According to Daniel B. Kline in his article, Comcast, which was identified with repeated scandals involving customer service during its attempt to merge with Time Warner Cable, has a long way to go. According to the 2015 American Customer Satisfaction Index report, Comcast is one of the least-liked brands in America. The company aware of the problem and taking real steps to fix it.
Hiring a New Guru to Improve Customer Service:
Neil Smit, Comcast Cable CEO, appoints a respected company inside to oversee an overhaul of the product. Neil Smit announced Charlie Herrin, as senior vice president, customer experience in a blog post:
In this new role, Charlie will partner with leaders across all business units, including customer service, technical operations, sales, marketing, training and development, and product innovation to reimagine the customer experience and ensure that we are delighting our customers at each touch point. Charlie will listen to feedback from customers as well as our employees to make sure we are putting our customers at the center of every decision we make.
At first, when Herrin was named to the job, many were skeptical . Eventually, everyone understood that Herrin and Comcast committed to making real change, as you know this kind of changes takes time. But, the company has a real desire to improve their customer relation.
Development Plan:
In May, the merger with Time Warner Cable had already been called off. Comcast announced a big change of its customer service. The company called it “a new, multi-year plan to reinvent the customer experience and to create a culture focused on exceeding customers’ expectations, at all levels of the company”. According to the blog post:
The core elements of the strategic plan include: creating more than 5,500 customer service jobs over the next few years and setting a goal to always be on time for customer appointments by Q3 of 2015. It also includes major investments in technology and training to give employees the tools they need to deliver excellent service. The company will also simplify billing and create better policies to provide greater consistency and transparency to customers. Additionally, the plan includes the renovation of hundreds of stores across the country and the development of new technologies that will enable customers to interact with us how and when they want.
According to this blog, the company will invest in improving their customer service . Their technology will allow customers to track the progress of technicians on route to appointments.
The Transformation Isn’t Going to Happen Overnight:
According to Herrin: “Transformation isn’t going to happen overnight,” he said when appointing Herrin. “In fact, it may take a few years before we can honestly say that a great customer experience is something we’re known for. But that is our goal and our number one priority … and that’s what we are going to do.”
As you can see, Comcast looks truly committed to being better in customer service. They are putting money to improve themselves and that’s a good news for their customers. This change will take time. But, it’s worthwhile to wait.
