Comcast Improves Customer Satisfaction > I'm happy with them

reply to 45071419

Re: I'm happy with them

Again as I mentioned earlier, if these hardware problems are 3rd party hardware problems they would be affecting all of the cable operators. Comcast would 'take' the same proportional hit as Cox.

reply to fiberguy

reply to Bit
um, .. they are affecting all operators... Comcast is MUCH larger compared to all the rest of the providers and have also been larger for longer. As has been discussed for many years here, Comcast is going to take a larger beating because of that.

The only thing that really separates one cable company from other is their operating policies. Their technology is all purchased from the same group of available vendors.

I can, if I cared to, scan and post a list 6 pages long from TV makers, and Tivo, of "known problems" with their devices, their firmware, and what they are doing to work out the problem. This is not to say that CableCard itself doesn't have some issues as well.. However, when the makers themselves have put pen to paper, I'm going to go with that as one of the points of weakness.

The problems are becoming less and less as new hardware is manufactured.. however, just becuase new hardware is on the market didn't do a thing to change the TV/Box already owned an in place by existing customers that don't have the fix or new firmware installed.

If you're using BBR as a gauge to measure the proportion of complaints, then you're not doing your homework correctly.. BBR is not a place where I'd conduct any scientific polls. The Qwest forum, for example, is rather quiet compared to the others which is that way based on numerous things.. their system is built a little different.. there have been MANY 3rd party support groups available.. those customers tend to be in areas with different life styles..

But don't think that for one moment that Cox, Time Warner, Charter, MediaCom, and all the rest all don't have a fair amount of cable card problems either. And, to be honest, considering the number of cable cards in circulation as we speak, the population to bitch is small anyway. Comcast just gains a lot of attention no matter what.. I'm sure at some point, Comcast will get blamed for the Iraq war by SOMEONE.. it's just a matter of time.

reply to DaveDude
Exactly!

To be honest, Comcast, like all cable providers, should be happy about the July ruling of separable security... they should use that and approach other vendors to manufacture boxes to what customers want.

PERSONALLY, I think the Tivo thing was a good "IDEA" but they went around it all wrong.. both of them did.

Instead of making software for current boxes, they should have just gone to Tivo and said "Make us a box that works with our DAC, on the Tivo Platform and make sure it can do all of the following..." Instead of making a hack software attempt, they should have gone with the route of all new boxes and discontinued the relationship with Moto in buying any additional DVR boxes.

Fiber,

comcast should have asked Tivo for a cheaper box, and had it premade for comcast. Video on demand could have been remade, to look like netflix, or amazon. Everyone would have been happy, it would have inspired others to re-create it. Instead we got the flatliner motorolas we have today.

reply to fiberguy
I'm just looking at the rankings and see Comcast as previously horrible, close to the worst in the video services industry and now merely mediocre. I then see people trying to explain why saying it's hardware issues, it's how many customers they have, etc but if that were the case, Cox would be horrible as well and they aren't.

Telephony rankings are the same way. Cox is at the top and Comcast at the bottom. That isn't a technology problem, that is purely a customer service practices problem. When you have mediocre rankings over a couple of different services that is a company philosophy problem in either company wide training problems, barriers of making customers jump through hoops to get to competent assistance, very long hold times, horrible automated phone navigation systems, company wide billing issues, etc.

But given their telephony rankings bounce up and down, this small increase in video results (that still aren't as high as they were in '06) can be a similar anomaly and not any revelation of a Comcast turn-around. Even with the improvement, if not for bankrupt Charter, Comcast would be tied with Time Warner for worse video service provider in the ranking just as they're the worse telephony provider in the rankings.

IOW, this is nothing for Comcast to be proud of. They have plenty of hard work ahead if they want to improve their reputation.

reply to DaveDude
That's what I was basically saying... instead of asking them for software on their current crappy hardware from Moto, they should have just went to Tivo with what they needed and let Tivo make a box that would do it all. I BET that customers, for the first year or two even, would have ate those boxes up like crazy.. Then, its my guess, that Tivo would have been releasing new boxes to market on a regular basis as well.. it would have been a win win.. it would have put Tivo up there on the lines of Motorola and S/A-Cisco as box makers and shored up their financials for sure! (To be honest, I think if they did that, Motorola would have gone the way of the former AT&T.. either died off, completely or absorbed by another company all together)

Moto is behind the time anyway.. their hardware is lackluster, they can't design ANYTHING with style,.. I could go on.. But, it's a company that's stuck in the 1980's with a lackluster attempt to style it for modern times.

reply to Bit
Well, you're also assuming that I am saying their ranking is based solely on hardware issues.. I"m not. But, you are implying that it is.

There is another difference between Comcast and Cox.. Cox doesn't really lead in anything.. Cox has powerboost, but they got it from Comcast. You don't hear Cox getting beat up over powerboost being a POS attempt to appear faster.. comcast, however did.

Comcast pushes the envelope out there and gets the industry to move on things.

VOD is another example. To date, Comcast still has the best VOD offering over any other provider. Have you seen MediaCom's VOD offering? Charter? If it wasn't for Comcast, VOD would be largely subscription based. It was Comcast that went to the providers and said "cough up the content".. and they did.

Comcast owes its poor ratings to a few major things..

1) They grew too big too fast.

2) They purchased many older systems and didn't move on updates to the plant itself fast enough. They tried putting in the new services that people wanted with out taking time to repair outdated and poorly maintained plants. This also gives you poor service quality on some advanced digital services like phone and internet.

3) There's a mental aspect too.. take some of the old adelphia systems that Comcast/TWC got.. customers were somewhat already at peace with their service, but when Comcast or TWC moved in, the customers expectation grew quickly that a "large company" purchased them and they wanted more HD, faster speeds, phone, etc. So by default, you get an angry base. (This particular one I don't care to go into too much as it's a conversation of it's own)

There are many reasons.. but, the main reason they scored low was customer service issue along side of price.. know what that equates to? "Value!" ... If you had EXCELLENT customer service and a system that ran well, the number of people bitching about the price would diminish quickly. But, when you have poor customer service and rates are as they are, you get angry customers every time they have to write a check. There is a large system base of customers, after purchase and system swaps, that saw increases in bills as well, so you're going to see a lot of that.

However, Cox, still, a smaller company, can also better manage their systems from the top down which also gives them the ability to provide better customer service.

Further, phone system problems? wait times? Today, a 60 second hold time is "horrible".. and while each comcast system, cuz I can't speak for Cox since I don't have them, is generally a 2 button menu (in most systems) which I consider acceptable.

And finally.. when you add things up, and you've got a customer angry, say, over a missed appointment - which happens in ALL businesses, its just funny how EVERYTHING about a company is all the sudden 'messed up' and 'horrible'...

I could care less about Comcast, Cox, TWC, Verizon.. etc. I'm speaking largely about customer service in general.. and in this post, speaking about polls and studies and how people respond to them. In all honesty, people are not honest when they fill out polls in general. And before you bite off my head on that one, not only do I agree with what I said, many top professors at honorable universities who study human behaviour and polls, etc. will say the same thing. People are vengeful and when angry over one thing WILL exaggerate many other responses believing it will "damage" or "get back at" the company (the "that'll teach 'em attitude) in the process.

Anyway.. I'm done posting on this topic..

reply to Bit
Yup!

Well.. let's be fair now.. when they designed that box, it was very much designed to be the same size as one of those popular VCR machines..

And my 8088.

reply to DaveDude