Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I normally avoid using words like “suck” on this blog - it’s just rude. But, when talking about Service America, it really is the only word that fits in many cases (sadly).

I recently had a terrible experience with Comcast. So, I finally decided to make some changes. Note to Big Clueless Companies (BCCs) with the monopoly mindset: We customers do have a choice. But, with busy lives, we suffer from inertia (”A body at rest” and so forth). So, we’ll usually stay, even if we’re not really happy - unless you actively work to drive us away, as Comcast did with me. (And, being called “m’am” and “Mrs. Schmidt” while being told it’s my fault and basically to #### off was ever-so-special! But, by all means, “Have a nice day, Mrs. Schmidt!” Another conversation where I start out rational, reasonable and reasonably polite - only to be reduced to frothing frenzy by the time I hang up. Snarl. Snap. Sigh.)

I’m not looking for true state-of-the art whiz-bang stuff, as I’m planning to make big changes in technology and equipment next year and am budgeting accordingly. I just want basic, reliable, reasonably fast connectivity and video service for now, with the least amount of upfront hassle and costs. What can I say? I’m still a dreamer

So, how did I make decisions about what I wanted to do? Well, that’s where the “rant factor” comes in. I visited others’ blogs and talked to friends. And, I did some googling (natch). Note #2 to BCCs: Us bad ol’ customers are legion and we’re out there on the Web, exchanging stories and making recommendations. And, we’re not all nut case recluses, wearing tinfoil hats and ratty bathrobes. (More at Bruce Fryer’s blog re his latest Comcast follies. Funny and yet so sad. To my knowledge, Bruce doesn’t wear a tinfoil hat…and he gets out of the house on a regular basis.)

“Comcast Problems” had 914 results in Google; “DirectTV Problems” had 338. And, there appeared to be a higher percentage of customer issues/rants about Comcast. Thus, DirectTV appears to suck less.

I also finally found someone at Qwest who really wanted to: a. help me; b. treat me like a fellow human being and c. sell me something! I was so thrilled to have a positive service experience, I was practically euphoric and would have bought even more stuff if the fella had it to sell (”Wow! A set of ginzu knives with the Qwest logo! Sure, ship ‘em!”) So, I’ll be joining the herd of turtles very soon.

Tags: customer service, Comcast, Comcast problems, DirectTV, marketing,marketing troubleshooting