Comcast is Making Great Use of Twitter
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I have been a long time Comcast customer for their cable TV and Internet services. Earlier this year, I added on their phone service. That brought the need to run another line to my house.
Since it was winter, the ground was frozen, and they said they’d come back in the spring to bury the cable.
The ground thawed, and nobody showed up. We called Comcast, and they sent somebody out to take a look. They said somebody would be there in a week or so to bury the cable.
A month passed, and the cable was still snaking across my lawn – primed to get caught up in the blades of a lawn mower.
I’d been putting off another call to Comcast, because a decade of customer service experience with them established that dealing with them was an exercise in frustration and aggravation.
How many times did I call about Internet outages before I finally learned that there was just one response from tech support: “unplug your modem and plug it back in.”
I would always call after that didn’t work and that’s all they had for me.
But then I remembered a post from Mike Arrington at TechCrunch about Comcast customer service via Twitter.
Comcast has a guy named Frank Eliason from Comcast Customer Outreach in Philadelphia, PA on Twitter @comcastcares.
So I posted a Tweet to @comcastcares:
@comcastcares does it usually take many months for new cable leading to my house to be buried?
I got a response from Frank @comcastcares an hour later asking for more details:
@affiliatetip NO – Send me an email and I will have it taken care of. Include phone # on account & contact # We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com
So I responded and shortly after I got a phone call from a very apologetic lady (I forget her name) at Comcast. She was really helped and assured me that they would expedite the job.
Then my doorbell rings and Gregg McKissock, the Technical Operations Manager at the local Comcast office, is there to ask for some details and check things out.
I got another call or two that evening to update me on the progress and a further follow-up a day or two later.
Earlier this week, the job was completed, and I’ve got a renewed opinion of Comcast.
I’ve got from seeing them as a necessary evil to being a raving fan. Thanks a lot to Frank @comcastcares for setting things in motion.
How can your company use Twitter as a touchpoint to assist and please customers?
- Posted in Affiliate Managers, Affiliate Opinions, Affiliate Resources
12 Comments
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On August 14 @ 11:23 am posted[...] your e-mail on the top right to get updates by e-mail.I wrote a post a couple months back about how Comcast was using Twitter for customer service and made me a happy [...]
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On September 9 @ 7:44 am posted
[...] CEO of Aweber, asking for my feedback. My friend, Shawn Collins (who I met through Twitter), got faster customer service from Comcast through Twitter than by calling his local customer service line. This little [...]
Very helpful post. Candidly a tepid user of Twitter, I was looking for examples of companies that were using it. Thanks
reply to this commentOh man, that totally happened to us a few years ago – and the ground wasn't even frozen! It was maddening! I'm so glad to hear the quick way that all was handled – and how? Bum bum bum! On Twitter! Gawd, I love Twitter!
I'm hoping to use this post to further convince my brother that Jason's Deli needs a presence on Twitter – he has thus far not seen my point.
reply to this commentWe picked up Twitter recently too – we've yet to come across any client service issues, but it has certainly made us more accessible to our clients and potential clients. We've been using it to Tweet mortgage rates, industry news and general life at Quicken Loans so far.
We've seen a great response and continue to explore it and get more active in it each day! Check out our Twitter page – http://twitter.com/quickenloans
reply to this commentI love Jason's Deli! How would they use the feed? Maybe tweeting a “sandwich of the day”? New menu items? Crazy things that happen behind the counter?
Yes, you can get sucked in if you constantly monitor everyone's feed, but it doesn't take long to think, “What's going on now?” and post that to the feed.
Check out Kelly's comment below about what we're doing…
reply to this commentI'm thinking they could follow in Zappo's lead – with free Muffaletta's and such…getting multiple employees on board, gift certificates, discount announcements, etc
They could make a page that brings them all together in the same way Zappos did – now that is cool!
reply to this commentSo, the fear is that free stuff is going to just run out the door? Hm! But, yes, Zappo's does set a great example for stuff that _can_ be discounted!
Keep at it, they might just see the light soon.
Oh, to get a free Muffaletta… Yum!
reply to this commentI know, right – a free Muffaletta – delish! I don't think that is the hesitation, though, I think it is just not seeing what actual benefits they could get from it.
reply to this commentI'm thinking they could follow in Zappo's lead – with free Muffaletta's and such…getting multiple employees on board, gift certificates, discount announcements, etc
They could make a page that brings them all together in the same way Zappos did – now that is cool!
reply to this commentSo, the fear is that free stuff is going to just run out the door? Hm! But, yes, Zappo's does set a great example for stuff that _can_ be discounted!
Keep at it, they might just see the light soon.
Oh, to get a free Muffaletta… Yum!
reply to this commentI know, right – a free Muffaletta – delish! I don't think that is the hesitation, though, I think it is just not seeing what actual benefits they could get from it.
reply to this comment