...That won't go away! Or at least it seemed like it to Ryan Block, who simply wanted to cancel his service with Comcast. He was apparently moving, and was not going to be taking his Comcast service with him. The Comcast customer service operator apparently has other plans. Block doesn't specify whether Comcast is available in his new area, or if he's going to be going with another competitor. But, like he says many times in this phone call, its none of Comcast's business!
Whatever the reason Block wanted to cancel his service, what this operator put Ryan Block through is reprehensible. I can understand a minute of trying to figure out why he no longer wants to be a customer, but Block began recording the call after 10 minutes of prodding, and the rep talking down to him and his wife.
Now, Comcast is in damage control mode, saying that there will be an investigation, and apologizing for the operator's conduct. Of course they are. But, if you've got one operator doing this, and it got recorded, its a pretty safe bet that this was not an isolated incident. Kind of like cockroaches. If you see one, there are hundreds more that you don't see. But you know, personally, I don't think this guy should lose his job. While he was annoying, he was just doing what he was instructed to do. There's no reason for him to fall on the sword so Comcast can make themselves look like the victim.
Personally, I have had issues with Comcast before. For example, I was having internet issues, and I was placed on hold by an automated system for hours before another automated message said they were closed on Saturday. That pissed me off because you'd think that the message could have said that at the beginning of the call.
This seems eerily familiar. Back in 2006, Vincent Ferrari tried to cancel his AOL account, and experienced something similar. Remember this? And, as we found out then, many people had been through similar experiences, including Opie and Anthony, radio hosts.
Its ridiculous, and its none of their business why a customer wants to cancel. Maybe a Comcast customer is a football fan who wants to see all the games, so he's going to a satellite provider. Regardless, its not their business! By holding callers hostage like this, its pretty much guaranteeing that they will never consider becoming a customer again. There are many options available these days, and they all pretty much offer the exact same product for the same cost, so if one pisses me off, guess what?? BYE BYE!!!
I am going through an issue with Century Link at the moment. I live in the outskirts of town, so I am told that all I can get is 6 mbps for my internet. BUT, there is a brand new neighborhood a quarter mile from me, and THEY have the fast speeds. Its all bullshit. Century Link simply doesn't want to expand their lines to my street because only about 20 people live on it. I get it. But, the first chance I get, I am dumping Century Link. I already dumped cable from them. I watch TV online through Netflix, Hulu, and others. And, I can watch in High Definition, on my TV. But wait...There's more! I pay CONSIDERABLY less than I would if I had cable. I get to see all the shows you do, I just have to wait a little bit longer than you do.
If you're going through something like this trying to cancel an account, if you want to have fun with them, just say "cancel the account" over and over and nothing else, or confess to a fictitious murder, or something like that. If you want them to cancel it and be done with it, just tell them that you are recording the call. They will cancel it right away. Or, if you don't want to deal with anything like that, just don't pay the bill. They will cancel you, and you can dispute the past due bill and sue them for lots of money, especially if you tried unsuccessfully to get them to cancel the account.
Seriously, companies...Don't do that. Don't train your customer service people to be jerks like that. You never know when you're being recorded, and you never know when you are dealing with someone with a big mouth like a blogger (like me) or a radio host (like me) or a news reporter. All it will do is harm your company, and you will have to go into damage control, and likely lose even more customers. And while I'm at it, don't make your employees recite scripts when dealing with customers. That's almost as stupid. Your employees know how to do their jobs, and making them recite scripts makes them sound stupid, and insults the intelligence of your customers. (I am talking to YOU, Public Storage. They are almost as bad when you try to vacate a storage facility.)
So, just do the right thing, and stop this ridiculous practice.
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