more and more reasons for me to avoid this blight on the earth.

This reads like some sort of sci-fi horror novel.

"it's hit or miss on if you get a good one or a crappy one that lies and says you weren't home"

Admitting it is the first step toward correction. When are you going to admit that some of your contractors do this, Comcast corporate?

I really enjoy the spurts of anger towards consumers in the letter. It makes me smile. :)

Can i get an AMEN!

Sermon?

@Gokuhouse: at least he's being honest.

I don't know if I feel better or worse knowing that Customer Service simply can't help me with some of the most common issues, such as payment problems or checking up on technicians...

My hate for Comcast is like the burning fire of 1000 suns.

There is no advice anyone can give for dealing with Comcast except this: Get services that they provide from someone else.

No exceptions.

If you live in a Comcast only area... consider suicide. (Or you could move, but that is much more painful than suicide.)

I'm on the 2nd year of a 2 year contract and my price has remained the same, despite a number of price increases in my area.

@Gokuhouse: Just because Comcast is an asshole company doesn't mean there are no asshole Comcast customers too.

@Gokuhouse: That's what makes me not trust it as authoritative. Sounds like a low level employee with an axe to grind.

"I already can't do much for you, but don't piss me off! Or, I won't do anything for you!"

Am I seriously the only person that likes comcast? I have had zero problems with them. They are a wet dream compared to Verizon.

@Gokuhouse:

Remember that cable TV is not a necessity, it's a luxury. If you can't afford it then go without.

Having worked customer service for the local garbage company (shudder) and you'd be surprised how many people got pissed when we'd not pick up the garbage because they were 90 days late on their bill.

Overall customer service work sucks; but it sounds like Comcast is one of the suckier places to work.

I'm glad this guy wrote in. I really hate being that jerk on the phone and I've been a lot nicer for the past few years since I realized the poor guy on the other end usually can't do anything and just wants 5pm or whenever to roll around so they can get on with their life.

However, this sort of structure is unacceptable and I'm glad this guy wrote in to tell us about it. Since inefficiency usually doesn't save money, all this compartmentalization and outsourcing must be done to keeps Comcast's costs down (something they'd never pass on to us). How can we ever expect good service if this is how their support is internally structured. If only we could get TV over IP or in someway break up this oligopoly of telecos and cable giants.

@downwithmonstercable:
Yes, yes you are.
I have had countless problems in 5 months of service. Including them saying (after a two day fight for $20/month internet and already having internet for two weeks) that I never had internet service with them and they could sell it to me for $30/month. Comcast is in league with the devil.

@JakeChance84: Do you live in the Chicago suburbs? Based on comments in the past, those of us who are in the old Cablevision territory here seem to get unusually good service.

I sort of feel bad for our Comcast reps. We were recently switched to Comcast from Insight and everyone in our town knew all the Insight reps. Most people opted to pay their bills in person because the ladies there were so nice. They knew everyone's names and were great about extending introductory offers, working out payment issues if you got behind and making sure the techs would get to your house when they said they'd be there.

Now, Comcast won't let them do anything, and when you try to call the local number it re-routes to the corporate line (probably to the OP). The corporate reps know nothing about our area, are rude, lie and do whatever they can to get you to drop their cable service. I went down to pay a bill and the ladies there hate it - regular customers yell at them because a Comcast rep was rude (some folks don't realize that the local number doesn't connect them to local help), and all of them are looking for other jobs.

It's really sad to see people who actually *liked* their cable company (how rare is that?) grow to hate it so much.

Comcast is horrible and a total waste of money - we only use their internet service now and went satellite for tv (not that they're much better).

I've had my share of shit contractors and great contractors from comcast. One good one in NJ came in pouring rain, setup my basic cable, "forgot" to put in the filters, and even helped me drill a hole to run the cable into another room, even though technically he wasn't allowed to do that. I tried to tip him and he said he couldn't accept tips. There are nice guys among the dredge, just make sure you're nice to them first :)

I used to work for Comcast a little while ago (directly for them, not for one of their outsourcers). There are some advantages to working in the same call center as dispatch and all those other groups. The big one is that your supervisor can generally walk over and get a problem worked out if the normal processes aren't working.

As far as the outsourced people go, I'm really not sure how they do their job. They often seem to not have any way of calling in or getting someone on the phone to check on a tech or get someone to look at a problem that's being ignored.

Personally, I've had all of their services since I started working there (employees get some nice discounts and I've mostly kept them since leaving) and I've never had a problem with their service, not even their phone service. I think this may be a case of this guy listening to complaints and reports of problems all day (no-one calls in when everything's fine after all)...that tends to skew your impressions of the product. YMMV.

Good advice about asking about prices when the promos come off though. Get all of that info right up front when you're talking to the sales person. And make sure you understand if they're quoting a promotional price or an "everyday" one. Sales people lie (what else is new?)

"AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT USE THEIR CRAPPY PHONE SYSTEM."

That made my day... well that and the MacBook Wheel
www.theonion.com

Thanks!

Interesting, I didn't realize Comcast uses NUCOMM up in the great white north just like Bright House...

@JakeChance84: I think it was a woman who wrote in, but never mind. I still agree with you.

@downwithmonstercable: Well I've used Comcast for three years now and never had one problem with either Cable or Internet service. I used to have Earthlink and they were an incompetent nightmare.

I am thinking of downgrading services but I'm wondering how much of a fight that's going to be with Comcast.

@artgarciasc: *warms up the organ*

DON'T lie to me - if you don't know the answer, say you'll look it up, escalate to a manager, etc. Don't tell me that Comcast does not, as a matter of policy, supply CableCards when I know that you are required to by FCC mandate AND the guy down the street just got them installed. If you are currently out of stock, fine - but don't cover up your ignorance by lying amd blustering about it as your colleagues do.

Having to deal with Comcast is enough to turn Ghandi into an asshole customer.

I switched my phone service from AT&T to Comcast over a year ago. I now have phone, Internet and cable tv with Comcast and have had only 1 outage in this 1 yr time. I'm saving over $100 a month. I don't understand where this guy gets off with such a blanket statement that Comcast Digital Voice is a "crappy" product. I love it. I love the Internet speeds and I love the picture quality on our cable. I know I've probably just jinxed myself now that I've said this but I am a huge fan of comcast service. PS every technician we've ever had here has been knowledgeable and professional.

@humphrmi: @humphrmi: They state in the letter that they are a customer support person working from home, hired through an outsourced company. They are most certainly a low level employee but they are giving you a bit of advice so you can avoid getting upset over things they cannot control.

I have worked in call centers as a representative and manager for years, so I can appreciate Jane Doe's frustration. I am sure that she was lured to Comcast by the opportunity to 'telecommute' and not have to leave home to go to work. The company trains representatives quickly and gets them on the phone, regardless of their skill level. Support from management, well it's limited because the supervisor/manager's role is really to manage metrics first and people last. In a call center situation, a supervisor's role is NOT to take your escalated calls...again, it is to manage metrics. A persistent customer will usually get a very unhappy supervisor, reluctant to even take the call. Why? Because during the 2 or 3 week training period, a representative
is expected to learn how to handle an irate customer, in addition to mountains of job information. There are call centers out there that will penalize representatives for even requesting that a supervisor or manager diffuse a difficult situation. The real reason that supervisors/managers don't want to take calls in some call centers is because they know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the job performed by their direct reports! Why? Because their primary responsibility is metrics....numbers....not people. Now, people management does become important when the metrics are not within an acceptable range. They are then required to begin the 'performance management' process, which is kind of like a 2 or 3 strikes and your out deal. Once the rep is out, then they hire a new Jane Doe and the vicious cycle continues.

I gave up call center management because overall, those places are not customer focused enough for me, but before I quit, I dedicated my final 6 months solely to customers and their needs. At that point, numbers meant absolutely nothing to me and I had nothing to lose anyway. I let my employees in on my plan and they were psyched and more motivated than ever. They could assist customers until their issues were fully resolved and not worry about call handle time. Customer satisfaction statistics skyrocketed, I had the happiest team in the building and everyone wanted to know how I did it. By the time that the figured out that I did it as the expense of their coveted metrics, I was long gone!

@downwithmonstercable: No you aren't. I've had stellar service with Comcast, only one time did I have a problem and that was when a technician didn't show up. I called and talked to a supervisor... he came himself and did the work, and gave me 2 months for free for it being a pain in the ass and apologized for the crappy technician multiple times.

My only gripe is their bandwidth throttling of P2P but that's to be expected these days.

My Verizon service at a former workplace was a nightmare... constant outages and the techs would never show up, if they did show up they didn't fix any problems.. even if they claimed they did. Constant headache. Hopefully their service with FIOS is better than their DSL service.

@nytmare: Ha. They're instead going to find this contracted support person and make sure she gets fired. THAT'S how outfits like Comcast roll.

@Starfury:

That's what I was thinking. Who goes into collections for cable TV? If you can't afford it, don't have it! That's like people living in public housing but having 50 inch plasma TVs. It makes no sense to me.

Great to hear that. I would hire you to manage my support team in a heartbeat.

Many years ago the transition from customer service to "quota-based service" happened. It was supposed to introduce efficiencies into the system, but lead to tickets being opened and closed and reopen. People got more frustrated than ever.
The irony is that these systems continue to cost companies more money every year and do not contribute to any reduction in operational costs.
Regarding Jane Doe's letter... if it makes her feel any better to get the frustration and anger out of her system, great... but she should also learn to be firm with customers who may be misinformed and explain alternatives.

Why on earth ANYONE is a Comcast customer amazes me!
1) High prices
2) Dubious Internet speeds. Blocked traffic. Unreliable, etc.
3) Customer service? Need I say more?
4) Mid Def TV passed off as High Def.
5) Long waits to get a service person over.
6) Bad installations.
7) Did I mention the high cost?
8) Internet and cable are luxury items. Sorry!
9) Verizon or cell phones are much better than CDV!

All I can say is it's sad when consumers put up with this B.S. and Comcast is still in business.

@vastrightwing: Cause the alternative is crappy 3 MB Verizon DSL and can't get Dish/Direct TV from my apartment :(

@humphrmi: That's customer service in a nutshell. On one hand there's stated policy, and on the other hand there's real policy. I work for an internet marketing company. You can piss me off and I will stand by "the customer is responsible for return shipping." Or you can try to be reasonable and polite and I can arrange a return shipping label for you, even though nothing states we have to supply it. In fact, my boss would rather we NOT supply it.

Customers need to remember their service reps are not robots. If you abuse us though, we'll be more than happy to turn into corporate drones that spout policy and refuse to cave to your demands.

@vastrightwing: Okay...

1) Point.
2) My internet service has been fast, reliable, and unblocked.
3) Haven't had much of a problem.
4) Don't really care.
5) Haven't had a problem.
6) Haven't had a problem.
7) Again, point.
8) Yes ... but how does relate to choosing Comcast?
9) That's why I don't use digital voice.

Believe me, I'm no fan of Comcast. I think they charge a ridiculous amount of money for what they deliver, and it irks me to no end that I can't just order the five or six channels I actually want to watch rather than some stupid bundle. But honestly, I want a fast Internet connection and I occasionally like watching cable TV, so what are you going to do? It's not like they're NAZIs or something; they're just another annoying company. I'd rather fight my battles elsewhere.

Note also that when you change anything about your account plan, your internet or cable will probably go out until a live person gets to your home after you spend 2 hours on the phone with a phone droid...

i have also done the customer service job but for directv and i wanna let you in on a little secret. when you call directv and ask to speak with a supervisor, you are in fact transfered to "level 2" call representive. they have more power to do things for you than a level 1 but they are not supervisors.

just something to keep in mind.

I'm a real Comcast employee. Not a contractor, not outsourced.

1. "I would love to be able to downgrade your account and help you save money." There is a whole department that handles that, it's called "Retention" and everyone who asks to downgrade should be sent there. They often have the best deals available in the company.

2. "We cannot call out." All home reps can receive calls and call out since they log into the same system that the agents in the call centers use. All reps have extensions, and all you have to do to get a specific rep is ask for their extension number, and you will be transferred to them.

3. "The training we got was pretty spotty." A refresher course is 2 weeks, the initial training is 4 weeks (with 2 weeks nesting).

4. "Recently we were told that we can no longer do any type of payment arrangements." Supervisors and Collections can indeed and often do make payment arrangements.

5. "If the power, Internet, or cable go out so does your phone." All EMTAs (phone modems) have batteries which allow you 4 hours of talk time and 8 hours standby if you have a power outage.

I could go on poking holes in this "article" but really, it's absurd.

Disclaimer: I am not a company spokesperson for Comcast and these opinions are my own.

I recently called Comcast to shop my internet rate, which had reset from a six month promo of $20 to $43. I told the rep I had a DSL offer in hand that would make my effective internet rate about six bucks a month over six months, the term of my initial Comcast promo, but that switching was a hassle so I'd be willing to stick with them if they'd just revert me to the promo rate for another six months.

She first tried to sell me on downgrading my service ... that's not what I called about ... then said she'd have to talk to a supervisor about it and would have someone call me back.

No one ever called me back.

The moral? I now have Internet service that's essentially free and just as fast for the next six months (they gave me an even better deal when I called), and I may not even bother to go back to Comcast when it comes time to play the next round of the lower-my-rate game if that's how they feel about me as a customer.

Crapping on people has its consequences.

This article confirms what I already know: Comcast call reps don't know anything, can't do anything, and would rather you didn't call them at all.

"Please don't get an attitude with me if I ask for the last 4 digits of your social security number for verification/security."
Fine, if I am making a change that will impact my monthly subscription, however (and this in not just a Comcast issue) if I am calling to inquire about my current balance, a special offer that I saw, or having a technical problem with my service, why do you need to verify this information. If I call up and say that my cable is out, or my internet service is slow and request a simple diagnostic check/reset of the cable box, and I provide you with some basic account information (name/address or phone number) why do you need to verify my SSN, mother's maiden name, first born child and blood type?

"If the power, Internet, or cable go out so does your phone. Just stick with a basic land line phone. It takes major problems before they go out"

That's like saying you should not use a landline phone because if the phone cable gets knocked out, you lose phone service.

Also, the eMTA devices that handle phone all have batteries for power outages, but if your phone requires a power source, you are just as out of luck as if you used a traditional phone system.

@warf0x0r:
Couldn't agree more. It IS dangerous, especially for older people, who expect that the phone will just work, even when the power is out, without a need to reboot anything.

Yes, you can do anything yourself online EXCEPT downgrade. I tried that and there is no option. You have to call and pray they do as you request. They might or might not. It took 2 calls from me and 7 weeks to get downgraded.

@Rubleaux: Ahhh, yes, the almighty metrics. Anyone remember ATT Broadband? They, too were dedicated to metrics and not people. The funny part of their story is how 'metrics' are exactly what got them practically forced out of the city. If I remember correctly, the highest local official from the local company ATTBB bought either quit or was let go, and started a phone number specifically to complain about ATTBB to the city, resulting in their agreement with the city to not get renewed, and ATTBB tucking tail and handing it over to Comcast.

@ratnerstar: Good retort. In my experience, the people with the most problems with a company, also have the worst relationship with them. If your a jerk to one representative, whether they are at your house or in your phone, EVERY other representative you deal with in the future knows this. Unless you're dealing with TechGearNow, don't get all whiny and/or mean with someone you want to help you. It doesn't matter who's fault it is.

If I owe you a dollar I borrowed from you last week, asking for it four times a day will likely get it to you much later, and at the cost of some respect.

This is Jenni from Comcast. Just wanted to let everyone know we're looking into this. More to come......

@artgarciasc: AMEN!
*starts passing around the collection plate*