[Discuss] tools for dealing with cable company customer service

[Chris P. OConnell]

Awesome information Tom!
On Jul 23, 2014 11:03 PM, "Tom Metro" <tmetro+blu at gmail.com> wrote:

> Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote:
> > I can't demand anything.  As I described in another post, they ripped
> > out half of my TV channels in the middle of a 2yr contract, told me
> > if I cancel my service I'll be hit with a $425 early termination fee,
> > argued with me pointlessly for hours, and eventually I caved...
>
> The recent Comcast customer service call recored by Ryan Block and
> carried widely by the media[1] has uncovered a potential tool in the
> customer's favor. Some of the follow-up articles on that story looked
> into the incentive structure[2] used with those Comcast employees and
> found they are dinged not only when people drop service, but for
> customers who call back again within 30-days due to an issue not being
> resolved. (Every rep that talked to you in the 30-day window gets dinged
> each time you call back.) They also get dinged for calls that exceed a
> certain length of time.
>
> 1.
>
> http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/07/comcast-memo-on-viral-cancelation-call-it-was-painful-to-listen-to/
> 2.
>
> http://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/2arg1k/comcasts_customer_service_nightmare_is_painful_to/ciy33bx?context=3
>
>
> Ars Taechnica wrote up a guide on leveraging these incentives to your
> advantage:
>
> http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/07/a-guide-to-winning-the-customer-service-cancellation-phone-battle/
>
>
> Armed with this, a consumer can state at the start of the call what it
> is they want to accomplish (service discontinuation, rate reduction,
> whatever), and then inform the rep that you intend to keep them on the
> line as long as possible and that you will call repeatedly until the
> issue is resolved in your favor. The rep can then decide whether they
> want to call your bluff, or take the ding on the lost business to
> resolve the matter quickly, or take the multiple hits for unresolved
> issues and long calls.
>
> Likely Verizon has some of these same incentives in place.
>
> The bottom line is that it can pay to be persistent with these
> companies. It may even be economical to outsource your call to a service
> like Task Rabbit. With hundreds of dollars in savings at stake, it'll
> likely cost less to hire someone to spend several hours talking to the
> cable company on your behalf.
>
>  -Tom
>
> --
> Tom Metro
> The Perl Shop, Newton, MA, USA
> "Predictable On-demand Perl Consulting."
> http://www.theperlshop.com/
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