Comcast Serves Up What May Be the Worst Customer Service Call in History

[PumpkinAle]

The call starts like this:

Block: We’d like to disconnect please.

Comcast rep: Why is it that you don’t want the faster speed? Help me understand why you don’t want faster internet.

Block: Help me understand why you can’t disconnect us.

Comcast rep: Because my job is to have a conversation with you about keeping your service, about finding out why it is that you’re looking to cancel the service.

Block: I don’t understand …

Comcast rep: If you don’t want to talk to me, you can definitely go into the Comcast store and disconnect your service there.

And it goes on for another seven more excruciating minutes.

Full discussion audio and story here:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/this-may-be-the-worst-customer-service-call-in-history-91851980684.html
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I think Mr. Block was amazing - I would have given up and curled up in a corner crying.

[SummerSnow]

1. Omg, I listened to this and I wanted to scream. I felt sorry for this guy he was very calm imo.

[Warpy]

27. HA! The first thing I got rid of in my Dad's portfolio was Comcast

I knew satellite services would bury them and I hated their business model. It turned out to be a great decision because the other communications company I put that money in has been doing quite well. Comcast has been doing bupkus in comparison.

Here they send people door to door. The spiel starts with "We see you once had the service and want to know why you disconnected" and they motormouth to the point you have to be rude and shut the door in their faces. I sympathize with Mr. Block. They're remarkably adhesive even when you don't have the service and have no intention of ever getting it.

FWIW, I've lived here 18 years and have never had cable. I think the previous owners did, I have the cable rolled up behind a piece of furniture, ready for the next occupants of this house if they turn out to be insane.

[arcane1]

2. My absolute WORST experience was with Comcast.

I can definitely relate!

[Swede Atlanta]

4. I can almost top that with West Elm.....

worst customer service in the world.

[tridim]

8. IMO AT&T is worse. I've dealt with both companies.

Google Fiber knows how to do service, I have none of these concerns with them.

[PeaceNikki]

25. I am SO FUCKING JEALOUS!!! I want Google Fiber

[blueamy66]

14. Yep

They suck.

I wouldn't even phone them anymore, cause I couldn't understand a word that was said, each and every time. I would only chat, which was a nightmare as well.

I was calling because the service was out. They asked me how I was 3 times. Couldn't send anyone out for 4 days.

Screw that.

[alp227]

3. "Why is it that you don’t want the faster speed?"

Lol, nice example of the loaded question. "Customer service" my butt!

[KamaAina]

5. You should have heard me trying to cancel a credit card a few years ago

[steve2470]

6. Comcast 'Embarrassed' By The Service Call Making Internet Rounds

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/07/15/331681041/comcast-embarrassed-by-the-service-call-making-internet-rounds

[progressoid]

9. They're embarrassed they got caught. n/t

[steve2470]

11. agreed nt

[LTR]

21. What a bunch of horseshit!

Companies like Comcast demand their reps act like this. If they fire him for this, they're hypocrites.

[uppityperson]

7. I ran into a similar situation once, it was frustrating. "Because. Can you cancel my service?" "but

why?"

Because I want to cancel.
but why
can you cancel?
yes, I can, but why?
Because.
etc

No, there is nothing you can do or offer. I want to cancel and that is enough reason.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. This sort of happened to me years ago with AOL

when I was first starting to use email. The guy I asked to disconnect me from service was like a barnacle on a rock that couldn't be dislodged from the notion that he could talk me out of it. I kept trying to tell him that I didn't want AOL anymore. I think I've become less polite since then and today I would have set the phone down and walked away with him still talking after shouting that I wanted him to just disconnect my fucking service.

[strategery blunder]

22. You're not the only one.

Normally I would not have touched AOHell with a 376459370 foot pole, but years ago when I was visiting an elderly relative without internet access for about a month, I convinced her to let me set up one of the AOHell free 30-day "trials," so I could check my e-mail, keep up a bare minimum of activity to prevent various online accounts from getting deleted, and cancel the trial before I left, leaving her with no obligation.

Of course, AOHell's CSR didn't need to know that, they only needed to know that dial-up was laughably slow (even if marginally better than no internet at all).

Trying to cancel the trial went just about exactly the same as it did for this poor Comcrap customer--only the AOHell rep couldn't even try to justify it with "blazing fast" service. Not that such limitations of the service prevented the CSR from trying!

In the end I wished I had simply gone without, instead just allowing aforesaid miscellaneous online accounts to inactivity-delete, as nothing was worth that amount of frustration to cancel.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. I can only assume this Comcast rep has a perfect record of retention....

..... or one retention away from a "major prize" or bucking for management - or all of the above.

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Or he's squeezed to retain.

Most retention jobs put the agents on the chopping block if they don't have good numbers. Comcast is really bad at this.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. I had roughly that experience trying to cancel XM

My XMp3 portable radio was replaced twice under warranty and had now died out of warranty. I had no working XM compatible radio amongst my worldly possessions.

The girl went through her script undeterred by the fact I had no means with which to receive their service and no intention of buying another XMp3 when the original had been a piece of shit and the only other portable radio they offered was enormous.

Indeed nothing she said (offers first of discounted and then free service) had any relationship to the fact I didn't own an XM radio.

[Generic Brad]

15. Brokeback Cable

I just can't quit you.

[Eleanors38]

16. Took me 20 mins to cut Time Warner's cable.

They couldn't let up. Felt sorry for the service rep whose job it was to an impediment for my cancellation. Had to ask: Is there a law against me dropping service?

[dembotoz]

17. wow

[WillowTree]

18. Reminiscent of trying to cancel AOL. OMG!!

[Drunken Irishman]

19. I feel bad for Mr. Block - but also the agent.

I actually applied for a job at Comcast and know many who work with them. Their job is contingent on keeping costumers. If they're in retentions, which he probably is, they have to do this or risk losing their job. Basically, take every measure possible to keep the consumer, even if it comes across like this.

Some (most) call center jobs suck for this season. You're conditioned to provide 'good costumer service' but also told to do everything in your power to keep a costumer and if you don't, you lose out on money and potentially your job.

If you get a call center job, don't do tech support ... don't do costumer service ... and don't do retentions.

[RKP5637]

26. Yep, that sums it up rather well IMO! n/t

[TlalocW]

33. What else is there other than tech, customer service, or retentions?

Inbound sales?

TlalocW

[Drunken Irishman]

35. Well I guess costumer service is too broad a term...

There's basic costumer service jobs and then other jobs where you assist someone but don't have quotas or benchmarks you have to reach on retaining costumers.

The call centers I've avoided while looking for work are the ones where I have to directly sell something to the person - even if that isn't my job.

So, say, you're in tech support, you service the call and then you're expected, in many cases, to push for an upgrade. I wouldn't want that job.

Collections and retentions are the worst of the call center jobs, though.

What I've done in call centers:

1. Census (I essentially was a data enter who called people and took calls and basically entered their information into the system - easiest job I've ever had and got nearly $15 an hour for it!)

2. Marketplace CSR (I worked the ACA and handled web chat and in coming calls for individuals who had basic questions and wanted to fill out an application. Another easy job that was pretty much data entry)

3. Fraud (Fraud for a major credit card company. Basically, I assisted costumers who had to report fraud or needed to verify a transaction).

Those jobs aren't terribly bad for call center jobs. The fraud job, I was never expected to sell anything. If the costumer wanted to cancel their credit card, I transferred them over to retentions. If they had questions about their card, I transferred them over to costumer service.

So, that's what I meant - there are call center jobs where you're not going to be forced into meeting these sales metrics.

[ecstatic]

23. comcast is the worst. Breaking up with them is a time consuming nightmare

that I have not yet mastered. I've gone as far as turning in the cable box--had to wait in line for an hour. Of course, they couldn't disconnect my service in the store. I had to call them back, at which point, they gave me another offer I couldn't refuse. It's time to break up with them again but I dread the long line at the store. I'm actually paying for two different cable companies and internet services.

[strategery blunder]

24. Consumerist has an update on this story

http://consumerist.com/2014/07/16/comcast-employees-say-needy-retention-call-is-totally-normal/

[oldhippie]

28. I think if I ever get that runaround .....

... when trying to cancel service, when they ask why I want to cancel I will tell them that I am moving to a hospice facility for the final phase of my terminal illness and I am trying to wrap up my affairs. I wonder if they have a script for that?

[RKP5637]

29. They will probably want to offer you the 'life after death option' and request a 'perpetual

credit card.'

[TlalocW]

30. I've been on both sides

Back when dial-up was the only way to get internet, I had a second phone line installed, and I didn't pay attention to the frequency of my bills (I thought my two lines would be lumped together) until both bills arrived at the same time, and I saw that I was being charged a long distance fee for my computer line, and I remember telling the agent not to give me long distance on it. So I called Sprint wanting to get my money back (it came to just over $100), and the guy told me he could only refund the last two months so I asked to talk to a supervisor. He told me that if I talked to a supervisor, I would forfeit any claim to a refund. I said bullshit and asked for a supervisor, and we started arguing over whether he was going to let me talk to a supervisor. So finally I just started very rapidly saying over and over, "give me a supervisor I want to talk to a supervisor you're a douche give me a supervisor I want to talk to a supervisor you're a douche," while he kept trying to interrupt, "Sir... Sir... SIR! FINE YOU CAN TALK TO A SUPERVISOR!" Got my money back.

And once when working for DirecTv, I got a tech call from a guy wanting me to re-order his television channels. I asked him if he meant he wanted to set up a favorite's list, but no, he wanted the channels reordered for his convenience, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. So I pounded on my keyboard for 30 seconds, telling him, "Okay, I'm NOT supposed to do this, but you're a good customer... We can see the percentages of what channels you watch the most so we'll get it changed... There. All done. It will unfortunately take 24 hours for this to go into effect so if there's any problem, don't hesitate to call back!" He hung up grateful.

TlalocW

[closeupready]

31. To be a little contrarian, if I'd been Block, I'd have hung up

and called back to another rep. Barring that, dispute the charges with the credit card company.

[RKP5637]

32. I would never be able to hold my temper, I would have told them to F off after the

first few minutes.

[onethatcares]

34. did

verizon and comcast just merge?

or was that some other mega giant corporations?

[TheKentuckian]

36. Way better than the debacles I had with Sprint about 10 years ago

Usually brought visions of smoke and fire, the stench of blood, and the thundering of horses in armor to mind along with actual tears of impotent rage.

I should have bailed and paid whatever ETF they had (which was substantial) when they cut me off the first three times I paid the bill (which was remedied only by refusing to pay the bill for several months till they cut it off, which seemed to then reboot something so they could take a payment and leave the service on).