When we moved into our new house, we did all of the normal updates: forward mail with the post office, update our driver’s licenses, bank accounts, etc.
And, of course, transfer our Comcast service. At least we thought so.
Remember that great deal we got on our Internet and cable TV bundle? Comcast, in their infinite wisdom, would not let us transfer it to our new address.
Yes, you read that right. Because Comcast wasn’t offering the same deal when we moved, they couldn’t transfer it for us. For some reason, Comcast doesn’t manage accounts by customer — they manage by address. And even though we’re still the same customers, when we move to a new address, we’re somehow totally different.
The best deal they could offer would have been about $10 + tax more per month — not a huge difference, but $120+ over the course of a year — and it’s the principle of the matter. If I have an agreement with them, they shouldn’t be able to change it because of an address change.
Complaining to Comcast Can Actually Work
If you’re looking to complain about Comcast, the best place to go is Twitter, where Frank Eliason (@comcastcares) has almost single-handedly revolutionized customer service (Read more here).
I tried it out — sending a Tweet complaining that we should be able to keep the deal even when we moved. After a response from a Comcast team member (they have a ton on Twitter) suggesting I email their support address (we_can_help@cable.comcast.com) with the story, I received a phone call from a local rep.
We played phone tag for a while — for some reason, she kept calling at 6:30 on Friday evenings, probably the oddest time I’ve ever received customer service calls — but she finally gave us back our original deal and even extended it for a brand new year.
Great news, right? We were definitely content.
But that wasn’t the end of it. When the installer came out to the new house, the service was horrible. So, I complained again over Twitter, eventually emailing this:
When our installer came to set up our Internet and TV, we had a pretty negative (and dirty) experience.
The day he came, he spent a fair amount of time in the attic trying to find the existing wiring. After leaving the attic, he left a massive pile of insulation on the carpeted floor, which had just been steam cleaned. He tracked the insulation around the house, leaving it in a number of places.
He wasn’t wearing the shoe booties, and since it had rained heavily the day before, he tracked in a fair amount of wet grass and mud in the house. Half way through the install, he decided to put on the shoe covers. Great, I thought. Until he walked outside on the grass wearing them and then back into the house.
Not only did he leave a mess everywhere for us to clean up, he wasn’t exactly the friendliest guy around. When I asked him if he wanted a bottle of water to drink, he said, “That’ll work.” Literally.
It was not a pleasant experience.
Within a couple of days, the same Comcast rep called, expressing her apologies. They wanted to send someone out to clean the carpet, but we had already done everything we could do to clean it.
Instead, they’re giving us a month free of our service.
The moral of the story? Sometimes, it pays to complain.
