Comcast has admitted to its part in the horrendous customer retention call that recently went viral. However, it is not the moral victory that would satisfy most of the people who listened to the outrageous eight-minute phone call.
While an executive within the company said that the agent did "what we trained and paid him... to do," the admission was sent out in an internal memo that was only meant to be read by employees. However, in what may only be described as poetic justice, the letter was leaked to tech website Consumerist, thereby exposing how the viral video was received within the company.
The message, which is attributed to Comcast Cable COO Dave Watson, said that the company was embarrassed over the recording. "It was painful to listen to this call, and I am not surprised that we have been criticized for it... The agent on this call did a lot of what we trained him and paid him - and thousands of other retention agents - to do. He tried to save a customer, and that's important, but the act of saving a customer must always be handled with the utmost respect," he said.
Watson's letter contradicts the company's statements immediately after the service call went viral. Tom Karinshak, Comcast's senior vice president for customer experience, placed the blame squarely on the retention specialist, saying that the way the agent acted was unacceptable and not in line with how the company trains its representatives.
The caller, AOL Vice President of Product Ryan Block, was subjected to questioning, more commonly employed by detectives and defense attorneys. The agent aggressively demanded a reason for his decision to cancel his service, asking questions like "Why don't you want faster speed?" and "You don't want something that works?" Block chronicled his ordeal and posted the recording on Soundcloud.
On his Twitter page, Block asked the company not to fire the agent, but instead re-evaluate its customer service policies. His request seems to have been granted. Watson said that Comcast will review its training program for retention agents. He also announced that the company will change how managers are trained and re-evaluate its incentive scheme for employees.
