Comcast is notorious for being, well, for being pretty horrible. From their cable television to their Internet service, I don’t know too many people that have very many nice things to say about Comcast. There are not too many options when it comes to a wireless Internet connection, and Comcast usually has more impressive speeds. I used to use Comcast for both, but now that I am web only… and I still use Comcast.
Before I moved to Fishers, I had their high-speed Internet and their digital cable services hooked up. That was before digital channels were forced on us, so the rates were pretty reasonable back then. (I sound so old!) I paid less than $100 a month for all that service. I moved further north, dropped the cable altogether, and just started paying for internet access. Best thing I ever did, as I can watch TV online through services like Netflix and Hulu.
When I moved to the apartment that I am in now, I signed up again, but this time I signed up for faster speeds and at a deeply discounted rate. I couldn’t complain, as I was getting faster than expected speeds and only paying $25 bucks a month. The promotion is actually through my apartment complex, and should last until my lease is up.
Inconsistent Monthly Billing
Today, when I got home, I had a bill from Comcast. This happens every month, so it didn’t come as a surprise to me. But every time I open a bill from Comcast I can’t help but panic, as it’s usually never correct. For the last few months, they have been correct. This bill wasn’t.
My rate is supposed to be $24.99. This bill was for $117.84. That’s a pretty substantial difference. I looked through the bill and found several different charges, a few adjustments, a new modem rental fee, and more. I immediately picked up the phone and called their support line.
The first guy that answered the phone was nice. He looked at my account, sighed, and connected me with billing. Normally when I have an issue like this, I just jump on Twitter and talk with Bill, the gentleman that runs the official Comcast Twitter account. There are actually several of them, including Melissa and Will, but this issue deserved a phone call.
Maybe All Candy is Sweet
Candy picked up the phone. After I started talking with Candy, she began trying to justify the charges. She had a very professional tone and did the best she could trying to help me understand all of these fees. For instance, a technician came out last week to replace my modem. Thanks to Twitter, I learned that my modem was actually at the end of its life cycle. It was time for a new one anyway.
My connection speeds were so low last two weeks, I couldn’t even stream YouTube videos. I was running slower than dial-up. (Can you even get dial-up connections anymore?) This was due to my modem. So Bill shipped me a new one, but that didn’t fix the issues.
A technician came out, replaced the modem, took the old modem with him and I was back to normal speeds. That was that… or so I thought. When I got my bill, I was charged $50 for a service call. This was a service call for an issue that was not my fault.
I explained my concerns to Candy, and she eventually placed me on hold for about ten minutes while she “looked into it” a little further. She jumped back on the line, explained what she was going to do, and adjusted my bill to the correct rate. She was nice, even though I was a jerk through most of the phone call, and apologized for the obvious inconvenience. (I apologized to her, as well. I wasn’t mad at Candy.)
She stayed calm through the entire phone call, and I told her I would mention this to Bill. I did, and even decided to write a blog about it.
Worthless Connections & Great Customer Service
Comcast might be a worthless excuse for a cable provider, but they take care of their customers. They didn’t have to adjust my bill; they could have said no and hung up the phone. Who am I?
I just can’t thank the hard working folks at Comcast enough. I am sure they deal with issues like this all day every day, and it means a lot that they would take the time (especially on Twitter) to sit and talk with me when I have an issue. Heck, Melissa even checks up on me when I am not having issues!
It felt good to get this all off my chest; I am no longer mad, my statement is where it should be, and I applaud Candy for all her attention this afternoon. I can’t wait to brag to Bill about her later this evening!
Have you ever had issues with your Comcast service?
I have noticed in the past few months, my bill steadily increasing. I pay comcast once monthly, and have not noticed any balances to my bill, except for this month. I’m trying to explain myself to a representative. She kept repeating the same script to me. I got so annoyed, I hung up on her. I am tired of Comcast trumping up charges on their customers.
Are you on Twitter? They are VERY active on Twitter. Bill is great. Send @comcastcares a tweet, tag @rickyleepotts and he will make sure to take care of you.
Comcast is still horrible in 2013. Customer service is worse I’ve ever encountered!!
Are you on Twitter? If so, please reach out to @comcastcares. His name is Bill. Tell him I said hello and he will take good care of you.
Hi this is clearly a paid blog from Comcast.
I have comcast for the past 4 months and have to call each month as my bill is wrong. I finally got a discount for my inconvenience and this month my bill came up about $15 as it is the new year and they were extra fees, even though I should have the same bill for one year and then it will go up only $10.
Everyone i talk to is unable to help, they send me from representative to representative with no end result.
I hope Bill and all the @comcastcares folks can do something about this. I prefer to not have tv than dealing with the,