Comcast Apologizes For Addressing Written Communication To ‘A**hole’

Comcast has issued an apology, after a customer’s name was changed to the word “A**hole” on his billing statement.

Lisa Brown said she received a bill from Comcast, but instead of her husband’s name, the line read “A**hole Brown.” She attempted to have the name changed, going into Comcast offices, and phoning to speak to Comcast service reps and superiors, but it took contacting consumer advocate and blogger Christopher Elliott to get the problem fixed. When he made contact, Comcast quickly responded, fixing the name, and offering an apology and a bill credit.

According to Elliott’s consumer advocacy blog, Brown called Comcast to have her cable bill reduced. She intended to drop to fewer services in order to receive the reduction. Instead, a Comcast rep tried to talk her into signing a contract for an additional two years of service. She says she was never rude but refused to sign the additional contract. She was charged $60 for the privilege of dropping services.

After Elliott contacted Comcast, though, a rep called to express an apology and waive the $60 fee. Brown said that was a good start, but she wanted contact information to speak with Comcast’s Vice President in charge of customer service. She also wanted back “everything I paid Comcast for doing this to me.” Shortly after Elliott posted this on his blog, Comcast contacted Lisa Brown again. This time, they apologized directly — and offered a full refund for the two years of service Brown has had with the company.

Comcast has also promised they’ll investigate the incident further, and that the person who changed Brown’s name on the bill will be fired.

While Comcast’s customer service is the subject of a seemingly infinite number of online rants, they’re hardly the first to get caught in a case like this. There have been numerous cases where a restaurant receipt included a slur or profanity that the waitstaff presumably never thought the customer would see — this one, for instance.

On Reddit, people who’ve worked in customer service and call centers cite other cases. User Sugar_Bottom describes a system where, when no name is given, service reps are supposed to enter “NoName” but instead often enter things like “BiggieSmalls” or “A**hole” — so it’s not just Comcast who thinks that of the customers.

Another Reddit user, Scottastic, has a tale that puts Comcast’s error to shame — a customer actually received a bill reading “customer is an a**hole” and “no more credits” because an angry rep hadn’t realized that the fields he was filling out would be visible to the customer on the bill.

Was Comcast’s screw-up unforgivable, or do you think two years worth of refund, an apology, and a promise of a firing was enough to erase their bad behavior? Have you had similar problems with Comcast or another provider?

[photo credit: JeepersMedia]