Bermuda CableVision chairman Rod Hansen this week said the company has come a long way in improving customer service and staff relations.

The company, which was until recently the only provider of cable television service to the Island, has got a reputation over the years for poor service. To make matters worse, the company has been plagued from time to time with labour unrest ending in workers downing tools.

Employee relations at the cable company hit another snag last September, ultimately prompting a three-day general strike.

The timing of the strike ? just weeks after the Island was hit by devastating Hurricane Fabian on September 5 ? coincided with the Island trying to put right damage to homes and businesses and garnered wide criticism in the community.

In that action, unionised employees from both the public and private sectors went on strike in support of Cablevision staff whom they charged were unfairly dismissed.

But this week, Mr. Hansen told things were much improved now, although admitting "we have had a few bumps in the past".

He continued: "Everybody thinks that management is at war with CableVision's employees. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have an excellent relationship with our employees."

Speaking of events last September, Mr. Hansen said: "There was very heavy demand on our people right after the hurricane; they were working night and day. And they got tired and a little cranky and in my estimation they made a bad decision to go out on strike."

But he said management had not been the real issue when that happened. "That was not because management was abusing its employees. The only real issue at the time was we had one employee who thought working hard should not be required of him, and was suggesting to others that they should not work hard. That became an area of dispute. But it has come and gone."

He continued: "I'm not going to tell you that they do not come in hungover on certain days, or that they are not a little cranky at times but I will tell you that there are no issues, to my knowledge, between our employees and management."

Mr. Hansen said that in the past the company had struggled to get enough employees as people did not even apply for openings, but now there were people signing up on a waiting list for jobs.

Mr. Hansen said the group's staff was largely Bermudian, with only a few expatriate employees. These include general manager Jeremy Elmas, CableVision's chief technician and their specialist construction crew who were brought in from Canada.

"We have spent an awful lot of time and money training Bermudians," Mr. Hansen said.

In total, CableVision has about 40 employees, including management.

He added that his company ? as a part owner in Bermuda CableVision as well as owning cable companies in the Cayman Islands and in France ? is staffed largely by local employees in all its operations

This week Mr. Hansen also promised better service from the company, with CableVision nearing a goal of resolving all customers' issues within 72 hours of notification.

He said the company was currently faced with "a few hundred outstanding issues", but that number was much lower than in times past.

Mr. Hansen's group took over management of the company in 2001, since which work has been under way on putting in a new network to replace the old.

Work on the new plant is to be completed by year end, and includes a new digital service that has already been rolled out to the Eastern parishes.

Network improvements were said to be resulting in a drop in customer complaints about service.

"We don't get nearly the telephone traffic that we used to get. Seventy-two percent of calls are now answered within 16 seconds, according to a report done for the company from February to April.

"You know, you get a bad reputation in a hurry. You eliminate that bad reputation over a long period of time. We still live under the shadow of a bad reputation but believe it or not, a lot of our customers are coming around and saying they have never had a picture that looked like this (with the new plant, and digital cable service)," he said.

Mr. Hansen said he and Bermuda-based CableVision general manager Jeremy Elmas were in daily communication by phone, and that he travels to the Island from his Cayman Island base about once a month.