Comcast, the cable company widely applauded for its outstanding customer service, has unfairly come under fire for its totally reasonable reaction to a customer’s complaint.
According to the Consumerist, a customer identified as “Conal” claims he was fired from the accounting firm where he worked after a Comcast rep called his boss and told on him for trying to report his terrible customer service experience to Comcast higher-ups.
The story starts as most Comcast stories start: with the cable company charging Conal for services and equipment he neither requested nor used. When Conal tried to cancel his subscription in October 2013, Comcast reportedly sent him $1,820 worth of equipment he didn’t request — stuff like modems, DVRs, etc. — and charged him for it. When Conal created an itemized spreadsheet and took it to the Comcast customer-service reps to show them the overcharges, they refused to acknowledge the mistake.
So Conal decided to escalate the issue to the company’s controller, but when he spoke to someone in the office there, she was equally unhelpful. No one ever sorted out Conal’s customer-service request.
This, Conal claims, is where it gets messy. The accounting firm where he worked reportedly fired him after someone from Comcast contacted his employer to say Conal had called to express his displeasure with Comcast. The call kicked off an ethics investigation that led to Conal’s firing.
According to the Consumerist:
Comcast maintained that Conal used the name of his employer in an attempt to get leverage. Conal insists that he never mentioned his employer by name, but believes that someone in the Comcast Controller’s office looked him up online and figured out where he worked.
When he was fired, Conal’s employer explained that the reason for the dismissal was an e-mail from Comcast that summarized conversations between Conal and Comcast employees.
Plus, though his company consulted with Comcast, Conal argues that bringing their name up wouldn’t have helped his situation in the first place.
Comcast: still the worst.
