Comcast Service Still Not Comcastic: Where in the World are Tom Karnishak and Rick Germano?

Good afternoon and Happy Holidays, Blogvillers and Avid Readers! It’s been a long time! I’ll bet you thought I was gone. I’ll bet there were many who were very grateful!! Hopefully there were one or two who missed me.

“What”, you may ask, “has prompted this sudden return?”

That, Blogvillers and Avid Readers, I can answer with one word. . . COMCAST!

Believe me, Comcast’s woeful level of customer disservice remains as Comcastic as it was in my June 15, 2012 blog, “Comcast’s Comcastic Unadvertised Features”. In answer the other question that I’m sure has been plaguing some you, “No! After more than two years, I still do not know “Where in the World is Comcast's Rick Germano”! However, an anonymous commenter did post what the commenter believes to be Mr. Germano’s home phone number and address. I don’t believe that I’ve yet reached the point at which I’ll call or drop by to ask Mr. Germano to Sunday brunch, but I’m beginning to think such a step does not sound as crazy as it once did.

As is so often my sentiment when considering Comcast…where do I begin?

Let me take a route that I’ve never before explored in a blog. Let me offer my sincere compliments to two Comcast employees.

The first noteworthy Comcast employee is Will Osborne II. Mr. Osborne has worked with me on several occasions to resolve the repeated unrequested changes to service and rates that I experience with my Comcast bill every other month on average. He has been gracious, professional, and - until the most recent billing debacle - very responsive. One has to wonder if his excellent customer service skills have caused Comcast to let him go or if he has just become so mired down in addressing Comcast’s errors that he can no longer respond in a timely manner. Either way, allow me to say that Will’s good faith efforts at fixing Comcast’s broken system are both appreciated and admired.

The second Comcast employee deserving of praise is Chris in Executive Customer Relations. I’ve had the pleasure of reaching Chris twice in the past week. I first spoke with him on December 5, following two promised return calls that never materialized. Chris, like Will Osborne II, was gracious, professional, and attempted to escalate my concerns. Unfortunately his attempts failed. Having received no response to my phone calls or emails and only an acknowledgement email for my comments to the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Tom Karinshak’s “Hear from Tom” link, I called Executive Customer Relations on December 8. It was my sincere pleasure to speak with Chris. He again offered to escalate my concerns and I believe that he did. Unfortunately, his efforts – like mine – seem fruitless.

If you can’t tell from my good Comcast employee awards, I suppose that I’ve mellowed a bit. I’ve also become more savvy about the inner workings of Comcast. So when the most recent errors appeared in my Comcast bill, I did not waste time arguing with the utterly inept customer service drones at 1-800-COMCAST who tend to offend rather than address or correct billing errors. Instead, I e-mailed Will Osborne II and Bill Gerth. Both of these gentlemen have resolved other billing errors for me over the past nine months.

When I received no response, I called the corporate offices at (215)286-1700. I left several voicemails for Will Osborne II and Bill Gerth. I then asked to speak their supervisor but was, instead, transferred to Executive Customer Relations. I was assured by the first representative (Shereka L.?) that I would receive a call within 24 hours. Not so! Is anyone at all surprised?

I called back 24 hours later. Is anyone at all surprised? I spoke with Jim. Jim notified me that the first representative had given me incorrect information (a Comcastic surprise, right?) and that the timeframe for a return call was 48 to 72 hours. I decided to give Comcast the benefit of the doubt. Having already waited 24 hours, I waited an additional 48 hours before calling Executive Customer Relations and speaking with Chris (of “I can’t believe he’s a Comcast employee” fame!).

I also found Tom Karinshak’s - Senior Vice President of Customer Experience - “Hear from Tom” web link and provided him the following comment on December 5.

          “Tom,

          I am contacting you regarding my exceptional dissatisfaction with the billing processes at      
          Comcast, which result in inaccurate billings on a regular basis, and the inefficient, protracted,
          and substandard customer service process that must be tackled in order to correct the
          inaccurate billings.
  
          Over the past 3 years, I have suffered through consistent billing errors by Comcast. On
          average, my bills are incorrect every other month. Corrections of inaccurate billings normally 
          require multiple, often protracted yet unsuccessful, phone calls and/or emails to resolve.

          In April 2014, I began contacting Will Osborne II and Bill Gerth regarding the issues I was 
          encountering. Will Osborne II has certainly made a valiant effort to resolve the problem but
          the problem continues.

          Approximately two and half years ago, I worked with customer service personnel to design a
          package with a set billing amount for a one year period and received written confirmation of
          the agreement. Although I still had to make calls to correct the billing errors, I finally had a
          written agreement to present to expedite the infernal process of having the billing corrected.

          I have continued to make written arrangements to decrease the incredible imposition on my
          time and energy that Comcast's persistent incorrect billings cause.

          Currently the terms of my written agreement are:

          The monthly rate is $136.89/month plus tax. Services to be provided for that rate:

          1. Starter video bundle
          2. Premium channels - HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, Streampix,
             1 HD Digital  Converter, 1Standard Def Digital Converter, 1 Voice Modem,
             1 Internet Modem

         The rate and services listed above (the "Bundle") will remain in place through May 1, 2015
         (the "Service Year"). No changes will be made to the rates or the Bundle without the express
         consent of the account holder or his designee.

         Since the inception of the current written agreement ("Agreement"), I have experienced at
         least five incorrect bills that resulted from changes being made to the rate or the Bundle
         without the express consent of the account holder or his designee. Will Osborne II has
         addressed most of these issues. We discussed extending the term of the current agreement 
         through September 1, 2015 as a result of the multiple failures by Comcast to bill correctly
         but I do not have written confirmation of that extension.

         The bills for service in October and November were both incorrect. I paid the higher rate
         on the October bill without closely reviewing it and am owed a credit. I contacted several  
         different Comcast personnel on December 2, 2014 when I realized that my November bill
         was even higher than my October bill. Despite leaving multiple voice mails, sending an
         e-mail to Will Osborne II and Bill Gerth, and an assurance on December 2, 2014 from
         Shereka L of the executive customer service team that I would hear from an executive          
         representative within 24 hours, I have had no response to my repeated request to contact me
         and correct my bill. On December 3, 2014, I called the corporate office again and spoke to
         a Jim. Jim notified me that the information provided by Shereka L was incorrect (a common
         situation when speaking to different personnel at Comcast) and that I would be contacted
         within 48 to 72 hours. The deadline draws nigh on a Friday afternoon and still I have not
         heard from anyone from Comcast.

         I will not be paying this bill until I speak to someone in a high enough position of authority to 
         provide assurances that the terms of the current agreement will be extended through
         September 1, 2015 and that the October and November bill will be corrected. I also expect a
         large credit for the continued failure by Comcast to maintain consistent rates and services in
         accordance with the agreement.”

At the end of my “Hear from Tom” missive, I provided my contact number. Apparently that was an utterly wasted effort. At 4:20 pm on December 5, I received the following e-mail:

         “My name is Tamatha and I am one of the agents assisting with the Office of Tom Karinshak.
         I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced and I will be working to address your 
         concerns.

         I want to sincerely apologize that you had to reach out to us again because a service 
         representative did not contact you in the time frame provided to you. Providing customer
         service in a timely manner is a priority to us, and I apologize that we fell short of this. Please
         know I will do everything I can to make sure your issue is resolved as quickly as possible. I
         have updated our records with this e-mail. Your matter has been forwarded to a special team
         that is dedicated to resolving service issues such as yours and they are working on the issues
         that you have addressed. You should expect to hear from a representative soon.

         Ms._____, thank you so much for taking the time to contact us. Again, I truly apologize for
         any frustration or inconvenience you experienced. If you have any questions or concerns,
         please respond directly to this e-mail so we can immediately assist you. We value your
         business and thank you for choosing Comcast.

         Sincerely,
         Tamatha K.
         Office of Tom Karinshak”

Apparently, in Comcast-speak, “Hear from Tom” means get an e-mail from a person in his office - who does not even provide a last name - notifying me that I will hear from someone “soon”. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How valued can I be if I have not received any further communication from Tom five days later? What does Comcast mean by "soon"? Why do employees of Comcast seem think they are all Cher or Prince? The normal business world uses last names!!!

But I digress...

“Soon” is a very loosely defined term in Comcast-speak. Further along in this blog, I’ll discuss the substantially higher level of importance that Comcast places on the word “late”.

So, the new question for this blog becomes “Where in the World is Tom Karinshak?”

         This is the now-infamous Tom Karinshak - Senior Vice President of Customer Experience

                                                          Have you seen this man?

Apparently he is busy offering a Comcastically Bad Customer Experience to some other poor Comcast victim and has not found a minute to contact me and allow me to "Hear from Tom" in the last five days.

Bear with me, my tale of Comcastic woe has almost reached the end – though clearly not a resolution or I wouldn't be writing this blog!

On December 8, I called Executive Customer Relations again. I had the pleasure (sincere sentiment for a change) of speaking to Chris again. He promised to escalate the issue. I believe that he did as he promised. Still no call from Comcast.

On December 9, I called Executive Customer Relations again again. No, that’s not a typo. I am trying to make a point here. Should I use “more again”? I spoke with a female representative and received the by-now-familiar promise of a return call “soon” along with the explanation that Comcast overhauled its billing system and is swamped with calls from customers.

Warning to all Blogvillers and Avid Readers: CHECK YOUR COMCAST BILL! I suspect that with a new billing system, the billing errors will become even more Comcastic!

One more thing. Let’s discuss the importance of the word “late” to Comcast. While Comcast applies a Comcastically relaxed definition to “soon” as that word applies to returning customer calls, meeting customer needs and curing breaches of customer contracts, it has an absolutely draconian definition of “late”.

Comcast has decided that, despite its abysmal billing record and its lackadaisical responsiveness to customer needs, COMCAST ALLOWS NO GRACE PERIOD ON BILL PAYMENTS. The $9.50 standard late fee represents an astronomical percentage of the basic bill and is levied the day after the bill is due. What next? Will Comcast hire enforcers to collect those late fees? Maybe Comcast would do better if it decreased its demand on customers for timeliness while raising its own standard of timeliness in service. Just a thought, Tom Karinshak and Rick Germano…

Rick Germano

Tom Karinshak

Now, let me turn this blog over to you. What do you suggest should be my next step? Should I try Rick Germano’s home number? Should I stop by the address I was given to see if he wants to have Sunday brunch and talk? Should I just take a ride down to Comcast’s plush center city Philadelphia corporate office and stage a good old fashioned sit in? Should I just keep blogging each day that my requests to cure the breach of our written agreement (read “contract”) continues to be ignored?

You decide! How can I most Comcastically share my holiday spirit with Comcast?