Comcast is taking some big steps in the next several years to strengthen its customer service, including hiring on over 5,000 call center reps, building new call centers and boosting its technical support staff.
The Internet Service Provider (ISP) says the goal is to spend $300 million to improve customer support.
"There are times you just need to transform things and rethink things from the base level. That's what we've done," states Neil Smit, president and CEO of Comcast Cable.
The hiring wave will add 5,500 to its workforce in the next two to three years and add three call center locations. The Philadelphia-based provider is the biggest cable company in the nation. Most recently it made a move to buy its top rival, Time Warner Cable, for $45 million, but federal agency regulators put a stop to the proposed acquisition citing potential anti-trust issues.
In adding more customer support and technical assistance the provider hopes to spur greater services sales and products, and eliminate customer complaints about poor customer service.
As hiring begins, it's aiming to immediately put a new program in place that offers customers a $20 credit when a service technician representative arrives late for an appointment.
The new call centers are slated to be established in Tucson, Arizona, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Spokane, Washington, and will house 2,000 customer service reps.
"This transformation is about shifting our mindset to be completely focused on the customer," said CEO Neil Smit. "It's about respecting their time, being more proactive, doing what's right and never being satisfied with good enough."
Comcast is also planning to shore up its social media efforts, reportedly tripling the size of its team, to interact and respond to customers on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Reports claim the effort is likely tied to a scathing report released by the city of Philadelphia that criticized Comcast's service response.
"The plan centers on looking at every decision through a customer lens and making measurable changes and improvements across the company," states a Comcast announcement on the customer experience strategy. The company says it will also simplify billing and develop improved policies regarding service consistency and providing transparency to customers.
"Additionally, the plan includes the renovation of hundreds of stores across the country and the development of new technologies that will enable customers to interact with us how and when they want," states the release.
