**updated 7/9/2009
Well, ain’t this something. So I’m not sure how it happened but Comcast reached out to my folks and told ‘em they’d be around on Wednesday July 8th from 1pm to 5pm to install the line and do everything that had been scheduled for August 12th. So the guy showed up on time and checked things out.
Get this. He goes out to the box. Checks the connection in the house. Looks at me. Asks, “Did he look in this closet?” I shrug. He opens the door. Finds the cable that goes down in to the crawl space. He goes out to the cable box again. Comes back. Says, “Um, well…there’s a connection for your unit out there and there’s a tag with a date of disconnect for us. I tested your connection here…and it’s got a signal.”
Allow me to translate.
The contractor had it completely wrong. No question. I’m not sure he even read the cable box outside the unit correctly. He could have installed it that day. We could have avoided all this hullabaloo. I shake my head along with the Comcast guy. The contractor is the guy to blame in this specfic situation.
Wow. So this guy who is in charge of fresh cable installs then has to do the job that any other Comcast guy could do. It’s done in an hour and I’ve got internet and cable in three rooms ready to rock.
The original point of why have one guy to do fresh installs still stands. When I talked to the Comcast guy he confirmed he was the one guy for Littleton, Highlands Ranch and Centennial. I still wonder if there’s a better way to do that so that people don’t have to wait over a month for a new install. Then again, new installs typically happen in new homes or places that you’re not set to occupy for a bit of time.
So there’s that. All in all resolution was had. I still don’t know if @comcastcares on twitter had anything to do with it…but I have to hope and believe social media played a part in this operatic tale of pain.
Original Incident frmo July 6th is below:
There are certain things in this world I cannot live without. Food, water and shelter. Electricity sure is nice and probably modern appliances would fall into that category as well. After that anything becomes a nice addition to the package. Phone service, cable, television and internet access are all luxuries as far as I’m concerned.
After I sent a year and a half in the Philippines I discovered I could live without hot water for over a month. Sure didn’t enjoy cold showers in the morning, but I made due. I came to treasure my air conditioning. In other words I discovered that I had taken many things for granted over my life time.
Fast forward to today as I’m moving into a condo unit. My parents and I are working through many obstacles in home ownership to get to a point where the condo is in good shape. We’ve replaced flooring, tiled bathrooms and worked on the plumbing. Most of that has gone according to plan (aside from one night sans toilets and shower) so we’re satisfied and content.
We had called Comcast earlier in the week to schedule someone to come out and install cable and internet. The gentlemen dutifully showed up and provided his services above and beyond expectations. Trouble was he couldn’t find a cable connection in the house. Through his dutiful research he confirmed they would need to do a “drop cable” procedure in order to get my service online. I stood there as he called Comcast Denver Operations on speaker and allowed me to listen in to the conversation. The young lady on the other end confirmed we could do it on a Wednesday. At the end of the call she said, “Ok, set for August 12th.” Promptly and before the Comcast contractor could say another word the line was dead. She’d ended the call.
I asked him if he could recheck that and see if she’d maybe misspoken or made a mistake in the date. That was over a month away. I was flabbergasted. He made the call and confirmed that yes indeed it would take a month to have someone come out and complete the drop cable procedure.
I thanked the installer and told him to cancel the order.
Why? Why wouldn’t I have used my lessons from the Philippines to ease my stress and simply be patient enough to wait through the entire month of July for someone to come out and do the install? Because even as I stood there the contractor was honest in saying that because he wasn’t Comcast he wasn’t able to say for sure if indeed the drop cable would work.
Via @comcastcares on twitter I asked for any help that could be provided. They did their best, but apparently it just wasn’t enough. They only do drop cable installs on Wednesdays and they have a limited crew that does the install.
And so the decision was made to go with Qwest. I’m not a fan of DirecTV and Qwest has a host of customer complaints already tainting their image. Hopefully they will be able to come out and make the install quickly.
In my mind it’s a culture issue. When I worked in customer service (Circuit City, Verizon Business, United Healthcare) there was always this underlying culture of resisting change and going along with what had come previous to them. Combined with archaic rules, regulations and often confusing interdepartmental interactions it was a comedy of Shakespearean proportions. Only with less love, hilarity and actual problem solving.
The culture at big companies for the longest time has been, “We’re big, we’re bad and customers can deal with it.” Only trouble is that as time has passed customers have been given more power, more recognition and even more important the tools to fight back. The problem Comcast (and others) faces now is putting a dent in the near total negative press they receive via twitter and other platforms. The crew with @comcastcares (and others) is part of this revolution of increasing ways and means of improving that relation that decides the bottom line. The relation with the customer.
Banks, global companies and even mom and pop stores have taken to twitter to keep a gingerly cautious finger on the pulse of their customer base. They recognize the power within perception. If they can have even a small impact against the overwhelming tide of dissatisfaction there’s a chance they can ride the wave to successfully becoming a customer responsible organization.
Making the change and starting the open heart surgery within the company is the hardest choice. Making sure the rules, regulations and processes are more customer focused is the first step. Ensuring it continues is the next. It will be painful and problematic over the next few months but once the cluttered and combustible is scrubbed new paths can be drawn up and the focus can begin to turn. It might turn like the Titanic in being slow and stubborn but there’s a chance these companies can avoid hitting that iceberg that proves to be the tipping point.
For Comcast they’re lucky in the Denver area. Qwest is the only major competitor. Sure, there are smaller operations but less reliable. For now, it’s the lesser or worse of two evils.
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