Monday October 13, 2008 12:22 PM AEST
PC Authority > News > Comcast communicated by blog
Comcast communicated by blog
We are watching you….
A Washington student got a bit of a shock when he received an email from internet service provider Comcast about comments he had made on his blog.
Brandon Dilbeck, a student at the University of Washington, writes a blog and used it to complain about the service he was getting from Comcast. Shortly afterwards he got an email message from Comcast apologizing for the problems and suggesting he might look at a guide it had posted on its web site.
“It feels like nobody ever really reads my blog,” he told the New York Times.
“Nobody has left a comment in months.”
But he said he found the email to be a little creepy.
“The rest of his e-mail may as well have read, ‘Big Brother is watching you,’ ”
Comcast is now monitoring blogs as a way of improving its image among customers. The company was ranked at the bottom of the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index, which tracks consumer opinions of more than 200 companies.
Frank Eliason, digital care manager at Comcast, says it’s a new way of communicating with customers and should get problems resolved faster.
“When you’re having a two-way conversation, you really get to clear the air,” he said.
Lyza Gardner, a vice president at a Web development company in Portland used Twitter to complain about the company and was surprised to be contacted directly.
“It’s one thing to spit vitriol about a company when they can’t hear you,” she said.
“I immediately backed down and softened my tone when I knew I was talking to a real person.”
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
Comments: 4
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tnetech
Jul 26, 2008 6:07 PM
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I know how this person feels, sometimes I wonder whether anyone reads my blog.
Maybe I should complain and bitch about big companies more...
Anyway, if you are interested check it out
http://tnetech.net
Comment made about the PC Authority article:
Comcast communicated by blog?
We are watching you….
What do you think? Join the discussion. |
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Slatts
Jul 26, 2008 7:26 PM
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i think this is great. A company that looks for negative comments about itself on the internet and responds to them in a positive way is to be encouraged.
people seem to forget that what they publish on the web is in the public domain.
If you don't want people to read and respond to what you write, don't write it. |
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P Mac
Jul 27, 2008 10:10 AM
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I don't see how this is even remotely creepy. Comcast is only searching for blog posts about its own performance. It seems to me that you can either:
a) complain about their customer service
b) complain about the fact that they are actively trying to improve customer service.
Searching for customer service complaints on public blog posts is generally called "constructive research", not "spying."
but not both. Dillbeck just wants to be ornery, and is trying to have it both ways.
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peskypescado
Jul 27, 2008 5:11 PM
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Comcast really does troll the blogs. They picked up comments I left on one of my blogs, and a post I did.
http://pseudosavant.com/blog/2008/04/08/its-comcrapstic-my-comcast-tech-support-story/
http://pseudosavant.com/blog/2008/07/23/comcast-customer-complaintscontinued/
The funny thing is, they never even got it fixed. |
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