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Comcast Wants More In-House Techs?
But do investors? Probably not...
Comcast's subcontractors consistently make the news for falling asleep, murder, digging in the wrong yard or blowing up laptops, dishwashers or homes. One Atlanta Comcast exec admits to the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the company would like to reduce the amount of outsourced installers.
quote:
Our installer — a contract employee hired to help handle the demand for Comcast's phone service — either didn't follow or didn't know the right process. This sort of problem frustrates Gene Shatlock, Comcast's regional senior vice president in Atlanta. As the year goes on, he wants to cut the use of outside contractors in favor of better-trained, full-time employees. "We have not been able to reduce the contractors to the level that we would like to see," he said."
Is an increase in the use of in-house installation techs part of the solution to cable's woeful customer service reputation?
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topics flat nest 

sansri88
digital is here
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY

sansri88

Premium Member

Interesting....

Because I've never had any problem with techs that come to my house. They don't know what they're most of the time, but they don't do any damage.

bdh
join:2007-08-21
Little Elm, TX

bdh

Member

good luck!

In theory: sure it sounds great. Being a former Comcast employee prior to the TWC merge, I highly doubt it will happen. There will always be contract work; its simply cheaper than having all the work in-house.

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

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: good luck!

said by bdh:

In theory: sure it sounds great. Being a former Comcast employee prior to the TWC merge, I highly doubt it will happen. There will always be contract work; its simply cheaper than having all the work in-house.
The trick is to hire and use internal employees for a steady state budgeted workload and then hire contractors for expansion projects and for those times when problems occur(like hurricane season in some locales and ice storms in other locales).

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

1 recommendation

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: good luck!

said by FFH5:

The trick is to hire and use internal employees for a steady state budgeted workload and then hire contractors for expansion projects and for those times when problems occur(like hurricane season in some locales and ice storms in other locales).
I agree, and wish more companies saw it this way. Temp work should go to temp workers. Core parts of your business need to be in house.

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown to bdh

Premium Member

to bdh
BDH, how are things now under TWC from an employee POV?
Better / worse / different?

Jon5
Premium Member
join:2001-01-20
Lisle, IL

Jon5

Premium Member

solution to cable's woeful customer service reputation?

No, just another reason to raise prices!

binarycode
join:2003-04-30
Chambersburg, PA

binarycode

Member

Omg!

I always thought the techs that came to my place were pretty decent. They knew what they were doing basically and were polite. (Probably because they are not Comcast employess?) One even hung around a while checking his eBay auctions lol! I never read any of those other horror stories so now I consider myself quite lucky.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

Re: Omg!

Was he selling items he swiped from customer installs?

Better check your on your baseball card collection.

binarycode
join:2003-04-30
Chambersburg, PA

binarycode

Member

Re: Omg!

Hah! He was selling truck parts mostly. If a tech manages to disassemble your truck while seemingly installing your service I think he deserves to keep them. ^^
reelbigfish
join:2002-06-06
Boston, MA

reelbigfish to binarycode

Member

to binarycode
Contract work surely has its place. Although, now that they are providing phone service I see the need for more in-house techs. They need quicker response from more knowledgeable techs to handle this type of service that people depend on. For installs and such, I don't see a problem with contractors. It really is only when there are problems there needs to be an in-house tech.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: Omg!

Exactly. With all the new technologies, they need more in house techs so they can make sure they are trained properly. The one thing I hate the most is when I talk to a CSR or they send someone to my house that knows LESS than I do.

MadMANN3
Premium Member
join:2005-08-19

MadMANN3 to binarycode

Premium Member

to binarycode
said by binarycode:

I always thought the techs that came to my place were pretty decent. They knew what they were doing basically and were polite
This describes the average tech. However, DSLR will find any horror story and try to illustrate that most techs act like those in the stories.

I am here to tell you that there are plenty of great contractors as well as in-house. The rare idiot that makes the headlines here are the ones that give good ones bad reps.
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn

Good for Comcast...

It is good to see that Comcast wants to improve the level of service they offer to their customers... It will give them customers a much better experience and, in the long run, will pay off for Comcast in terms of less negative publicity and lower costs.

kalphearion
In nomine Patri
Premium Member
join:2003-11-08
Broomfield, CO

kalphearion

Premium Member

Re: Good for Comcast...

said by bmn:

It is good to see that Comcast wants to improve the level of service they offer to their customers... It will give them customers a much better experience and, in the long run, will pay off for Comcast in terms of less negative publicity and lower costs.
Don't get your hopes up

DaSneaky1D
what's up
MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou

2 edits

DaSneaky1D

MVM

In house techs not needed...

The problem with Comcast is the outsourced techs they use, not simply that they're vendors. Make sure the vendors used are reputable and professional. Make sure contract with them pays enough to encourage them to hire people worthy of a decent wage (you get what you pay for...and hiring someone willing to work for minimum wage often gets you bottom quality employees).

Vendor support doesn't have to be bad, and I'm sure there are plenty of frustrated techs that desire to work for themselves and are willing to vend for Comcast. Pay them, but hold them accountable for representing your image correctly. If they don't, drop them. They'll learn.

Not sure if they do, but, hold classes to teach your standards (safety, clean installation, professional appearance).

Comcast can save money by using vendors, but make it worth the vendors while to represent Comcast in a proper way...and hold them to it.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

said by DaSneaky1D:

Vendor support doesn't have to be bad, and I'm sure there are plenty of frustrated techs that desire to work for themselves and are willing to vend for Comcast. Pay them, but hold them accountable for representing your image correctly. If they don't, drop them. They'll learn.
That's how DirecTV does it. Screw up or make DirecTV look bad and they'll pull your contract in a heartbeat, no questions asked. DirecTV does NOT tolerate shoddy subcontractors.

Ever wonder why you hear these horror stories about falling asleep, murder, digging in the wrong yard or blowing up laptops, dishwashers or homes from Comcast, but not DirecTV?

The worst that ever happens on a DirecTV install is simply a sloppy installation, and a simple single complaint from the customer and they send a pair of managers out to redo the install, free of charge.
TheTony5
join:2006-11-02
Minneapolis, MN

TheTony5

Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

said by PolarBear03:

That's how DirecTV does it. Screw up or make DirecTV look bad and they'll pull your contract in a heartbeat, no questions asked. DirecTV does NOT tolerate shoddy subcontractors.

Ever wonder why you hear these horror stories about falling asleep, murder, digging in the wrong yard or blowing up laptops, dishwashers or homes from Comcast, but not DirecTV?

The worst that ever happens on a DirecTV install is simply a sloppy installation, and a simple single complaint from the customer and they send a pair of managers out to redo the install, free of charge.
In all fairness, there have been cases of D* contractors committing crimes while on the job. Certainly not as high profile as Comcast's recent negative press, however.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

Well, nobody is perfect, but my point was that DirecTV is much more on the ball about getting rid of shady contractors than Comcast. It takes a LOT less for DirecTV to can your ass then it does Comcast.

CodeeCB
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN

CodeeCB to PolarBear03

Premium Member

to PolarBear03

DirecTV Install Through Screen 1
Click for full size
DirecTV Install Through Screen 2
said by PolarBear03 See Profile
That's how DirecTV does it. Screw up or make DirecTV look bad and they'll pull your contract in a heartbeat, no questions asked. DirecTV does NOT tolerate shoddy subcontractors.

Ever wonder why you hear these horror stories about falling asleep, murder, digging in the wrong yard or blowing up laptops, dishwashers or homes from Comcast, but not DirecTV?

The worst that ever happens on a DirecTV install is simply a sloppy installation, and a simple single complaint from the customer and they send a pair of managers out to redo the install, free of charge.
[/BQUOTE :


Are these the type of DirecTV installs you are referring to? I seriously came across that at a house I was at, and couldn't believe anybody would do that! They couldn't close their window all the way for the entire year they had DirecTV that had the standard coax running through the screen...

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

Apparently you didn't read my last post very well. It said:
said by PolarBear03:

Well, nobody is perfect, but my point was that DirecTV is much more on the ball about getting rid of shady contractors than Comcast. It takes a LOT less for DirecTV to can your ass then it does Comcast.
Also, although the flat cable should have been run UNDER the screen and not through it, don't you think that running a cable through screen is much less severe than falling asleep, murder, digging in the wrong yard, or blowing up a dishwasher, laptop, or entire house?

It seems to me that you are comparing apples to oranges, trying to make DirecTV look bad. I am not trying to idolize DirecTV or put them on a pedestal; I am just saying that they are more strict with their subcontractors than Comcast.

I could show you TONS of pictures of crappy installations from DirecTV subs; I could also show you tons of crappy Dish Network and Comcast installs, as well. The only difference is, DirecTV FIRES those that do the crappy installs, whereas Dish and Comcast merely apply a slap on the wrist.

CodeeCB
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN

CodeeCB

Premium Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

In all honesty, from what I see DishNetwork has some very nice installs. I have yet to come across one that is bad, besides in a apt where there isn't much of a option on what to do with the dish and lines. I see a very large amount of just plain gross looking DirecTV installs. Now, is it because there are x times as many directv installs opposed to dish around here? I don't know. When I got my Dish installed, I got 2 dishes on my roof picking up 4 different satellites, along with a OTA antenna for HD Locals (before dish carried them over the satellite) and the installers made it look amazing. Everything was very clean looking, and homerun into the basement. They used flex clips and zip ties all the way along, and everythink looks excellent. I haven't seen a directv install look like that ever, not even in the $1,000,000+ homes that I go into. I mean come on...these homes are pre-wired with almost every type of cable possible to a central location, and it isn't even tied in nicely there.

I can't say this for sure, but it seems like contractors don't do cdv installs around here, and certain other types of jobs of higher importance.

There are fantastic contractors that care, and some that couldn't care any less and want to get to the next job as soon as possible, but there are probably some in house techs that are the same way sometimes. The inhouse techs that aren't upto par can be dealt with much quicker then a contractor though I'd imagine.

PLUS, all other things being equal, a bad install for cable (no matter what company) will show a LOT more then with either of the dish co's. With sat, there isn't any ingress to worry about (they use frequencys well above that of any potential OTA ingress)and sat doesn't really need to worry about a return path either. A fitting that works great with dish could cause major tiling on a cable box. There are just so many more potential problems with a cable install that it isn't even funny. Even a kink in a cable can cause microinfractions which could cause hell with the SNR, returnpath, etc all of which are visible to a customer.

People more then likely won't call to complain about something until it actually affects their ability to view TV,surf the internet, or use the phone....those things are just very minimal with satellite aside from the occasional weather related issue.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: In house techs not needed...

Good points, my friend. I am inclined to agree.

abcd1234
@uswest.net

abcd1234 to PolarBear03

Anon

to PolarBear03
No. You never hear about DirecTV installers falling asleep, or blowing up laptops.. you only hear about them burning entire houses down, or drilling into sewer lines causing bad cases of black mold making the house a total loss.

Comcast only goes for the little things. DirecTv likes to make it big. (By the way, it is rather funny that DISH has also been in the news for the same reasons as DirecTv as well.)

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Guess I'm lucky!

*HERE* in Hercurock, we get real Comcast techs in real Comcast vans.

sansri88
digital is here
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY

1 recommendation

sansri88

Premium Member

Re: Guess I'm lucky!

Same for us in Central Jersey. At least for my area...

burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI

1 recommendation

burgermeister to dadkins

Member

to dadkins
said by dadkins:

*HERE* in Hercurock, we get real Comcast techs in real Comcast vans.
Unless your Comcast van says Wide Open West on the side, you're not lucky!

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Re: Guess I'm lucky!

said by burgermeister:
said by dadkins:

*HERE* in Hercurock, we get real Comcast techs in real Comcast vans.
Unless your Comcast van says Wide Open West on the side, you're not lucky!
*MY* Comcast is bulletproof!
ALL of my Comcast services are great!

YMMV.

Titus
Mr Gradenko
join:2004-06-26

Titus

Member

I've not been able

to make my freaking co*k grow larger either; do I run around proclaiming that the day is coming? These guys want in-house at basement rates. So basically you'll end up with brown uniforms at $8 without accents who still don't know diddlyshit.
15063053 (banned)
This space for rent.
join:2007-07-22

15063053 (banned)

Member

.

Around here Comcast uses contractors to bury cable. I tell you they do a decent job at digging trenches for $7.00 an hour.
smithy9
join:2007-08-19
United State

smithy9

Member

A little about Comcast Tech's

For starters the issue Comcast has is mainly with sub contractors. The sub contractors are "trained" by their hiring company and not Comcast. All Comcast "In House" Tech's are required to attend 6 weeks of training and get certified in safety and other areas before they are to solo in the field.

After completion of the initial training (CT1 and CT2 respectively) the technician then goes back for training as a CT3. Of course between CT1 and CT2 is a 90 day period (introductory, can be fired easily) and the between CT2 and CT3 is generally another 90-180 days depending on performance in the field and over performance.

The majority of horror stories are in relation to the sub contractors... I know. I used to be a Comcast tech.

burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI

burgermeister

Member

Re: A little about Comcast Tech's

said by smithy9:

The majority of horror stories are in relation to the sub contractors... I know. I used to be a Comcast tech.
And the contractors that Comcast hires are the sole responsibility of Comcast. Comcast makes the choice to have these companies represent them, therefore Comcast is to blame for the service and all the crap that happens.

BabyBear
Keep wise ...with Nite-Owl
join:2007-01-11

BabyBear

Member

Use 'em for target practice!

Shot in the back, its Comcastic!

Cable guy shot in apparent road-rage incident
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn

Member

Re: Use 'em for target practice!

Maybe he did an HD cable card install and after a stack of cablecards were "bad" they decided they had enough of comcast.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned)

Member

Employees cost too much.....

Management is always looking for ways to cut costs. If you could hire a bunch of part timers that you could rid of anytime you wanted, companies would be in heaven. Full time employees cost too much with their salary, benefits, vacations, etc.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

ctceo
Premium Member
join:2001-04-26
South Bend, IN

ctceo

Premium Member

What?

They can't even keep the ones they have trained well enough. Let alone awake during the process of troubleshooting. Why make it worse on themselves?
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

Need good workers?

There are some newly unemployed miners from Utah who need a job... can you say, retrain as comcast intallers?



Oh yeah, right, the money isn't that good.. yet when the cable bill arrives you feel like your getting raped by big black Bubba...

Kylemaul
Lovin' My Firefox
Premium Member
join:2001-03-30
Puyallup, WA

Kylemaul

Premium Member

Suuure....

It's all just PR lip service to make them seem like their intentions are good. It's ALL about the dollar in the end.
And I'm not saying that a high percentage of Comcast personnel wouldn't want this to happen, it's just that they aren't the percentage that make those decisions.

Johnny34
Fed Up. Bye.
Premium Member
join:2001-06-27
Atlanta, GA

Johnny34

Premium Member

Wasting money anyway

The truck rolls that do nothing are a huge waste of money. Gene Shatlock really wants to get things done correctly, and if he is involved, they DO get done correctly.

The contractors may be a problem, but their full-time installers don't know squat either. And their CSRs are beyond hope.

Just ask Comcast subscribers how many truck rolls they had that didn't fix the problem, didn't talk to the customer, and didn't follow up. Fuel, salary, vehicle maintenance - all wasted. What Gene should do is go on some truck rolls and he'd quickly see where money is being wasted.

CodeeCB
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN

CodeeCB

Premium Member

Contractors?

Around here, I have come across more then a few contractors wanting to get to be a inhouse tech. The benefits and pay are quite good, apparently compared to being a contractor also. I don't have any idea what a contractor makes per different jobs/tasks though.

Do I like contractors? I can't make a blanket statment about all of them, but I will say I've seen more sketchy jobs done by them then good ones.

Do I feel there is a place for them? Absolutely! There is no way to have ALL in-house techs. The labor load just fluctuates way to much. Contractors are needed to fill the void. The theory is, all work in the pool gets routed In-house first, and then overflow goes to contractors.

prestonlewis
Premium Member
join:2003-04-13
Sacramento, CA

prestonlewis

Premium Member

Mixed bag

I recently moved and my first Comcast contract installer spoke mostly Russian and didn't know anything. He left the pedestal outside unlocked, said I needed a new line because he couldn't find my line and left. I went out and plugged myself in without a problem. The contractor that installed the new line was fine. The next installer was fast, competent, asked questions about my concerns and did a great job. My irritation was having 2 installation times "canceled" without a phone call so I sat at the house for 4 hours two times for nothing.

Titus
Mr Gradenko
join:2004-06-26

Titus

Member

Shatlock, shitlock

these guys move through towns like a bad river. I've heard town criers in old movies that were more believable than these corporate dopes.