We all had some frustrating experiences with customer service representatives in our lives. Fortunately, I did not experience anything as severe as the one recorded example below by with a Comcast representative.

How much of the recorded conversation is the employee’s fault and how much is it the company’s? Obviously the representatives are not trained to react this way, but surely the “let’s-keep-a-customer-at-any-cost” strategy influences the representative’s behavior.

Why, in 2014, some companies are still able to differentiate themselves from the competition by providing great customer service? I would think that in our day and age, good customer service should be the standard, especially with the viral effect social media has on extreme customer experiences (good or bad). Why don’t Comcast’s management provide a better set of guidelines and solutions to their representatives? Why can’t you get the best deal (from any service provider) without dropping the “I’m leaving” bomb?

The switching costs are decreasing in the TV-provider industry. I now have an option to choose from four different providers, up from one (guess who) four years ago. Do you think Comcast is going to revamp their customer service strategy soon? Or can they keep it as long as they still have a monopoly in many markets?

Any part of the recording will do the trick, but to get the full effect please listen to the entire thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/the-comcast-call-from-hell_n_5586476.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063