Does the Customer Ever Come First?   

A Tale of Customer Service Woes

Comcast wasn’t working over the weekend. This was not the first time we experienced problems with our internet and cable. When attempting to access service a message appeared on the screen: “…call customer service and tell them you have an error 7.” 

The calls, and the mounting frustration, began.

The resolution process involved a painful amount of time on hold. I shifted from one automated speech to another – press 1, press 3, press…annoyingly answering questions about my account number, the nature of the problem, verifying who I was, over and over.

A real person finally got on the line, but before anything resembling assistance could be offered, the customer service agent needed to locate our account, apparently not an easy task, and repeated questions already answered. 

Hub and I relocated a couple of times over the past few years. Our cell phone numbers remained the same. Comcast still uses an antiquated system of associating phone numbers with accounts and the account holder’s address. The agent found it difficult to access our correct address. It happens every time we contact Comcast, which is too often. One time a Comcast service truck went to the wrong address.

A call to Comcast begins with an automated message stating, “We are experiencing unusually high call volume at this time. You can contact us on the Internet or wait for a customer service agent to take your call. Your wait time is…17 minutes.” It could be worse. 

When is the company – or any company, for that matter – not experiencing high call volume? I think the real dilemma is that companies do not spend the money to staff a functional customer service department. I envision a huge room with rows upon rows of empty desks. Somewhere off in a corner a couple of people frantically attempt to assist irritated customers. I doubt there is ever anyone who says, oh by the way, I think I will call customer service now and tell them how much I love their company…

Or maybe the room is dark and empty. A couple of customer service agents work remotely.

Saturday night was not our first experience with error 7. Each time we contact the company error 7 means something different. One time we were told it meant our bill was not paid on time. Another time error 7 meant we had faulty wiring. The agent scheduled a service call and a repairman came to install new wiring. Only that was not the problem – the wiring was fine. Last night the agent took us through several steps to reinstall a wire. The agent said he would call back in 30 minutes to see if our system was working. In all our years of Comcast customer service experience an agent called back exactly once.

Our problem remained unresolved. A technician was scheduled for Monday morning. Meanwhile sometime Sunday our service was miraculously restored. I think error 7 means the company is having problems someplace and the job of the customer service representatives is to buy time until repairs are completed.

i do not mean to disparage Comcast. We have had problems with customer service reps from other companies. Trying to reach a live person at many large companies becomes a challenging game. Rarely are situations resolved or questions answered quickly, easily, and promptly. Whatever the company’s problem – not enough staff, poorly trained employees, underpaid, overworked, uncaring, frustrated employees, or maybe senior management more interested in cash flow than customer contentment – customers do not come first.

My plea to every company that plays the automated “we are experiencing a high volume of callers…” – hire more people to service your customers.

Meanwhile our internet and cable are working fine. For now…