Some Spectrum customers shocked by lack of cable

Spectrum customers fill the store's parking lot in Nederland Tuesday in an attempt to obtain the new box needed to receive cable. Photo taken Tuesday, March 27, 2018 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Spectrum customers fill the store's parking lot in Nederland Tuesday in an attempt to obtain the new box needed to receive cable. Photo taken Tuesday, March 27, 2018 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Some Spectrum customers shocked by lack of cable 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Angelia Joseph dozed off watching The Weather Channel late Monday night. When she woke up Tuesday morning, her TV screen was black.

Joseph and almost 100 other Spectrum customers with similar complaints were lined up outside the Mid-County Spectrum office around lunchtime Tuesday.

The parking lot was so full, people left their cars up and down ditches along the U.S. 69 feeder road in Nederland. Frustrated customers stood in packs and waited for their numbers to be called.

As the line swelled, a Spectrum employee handed out cold water, and two off-duty police officers dropped by to make sure cool heads prevailed.

Groves resident David Gomez pulled No. 720.

He was in line with his mother, Henrietta Hartman, of Nederland. The pair wanted to get three new cable boxes after Spectrum's recent transition from analog to digital services left Hartman without TV.

"No box, no TV," said Gomez, 62, with a shrug. He said he

believes Spectrum "is just looking for money."

The move to a digital-only signal means customers can no longer just plug their cable lines directly into their TVs. They now need digital receiver boxes, which range in price from $6.99 to $11 a month, depending on DVR capabilities, according to Spectrum manager Anthony Gamez.

New digital customers will get the use of two boxes free for the first year, according to a letter mailed to customers.

Gamez said the digital upgrade was completed in the Mid- and South Jefferson County area on Tuesday. A similar upgrade was recently completed in Beaumont.

He said customers were alerted about the digital update via paper bill and email.

Hartman, 83, said Spectrum told customers every month that the update was coming.

Still, Hartman said she was "aggravated" by the change.

"Senior citizens ... all they got for entertainment is TV," she said.

Joseph, whose bill is already $160 per month, said adding four boxes to her monthly bill could be a a challenge. The 58-year-old Port Arthur woman said she might have to downsize or find a way to "do it differently."

Because Joseph pays her bill online, she said she didn't receive any letters from Spectrum notifying her of the update.

Maybe there were alerts on the website, but if so, Joseph said she didn't notice them.

Pattie Jones, 54, said she was in line for her parents, who subscribe to both Spectrum and DirectTV.

The Port Arthur woman said she wishes there were "another company," but Spectrum is the only one that offers access to local channels.

"It's nothing but a racket," Jones said.

While some felt jilted by Spectrum's handling of the upgrades, at least a couple of residents accepted some of the blame for their loss of cable TV Tuesday morning.

"We knew it was coming," said Sue Maciel. "We should have done what they said sooner."

The Port Neches woman left the Spectrum office empty-handed after seeing the long line of people standing outside.

"I can go two days without cable," she said.

Phoebe.Suy@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/PhoebeSuy