Comcast has
executed a near perfect strategy to convince the Justice Department, FCC and
public that the merger with Time Warner has great benefits. The game plan shows mostly great finesse, coming
for a company much reviled by subscribers and the general public alike. Hat’s off to Comcast’s extension of its
program to sell cheap computers and offer $10 a month broadband subscriptions
to people qualifying for subsidized school lunches.
However, the
company has not achieved perfection. Set
out below are 2.5 mistakes that the company could have easily avoided.
For years Comcast has deliberately scrimped on customer service both in terms of truck rolls and interaction with subscribers via telephone or online. The company appears to have trained staff to eschew accommodations that result in less money. Comcast seems to think that it wins when subscribers settle for less than they thought they should have received by way of a refund. The company has generated ample ill will by what comes across as greed.
Comcast
comes across as imperial and arrogant in its response to the RFD Network’s
complaints about non-carriage. The
company should have given RFD what I call The Tennis Channel Treatment: carrying
the channel on a more expensive tier with fewer subscribers than the cheaper
and more highly viewed tier where Comcast places its Golf Channel.
Clearly
Comcast has bandwidth available to carry RFD and ample funds to pay the few
cents per subscriber the network would qualify to receive. Instead a company official, who should know
better, accused RFD of driving “a
wedge between Comcast and rural viewers as a means to promote your own business
interests is unfair and grossly inaccurate.” See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/24/business/media/rural-tv-chief-takes-2-by-4-to-cable-merger.html?_r=0.
1) A Temporary Improvement in Customer Service
and Tactics
For years Comcast has deliberately scrimped on customer service both in terms of truck rolls and interaction with subscribers via telephone or online. The company appears to have trained staff to eschew accommodations that result in less money. Comcast seems to think that it wins when subscribers settle for less than they thought they should have received by way of a refund. The company has generated ample ill will by what comes across as greed.
In light of
Comcast’s incredibly poor ranking, even a minor improvement would come across
as both significant and well intentioned.
Apparently the company has done nothing even when it should display its
best behavior. Recording of worst case
treatment have particularly significant impact right now and what has Comcast
done? All I’ve seen are press releases
much like the scripts I get from United Airlines when they screw up and have no
intention explaining why, or resolving to do better. See United Airline Form Letter Response to Complaint
Comcast
cannot afford to make saccharine and disingenuous “apologies” when their customer
service reps execute a strategy designed to deny responsibility and refuse to
make necessary financial accommodations.
2) Not Carrying Narrow Niche Networks Even
in a Costly and Obscure Tier
RFD surely is a niche market play,
but much like many of the niche channels Comcast carries. RFD probably has more clout than many niche
networks in view of its targeted rural audience. Comcast’s decision to cut carriage in New
Mexico and Colorado provides a snapshot of how the company can make or break a
network. Consumers have every reason to
fear Comcast’s power as gatekeeper.
.5 Comcast’s
"Vigorous" Support for Network Neutrality
I give Comcast a half demerit for its new
found support for network neutrality.
Wasn’t this the company that successfully sued the FCC on its creation
of network neutrality rules? Well that
was then and now embracing neutrality—for a fixed time period no doubt—comes across
as noble. I think it comes across as an
expedient strategy to win support for its merger, but this blog surely can’t
match full page ads in major newspapers.
4 comments:
Great article, but it begs the question how can such a corporation operate so stupidly when it is attempting to secure regulatory approval. What's going on inside?
Mergers that produce virtual monopolies should be rejected out of hand. Let's hope Washington sees this.
This is really a nice post. A lot more then thanks for spending time on it and making it useful fof us. Hosted dialer
See this:
http://www.dannfuria.com/comcast
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