Leaks: How Much It Sucks To Be A Comcast Customer Service Rep

Come, come hither. Step into the flesh of a Comcast customer service rep. Doesn’t it feel nice? Yes, yes. This is what it’s like to work for Awesome Cable Inc. Now you know what they go through, and tricks and tactics for dealing with them. Come my pretty, and let the Comcast mole teach you the ways…

“COMCAST PHONE REPS

Salary: Less Than 30,000
Hourly Wage: 12.50 coming in the door (Of course if you have years at that specific position than you make more than 12.50 with annual raise)

Raises: During this entry the annual raise for several non-salaried positions was Capped at 2% no matter if you had the best performance or the worst performance meaning many reps are not even receiving .30. Rep shared that he has been at the company 3 years and over the 3 years the raise has not equaled to $1 Dollar meaning each raise fell in the .20-.35 ballpark. Well at least you have a job.

Conditions: Consistent Heavy Call Volume with an average rep handling 25-40 calls during an 8 hour shift. A Comcast Call Center can take thousands of calls a day. During calls, since call volume is normally heavy you have a .30 second to 1 minute intermission before another call comes in. Some systems around the country automatically throw you into a call after .30 seconds. You do receive your lunch, 2 -15 minute breaks on each shift.

Morale Of Floor Reps: Below Average

Metrics Vary By Call Center & Region:

AVERAGE HANDLE TIME:
On average Comcast expects the representative to finish a video (anything related to cable) call between 7 and 7 ½ minutes. Comcast also expects an internet call to be completed between 11 and 11 ½ minutes and telephone related call to be finished within 9 minutes. So if you feel a representative is rushing you off the call than just understand that they are trying to meet metrics.

HOLD: Measured by duration on how many callers you place on hold

Wrap: After every call you take you have an option of placing yourself into wrap to prepare for next call or taking another call. This metric is easily attainable since in some systems Comcast automatically places you into a call after .30-1 minute.

Has there been a time when you are speaking with a representative and you lose the connection and you don’t receive a call back?

Inside/Outside: Comcast would like the reps to limit their outbound calling therefore there is a metric in place for that. The more minutes on the outside line that’s used is not good for the stats of the rep. On average 25 minutes on Outbound line out of 35 calls can add up rather quickly. Therefore some reps do not call back, not to mention if they do not hit the wrap button after the call was mistakenly ended a call comes in.

REPEAT CALLS: Any caller that calls back within 24 hours is a repeat call. In some areas, Comcast will give the representative 20% of all calls but anything after that could result into something.

Service Calls: This metric is put in place by how many service calls you schedule.

AVOIDABLES: This metric measure the rep on how many appointments could have been avoided by telephone trouble shooting.

SUPERVISORS
If you request to speak to a supervisor in some regions a supervisor could be within walking distance of the rep. In other regions, a representative would have to call a supervisor line in hopes of receiving a supervisor for you. If no supervisor is available the rep will receive an automated message indicated that there is none available. At that point you the customer will be offered a supervisor call back which has the representative filling out a form on the computer and sending this to the supervisor’s mailbox. 2-24 Hours is average response time if you receive one.

TECHNICIANS
Representatives do not have contact numbers for technicians or the dispatch. Veteran representatives may have numbers for the dispatch. If your appointment is between 12PM and 3PM and the time is 2PM and you would like an Estimated Time Of Arrival you can call your local call center to request that.

Since a rep does not have access to call Dispatch, they have to submit a FORM in which Dispatch receives similar to an email. The dispatch has between 15 & 30 minutes to deliver the customer a call back.

If your appointment is between 12PM and 3PM and It’s now 3:05 PM and no sign of a technician, call Comcast and ask them to reward you the Comcast Customer Guarantee which is $20 on your account for a late technician and ask for an ETA.

Always remember that during a service call someone 18 or over has to be in the home and if the technician is calling before coming than someone has to answer and this can include if the technician is in your driveway in the truck and calls the phone. There are times where technicians will call from outside and not receive an answer and not knock on the door even if out front. If that occur, your call with fall into the “Missed Appointment” category and if lucky a technician can return later if not you have to reschedule.

TECHNICIAN GO BACK
If Technician leaves the home and an hour later you discover the same issue persists call Comcast. In some areas if before 4PM there is a possibility that the technician or another tech can return.”

Want more internal Comcast goodness? Try the “Insider’s Guide To DIY Comcast Troubleshooting.” But to really fit in at Comcast, you’re going to need to know the proper dress code and the official coffee-making policy.

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