Comcast customer service is full of mark-ass suckaz
Let me go ahead and round out my complaining.
When I moved into my apartment a couple of months ago, I relied upon three companies to get me up and running in my new place. The most important was IKEA: I bought a crapload of new furniture from them, and they completely screwed up my new bed. I’ve documented this experience in excruciating detail, and now every time I see a blue box, I stomp on it in a fit of rage. I hope you never shop there.
The second company was SBC. Formerly Ameritech, SBC has a stranglehold on landlines here in Illinois, so I had to use them to get my dial tone for the DSL. I also decided to go with SBC Yahoo DSL, since it’s dirt cheap. This was a mistake, because the service is slow, it’s DHCP, and Cyberonic is much better.
Rounding out the Three Stooges was Comcast. Objectively speaking, they may have been the most incompetent. Thing is, I just don’t watch any TV (except for sports), so their inexcusable customer service screw-ups didn’t affect my life too much.
The story’s pretty simple. I called them up in mid-September and asked for cable by the end of September. Gave them my address, and the guy seemed confused. “Is it in Niles?” he asked. Uh, no. He said he would have to enter my address in the system, and he’d get back to me in a couple of days.
Well, that’s funny, because the previous people in my apartment had Comcast. I wonder how that escaped the rock-solid customer service process of Comcast. But I digress!
More than a week passed, and I never got a call back from the guy. So I called them again and asked them what the deal was. They’d never heard of me. Didn’t know me by name, didn’t know my address. Fucking solid customer service, let me tell you. So I gave them all my info again, including my SSN# again, and scheduled an installation time.
Came home from work early to meet the installer. He never showed. I called up Comcast again and asked them what the deal was. They’d never heard of me. AGAIN. Gave them my name—never heard of me. Gave them my address—never heard of me. Gave them my SSN#—never heard of me. Gave them my fucking appointment time—never heard of me! Are you kidding me?
Third’s time a charm… they managed to record my appointment upon a stone tablet and deliver it via Pony Express to the installation department, and I got cable a week or two later. Awesome.
By the way, this entry is particularly timely in light of Ben’s current struggles with Comcast and his cablecard. You should go read that story—it’ll make you mad. Cable companies’ reticence to fulfill their FCC-mandated obligated re: cablecards is no secret. How come America’s most opportunistic class of entrepreneurial leeches, the trial lawyers, haven’t slapped a class action on these cable company bitches by now? They could actually be of some use here.
May 17th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
i just move here a month ago because a fomer tenant left a bill im going through hell trying to get comcast cable/internet service all they see is my address not that im a person who moved in here about a month ago and have no priors with the them my previous landlord included cable with the rent so there was no need to get cable up til now i call went to the local wildwood office and like i said all they saw was the address and said no way with checking to see if i can account with them before i think this is poor customers service the wrost i ever had and im making sure everyone in this small commuinty go with dish network and dsl
June 9th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Comcast service is the worst service I have ever experienced in my life. If i call over the phone i usually have to hold for 1/2 hour at least and in the end that person is so incompetent that they are not able to SIMPLY UPGRADE THE SERVICE . So i go online to do it myself and unfortunatelly i have to deal with another one over the live chat. After 1/2 hour of waiting for her to do something, she tells me that she can not access the database.
So I ask her to have supervisor call me to resolve the issue and all she does is gives me 1800-comcast number to call. This is outrageous.
I do not recommend comcast to anyone, and if I had a choice i would disconnect my service this moment.
June 12th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
For the last 6 months i have had to call comcast to find out what my real amt due is becasue each month my bill is anywhere from $15 to $194 off. I get a call from the collections department telling me they are shutting off my service because my account is 90 days past due when I have canceled checks to prove i have paid. I thought I was the customer!!!!!!!!!
August 1st, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Wow this is hilarious!!! Comcast did the same to me in Seattle. bahahah.
August 7th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
just moved into my apt in savannah and here is my lovely expereince:
7/22
? Dan came for the initial hook up
? He hooked up cable box and handed me the remote
? No paperwork, user guide, channel list, set up, nothing?..even after I asked him if there was any
? He hooked up the modem to the wall (not to the computer)
? I asked him about the second TV ? he said follow me out to my truck and I?ll give it to you, so you can hook it up
7/23 &24
? Called John Roberts, who initially set up my appt. ? wanted to inform him of the terrible service and problems I was having. He not only was unconcerned but he didn?t even apologize or seem as if it was that big of a deal!
? Off & on connections for both days
? Several calls to tear support
? Adam came out to check out the PC
? He gave me a $20 credit
7/25
? Spoke w/Mark for almost 3 hours on the phone and still NOTHING ? only AOL via internet explorer?.not thru the AOL icon??weird!
? He gave me a 3 day credit, since I really hadn?t ever been connected
? Said it seems to be a weak signal from the outside
7/26 & 27
? Still only AOL via internet explorer?.not thru the AOL icon!
? And sometimes even internet explorer shows ?page not found?
7/28
? No connection on anything!
? Called tear support AGAIN and they said they would send a tech 3 out, who would be VERY qualified
7/29
? Carey/Gary (don?t know which it is?)came out, said he was no computer genius but got me online after changing some wire outside?.said AOL was not his purpose, I would need to call them to fix that problem
? But he asked why my cable box was not programmed and why my remote was not working?..I told him the first guy didn?t do it. So Carey/Gary did the programming need for the TVand also gave the booklets, guides, etc. that I initially asked for
? Carey/Gary discovered that video on demand was not working/connecting?.more COMCAST problem?..not a good start w/them!
I think I am leaving this COMCAST problem alone for awhile?..it is driving me crazy!
Honestly, I wish everyone would STOP giving me credit and fix the frickin? problem and I would be more than happy to pay for the service!
8/4
? Saw the COMCAST vendor table at the new teacher induction week at the Coastal Georgia Center and spoke w/Rick Dowd, who said he would look over my case and call me this weekend???..
8/7
? WOW = shocker!!!!!!!!!!!! No call from Mr. Rick! More great COMCAST service!
? Dumb me, I actually believed him when he said that is just not right ? we need to make things right w/you and I will make sure we do!
8/8
? OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another screw up!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got my first bill from COMCAST and the 3 day credit given to me by Mark on 7/25 is NOT on my bill!!!!! The $20 credit from Adam is on my bill??????..
? I guess I will have to call COMCAST after all ? which is something I was trying to avoid because frankly I am tired of talking to them on the phone!
September 29th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
this is the actual letter i sent to comcast:
This matter is regarding my experience today with your company. I am irate at the lack of communication and professionalism with a certain few of Comcast’s employees. Today between the hours of 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. a technician from Comcast was to arrive at my home and connect phone, internet, and cable services. Upon his arrival, the technician (whose name is Mark I.D. #9225, phone # removed) called my home and the line was busy. He then proceeded to call my cellular telephone which I could not answer at the exact moment in which he called. I was at work and stepped out immediately to call him back. The technician did not answer his phone. I received his voicemail and left a message, assuring him there was somebody (my sister) at my home to let him in. I specifically asked my sister to remain in my home between the hours of 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. for this reason. I repeatedly called the technicians phone leaving more messages asking for him to return to my residence or call back. The technician never returned my phone calls. I had my sister call him every few minutes since he left my house; he never returned her calls either. I was calling the # removed as well to get information as to why he didn’t simply ring my doorbell. Had the technician rang my doorbell there wouldn’t be an existing matter at hand. When I addressed this matter to the operator, she said, “I’m sorry, unfortunately we don’t knock on doors or ring doorbells.†If this is the case, how was he supposed to be let in?
I then asked to speak with a supervisor and was placed on hold for 9 minutes and 36 seconds. I told the supervisor I needed for a technician to be out at my home today on account the existing phone line will be turned off tomorrow. (I was told there has to be an active line for service to be rendered.) I was told repeatedly, there’s nothing we can do about that. I repeatedly told the supervisor, you can have a technician install my service, plain and simple. This particular supervisor was pleasant but being pleasant did not help my situation. She then proceeded to give me a ticket number (#356637) to call back on in an hour. After an hour went by I called back to speak with another operator who said the technician would not be coming back. I then asked to speak with yet another supervisor. This supervisors name was Marshal I.D. # 6307; Marshal did not take anything I had to say seriously and had a very nonchalant way of talking to me as if I was just wasting his time. I explained my frustrations to this operator/supervisor, stating that I needed my service to be connected today or I wouldn’t be able to do so at all. Marshal then told me it wasn’t going to happen. After I told him over and over I wouldn’t have an active phone line after tomorrow, he still insisted I reschedule for October 5th. Now, I feel I haven’t even been listened to. I stated to him my phone would be disconnected as of September 30th and he was still telling me the next available date would be on October 5th. I asked him why the original technician wasn’t able to return to my home after he finished with his other jobs (I was told earlier in the day that this was very possible). Right after I asked that question, a females voice in the background said, “ the tech aint goin back cause he right here.†Infuriated at this, I asked Marshal who that was and his reply was “why, what did you hear?†The female who said that sarcastic remark was laughing at this point. I told the operator/supervisor, I felt he was not taking my concerns seriously. I then told him I had friends and family waiting for my response as to how I liked Comcast compared to my existing service provider as they were also planning on switching to Comcast based on my experience. Now, sorry to say, that will not be happening. I asked Marshal who I could talk to with a higher ranking than him. He gave me the name Sue Keeney, when I asked to speak with her he said she wouldn’t be back until Monday. I then asked who I could call or talk to regarding him and the female making comments in the background, and stated I didn’t want another supervisor that I would like to talk to somebody in charge. Marshal then gave me the name Brian Roberts and asked if I wanted his address too. Marshal gave a little giggle as he said this, and soon after my conversation with him I found out why. Right about now I wish I could tell Mr. Roberts of my experience and how this “supervisor†and fellow coworker thought of me as a joke to laugh at. I went on-line to see who Brian Roberts was and I found out. There is no way for me to get in contact with the CEO of Comcast. I feel Marshal said this to be funny, thinking I wouldn’t bother with a letter or do a little research. I do realize speaking with Mr. Roberts is not an option and this letter will more than likely never reach his hands. I just feel I was treated very poorly and my interest in obtaining service from Comcast didn’t even matter to anybody. I am very curious why technicians cannot ring doorbells or knock on doors as well. This whole day has been a big waste of my time and I am very sorry I ever showed an interest in dealing with this company. I am going to send a complaint to the BBB on account of this. I expect some kind of response to this letter to tell me I am heard and I do matter to Comcast. What would Brian Roberts or his father say if they called to spot check their employees and were treated in this manner?? I am extremely outraged and dissatisfied. I refuse to just let it go without being heard. Comcast is huge. I know this. I refuse to just let this matter happen without someone knowing about it. Without any customers, where would Comcast be? I am just one person, but it only takes one person to be a customer.
Very Disappointed,
November 10th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
COMCAST owes ME money and they sent ME to collections, now I have to go through all of the b.s. of contacting the credit agencies yadda yadda yadda… COMCAST GETS A ZERO FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IN MY BOOK!!!!
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Has anyone heard of a Comcast FAST TRACK CUSTOMER? This is a customer who has been late a few times on his bill and get’s a different type of treatment as a customer. I had made a payment on my bill on a Saturday at one of there customer service centers. Well the payment didn’t post until the following Tuesday, so between Sat and Tues my cable box was shut off and my telephone service was suspended. When I called them Tuesday (after the Monday holiday) they told me that they had received my payment, but would not restore my service until I had a zero balance. The money that was owed on my bill was not due for another 28 days, but since I had been late in the past I was going to be penalized. I pay a small fortune every month for cable TV, internet and telephone service. I am trying to file a complaint with comcast, but everytime I get somebody they put me on hold and never come back. Has anybody else came across something like this?
January 18th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Wow… I stumbled upon this page somehow and thought I’d check it out, and I’ll have to say I’m highly disappointed.
I understand how frustrating things can be when they don’t go your way, and this is to everyone on here, but to spend this much time and energy on anger at mistakes? They are human just as much as we are. I used to work in Customer Service long ago, and until you work there: on the phones answering calls ranging from hostile to worshipping you… Then you will never know or understand what it’s like. You can think you do, because you’ve worked somewhere where you’ve had customers, but it’s not the same. Trust me..
So, have you Never made a mistake? You’re so perfect that you can criticize others… And here’s the funny thing: You Choose to have cable. You don’t Have to have it, but you choose to subscribe to said company, then complain about how they do things. Unless the way they do things is causing you to lose sleep at night and interfering with your job, then please get over it. Life is really too short to spend it like that. You had to have your address added… ok..? Three times? Man that’s a bummer… You’ve got cable now, right? Great! Enjoy! So mistakes were made, yet it doesn’t make the person or persons you spoke on the phone with “incompetent”. It makes them HUMAN, just like you. I hope noone labels you as such when you make mistakes. That’s pretty rude…
So you got your tv turned off because they have no record of your payments… Ok, prove you made them and get it turned back on! If you made the payments, you might have been putting the wrong account # on your checks. It could have been Your mistake that caused This mistake… It’s JUST cable! I’m sure you can live without it in the time it takes the bank to fax some papers. Go read a book or pop in a movie in the time being. It’s really NOT that big of a deal.
How can someone go to collections unless they owe money? Yet you blame the customer service? I think quite a few of you don’t quite understand the definition of customer service.
Here’s the low down:
If something is wrong, fix it. Don’t rely on other people and then complain when something doesn’t go right.
Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Just because they work at a company you want services from, it does NOT make them your servant nor incapable of making mistakes.
Be UNDERSTANDING .
Be FORGIVING.
Care about yourself enough to ignore the small things in life and let yourself relax a little more. Remember, It’s NOT a big deal.
So… I hope that makes a difference for at least one person. However, knowing the way people are these days, there’s going to be those who will take offense to someone trying to help them. In that case, they’ve completely missed the point of the entire conversation…
Cheers!
March 25th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
i think the comment by Hahamemy Says just proves how comcast is horrible with customer service. yes i can “criticize” others when i am paying for a service that is not being delieverd. yes i do have to have cable and unfortunately i can only get cable through the monopoly named comcast. why do i have to have cable and through comcast? because i live in chicago where we don’t have the best reception and its either cable or static. and since comcast is a monopoly i have to use them. and you say it makes someone “human” when they make mistakes and then blame a person for putting the wrong account number on their checks…ever consider also that maybe the “human” at comcast typed in the wrong number on the check? and maybe you should understand that if you work for a company then you are a representative of that company and as such your job is not to blame others but to actually help them! you’re a good example of whats wrong with comcast, but you’re right its not comcasts fault with anything, its ours for thinking that customer service is suppose to help fix the errors and not just make them worse. but of course they train you to blame the customer instead of trying to help the customer.
June 6th, 2007 at 11:51 am
You people are idiots. Publishing a private persons name, and phone numbers are not legal. It is most certainly not ethical. You are bashing the messenger in most of these problems not the company. If more than one person is trying to help and more than one person can’t fix the problem, maybe you have an above average problem.
I think it is near-sighted of you to publish such information about people who most likely do not have control of your situation. It would be the same as if you were a teacher, and your principal unfairly disciplines a student that a parent then goes online posting your full name and cell phone number because you didn’t care enough, or you didn’t do your job.
Personally I have had nothing but friendly helpful customer service from Comcast. They have been prompt for appoinments and the product has been better than I could have asked for. I never have any problems that I did when I used the dish. I also got a great deal when I switched from the dish.
I think it is near-sighted of you to publish such information about people who most likely do not have control of your situation. It would be the same as if you were a teacher, and your principal unfairly disciplines a student that parent posting your full name and cell phone becuase you didn’t care enough, or do your job.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I didn’t notice the phone numbers published. I removed them.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Well my troubles started today, which is the day before we were to have service installed tomorrow. The comcast collections department called here saying that there was a previous account and it had a balance that had to be paid before the account could be turned on tomorrow. So of course, I asked if it was paid today could we still keep the appointment for tomorrow, of course she said. Well when I called in to make the payment, the appointment had already been canceled for tomorrow. So now my kids will not be waking up for 11 days to watch cartoons. I am infurated. There is not much else that I can do being comcast is the only provider in my area. I really wish that we had another choice. I would drop comcast in a heart beat!!
August 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
My experience with Comcast is even better! I called their pay by phone #, paid my bill, got a conformation #. Few days later, cable cut off! Called them. They said payment never received. Explained my pay by phone payment and confirmation #. Never heard of it. Printed up bank statement where payment was deducted and sent to them. Faxed to them. Cable turned on. Few days later, turned off again. Called again. Wanted me to refax bank statement AGAIN! Said would do no good because it did not work the first time. Went into Comcast office in person and spoke to representative. She apoligized after seeing my bank print out and deducted my payment but said I still owed for the last month service plus a reconnection fee. (I have not had service for over 2 months). Said I refused to pay these because I had no service due to their incapability of processing payments to the correct accounts. She was very nice and said she would send my complaint over to the collections department and that it would be 10 working days before I could get an answer. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?! They apparently hire people that can’t get a job at The Burger Barn and then we honest, upright, tax paying patrons have to pay for their stupid mistakes!!!!!! Like I would go through all of this just to get basic cable!! Come on Comcast, we do have lives out here!
By the way, I am still waiting for their response.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I can’t believe this. I am experiencing the exact problem with Comcast right now. Seems I paid my high speed internet bill via phone and then 6 days later they turned my cable tv off saying they never received payment. I too had to go to the bank and fax proof of payment to them. That was Friday afternoon and they still have not turned cable tv back on (this is Sunday now). Their customer service representatives are the most incompetent people I’ve ever come across. I’m a registered nurse and if I was as incompetent as they are, none of my patients would ever be safe!
March 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
BEAT THIS. 4 days after moving into my apartment which had be vacant for 3 months prior, I got on the internet via a free source and scheduled a comcast triple play installation. 18 days later, a guy shows up at my door and installs cable, internet, and phone as promised only, on the work order, I’m not the person he’s installing it for. Apparently, they had the right address and requestor which is me, but someone elses name, social and phone number printed. I called comcast, and after about an hour wait and 4 transfers later, I was told I would have to drive about 2 hours out of my way to a “local” office with proof residence, my driver’s license and my social security card so they can fax it off to another “local” office to fix the problem. Does comcast just hold on the people’s info after they cut off their service or something? Frankly, I’m little nervous about the whole thing. I mean, I sent off my personal info to someone I don’t know. How many people work at comcast to where it has to go through so many hands to solve a problem?
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
UNREAL!!!!! I’ve been having problems with my digital phone service since it was installed in Nov ‘07! Has anyone else had this: you get dial tone, you can hear the person calling you, BUT THEY CAN’T HEAR YOU - so they call back thinking their phone went dead.
After 8 phone calls to Comcast and 3 “techs” coming out to the house (yes, I’ve given ample time to repair the problem) no fix. They are going to come out to the house AGAIN to test the signal strength - so they can then call for a LINE TECH. I just want my money back. Go to an AT&T land line, and get Direct TV!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 1:00 am
account: 8798540290009707
comcast terminated my internet service, complaining that i have used excessive bandwidth. bullshit, first of all i pay for Unlimited service, i don’t download much on the computer, it is most likely that i have many computers running 24/7 and a ps3/wii/ps2/ds/psp/skype voip all which use internet. the pricks at comcast abuse center state that the policy is they will terminate the account for 1 year, i’d be fine signing up with another company, but comcast has a monopoly in my area! comcast is blatenly violating FCC regulations by disconnecting my service since i rely on VOIP to reach 911 emergency number. i will be filing multiple complaints with the bbc, fcc and anywhere else that will listen. comcast needs to change their bullshit ‘abuse’ policy. many people rely on their internet service in every day life for various reasons, turning it off and disconnecting people because they use it too much is a bullshit solution, how about not overselling the service which you obviously can’t provide!