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Comments on news posted 2008-06-02 09:33:45: "As cable and phone companies slug it out in markets across the U.S., improving customer care is becoming a core part of their strategies," CNET's Marguerite Reardon says in an article this morning. ..

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jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Damage Control

It seems that many of these conglomerates would rather spend money on propaganda and advertising to increase their image, rather than spend money to improve their products and services.

They would not have to resort to these damage control techniques if they weren't so shortsighted and greedy. And it's not only the company, but also the impatient public with an investment to look after.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

1 recommendation

moonpuppy (banned)

Member

Don't talk about fixing problems....

....JUST DO IT!!!!

You know, I have been through enough of these rah rah quality meetings and read plenty of the books about customer satisfaction. Not ONCE have I seen it being implemented.

Case in point: Comcast transmits some local digital and HD channels in the clear. A couple of weeks ago, they shut many of them off. I did a "chat" with a Comcast rep and he was ready to roll a truck. A week later, I re-scanned the channels and many of the channels moved. Now, why did the CSR want to roll a truck? Unnecessary expense and the problem would not have been fixed costing Comcast more money.

Either upgrade the communication and training of the CSRs AND hire better techs or suffer from lower customer satisfaction and cry about not having customers.

A BMW service? Sorry, but I prefer a car on the road rather than at the shop getting fixed.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to jmn1207

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to jmn1207

Re: Damage Control

said by jmn1207:

It seems that many of these conglomerates would rather spend money on propaganda and advertising to increase their image, rather than spend money to improve their products and services.
Comcast hired 15,000 customer service reps. They spent some REAL money there.

POB
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium Member
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA

POB

Premium Member

Same Shit Different Company

Creating the appearance you provide quality customer service is much cheaper than actually doing so -- particularly if you can convince the technology press to repeatedly state you're improving customer service (and this time you really mean it, right Mr. PR?). When you combine investor pressure to cut corners, the use of long term contracts and a lack of competition, carriers really don't face any pressure to really improve customer service.
And therein lies the crux of the matter. All of these much trumpeted improvements are the Tech PR equivalent of the security theater we see at the airport. Much ado about absolutely nothing.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

1 recommendation

hopeflicker to FFH5

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to FFH5

Re: Damage Control

said by FFH5:
said by jmn1207:

It seems that many of these conglomerates would rather spend money on propaganda and advertising to increase their image, rather than spend money to improve their products and services.
Comcast hired 15,000 customer service reps. They spent some REAL money there.
You can hire 15 billion CS reps but it still doesn't change the fact, nor will it fix the huge internal communications breakdown within these companies.

This, IMO is where a good majority of CS complaints stem from.
walliser
join:2002-01-27
Philadelphia, PA

walliser to FFH5

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to FFH5
Read: Comcast signed a contract with call center operator and the call center operator in turn providing 15000 drones to answer calls on Comcast's behalf.
I highly doubt Comcast added 15000 employees to their payroll.

Impressive improvement, really...

sbrook
Mod
join:2001-12-14
Ottawa

sbrook to POB

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to POB

Re: Same Shit Different Company

Just like here in Canada ... Bell Canada has the most dreadful customer service now ... TO prove they've improved they now answer the phone ...

"Hello this is myname. How may I provide you with excellent customer service today?"

Somehow they think that saying that makes the customer believe it and the service person believe they're going to provide it!

My latest escapade shows how wrong it was. I canceled phone and internet on a daughter's phone line at college. They canceled the phone OK, but the internet wasn't. Got that fixed, but then discovered they're trying to continue to charge me for it!
raptor1418
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
Denver, CO

1 recommendation

raptor1418 to POB

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to POB
said by POB:

All of these much trumpeted improvements are the Tech PR equivalent of the security theater we see at the airport. Much ado about absolutely nothing.
You really can't compare a government pony show to a commercial company pony show. The 2 arrived at being a pony show by 2 very different means and for different reasons although they are similar in nature.

Having worked on both sides of the house the government pony show is due to the lack of competent chiefs and not enough Indians. So the chiefs do their pony show to posture their position and in most cases the chiefs have no clue to what their pony show is about. That is usual why it looks like an unorganized cluster on the stage.

From what I have seen on the Commercial side the pony show is used to make the company look good but at a very minimal cost and bank that the majority watching are not educated enough on the topic and can easily be deceived by what is in the show. The PR department runs these pony shows and usually has a good sense of what they are trying to accomplish.
deadzoned
Premium Member
join:2005-04-13
Cypress, TX

1 edit

deadzoned

Premium Member

**

No real progress or change actually ever happens with these companies. They pretty much seem to go through the motions of addressing issues and complaints if they get publicized enough but only as a way of fixing their image. Never, do they really do anything meaningful to address a problem.

So customer service, infrastructure, etc... just go out the window really as they pay lip service to doing something about it.
SilverSurfer1
join:2007-08-19

SilverSurfer1 to raptor1418

Member

to raptor1418

Re: Same Shit Different Company

said by raptor1418:

You really can't compare a government pony show to a commercial company pony show. The 2 arrived at being a pony show by 2 very different means and for different reasons although they are similar in nature.

Having worked on both sides of the house the government pony show is due to the lack of competent chiefs and not enough Indians. So the chiefs do their pony show to posture their position and in most cases the chiefs have no clue to what their pony show is about. That is usual why it looks like an unorganized cluster on the stage.

From what I have seen on the Commercial side the pony show is used to make the company look good but at a very minimal cost and bank that the majority watching are not educated enough on the topic and can easily be deceived by what is in the show. The PR department runs these pony shows and usually has a good sense of what they are trying to accomplish.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. End result is still the same.

Dolgan
Premium Member
join:2005-10-01
Madison, WI

1 edit

Dolgan to jmn1207

Premium Member

to jmn1207

Re: Damage Control

quote:
Damage Control
It seems that many of these conglomerates would rather spend money on propaganda and advertising to increase their image, rather than spend money to improve their products and services.

They would not have to resort to these damage control techniques if they weren't so shortsighted and greedy. And it's not only the company, but also the impatient public with an investment to look after.
These statements hit the nail right on the head. As a Verizon POTS Tech{call center} we deal with this every day. The Executives have decided that instead of fixing the underlying causes of line loss and customer dissatisfaction, they will just offer $25 credits to appease their anger over multiple repair issues, missed repair commitments, and delayed service orders. The Central Region{TX, IL, MI, IN, OH, and WI} has had 2 Tech buyouts in the last 8 weeks in order to reduce staffing/costs--this shows they have no intentions of doing what is necessary to maintain/repair a decaying network. The rural areas are being the hardest hit--pretty sad when there is only 1 tech in an area with 65 cases of trouble to work on. With a 5 job a day load that is 13 days to catch up on the current tickets, and who knows how many more jobs have come in.

The Tech shortage is also reflected when they turn off 4 hr appointment windows and the customer is forced to wait all day for jack repair, only to have it missed{pushed out} due to heavy loads of customers that are out of service. Furthermore, the policy of calling customers to make them aware that we are running behind/will miss their appointment is being ignored due to lack of staff to handle the call loads on inbound calls, let alone make outbound calls. The final truth is that CEO's like Ivan Seidenberg are more concerned about the bonuses that they are making and keeping the stock prices artificially high for institutional investors/day traders--instead of taking care of their bread and butter, the customer.

PS: If you want to get priority service from Verizon just threaten to disconnect, it is the only way you will get the service which we should be delivering all the time.
Corydon
Cultivant son jardin
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join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO

1 edit

1 recommendation

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to FFH5
said by FFH5:
said by jmn1207:

It seems that many of these conglomerates would rather spend money on propaganda and advertising to increase their image, rather than spend money to improve their products and services.
Comcast hired 15,000 customer service reps. They spent some REAL money there.
If they really hired 15,000 reps that they have direct control over (i.e. not outsourced) then there will be a payoff in customer service. It won't be immediate (unless you count time spent waiting on hold for someone to talk to) because those new folks need time to get up to speed. Maybe next year's results will be a bit better.

Now for the other stuff they can do to fix things:

1) Give all those new reps a means of directly contacting the guys in the trucks to get real ETAs and find out what's going on on the ground.

2) Give customers an easy way of escaping the automated voice response systems. I don't know of anyone who actually likes these things.

3) Give their reps some ability to handle problems from beginning to end. I think Verizon may be on the right track with assigning one rep to a customer. Yeah, that rep still has the same crappy billing system and escalation paths, but at least you get someone who knows the history on the account and can do follow up when it's warranted.
raptor1418
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
Denver, CO

raptor1418 to SilverSurfer1

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to SilverSurfer1

Re: Same Shit Different Company

Like I said they are similar in nature. Usually are both a result of trying to cover up some sort of problem but not actually fixing it.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to walliser

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to walliser

Re: Damage Control

said by walliser:

Read: Comcast signed a contract with call center operator and the call center operator in turn providing 15000 drones to answer calls on Comcast's behalf.
I highly doubt Comcast added 15000 employees to their payroll.

Impressive improvement, really...
No they really hired 15,000 reps in last 18 months and it is not some outsourced call center:
»Comcast Ramping Up Customer Retention Offers

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

said by FFH5:
said by walliser:

Read: Comcast signed a contract with call center operator and the call center operator in turn providing 15000 drones to answer calls on Comcast's behalf.
I highly doubt Comcast added 15000 employees to their payroll.

Impressive improvement, really...
No they really hired 15,000 reps in last 18 months and it is not some outsourced call center YET

fixed!
Kiwi88
Premium Member
join:2003-05-26
Bryant, AR

Kiwi88 to deadzoned

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to deadzoned

Re: **

Whats the population of America and we have, what three staple broadband providers; all who have dipped into PUBLIC money to advance infrastructure.

Take the cash cow out of the picture and increase competition.

»www.xchangemag.com/hotne ··· ent.html. 54% profit.

»gigaom.com/2008/01/24/wi ··· -profit/

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24351412/

Now, if that public monies had been used to service, lets say another three broadband companies, perhaps the public would have actually seen an overall improvement.

Nothing is going to change, any time soon.

devrandom
I got a pot, full of random stuff here
Premium Member
join:2003-06-28

1 edit

devrandom

Premium Member

Abolish the command structure

The problem with most of these companies lies in their command structure -- inherently big corporations are run in a structure where the CSRs are at the bottom of the chain, the management sits above, and then the CEO/board sits at the top. It is ineffective for something like problem solving since it does not allow for highly creative human problem solving to take place (which is something we, as humans are very good at and have brought with us as a result of evolution). Moving up one step of the ladder usually requires something like paperwork and then there are barriers (such as being unable to call out to xyz, or having system abc available to them).

The key that most of these orgs are looking for is worker organization/resource management (of the don't be messy/spend lots of money kind), and not chaos, but by simply treating support as set it and forget it, they wholly neglect their customers, piss off customer support reps and chaos ensues anyway.

The only way to "fix" it would be to do away with the whole command structure and systems. Although replacing it with another command structure capable of handling massive support load brings the question of "what fits."

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

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Re: Damage Control

said by FFH5:

Comcast hired 15,000 customer service reps. They spent some REAL money there.
All this does is allow me to reach someone who can't help me, faster. It doesn't actually solve any problems with support.
Morac

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to moonpuppy

Re: Don't talk about fixing problems....

said by moonpuppy:

Case in point: Comcast transmits some local digital and HD channels in the clear. A couple of weeks ago, they shut many of them off. I did a "chat" with a Comcast rep and he was ready to roll a truck. A week later, I re-scanned the channels and many of the channels moved. Now, why did the CSR want to roll a truck? Unnecessary expense and the problem would not have been fixed costing Comcast more money.
This is because customer support is at a national level. For example if you call Comcast with a problem, you end up talking to someone in Texas, Florida, Louisiana or wherever else Comcast decides to put a call center. The person has very little information about your local Comcast system, which is run independently from Comcast corporate.

The person you're calling can't even check the TV feed themselves to see if it is a system-wide problem because they don't get your feed.

The only think the call center person can do is initiate a truck roll since that's the only way to put you in touch with local support. The phone support people might as well be located on another planet since they can't do much of anything.

Ebolla
join:2005-09-28
Dracut, MA

Ebolla

Member

said by Morac:

This is because customer support is at a national level. For example if you call Comcast with a problem, you end up talking to someone in Texas, Florida, Louisiana or wherever else Comcast decides to put a call center. The person has very little information about your local Comcast system, which is run independently from Comcast corporate.
Incorrect, MOST support is done at a regional level, in new england area its even more localized then it used to be. 2 years ago reps in the 5 call centers in MA/NH/CT took calls for NH/MA/ME/CT, Now CT takes CT calls, the call centers outside of boston take boston metro and the cape area's. The center in NH and northern MA take care of NH/ME and northeast MA. Some of the reps take phone/cable/internet so no need to have all calls for internet outsourced.

There are some calls directed to differant area's but it has to do with overflow of call volume, Internet calls still mostly outsourced but in NE region about 35% of those calls now inhouse. Some phone(CDV) needs to go to a national center that deals with switches.

Jovi
Premium Member
join:2000-02-24
Mount Joy, PA

Jovi

Premium Member

Anyone?

Anyone see that? Karl didn't mention Comcast in an article about poor customer support. How about them apples(comcast lovers)?

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

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Re: Don't talk about fixing problems....

said by Ebolla:

Incorrect, MOST support is done at a regional level, in new england area its even more localized then it used to be. 2 years ago reps in the 5 call centers in MA/NH/CT took calls for NH/MA/ME/CT, Now CT takes CT calls, the call centers outside of boston take boston metro and the cape area's. The center in NH and northern MA take care of NH/ME and northeast MA. Some of the reps take phone/cable/internet so no need to have all calls for internet outsourced.
I've found it to be the opposite of what you claim. There is a local call center in Voorhees, NJ which is less that 20 miles from where I live. A few years ago, any call I made into Comcast usually went to that call center, unless I called late at night, in which case the call would end up in Canada somewhere.

As of late, I've never had a call go to the Voorhees call center. This year alone, I've made over 10 calls (at different times of day) and every single one of them went to either Florida, Texas or Louisiana. I even asked to be specifically directed to Voorhees and ended up back in Texas. This wasn't during a "high volume" period since there were no outages in my area at the time.

Calling my local support number always redirects to the 800 number which then goes to some random call center in the country.

So while Comcast New England might be more regional, that doesn't spill over to other Comcast franchises.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

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Re: Damage Control

Upon reflection, I do not wish to post. Take me back!

comcast csr
@danger.com

comcast csr

Anon

My Fustration

Results of these surveys are always interest but until you get into the stories why people do not like their cable companies. Being a csr for Comcast, I have some understanding and the reason because most reps, well trained and knowledgiblea in their fields, cannot do every thing a customer wants. Just today, I had a customer who wanted money for services not working without any proof it was not. A person who called at 4 pm and wanted to get the tech out tonight for an installation of cable and internet. Another who wanted me to pass along a suggestion that Comcast should have techs available for same day out of service even though she was calling in at 4pm. Finally, a guy who was upset that after 24 hours, he has not been called by Comcast about a tech who referred the problem with the wiring his electrician put in. This is just today.

There was a time I enjoyed coming to work and doing everything I can to help them. Now it is becoming absured because people keep threatening about switch providers (bye!) and demand more money back then how long they've had the problem. But I feel like that poor kitten that got beaten on by those contractors. I'm venting because I'm emotionally drained and some people I deal with are just out to keep kicking me when I'm down.
krazymon2
join:2008-01-13
Coraopolis, PA

krazymon2 to Morac

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to Morac

Re: Don't talk about fixing problems....

I am from the Pittsburgh area and anytime I have called in they have been local. Thought they were joking before until until they started talking about places in the city and things that were going on.

Mari
@comcast.net

Mari

Anon

How to improve...

One option for improving customer service: give the CSRs more information to work with and some kind of alternative to just rolling a truck.

»connectedhome2go.com/200 ··· service/

JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium Member
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD

JTRockville to moonpuppy

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to moonpuppy

Re: Don't talk about fixing problems....

said by moonpuppy:

....JUST DO IT!!!!
They can't get beyond uttering the same 4 year old phrase. We get it.

From March 2004 »www.rlmpr.com/?pg=newsle ··· r&id=182
said by Akweli Parker, Miami Herald, (emphasis added) :
...In an ad campaign that began this week, the company is acknowledging its past customer-service fumbles and promising to do better -- starting now.

"We get it," said David N. Watson, Comcast Cable's executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service, in an interview yesterday. "We recognize we have legacy issues as a service provider."...

From May 2008 »news.cnet.com/8301-10784 ··· -1_3-0-5
said by Marguerite Reardon, CNET blog (emphasis added) :
...Germano acknowledged the company needs to improve its service and perception.

"Comcast takes full responsibility for what these surveys are saying," he said. "We don't disagree with the results. And we're listening. We get it. But we look at this an opportunity for us to improve. As a business we have to do it."...

Is it still considered "stuttering" if there's a 4 year gap?
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned) to Morac

Member

to Morac
said by Morac:

This is because customer support is at a national level. For example if you call Comcast with a problem, you end up talking to someone in Texas, Florida, Louisiana or wherever else Comcast decides to put a call center. The person has very little information about your local Comcast system, which is run independently from Comcast corporate.

The person you're calling can't even check the TV feed themselves to see if it is a system-wide problem because they don't get your feed.
It seems for a company so concerned about selling you phone service, they can't even communicate with the local systems.
said by Morac:

The only think the call center person can do is initiate a truck roll since that's the only way to put you in touch with local support. The phone support people might as well be located on another planet since they can't do much of anything.
A simple communications setup costs a lot less than a truck roll.
moonpuppy

moonpuppy (banned) to JTRockville

Member

to JTRockville
said by JTRockville:

said by moonpuppy:

....JUST DO IT!!!!
They can't get beyond uttering the same 4 year old phrase. We get it.

From March 2004 »www.rlmpr.com/?pg=newsle ··· r&id=182
said by Akweli Parker, Miami Herald, (emphasis added) :
...In an ad campaign that began this week, the company is acknowledging its past customer-service fumbles and promising to do better -- starting now.

"We get it," said David N. Watson, Comcast Cable's executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service, in an interview yesterday. "We recognize we have legacy issues as a service provider."...

From May 2008 »news.cnet.com/8301-10784 ··· -1_3-0-5
said by Marguerite Reardon, CNET blog (emphasis added) :
...Germano acknowledged the company needs to improve its service and perception.

"Comcast takes full responsibility for what these surveys are saying," he said. "We don't disagree with the results. And we're listening. We get it. But we look at this an opportunity for us to improve. As a business we have to do it."...

Is it still considered "stuttering" if there's a 4 year gap?
Typical of Comcast. Bury their heads in the sand and hope the customers go away. I wonder if Dave Watson still works for them?

Got to love the new Direct TV commercials that show the cable boardroom. How close to the truth is that?

BTW, I signed up for FIOS.
moonpuppy

moonpuppy (banned) to comcast csr

Member

to comcast csr

Re: My Fustration

said by comcast csr :

Results of these surveys are always interest but until you get into the stories why people do not like their cable companies. Being a csr for Comcast, I have some understanding and the reason because most reps, well trained and knowledgiblea in their fields, cannot do every thing a customer wants. Just today, I had a customer who wanted money for services not working without any proof it was not. A person who called at 4 pm and wanted to get the tech out tonight for an installation of cable and internet. Another who wanted me to pass along a suggestion that Comcast should have techs available for same day out of service even though she was calling in at 4pm. Finally, a guy who was upset that after 24 hours, he has not been called by Comcast about a tech who referred the problem with the wiring his electrician put in. This is just today.

There was a time I enjoyed coming to work and doing everything I can to help them. Now it is becoming absured because people keep threatening about switch providers (bye!) and demand more money back then how long they've had the problem. But I feel like that poor kitten that got beaten on by those contractors. I'm venting because I'm emotionally drained and some people I deal with are just out to keep kicking me when I'm down.
Maybe with your training they could teach you how to spell or use the spell checker.

Here was my situation. For a few weeks, I was noticing minor pixelization on channels from about 30 to 70. So bad, it was nearly impossible to see a picture. Checked all the TVs in my house. Same issue. Called a friend half a block away. Same issue. Called Comcast. Told there was high call volume and told to call back later. Called for the next hour getting the same message. Called the next day and not only did I not get a credit but a denial there was any problem. Told to unplug and reset my TV boxes (I have none. )

Got a truck roll. Tech came out and said she KNEW there was a problem with the area and the fix was on the node. She had received a LOT of calls and the truck rolls were useless. This kept up for 3 weeks. Finally fixed.

Your venting on customers does no good since your own company sabotages you.
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