Ryan was able to get a $150 service credit from Comcast by asking for them to pay him back for all the vacation time he missed waiting around for a service tech who never showed up.

Here’s the complaint he wrote Comcast:

Good afternoon sir/ma’am.

On October 12, I was scheduled to meet an installer between 10am-12pm. I took two hours of vacation time from work in order to be present. At 11:30am, the technician called me to say that he was running late but would meet me at 12:30pm. I agreed to meet him then and called my work, who approved two more hours of vacation. At 12:30pm, the technician did not arrive. At 1pm, I called the technician but he did not answer his phone. At 2pm, I called him again. He answered, apologized and said he had forgotten about me, and that he would meet me within an hour. I called work again, got two more hours of vacation, and waited for him. When he did not arrive at 3pm, I called him but he did not answer. At 4pm I called him and he did not answer. I called again at 4:30pm and he did not answer. I left the house. 

I waited 6.5 total hours using 6 hours of vacation time to do so, relying on his word that he would appear multiple times. 

I have spoken to billing supervisors who have offered a $20 credit to my bill. I make $25 an hour and the waiting cost me $150 in vacation time. Speaking to billing representatives has made me realize that I am never going to be compensated for my personal time waiting and that Comcast going above and beyond to compensate me is completely out of the question. All I want is a $150 credit to at least get to a point where doing routine business with Comcast doesn’t cost me a significant amount of money. I believe that is reasonable. 

Up to this point I have received nothing but quality service from Comcast and have even convinced family and friends to switch from competitors. Please help me continue to be the evangelist for your company that I’ve always been. 

Thank you.

Ryan

Ryan made a calm, clear, and cogent business argument about why he should be compensated for all his time Comcast had wasted, and it worked. Another good thing that he did in his letter is say that he used to be a happy customer who would again start recommending Comcast if they take care of him. Sometimes this approach works better than a scorched earth one. If you’ve already told them you’ll never do business with them again, what incentive do they have to do anything to keep you around?

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