Poor customer service explodes in the online world.....

Thought this was interesting.

This video about a Comcast technician falling asleep while on hold to Comcast was viewed by over 1 million people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvVp7b5gzqU 

And this one was shown on Fox News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kQRFB-8cEs&NR=1

An example of how one disgruntled customer can impact the image of a company with millions of potential prospects.

Apparently Comcast has set up teams of employees who are encouraged to click around social networks or online forums looking for unhappy customers. An interesting response to a problem that seems more systemic to me.

Wow! I've had horrible experiences with my service provider, but never that bad. It will be difficult for Comcast to fix its reputation. However, the company is lucky that because of the industry it is in, it will be able to hold onto unsatisfied customers.

When we had direct tv, they had contractors come out and it was like the right hand was working without knowing what the left hand was doing. We would tell direct tv what we needed, they would send out these contractors who half the time wouldnt have the parts they needed. It happened twice...very frustrating. It was pretty bad and they barely looked like they knew what they were doing.

That was just the contractors, the customer service was awful. They charged us several times for things we didnt order; just completely unable to do anything right. We eventually cancelled and moved to AT&T U-verse and have been happy ever since.

Yup - direct tv sucks. Big time. But as we choose to live in the boondoggles, we have few choices. That's the problem - they have so little competition.... sigh.

We choose to live in a place where we see black bears wandering around on the road. We sip our coffee on the porch in the morning and watch horses, dogs, deer, foxes and ground hogs, and the occasional black bear.  I've tried living in suburbia and hated it - a place where they cut down trees and name streets after them. I lived in London for 15 years and it was waayy better than American suburbia, but nowhere near the boondoggles.

So I guess I'm OK with no choice except direc tv......on balance.

 Customer service in a period of rough economic times can be a challenge for small businesses as cash becomes tight.  Yet, this is a time when customers most appreciate an extra touch and it can help cinch a sale in a very competitive envriomnet.

 Customer service takes time. Time is money. Many consumers search for the lowest price and are then disappointed by poor customer service. Should  good or great customer service be expected with the lowest price?  I regularly have people call and ask for installation instructions and specs when they purchase parts elsewhere. I always ask if they made their purchase here. No, I found the parts cheaper, is the reply. I offer to print out all they need for $10, but they usually decline. There was a time that I would help people out, but found that they still made their purchase elsewhere and came here for free customer service. I can't work for free. People want the cheapest price and don't think about customer service 'till they need it. They don't see value in customer service untill they need it. Lousey customer service is completely understandable. If making minimal profits how can you hire good help or enough help to offer good customer service. Buyers want their cake and eat it too. If we can find some middle groud of the two that should help add to success, but there will always be people that want "it" cheap, cheap, cheap, and then b itch because service is not up to their expectations.  

the anonymous face of customer services, ie online and over the phone! Any issue in commerce can be addresses with the following gudelines:

• quick answer
• friendly tone
• address the issue
• assure customer they're valued and appreciated
• let customer know what to subsequently expect
• follow up call where applicable

perhaps others, feel free to add I don't have this written anywhere but I generally work to it.

The issue addressed in the original post does raise a concern over whether the cutomer might have been hasty. In the past I had serious connectivity issues with my ISP and told them I was leaving. Highly rated for their couldn't refuse offer.. and happy ever since. The said party addresses by OP could perhaps have bent a little further without breaking!

As for the sleepy worker.. hmm, either a late night or he has serious mental issues that lead him to escape reality. I'd suggest 'serious mental issues' if the guy did 'poisoned dogs.. cut cables', which is another issue entirely. This highlights the fact that some folk can be vindictive and for operations to remain smooth in any business needs to be avoided, though I appreciate that the cutting of cables etc was an offence against person/s and not a business (still an awful thing to do).

I've had a very small percentage of disgruntled customers and an even smaller amount that perhaps seeing me as 'competition' make or seek to purchase with intent to disrupt. I feel pretty secure in the environment I sell within online and have tactfully pointed out possible policy infringement with a very recent case. I don't think I'd go as far as publishing something on YouTube though. I did notice that the first link was removed, it's a dodgy area using what someone owns in copyright.. I'm guessing it was the close up of the remote with the company name/logo that did it!!

feel free to add, as already said above