Comcast to Pay Customers $20 If Technicians Are Late as Part of Customer Service Revamp

Comcast is going to pay you $20 if its technicians are even just one minute late to your home for a service call. Comcast Cable President Neil Smit said that starting in the third quarter, if a company technician shows up a minute late to a service appointment, $20 will be automatically deposited into the customer’s account. The company said it has set a goal that by the third quarter, its technicians will no longer show up late to customers’ homes. Comcast has worked hard to transform its low-rated customer experience after some embarrassing episodes of poor customer interactions went viral around the Internet in recent months.

In 2014, the company tapped a product executive, Charlie Herrin, to spearhead a move to “productize” the customer experience. “It is unacceptable some of the individual instances that have been well-documented,” Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said. “It was a rallying cry inside the company.” Comcast said it has budgeted more than $300 million for its new customer-service efforts. Among Comcast’s new initiatives: allowing customers to follow technicians on an Uber-like app that will show them where en route their technician is. The app also allows customers to rate each technician’s service call. The company said the app will be rolled out in all of its service areas by the end of 2015. It also is releasing an app that will remotely diagnose problems with your set-top box.