Comcast Thinks Using Misleading Polls Will Somehow Fix Its Horrible Reputation
from the my-truth-is-better-than-your-truth dept
Comcast is currently trying to negotiate a new franchise agreement in its hometown of Philadelphia, but is running into the kind of fierce consumer disgust for the company that ultimately helped derail its failed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Back in April, the city was criticized for refusing to publicize a city survey on Comcast that took two years to conduct, but only Comcast executives were allowed to see. When the 571-page report (pdf) was finally released, the results weren't surprising: Philadelphia locals by and large loathe Comcast and its documentably atrocious customer service.Of the roughly 1,700 people who submitted online comments for the city’s survey, around 99% of those were negative. Comcast, as you might expect, denied that the survey's findings were accurate, and promised the Philadelphia city council that it would provide evidence proving as much.
Fast forward a few months, and Comcast is now facing allegations that it's engaging in misleading polling in the Philadelphia region. Apparently, Comcast hopes to use garbage polling to "disprove" the obvious reality that Comcast just isn't very good at what they do. ISP lobbyists have leaned heavily on inaccurate polls for years. Especially push polls -- often using them to scare locals away from municipal broadband ahead of local votes, sometimes by implying that tax dollars will be used to fund pornography, or that the government would come in and try to ration their TV viewing.
The effort was first spotted by Eric Rosso, Political Director for Pennsylvania Working Families:
Just got a ridiculous push poll call from @comcast trying to garner results that favored them as a corporate citizen. Time to @CAP_Comcast.
— Eric Rosso (@ericopinion) June 7, 2015
"Chris Rabb, author of Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity and a professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, also took part in the phone survey. He tells Consumerist it was one of the most egregious examples of non-electoral push polling he’s seen in decades. This was particularly true, says Rabb, when the survey transitioned to questions about demands Philadelphia could make of Comcast in the company’s renewed franchise agreement, and how these could increase costs for the company."Comcast has confirmed that it has hired a "reputable third party, independent company" to conduct polls in the city, but has, rather unsurprisingly, been unable to provide an exact copy of the precise language used in the poll questions. Of course, in a few weeks the findings will be trotted out by city leaders as a shining example of Comcast's sterling reputation, and Philadelphia city leaders will likely grant Comcast a very cozy new franchise agreement that helps cement the cable giant's monopoly power in the city for another decade.
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Filed Under: customer service, misleading polls, philadelphia, polls
Companies: comcast
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Inevitable names like Rightshaven, Prenda, Alan Cooper and My Little Pony come to mind. I mean that's as reputable as Comcast manages to be in my mind. And I'm not even American!
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Stop lumping in Prenda with Comcrap!
Comcrap are much worse.
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…Discord, on the other hand…
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Customer Service Feedback
[x] Zero
[_] Less than one
2. Which of the following problems have you experienced with Comcast? (Please check all that apply.)
[_] Was unable to express in words how happy I was with Comcast service!
[_] Could not reach enough Comcast people to express my joy with Comcast service.
[_] The online payment system has a bug that will not allow me to pay more than the actual price for the service.
3. How would you rate your Comcast service?
[_] Fantastical
[_] Amazing
[_] Wonderful
[_] Marvelous
[_] Good
Thank you for your feedback. As a reward for sending us feedback, would you like to receive craptacular email offers from selected Comcast partners?
[_] Yes! Please fill my inbox to overflowing!
[_] No. (but fill my inbox anyway)
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I have to wonder about that survey, based on the very simple observation that it's Philly. Keep in mind that the City of Brotherly Love has so much hate floating around that the locals booed Santa Claus!
Having said that, Comcast still sucks.
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Me too. I've seen surveys and even exams poorly written and with answer choices that makes me think the issuer wants certain results, even if everybody else disagrees.
As an example I received a customer survey from a convenience store chain that questioned every aspect of a visit except the customer/clerk interaction. Or in this case lack thereof. Yes that would have been the only line I would have given negative marks.
But the worst example for me was a professional license test with a multiple choice question that not one choice correctly answered the question! Turns out the only way to get credit for a correct answer was to protest that question after the test.
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The current (expiring) franchise agreement was a 15-year term, so actually it'll probably be another decade and a half.
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Time to hold their feet to the fire
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Re: Time to hold their feet to the fire
They should give them a range of months (say between month 8 and month 5) and then call them at month 7 and tell them no one was home so they lost out on the deal.
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Re: professional license test
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And when customer service managers are so bad that even Comcast fires them...
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"And a little something extra for your family..."
If they manage to score another agreement, I'm guessing it will have less to do with the public 'survey' they gathered, and more to do with the private lucrative 'offers' made to the various decision makers.
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"And a little something extra....."
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Re: "And a little something extra....."
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Why don't..
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