So yesterday, Sat Jan 9, the tech showed up at the appointed time and replaced the modem. He also fixed some other issues with the connection serving my house I was not aware of, such as that the signal was coming in to hot. It seems to have gone well, however I am amazed at how difficult it was to get to this point. I was very polite to the Tech (actually I was asleep for most of it and the L&T Jennifer was very polite to the tech). It is definitely much much much faster. Since I was asleep I do not know all the issues that were looked at, but it sounds like it was not just plug and play, but that could have been the signal issue – which in reality should have been discovered and addressed when the modem was installed during the upgrade to “Triple Play” – Phone, Internet, TV.

The reason I am not ready to say that it is complete yet is that I want to make sure that there is no charge on the bill first. I am still disappointed that it was so difficult to get completed and that the process took as much complaining as it did. I am not sure if Comcast Cares on Twitter or we_can_help email made a difference or not, I wonder if they will follow up. That will be interesting and quite telling of their customer service commitment.

I have decided that it is just coincidence that that living room TV decided to stop accepting HD at the same time. That is not sarcasm that is the truth as the PS3 HD signal also does not work. I did all the proper troubleshooting of changing connections, cables, sources, etc. and the HD input seems to have decided to sync anymore.

My first comment, should be something I should have discussed earlier. The unspoken question is “What would you like Comcast to do?”

Simplest answer “I would like Comcast to send me the modem as outlined previously in their letter.” I would also like a written correspondence sent via hard copy explaining their response policy and what time of reaction times a customer should expect. I would also like that correspondence to explain the situation and causes from their side and an apology. Notice I am not looking for money or renumeration; just an understanding.

I have two people following me via Twitter that work for Comcast so I believe that they are monitoring. Notice I do not say listening as their past history does not indicate that there is communication or reaction. Here is my list of actions that leaves me to come to that conclusion:

• In previous comment on my blog Comcast indicated that “… I just wanted to let you know that I’ve passed your comment/issue along to our digital outreach team. Someone from that team should be contacting you shortly …” Apparently shortly is measured against years not days as there has been no contact yet.
• After waiting for that “contact coming shortly” I followed the suggestion in the comment that I contact we_can_help. I did on Wednesday, January 6 at 8:32PM EST. Response came at 8:29AM EST Thursday, I replied to the question at 9:30AM EST. There has been no response so a few minutes ago (Friday, 6AM EST) so I sent a follow up. the question was could I provide a phone number so they could access the account; that cracks me up as I wrote that e-mail from my Comcast e-mail account – specifically for that reason.
• The comment on Twitter “ComcastMelissa: @BradfordBenn can i help?” While that is a nice question, and made me realize that I did not spell out what I was wanting it also appears that there is no coordination of effort of customer contact.

Part of this is my fault for not explicitly saying that I e-mailed “we_can_help” I did expect that if Comcast was truly putting forth effort that they would have checked their customer contact database that has Jennifer Benn’s e-mail exhcanges in there, looked at the letter to determine that we are located in the Chicago Region, or followed up with the previous comments made by Comcast on my blog or their blog. They could have used the Contact button on every page currently in my site to reach out directly. The biggest disappointments are the following:

• There was no communication of the error in the letter.
• The responses that Jennifer received indicate that there was no effort to responding to the comments made – just run the script. (If you want to incident numbers, feel free to Contact me.)
• A timely response to communications, even if it is just something as simple as “We are still working on your issue …. will respond with more info …”
• A basic acknowledgment when I respond to an e-mail query.

Oh the big thing that not all my readers might be aware of I teach audio networking technology, I am a “product expert” for networked audio products, I used to be a Novell Network Administrator. I think I am qualified to configure and swap a modem – if not I could call Comcast Tech Support….  oh wait that is like unicorns it doesn’t exist apparently.

Faithful reader, I am sure you are the edge of your seat waiting to find out the next step in the Colossal Comcast Comedy of Errors. For those of you now quite up to speed on all my writings and rantings, click here.

Allow me to do a quick review of whether or not Comcast’s Comments were followed through. On Tuesday the 5th at 11AM EST a Comcast Representative posted on my blog:

I run Comcast Voices (where you left a comment detailing this issue last night) and first off I want to apologize for your trouble.

Secondly, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve passed your comment/issue along to our digital outreach team. Someone from that team should be contacting you shortly, but should you need more help with issues like these you can always email them directly at we_can_help@comcast.com.

On their blog I had posted a comment and the same rep posted this response:

Hey Brandford [sic],

Sorry about all the trouble you’ve had getting a modem self-install kit. I’ve forwarded your comment to our digital outreach team who should be contacting you shortly to resolve this issue.

Thanks!

I have no problem with that as they are answering both posts I made. But lets review it is now about 30 hours after the forwarding of the comments to the outreach team. Anyone want to guess … no contact yet.

However that is not the sharp stick in the eye, the sharp stick in the eye came when I went to the local office as they indicated we should. It is not possible to call the local office directly to make sure that they have the modem in stock or ask other questions. I went to the local office on the afternoon of the 5th, walked up to the counter (there was no wait which was better than expected). Gave the agent all my information and had the modem. Her response was that they would have to "roll a truck" to us and we had the choice of Friday between 1 and 4, Saturday between 10 and 1 or between 1 and 4. My first comment was, "Why?" Her answer was the letter was wrong. The letter we received in December and acted upon on December 12th was wrong.

Let me understand this situation, the company knows that the information they sent was wrong. They did not try to rectify it or proactively communicate that fact. Now you might be saying, well it might not be fast enough or how would they know my contact information? Let’s see they provide my internet access, they provide my telephone service, and they have our address. So they have the following options to contact us proactively: e-mail, telephone, or postal system. They did not use any of them.

When Jennifer contacted them, both by phone and e-mail, they never indicated that there was an error in the communication and that they would have to come out to do the upgrade. So let me count the amount of times we contacted them with no indication of this problem one phone call and two e-mails. It have allowed us to schedule the service call at a more convinient time, such as when work had the holiday shutdown.

Jennifer wanted to close the loop if there was an open ticket still so she sent the following e-mail to them:

Just as a matter of follow up, my husband took time off of work to go to our local service center, as we were instructed. I had tried to call ahead of time to make sure there were modems available, but I could not call the store directly, only the customer service 800 number. When I did this, I was told to take the old modem and it would be replaced at the center. When my husband got to the service center he was told that the new modems could not be picked up, but must be installed by a service tech. He mentioned the letter we received, as well as the e-mails and phone call to customer service, but was told that they were incorrect. We now have to wait for a service call scheduled for this Saturday.

I trust that you can understand our complete frustration at this point. We have received conflicting information from the original Comcast letter, customer service (two different e-mail reps, and one by phone), and finally from the local service center.

At this point all we can do is hope that the service call on Saturday will go smoothly and this will finally be resolved.

Comcast’s response was:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast High Speed Internet service. My name is Marilyn. It is my pleasure assisting you with this matter.

Jennifer, I understand your frustration and I am sorry to hear that. I apologize for the inconvenience that it may caused you. Rest assured that I will look into your concern. However, for your security more account information is needed. You will need to chat with us to provide this information, and to get the assistance you need.

Asking for this account information is for your own protection and guards against someone changing your account information without your permission. This also helps our agents process your request quicker. Please remember that you must be the primary account holder to make any changes.

You can chat with one of our Online Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at

http://www.comcastsupport.com/chat

Thank you for your patience. I know your time is important.

I am happy to inform that you can view and pay your bills online. All you have to do is sign up in http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/Help.aspx

To assure the proper tracking of this issue, we have created the following customer service ticket: XXXXXXXX. Please refer to this number should you contact us regarding this same issue. Thank you for choosing Comcast. We appreciate your business and have a great day, Jennifer.

Sincerely,

Marilyn
Comcast Customer Care Specialist

Let me see, the response was not applicable, there was no request for making any changes. Apparently the process of reading the customer’s thread that included the incident number is not part of the "The Comcast Customer Experience: working everyday to improve" process.

As my faithful reader will know, both my friend Bruce and myself have had disappointment with Comcast and their customer support in the past six. We have both written about the issues, The Comcast Show and Technology Can Be Fickle; so with another challenge on the horizon I figure it is time to once again share Comcast’s failure with you the reading public.

In December we received a letter (click here for an image of the letter) indicating that our Internet service would be upgraded from 16Mbps to 22Mbps, this upgrade does require an upgrade to the modem. The letter indicated that there were “three convenient ways this may be done”

• Exchange the modem at the local payment center
• Request a self-install kit be mailed at no charge
• Schedule a Comcast Tech to install it but there would be a service charge

On December 12 the L&T Jennifer called and requested the self-install kit. I am fairly technical savvy so I should be able to swap a modem. Also since the modem is also our phone connection it would minimize the downtime. Jennifer indicated that it took quite a while for the people to understand that they were supposed to send us one – as indicated in the ltter.

On Saturday, Jan 3, the L&T Jennifer sent the following follow up via the online form (the online chat was not available):

On 12/12/09 I requested, by phone, to have the new modem required for the updated internet service be mailed to my home. I was told it would take approximately five days. I know shipping gets slow during the holidays, but I just wanted to make sure that we would have our new modem by 1/5. Thank you!

She received the following response on Sunday:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for contacting Comcast High Speed Internet service. This is Gary. I understand that you are confirming the delivery of your modem.

I am more than happy to assist you with your concern today. I apologize for the inconvenience. I know how important it is for you to have your modem delivered. Rest assured that I will do my best to address this concern. I am happy to direct you to the closest payment center in your area. Since it is likely there are several payment centers near you, you can determine which one is most convenient to you by following this link:

http://www.comcast.com/customers/contactus/paymentcenter/locatePaymentCenter.ashx

Once you access the site, enter your address and ZIP Code, and then click “Submit.” If the system cannot determine your payment center location by your address, you may be asked for more information to clarify your location. When you locate the center nearest to you, verify they offer services for High-Speed Internet. If you are presented only with a general mailing address, please click the View Map link to bring up a list of payment centers in your area. To assure the proper tracking of this issue, we have created the following customer service ticket: YYYYYYYY Please refer to this number should you contact us regarding this same issue. Thank you for choosing Comcast. We value your business. For further questions or inquiries, please visit http://www.comcast.com

Sincerely, Gary
Comcast Customer Care Specialist

Jennifer’s Response was:

Hi Gary,

Thank you for your quick response.

The problem with the local payment centers is that they have such restricted hours that I am not able to get to them, which is why I requested to have it mailed. I now have to take time off of work to get the new modem.

I am disappointed that the letter we received said the kit could be mailed, but when I called to have it sent, the customer service agent tried to dissuade me and have me go to a local Comcast center. I explained that it was very difficult and again requested it be mailed, as the letter offered. Now it appears that it was never sent, as the agent told me it would be, ensuring that I would have to go to the local office.

I hope that you will pass along my disappointment

Thank you,

Jennifer Benn

The response was:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast High Speed Internet service. My name is Diana and it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to assist you today.

I sincerely apologize for any unpleasant experience you had recently with your Comcast service and thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

We need to hear about any unsatisfactory situations in order to correct them and to enhance our level of customer service. I have forwarded your comments to the appropriate members of our development and management teams for further review and action. We appreciate that you took the time to help us keep our commitment to quality customer care.

I understand that you ordered a Comcast Modem and have it as a Self Install Kit. Also you are having problems picking your modem up on one of our local office. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this matter caused you. However, since you are on a Self Install Kit basis, you will really need to go the local office to get your equipment. This will ensure the security of your modem and you can directly inquire to them if you have questions about your new modem.

If you have further questions regarding this inquiry, or should any unpleasant experience arise regarding your Comcast High Speed Internet service, please do not hesitate to reply to this e-mail with a detailed description of what you are facing.

Or you can chat with one of our Online Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at:

http://www.comcastsupport.com/chat

For additional information, we have now combined Comcast.com and Comcast.net accounts. We call this system upgrade Credential Migration. You will only need one log in information to access all of your Comcast accounts. For you to be able to access your billing account, you will need to log in to Comcast.net with the primary Comcast.net user name and password.

I appreciate you take time to write us about your inquiry. Thank you for your patience. I know your time is important.

To assure the proper tracking of this issue, we have created the following customer service ticket: XXXXXXXX.

Please refer to this number should you contact us regarding this same issue.

Thank you for choosing Comcast, Jennifer. We value your business with us. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Diana

Comcast Customer Care Specialist

Jennifer’s Response was:

Thank you Diana,

It is fine if I have to go pick it up, the bigger problem that I have is that the initial letter we received from Comcast offered mailing as an option when it obviously was not.

Thanks for your help,

Jennifer

So guess what I get to do on the afternoon of the 5th? If the blog is off the air, you can probably guess why. I wonder how they are going to handle the guarantee that they keep advertising on Comcast that if they miss or are late to an appointment that they will provide a free service. Oh look there is a link to send an e-mail to Rick on the bottom of the page — false alarm it is just the same form. I also wonder if I should share this fun with the FCC as this is impacting my phone service as well. I will not even start about the fact that they provide different levels of support and services between Macintosh, Linux, and Windows.