Comcast can't get it right (long)

[trunks2k]

I recently moved into a new apartment, and decided to cancel my internet and cable service with Comcast because my new room mate could probably get a better deal as a new customer.

I called over a week ago, and set everything to be canceled for the 31st of August - the day I moved out. So in the middle of moving, I realize I have a voice mail from my now former landlord saying that the new tenant is trying to set up the cable and internet but I haven't canceled my service yet. I called back, and it was late so I left a voice mail for my landlord saying that I had done it and maybe the new guy tried to get service before I had taken care of it.

Come today, I get a call from my landlord again saying that no, the service still isn't canceled. So I call up Comcast and have the following conversation.

Me: duh
Lisa: First girl, heavy indian accent. Normally I don't care about accents, but I could barely even hear her to begin with, the accent made things more difficult.
G2: Second girl, no accent. There's about 30 seconds of dead silence between everything she says to the point I keep checking to see if I'm disconnected.

Me: *follows endless menu tree*
Lisa: Thank you for calling comcast, how can I help you?
Me: Hi, I called about a week ago to have all my services canceled on Aug 31st, and it doesn't look like my service ever got canceled.
Lisa: What is your account number?
Me: *account number*
Lisa: Try that again?
Me: *more slowly account number*
Lisa: Let's try that one more time.
Me: *Account number again, even more slowly so that she can hear me*
Lisa: Please hold.
Me: *waits about 3 minutes*
Lisa: Sorry, we were having technical difficulties.
Me: That's OK.
Lisa: So how can I help you.
Me: I called about a week ago to have all my services canceled on Aug 31st, and it doesn't look like my service ever got canceled.
Lisa: Ok. We'd like you to stay as a customer, we can give you a discount if you like.
Me: That's ok, I don't need to. I'm moving and someone else is taking care of the cable and internet.
Lisa: Someone else is taking care of it?
Me: Yes, I don't need to have the service any more. I needed it canceled four days ago. I already called about it over a week ago.
Lisa: So you don't want the service any more.
Me: NO. I already called about it. It was scheduled to be canceled on the 31st - that never happened. So I need you to cancel it ASAP.
Lisa: So you don't want me to cancel then?
Me: Yes. Please. It was already supposed to have been done.
Lisa: Just let me verify your information, what is the address of the account?
Me: *gives address*
Lisa: Ok, please hold.

*waits ten minutes on hold*

G2: Thank you for calling Comcast, how may I help you?
Me: *surprised at this new person that came from nowhere* Hi, I called about a week ago to have all my services canceled on Aug 31st, and it doesn't look like my service ever got canceled.
G2: Ok, can I have the addresss on the account?
Me: *gives address*
G2: Is there any way we can convince you to stay on, we can offer you a different deal.
Me: No, again, I'm moving and my room mate is taking of cable and internet. I already called a week ago and scheduled everything to be shut off on the 31st of august. Nothing was ever shut off. I need it shut off asap.
G2: So can I ask what the reason is for you discontinuing service?
Me: I'm moving. The service is supposed to be off already. Comcast never canceled my account like it was supposed to.
G2: And when do you want your service terminated?
Me: I need it off now! ASAP! It was supposed to have been turned off on the 31st! I called last week about this.
G2: OK, I have your account terminated for today. Is there anything else?
Me: I'm not going to be billed for those few days I was provided service that was supposed to have been disconnected, am I?
G2: Well, when did you call before?
Me: Last week!
G2: And what day did you initially want the service turned off?
Me: *feeling like a broken record* AUGUST 31st!
G2: Ok, I adjusted your billing to reflect having canceled the service on the 31st. Anything else?
Me: No. thank you. *click*

[Pedersen]

Ye gods, do I know that feeling. Brush-offs, ignoring what you need while telling you you're important, incompetence, and all around apathy about it all.

No, I'm not at all fond of Comcast. Have just started using Netflix. Might be completely disconnecting that useless hunk of a company named Comcast (and don't forget their internet services, Comcast Offline... err, Comcast Online, yeah).

[Catwoman2965]

OMG - you have WAY more patience than I would have! While I understand that the reps are probably required to try and convince you to stay, I hate when they just don't listen, and keep repeating and asking "so what would it take for you to continue service with us?" Not everyone cancels because the service sucks; as in your case, circumstances change, and its not the fault of the company! But they are so fixated on making money, they don't get it.

[trunks2k]

No, I'm not at all fond of Comcast. Have just started using Netflix. Might be completely disconnecting that useless hunk of a company named Comcast (and don't forget their internet services, Comcast Offline... err, Comcast Online, yeah).

I tried as hard as I could not to have to deal with comcast anymore, but I can't get any other high speed internet connection where I'm going to be living. So I have to get cable internet, and it's almost twice as a expensive without the tv to go with it. It's too expensive to get cable internet and satellite TV.

[Retail Associate]

I despise Comcast. Doing any kind of business with them was like pulling teeth. I got so tired of the constant increases in pricing and channels being withdrawn from the line-up...which is why I now have a dish.

When I had lost my job in '02 I discontinued expanded basic and just went with the cheap basic service. A few days later some cable guy was sitting at the end of my driveway glaring at the house. My son was outside working on his car when the cable guy hollered, "Are you stealing cable TV?"



I was so angry that I called them and played the roll of a pissed off SC! Shortly after that I cancelled cable and got the dish.

My son moved back home for a bit this year and he had Comcast come out to hook him up to cable interent. When he moved out he called to transfer his service to his new place. He kept the same account number but rather than cancelling his service here, they continued to bill him for both residences.

After several calls the bills finally stopped coming but there was a Comcast van sitting across the street a few weeks ago aiming some sort of devise at my house. At least this time they didn't come right out and accuse me of stealing from them.

Did I mention that I despise Comcast?

.

[CancelMyService]

I recently moved into a new apartment, and decided to cancel my internet and cable service with Comcast because my new room mate could probably get a better deal as a new customer.

I know I'm biased, but that always struck me as somewhat scammish. Not as blatant as some of the entitlement whores we see get posted on here, but still. It's the cable industry version of the people who call Kara's company to cancel because they "moved to China". Everyone wants a deal, I don't fault that point, but that kind of stuff ends up with a houseful of people playing musical cable account so no one ever has to pay full price.

Also, am I the only one who's never had a problem with their cable company? I've had the same company (under different incarnations) since 1984 and cable internet since it was available in my area 6-7 years ago. Other than routine maintenance and/or storms, I've only had one problem wherein I needed an amp because my dad's top of the line wiring wasn't so top of the line 20 years later. I've only worked there for the last year, so it's not like I was getting some super secret employee service that never breaks down all that time. Hell, it's part of the reason I wanted to work there, I was such a satisfied customer I wanted to be on the "inside" if you will.

Yet it seems no one anywhere has good experiences with their providers. The big guys get trounced the most but it doesn't seem to matter who the company is, the one thing they have in common is no one likes them.

[powerboy]

Hey, I use Comcast as my ISP. That is the only thing they are good for. I also have DirecTv.

[sms001]

(Comcast CSR) G2: So can I ask what the reason is for you discontinuing service?

"No."
or...
"Despite the 114 channels of High Def goodness, your programming just doesn't offer me the quantity or quality of flying monkey shows I need."

Seriously, kudos on retaining your non-suckiness.

[trunks2k]

I know I'm biased, but that always struck me as somewhat scammish. Not as blatant as some of the entitlement whores we see get posted on here, but still. It's the cable industry version of the people who call Kara's company to cancel because they "moved to China". Everyone wants a deal, I don't fault that point, but that kind of stuff ends up with a houseful of people playing musical cable account so no one ever has to pay full price.

I don't see it as scammish, unless every year i gets switched between people. My current package costs about $120 a month. If he does it and can get it cheaper as an introductory offer then it would be foolish to continue paying $120 every month. If I really wanted to be scammish, I would have seen what they were going to offer me when I told them I wanted to cancel my service.

I hadn't had any major issues with Comcast until recently. Within the past couple months they:

- Came out and disconnected service for the entire building because one person in the building canceled service. Rather than going to the splitter, they just cut it off at the pole. Took them four days to come back and fix it. According to my computer logs, I lost the internet connection at 11:55 PM. Comcast has technicians out doing disconnects at midnight, but won't schedule anything later than 6PM to fix their mistake?

- Somehow dropped my service for two days wherein I could only get basic cable, nothing digital. I told them it seems like it's a weak signal and since the wiring in the building had not changed, and I had checked it to make sure all the connections were OK, it is probably a problem on their end. They scheduled a tech to come out in four days. In two days the service magically came back.

- Did the bit in the OP.

- Pretty much lied on their website, or were extremely misleading. They had a basic cable package listed for my new address, I think it was $20/month (prices could be wrong so don't take them at face value). When I checked to see what channels were included, they had two basic channel listings - "Limited" Basic and "Enhanced" Basic. "Enhanced" Basic had the channels I wanted. But I didn't know which cost $20. I called up Comcast to ask, and they said that the "limited" basic costs $10/month and there's no package that costs $20/month, and that if I wanted to get the channels that I wanted, I'd have to pay something like $45/month.

- Refused to offer my roommate a deal that, as far as we could tell after reading all the fine print, he qualified for. When asked to clarify why he didn't qualify for that deal, we never got an explanation.

- This conversation when considering keeping digital cable, but only using the digital stuff on one TV so I don't have to rent another box:
"Am I going to need a cable box for anything that is not digital if I get this service?"
-- "Yes"
"Even if all I want to watch are stuff available on basic cable?"
-- "Yes, to get any channels, you'll need to get a box"
"Okaaaaay. "
NOTE: That was out and out wrong. My new place still has digital service to it since it hasn't been switched out yet (and we can't get our own service until it does switch). And I can get channels in just fine. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm technically stealing the cable at the moment. But we would be paying for it, its just that Comcast won't let us.

[Princess-Snake]

I'm having some problems with Comcast as well. Whenever I watch tv, every few hours, the screen will go blocky, then black, then go back to whatever it was at before. This normally lasts for just a few seconds. It's annoying, but I can live with it. And the high speed internet keeps shutting down on me every few hours claiming that there's some error. Annoys the hell out of me whenever I'm doing homework or if I'm in the middle of a game. It's Comcrapstic!

[morgana]

Also, am I the only one who's never had a problem with their cable company?

No, I've actually always had good service, whether cable or dish. 'Course, I've never had Comcast, and it sounds like I won't be trying them when I move out of state next year.

[Banrion]

I have not had any trouble with Comcast at all. In fact, when we upgraded to digital in February, the technician that came out to the house was wonderful, he was just a genuinely nice guy, and he knew what he was doing. I made a point to call back and report him for being awesome.

Just remember everyone, people are not very vocal when they are happy, and they tend to forget those little things that were handled fine, it's always the bad experienced that get aired in public.

[trunks2k]

I have not had any trouble with Comcast at all. In fact, when we upgraded to digital in February, the technician that came out to the house was wonderful, he was just a genuinely nice guy, and he knew what he was doing. I made a point to call back and report him for being awesome.

In regards to the time Comcast cut off service for the whole building for several days, the tech that eventually showed up was awesome. He was scheduled to come at noon, but called at like 9 to see if it was OK to come by right then since he was nearby and had another call cancel on him. Unfortunately I was helping a friend move and couldn't do the appointment early, but I appreciated it. He came over called my phone and said "It's fixed, I just need you to come and sign the papers". Sure enough, it was fixed. I went out and talked to him and he actually did the disconnection for the other apartment the proper way, and made sure to note not to cut the line connection off at the pole. Took him 20 seconds to fix it all.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Having done temp work for Comcast in the past, I think I can explain some of that call. The Comcast I worked at had the "retention department" specifically for people who wanted to cancel their service, and we in the regular call center did not even have the ability on our computers to shut down an account. If you requested shutoff, you got sent to those guys, and

#1 they could offer really good deals that we could not in order to keep people

and

#2 they got extremely good bi-weekly bonuses for keeping people as customers.

However, we were supposed to tell the customer they were being transferred to retention before sending them over, AND we were supposed to give the retention associate the account info and explain the situation so they would be all ready to go when you came on the line, and not have to ask for your info again. First rep dropped the ball, it sounds like. Maybe she was new or something.

The retention people were trained to basically annoy you into keeping your service. If that failed, they could offer nicely lowered rates for three months at a time (their most usual deal). But they would, and did, do things like purposely ask you the same questions repeatedly, try to trip you up with words, and tell you lies about how bad the other providers were (like Dish).

*Of course this policy spawned a particularly virulent type of SC---what the retention reps called a 'promo whore'. These people would call in every 3 months or so, and threaten to cancel their service for vague and undefineable reasons. Then they'd go to retention and fish for the best deals they could find. Retention hated them.

Anyway, it sounds to me like that's what happened. I'm sorry you had so much trouble.







* (in my stern 'bad dog' voice) I give this information freely on here because I still have faith in humanity. But if ANYONE reading this calls into Comcast and does a turn as a promo whore, your cable wires WILL catch your house on fire, and you will die a horrible karmic death at the hands of the angry cable gods. I promise.

[Geek King]

I have not had any trouble with Comcast at all. In fact, when we upgraded to digital in February, the technician that came out to the house was wonderful, he was just a genuinely nice guy, and he knew what he was doing. I made a point to call back and report him for being awesome.

Just remember everyone, people are not very vocal when they are happy, and they tend to forget those little things that were handled fine, it's always the bad experienced that get aired in public.

Comcast service seems to vary greatly depending on region. You either love them, or you're like my uncle, and are ready to throttle the next tech that comes out and can't figure out that the line is no longer connected to the house. (true story, tree fell in a storm, and the line was visibly seperate from the house.) I would definately do some checking up on the net when moving into a Comcast area.