The Verge - A leaked customer service call turns the spotlight on Comcasthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2014-09-26T16:07:49-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/57166262014-09-26T16:07:49-04:002014-09-26T16:07:49-04:00Comcast: honestly, 'it may take years' to improve our reputation
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S7ywYflrxocqjt3qNtfxrQBqnNs=/0x84:1019x763/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/40160614/IMG_3413.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Comcast, which makes <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6004131/comcast-the-worst-company-in-america">more money than Goldman Sachs</a> despite being <a href="http://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/">voted Worst Company in America twice</a>, may be getting serious about improving customer service.</p>
<p>Today, president Neil Smit reiterated that customer service is Comcast's number one priority, <a target="_blank" href="http://corporate.comcast.com/comcast-voices/our-new-head-of-customer-experience" style="background-color: #ffffff;">appointing</a> an executive to a new position focused on "reimagining the customer experience."</p>
<p>Charlie Herrin, formerly a special vice president of product design and development, is now special vice president of customer experience, reporting to Smit and COO Dave Watson.</p>
<p><q class="center">"It may take a few years before we can honestly say that a great customer experience is something we’re known for."</q></p>
<p>"Transformation isn’t going to happen overnight," Smit says in a blog post. "In fact, it may take a few...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/26/6851259/comcast-honestly-it-may-take-years-to-improve-our-reputation">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/26/6851259/comcast-honestly-it-may-take-years-to-improve-our-reputationAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-19T09:50:02-04:002014-08-19T09:50:02-04:00Employee metrics show how Comcast pushes customer service reps to make sales
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9EVqijHMqVd02ov_K1S0RVLR8Tc=/0x40:1019x719/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37071730/IMG_3413.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Many of the more than 150 current and former employees interviewed for <i>The Verge's</i> <a href="http://www.theverge.com/tag/comcast-confessions">Comcast Confessions</a> series cited <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/30/5952585/a-leaked-customer-service-call-turns-the-spotlight-on-comcast#comcast-confessions-when-every-call-is-a-sales-call">excessive sales pressure</a> as one of the main reasons the company gets poor customer satisfaction ratings.</p>
<p>Despite the fact that Comcast has departments devoted to both inbound and outbound sales, the company encourages its employees in customer service, tech support, and other departments to make sales as well. This often puts the employee's interests at odds with the customer, who may be calling in to report a technical problem, billing issue, or to downgrade their service.</p>
<p>Sales pressure is enforced through monetary incentives, disincentives such as being put on a corrective action plan, and pressure from managers who...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6028059/training-materials-show-how-comcast-pushes-customer-service-reps-to">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6028059/training-materials-show-how-comcast-pushes-customer-service-reps-toAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-19T09:01:34-04:002014-08-19T09:01:34-04:00Can anyone stop Comcast?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qRS6YdSnZLMw2gtBwfa57Cegi24=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36958684/IMG_0908-1.0.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>What happens when the most unpopular company in the US merges with the runner-up?</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6004131/comcast-the-worst-company-in-america">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6004131/comcast-the-worst-company-in-americaAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-11T14:11:19-04:002014-08-11T14:11:19-04:00Now everyone is recording their nightmare Comcast calls
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qk2NO5zDc11AlySSPoC1MILPA60=/0x0:1019x679/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36795730/Comcast_logo_stock_1.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>One Comcast customer and YouTube user is the latest to go public with his tale of injustice at the hands of the cable company's customer service agents.</p>
<p>Yesterday, Tim Davis (a pseudonym) posted a 14-minute video detailing how the company promised him he wouldn't be charged for something, charged him anyway, and then refused to undo the charges until Davis revealed that he had recorded the initial call.</p>
<p>"What have we learned today? Well for one thing, always record your calls with big companies," Davis says in the end of the video.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/11/5991525/now-everyone-is-recording-their-nightmare-comcast-calls">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/11/5991525/now-everyone-is-recording-their-nightmare-comcast-callsAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-11T08:36:53-04:002014-08-11T08:36:53-04:00Comcast Confessions: growing pains of a Goliath
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mTdEhJ8vAB3WrnMKEDhHChRN2e0=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36693308/DSCF1152.0.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>There is no one Comcast</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/11/5978481/comcast-confessions-there-is-no-one-comcast">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/11/5978481/comcast-confessions-there-is-no-one-comcastAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-07T10:05:02-04:002014-08-07T10:05:02-04:00Get through to Comcast's semi-secret customer service line with one of these special cards
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I3gpbdbzRUFeLV2UenOgEZeJUrY=/9x6:531x354/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36622846/Screen_Shot_2014-08-07_at_9.54.33_AM.0.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>For years, Comcast has been giving its employees special cards to hand out to customers who had "a negative or unpleasant experience that is unresolved."</p>
<p>Once called "Make It Right" cards and recently rebranded as "We're On It" cards, the cards are printed with a unique ID number and a "no wait" hotline that connects to a dedicated team of 250 customer service agents. Employees receive 12 cards a year, which they can hand out at their discretion.</p>
<p>The cards are also printed with a QR code that directs customers to self-service options.</p>
<p>Comcast handles more than a million customer interactions a day, according to the company, which means a lot of angry customers if even a tiny fraction of them go wrong. "Despite our best efforts,...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/7/5971857/we-re-on-it-comcast-customer-service-employees-cards">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/7/5971857/we-re-on-it-comcast-customer-service-employees-cardsAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-04T13:18:55-04:002014-08-04T13:18:55-04:00This is Comcast's internal handbook for talking customers out of canceling service
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZgrvNjgbNUBHO1bZ-GgzCeiTyzY=/0x86:2039x1445/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36483442/shutterstock_34113973.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Remember that Comcast customer service representative who just <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/15/5901057/comcast-call-cancel-service-ryan-block">wouldn't let Ryan Block cancel his service</a>? That employee was in Comcast's retention department, which is a customer's last stop on their way out.</p>
<p>Retention specialists are trained to persuade a customer to stay, or at least not cancel all their lines of service.</p>
<p>"We locked down the ability for most customer service reps to disconnect accounts," a billing systems manager who worked for Comcast from 2008 to 2013 told <i>The Verge</i>. "We queue the calls for customers looking to disconnect to a retention team who are authorized to give more deeply discounted products to keep subscribers. Even if the subscriber disconnects cable, maybe we can keep them on internet or voice."</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/4/5967255/this-is-comcasts-internal-handbook-for-talking-customers-out-of">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/4/5967255/this-is-comcasts-internal-handbook-for-talking-customers-out-ofAdrianne Jeffries2014-08-04T08:44:00-04:002014-08-04T08:44:00-04:00Comcast Confessions: why the cable guy is always late
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WoiVPmh4rY_yqMyC360XjbdoBxU=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36383528/DSCF0919.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>More than 100 Comcast employees spoke to The Verge about life inside the nation’s largest cable and broadband company</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/4/5960251/comcast-confessions-why-the-cable-guy-is-always-late">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/4/5960251/comcast-confessions-why-the-cable-guy-is-always-lateAdrianne Jeffries