Windstream has named Jarrod “J” Berkshire as president of operations for Georgia. The company announced Berkshire’s placement Monday, three weeks after publicly announcing it was going to create the position in an effort to improve customer service in Georgia.
According to a press release issued by the company, Berkshire will be based in Dalton, Ga., and oversee the nearly 450 managers and technicians who operate Windstream’s voice and broadband network in the state. There are about 620,000 households as well as thousands of businesses in Windstream’s Georgia service areas.
“Windstream is committed to a network-first strategy that will give our customers the advanced communications services they expect and deserve, and Jarrod Berkshire is the right person to lead that important effort in Georgia,” says Tony Thomas, president and chief executive officer of Windstream. “He has a deep technical understanding of our statewide network and a real passion for serving our customers.”
Berkshire’s promotion comes in response to a letter from Ninth District Georgia Congressman Doug Collins demanding answers regarding the telecommunication firm’s “unsatisfactory” and “substandard” Internet service to residents in Northeast Georgia.
The Arkansas-based company has been plagued by consumer complaints for years, particularly in the rural regions of Collins’ Northeast Georgia district. Customers routinely complain of slow and dropped Internet connections. In 2014 Windstream paid $600,000 to settle claims it advertised high-speed Internet service it could not deliver.
The company says that since that time, Windstream has invested more than $80 million in its broadband infrastructure throughout Georgia and expects to invest an additional $38 million in 2016 to provide faster speeds, improve reliability and, according to Thomas, “future-proof” the core network.
“Every customer matters, and every member of Windstream’s Georgia team is dedicated to getting it right for the people who trust us to provide critical communications services,” Berkshire says. “We know our communities because we live and work there, and we take a great deal of pride in serving our friends and neighbors.”
Berkshire, a resident of Ringgold, Ga., was previously director of outside plant engineering for Windstream’s seven-state southeast region. He holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala. He has been with Windstream or its predecessor company since July 2000.
READ: Windstream to Establish Rapid Response Team for Consumer Complaints
In addition to hiring Berkshire, Windstream has established a Rapid Response Team based in Cornelia to handle consumer complaints in Northeast Georgia. The team can be reached at 706-894-1330.
