Awesome information Tom! On Jul 23, 2014 11:03 PM, "Tom Metro" <tmetro+...@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/ > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@blu.org > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
