddenlink today announced that Gibbs Jones will be joining the company as Senior Vice President, Customer Experience. He will report directly to Chief Operating Officer Tom McMillin.

Jones has spent the last 17 years in customer-centric operations and initiatives, most recently as the head of a management consultancy practice, Global Service Connections. There, he advised and worked directly with media and communications clients, including Suddenlink, to improve the experience and loyalty of customers. Jones will now apply his leadership and expertise exclusively to Suddenlink’s operations, working with the company’s six region vice presidents and the leaders of its major customer-contact centers in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Texas.

“In today’s increasingly competitive environment, our relationship with our customers is more important than ever,” said COO McMillin. “Internal and external surveys suggest we’re making progress, but we still have room for improvement, and we’re excited Gibbs has agreed to help accelerate our progress in this critical area.”

Prior to Global Service Connections, Jones held various customer-care and related management positions at Tupperware North America, Comcast, Capital One, and Circuit City.

The editors of Multichannel News, a leading cable-industry trade publication, have named Suddenlink General Counsel Craig Rosenthal to the magazine’s 2008 “40 Under 40″ list, recognizing “movers and shakers under the age of 40 who are helping their companies grow and succeed, as well as playing an important part in mapping the future of cable and telecommunications.”

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A number of Suddenlink employees can relate to Bruce Lee’s advice — and they certainly don’t need a bodyguard. This group of employees has worked in their respective cable systems for 30-plus years, through multiple owners, fighting the good fight to maintain and upgrade technologies and provide customers with exceptional service.

While space and time prevent us from listing them here, this group includes Wayne Ollis, who started working in cable in Russellville, Ark., in June 1967. With 41 years under his belt, Wayne has earned the distinction of being the Suddenlink employee with the longest track-record of cable service in a single area.

Our hat is off to him and all of his colleagues who are living proof of the merits of endurance.

From North Carolina to California, Suddenlink technical teams took home the silver and gold last week at the 25th annual confab of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE).

Out of the nearly 300 cable systems from 13 companies that received Gold Safety Awards, Suddenlink snagged 73. And out of the more than 50 systems from six companies securing Silver Safety Awards, Suddenlink again demonstrated its leadership, taking home 12.

Winners are listed here, alphabetically, first by company name, then by system name. Congrats to all.

In June, Suddenlink hired John Menendez to fill the newly created position of Vice President, Customer Relationship Management, and Leo Kutz as Vice President, Network Engineering.

Menendez has a 20-year career as a marketing and finance executive. Most recently, he was Vice President, Customer Insights/Customer Relationship Management, with Sprint Nextel in Overland Park, Kan. Before joining Sprint, he was Senior International Accountant for Emerson Electric, headquartered in St. Louis.

At Suddenlink, Menendez will focus on customer loyalty efforts and help develop new tools to drive sales. He has an MBA from St. Louis University and holds a CPA in the state of Missouri. He is a native of Granite City, Ill.

Kutz has more than 25 years of telecommunications engineering and managerial experience with extensive work in fiber optics, wireless communications, wide area networks and NOC (network operations center) operations. Most recently he was vice president of engineering for start-up China WiMax, based in St. Louis. Earlier he was director of engineering at Xspedius Communications in St. Louis.

Kutz will be based in St. Louis and will oversee Suddenlink’s Network Operations Center, based in Tyler, Texas, which monitors Suddenlink’s platforms, backbone and other network elements. Kutz has a Master’s degree in Telecommunications Management from Webster University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Technology from Southwest Missouri State University. He is a native of St. Louis.

Though they were more than 2,600 miles from home, two Suddenlink customers from North Carolina discovered that good customer service knows no boundaries.

Traveling in Idaho, the husband and wife stopped at a coffee shop for refreshments and to check their email, when they encountered problems accessing their account. The wife happened to pick up an area tourist guide at the coffee shop and saw Suddenlink advertised as the local cable company.

She and her husband made their way to the Suddenlink office in Osburn, Idaho, where a customer-service rep helped them regain access to their email. The couple was elated and appreciative of the extra effort.