While the art of customer service may be hard to find lately, there are many circumstances when that should be considered before making a final decision. When looking for the best TV provider, customer service should be an important aspect. Recently, after purchasing our first HDTV for the family, we decided to upgrade our TV programming as well. As we decided on a package that would take full advantage of the awesome new TV, our quest for great customer service began as well.

I could have simply upgraded whatever service I was with before I bought the new TV, but I thought why not see what else is out there. Our previous provider was ok, for the most part. We had been with them for many years and they provided my family and I with some wonderful television memories. I had noticed, however, that their customer service levels were not as high as they once were. Anytime I called, I would be sent from one recording to another, menu after menu, just hoping for the chance to push 1 for a customer service agent. There has to be a better way.

The look for a complete customer service experience began. I am computer literate, so I logged on to a couple of different sites that had forums where people would discuss who is the best TV provider. After spending just a little more time reading, I realized I wanted the entire customer service experience. I no longer just wanted to rely on customer service phone lines to resolve my issues. After spending some time reading the forums, I discovered some of them were actually run by the providers. I could trust I was finding the best answers to my questions without spending an hour on the phone listening to "hold" music. There was even advice from other customers on what they found to be the best packages for families.

A separate aspect to customer service in this age of technology is prompt and personal email responses. A recent and very frustrating encounter with customer service involved tech support on a brand new computer I purchased. I spent a large portion of time writing a very detailed email telling them my issues only to receive an automated response. I received links based on keywords their system found in my email. How frustrating is that? The whole reason I sent the email was because the information on the site didn't fix the problem. I really want a TV provider that can add a personal touch to their email service.

It can all come down to the customer service you receive. I'm happy to let you know that when I called to order my new service, our new provider was delightful to work with. If this is any indication of the service I will receive, I am confident this is the best TV provider for my family.