Please note: this conversation starts about 10 minutes in — by this point my wife and I are both completely flustered by the oppressiveness of the rep.
So! Last week my wife called to disconnect our service with Comcast after we switched to another provider (Astound). We were transferred to cancellations (aka “customer retention”).The representative (name redacted) continued aggressively repeating his questions, despite the answers given, to the point where my wife became so visibly upset she handed me the phone. Overhearing the conversation, I knew this would not be very fun.
What I did not know is how oppressive this conversation would be. Within just a few minutes the representative had gotten so condescending and unhelpful I felt compelled to record the speakerphone conversation on my other phone.
This recording picks up roughly 10 minutes into the call, whereby she and I have already given a myriad of reasons and explanations as to why we are canceling (which is why I simply stopped answering the reps repeated question — it was clear the only sufficient answer was “Okay, please don’t disconnect our service after all.”).
A couple tries to cancel their Comcast service
One needs to appreciate how much pressure this Comcast employee was under. His job is to retain customers. It is not to allow them to go on their merry and sign up with Dish or DirecTv. Put yourself in this poor suckers hobnailed boots. Free market capitalism makes beast of us all.
I have absolutely no sympathy for those reps whatsoever. I’ve been lied to so many times by so many of them. I’m currently battling through their bullshite trying to get the $150 so-called “automatic” rebate they promised me for signing up. I went with them due to problem with At&T U-Verse . Those are my two options unfortunately.
I worked in an ISP marketing/call center a few years back for a while. The company had agreements with cable companies and long distance providers (yep, a long time ago.) We had quotas to sell “added value” products and “bundles” of services. The pressure was so high to sell those services that some of the reps started “slamming” customers (industry term for signing up people for services without permission. Totally illegal.) Every call I took was recorded and about 10 out of 100 were “evaluated.” Although, I was given performance rewards from the President of the company (he listened to calls, too, and would send people email critiques and kudos) I was denied a raise because I sounded “too Southern” according to QC. (I guess that is a sin like sounding too “Black.”)
Best way to get rid of Comcast? Sign up, install and have running another service, then don’t pay your Comcast bill… They WILL cut it off, trust me…
My local Comcast won’t let you cancel by phone or internet, you have to go down to their store front in person.
4Ron
My local Comcast won’t let you cancel by phone or internet, you have to go down to their store front in person.
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That’s how it is in Portland too, and I think Austin was the same way when I left. If you are late with your payments, they cut off your service until you get current. But they continue billing you until your return their modem. And you have to go in person and take a number and wait about an hour to get someone to take it from you. I think they make sure the new customers get served before the current ones trying to escape. Of course you can leave your modem in a drop off box, but I always insisted on a receipt because I already know you can’t trust them outside of spitting distance.