Comcast Customer Service Rep Just Won't Take No For an Answer

RevWaldo writes: The Verge and other sources report on how AOL's Ryan Block ultimately succeeded in cancelling his Comcast account over the phone, but not before the customer service representative pressed him for eight solid minutes (audio) to explain his reasoning for leaving "the number one provider of TV and internet service in the country" in a manner that would cause a character in Glengarry Glen Ross to blush. Comcast has now issued an apology.

It's very simple:

[kheldan]

You don't have to 'explain' a goddamn thing to them or anyone else, and you damn well TELL them that. You are paying them, not the other way around, and if you want to cancel your service with them or anyone else for that matter, it's not their place to badger you or bully you. Being asked, once, politely, why you're unhappy enough to cancel is one thing, but if you don't wish to explain why then they MUST accept that. Arguing, bullying, badgering, or any other hard-sell tactics, is just plain bullshit. Anyone gives you that kind of guff? You tell them you want to speak to their supervisor, RIGHT NOW, and YOU don't take 'no' for an answer, either. Their supervisor is being a hardass about it, too? Go over their head. And so on. The only way you get shithead companies like Comcast to knock it off is to not sit back and take shit from them.

Just move

[BigT]

I had little or no problem cancelling Comcast recently when I moved. I used the phrase "moving out of the Comcast service area" when they asked why I was cancelling, and they put it right through. Had a little more trouble returning their boxes, however.

Re:So...

[Jason Levine]

Sadly, then the company will send your unpaid bills to a collection agency who will hound you for payment and which will ruin your credit score. The burden will be on you to prove that you told them to cancel your service and they didn't. It won't be impossible, mind you, but you'll need to fight to clear your credit because some company refuses to stop billing you in the hopes that you'll just send them more money because it's easier than trying to cancel.

Not 8 minutes

[jcochran]

This same article was recently posted on Techdirt. The call wasn't 8 minutes. The RECORDING was 8 minutes. There was 10 minutes of call prior to the recording even starting.

Re:So...

[fulldecent]

The correct hard ball approach is: I am recording this call and forwarding to my local cable franchise authority.

This is the entity that your local franchise must go through to offer service in your area and they are the ones that set rules like the number of seconds you may be placed on hold until you get a human without them having to pay a fine.

Re:We're sorry we got caught?

[JMJimmy]

Pretty much.

Here's the actual link to the apology instead of a random blog. http://corporate.comcast.com/c... [comcast.com]

Re: So...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually...if you use a credit card, and dispute the charge after you tell them you want to cancel, it goes a bit better than that.