Comcast refusing to disconnect cable service for Engadget editor - call was recorded

[jana519]

Anyone know if Comcast offers bonus pay to its billing reps for every "disconnect" call that doesn't end up disconnecting (ie, customer hangs up in frustration, doesn't want to argue, caves in, whatever).

 

[sze5003]

I would be more interested in analysis of seeing how long they can hike up a bill before someone calls in to cancel. The sales reps never lower it so it's the people in retention who have to do something about it.

I don't think they have bonuses for people hanging up that would be shocking. Eventually they will call back and get someone who will just cancel the service or instantly pull a promotion out of their ass.

 

[BUTCH1]

I imagine answering "because Comcast sucks", over and over and over would, at a minimum, be fun.

"Ahh yes, I would, but as I said, Comcast sucks".
"Well, if you recall my previous answers, Comcast sucks".

Which would yield a barrage of "why do we suck" questions over and over, LOL..

 

[WelshBloke]

When I cancelled my cellphone contract I just instructed my bank not to make anymore payments, sent a letter to the billing dept and then phoned in told them what I'd done and that it was probably in their interest to stop the service. (My prior experiences with them told me they were going to be a pain in the arse about things). The woman on the phone bitched a bit about it but there wasn't a great deal she could do.

 

[Leros]

When I cancelled my cellphone contract I just instructed my bank not to make anymore payments, sent a letter to the billing dept and then phoned in told them what I'd done and that it was probably in their interest to stop the service. (My prior experiences with them told me they were going to be a pain in the arse about things). The woman on the phone bitched a bit about it but there wasn't a great deal she could do.

That's all fun and games until you get sent to a collection agency and then have to deal with that.

 

[WelshBloke]

That's all fun and games until you get sent to a collection agency and then have to deal with that.

What are they going to try to collect on?
I've given notice of not using their service, I'm not using their service, I'm not under any obligation to continue using their service. Why should I need their agreement to stop paying for something I'm not using?

 

[Leros]

What are they going to try to collect on?
I've given notice of not using their service, I'm not using their service, I'm not under any obligation to continue using their service. Why should I need their agreement to stop paying for something I'm not using?

It's all automated. Your account doesn't get marked as cancelled. The computer keeps billing you. After a few months of non-payment, the computer sends you to collections.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's all automated. Your account doesn't get marked as cancelled. The computer keeps billing you. After a few months of non-payment, the computer sends you to collections.

Which is nothing to do with me as I have documented that I've cancelled my service. If they are too incompetent to do it after notification in writing and verbally then that's their problem.

 

[Babbles]

I listened to it and it is crazy painful.

However. . . .

I find it unlikely that the customer service rep is the only person to blame, but rather representative of the failure of Comcast in general. Don't hate the player, hate the game. I would suspect that he is being incentivized to act that way, so in a sense I hope that service rep guy doesn't get punished but rather their director (or whatever) of customer service and/or marketing gets canned.

 

[jana519]

This guy was doing his job as a Comcast service representative. He deserves an award for outstanding customer service.

 

[postmortemIA]

This guy was doing his job as a Comcast service representative. He deserves an award for outstanding customer service.

employee is not servicing the customer, he is servicing comcast. Otherwise he would do what he was asked.

But yeah, you gotta feel sorry for the employee, he is just doing what is told ... or he's out of the door.

 

[edro]

"Literally" doesn't mean what you think it does.

He used it right.
You're just trying to sound smart.
You are perpetuating the "no one knows how to use literally correctly" theme.

Definition of LITERALLY

1: in a literal sense or manner : actually <took the remark literally> <was literally insane>

2: in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins>

You can use it either way. Actually or virtually.

 

[AdamK47]

I moved from Cincinnati to the New Orleans area. At the time I had Time Warner and they weren't available in New Orleans. There's only Charter here.

I called Time Warner to cancel service and told them I was moving to an area they were not in. They still tried to get me to opt for a cheaper bundle even though I wouldn't even be in Cincinnati. I had to tell them three times that I didn't want it since I was moving to a totally different location that they didn't even service.

Sometimes just saying you're moving doesn't even work.

 

[Dulanic]

Why does it matter? Comcast practically has a monopoly on the service they provide in some areas. They make it pretty clear that they don't give two shits about their customers. They are in the business of maximizing stock prices and company profit.

And in places they aren't a monopoly they are atrocious. Here I get mailers 1-2 times a DAY. If I collected the mailers, I would likely have over 500 my year end. It almost makes me feel like the AOL CD days.

 

[Dulanic]

It's all automated. Your account doesn't get marked as cancelled. The computer keeps billing you. After a few months of non-payment, the computer sends you to collections.

Bingo. They pulled this crap on me, I even TRANSFERRED my business internet to a different state. But since their business services are regional, they never properly closed out my old account. So they tried to charge me the early term fee on my old account even though I transferred it. It took me months to get this resolved and I had to fight the collection agency they tried to send after me. That makes me vow to avoid comcast whenever possible.

Unfortunately, my only alternative for internet here is AT&T DSL service /w 1.5Mbps which just doesn't work for me. I need the faster speed and my work pays for it so I stick /w Comcast business for my internet unfortauntely. If I could I could, I would ditch them in a heartbeat. I'd pick up T-Mobile mobile internet as it is super fast, but the highest cap is 11GB

 

[Leros]

Which is nothing to do with me as I have documented that I've cancelled my service. If they are too incompetent to do it after notification in writing and verbally then that's their problem.

You've clearly never had to deal with this. Getting collections to recognize that the debt is invalid is nearly impossible and it will damage your credit rating. For small bills like this its sometimes easier and faster (and maybe cheaper in the long run) just to pay collections than try to dispute the debt.

 

[slag]

Which is nothing to do with me as I have documented that I've cancelled my service. If they are too incompetent to do it after notification in writing and verbally then that's their problem.

And they make it your problem.

 

[desura]

This guy was doing his job as a Comcast service representative. He deserves an award for outstanding customer service.

Judging by how casually he kept on repeating "number one internet service in the country" he must have been doing the job for a while.

 

[Jeff7]

Which is nothing to do with me as I have documented that I've cancelled my service. If they are too incompetent to do it after notification in writing and verbally then that's their problem.

You've clearly never had to deal with this. Getting collections to recognize that the debt is invalid is nearly impossible and it will damage your credit rating. For small bills like this its sometimes easier and faster (and maybe cheaper in the long run) just to pay collections than try to dispute the debt.

And they could, if they would so choose, send enough lawyers to your house that it would simply collapse under their combined weight.


Look at how they deal with customer service, and dissatisfied customers. Rather than fixing the problems, it's cheaper to have their CSRs badger people calling in to try to bludgeon them into staying with the company. You're not a customer to them. You're a monthly revenue source that complains about things.