Todd Hollander Market Research

After standing me up twice (see “Comcast drops the ball again“), Comcast finally sent a technician Friday evening to repair my cable television service. The whole ordeal, while enormously frustrating, has also been educational. Here is what I learned…

1. Comcast is making an effort to become a customer-centric company

You may wonder how I can make such a statement given my experience, but here’s the thing: I found no lack of Comcast employees who were embarassed, apologetic, and willing to intervene. In fact, I received repeated calls from personnel in the Comcast corporate office and the local executive office, several of whom offered their direct phone numbers and even their mobile numbers. One even posted an apology on this blog.

So the problem was not a lack of concern but a lack of power. On two occasions a concerned Comcast employee was unable to circumvent the bottleneck of someone considerably lower in the pecking order: the dispatchers and service technicians.

This suggests that:

2. The shift to customer-centricity is occurring from the top down

In other words, Senior Management is driving the change down through the organization. This is a good thing, because without the buy-in of senior executives, meaningful change in the corporate culture is virtually impossible (see “How to develop a customer-centric business model“).

Unfortunately:

3. It is not a concerted effort

It appears that the cultural change has not yet flowed to the bottom of the corporate pyramid. The vibe I got from the technicians I met felt similar to the one given off by the folks who work at the post office: high job security with little or no incentive for doing more than the least that is expected. If I’m right, and the most customer-facing employees are the most averse to change, this may to be a tough nut to crack.

The bottom line: I sense that Comcast is making significant changes but there is much work yet to be done.

My satisfaction with Comcast digital cable was extremely short-lived. After a maddening ordeal trying to order the service (see “Ordering from Comcast - Like a visit to the proctologist“), I was finally able to get the service installed (see “Comcast corrects problem“). Unfortunately, the cable box they installed stopped working the very next day.

So I called Comcast and scheduled a service call. When the repairman neither showed up nor called on the scheduled day, I called Comcast again. They told me someone at the company had canceled the service call without noting any reason or explanation. The Customer Service agent was very apologetic and took ownership of the problem. She even called me back the next morning to say that she had rescheduled the service call for Friday between 11:00 and 2:00 and that she would personally monitor the ticket to ensure that it was completed.

Well, it’s now after 2:00 on Friday and you can probably guess the rest of the story. Yup - no repairman; no phone call. So I called Comcast. Guess what they said? “Looks like someone at our company canceled the appointment, but they didn’t log a reason for the cancellation.” Second time in a week I’ve been stood up by Comcast. The Customer Service rep let me hold while he typed a letter to the dispatcher requesting an explanation for the cancellation. He said someone would call me this afternoon.

The saga continues…

I recently wrote about a frustrating experience trying to place an order with Comcast for high speed internet and digital cable television (”Ordering from Comcast - Like a visit to the proctologist” - March 12, 2008). Within 24 hours of that post, I received a call from the Comcast corporate office apologizing for the problem and seeking to resolve it (”Comcast admits mistake” - March 18, 2008). Yesterday, the company installed the new services and waived one of the fees.

Here’s what I learned from the experience:

• This blog afforded me an opportunity unavailable to most disgruntled customers: a bully pulpit to publicly declare my dissatisfaction and win the attention of someone who could do something about it.
• When dissatisfied as a customer, I should always consider taking action rather than suffering in silence.
• Although Comcast has much room for improvement in delivering a customer-centric order/upgrade experience, in my case they were willing to acknowledge the problem and take effective steps to remedy it.
• High-speed cable internet access is much faster than DSL. As in: lightning fast ; no comparison; way better.

So at least for today, I have blazing internet access and on-demand television. Life is good. Maybe even “comcastic.”

In a recent post, I wrote about a terrible experience I had trying to place an order with Comcast for high speed internet and digital cable television. Within 24 hours of publishing that report, I received a call from the Comcast corporate office. The caller said he saw the blog entry, apologized for the problem, and offered his assistance to resolve it. He took some information and told me that I would receive a call from the local Comcast office shortly.

The next day I received the call from the local office. The woman identified herself as Mrs. Callahan. She did this twice, never offering a first name. Maybe its just me, but I find this form of address stilted and off-putting, particularly when the addressee is attempting to right a wrong. Nonetheless, Mrs. Callahan gathered some info and promised to call me back in a few minutes. When she called back, she offered to waive the $17.95 “upgrade fee” for my order and offered an installation date two business days later (a full week sooner than the earliest date offered when I tried to order the installation online).

Today is that day. The time: between 11:00 and 2:00. I’ll keep you posted.

Today I tried to place an order with Comcast for high speed internet and digital cable television. What should have been a simple transaction was anything but easy. Here’s how it went…

1. As an existing customer, I logged into the Comcast website using my username and password.
2. After negotiating a fairly cumbersome order process (selecting a service bundle, leasing a modem, and scheduling installation), I was taken to a live chat where a Customer Service Representative was to complete my transaction.
3. The chat session did not support my Firefox web browser, so having already invested 10 to 15-minutes into the ordering process…
4. I had to redo the entire transaction with another browser.
5. I was again taken to the live chat session to complete the transaction. Here is the actual transcript from the chat:

chat id : 7ef71f40-5d5b-4183-b670-467969b02ba3

Problem : Order Information

Arnel.24970 > Hello Todd_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Arnel.24970. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Arnel.24970 > Welcome to Comcast. We are very happy to provide service for you.

Arnel.24970 > Todd, are you a new or existing Comcast customer?

Todd_ > existing

Arnel.24970 > Okay great.

Arnel.24970 > MayI have your account number please?

Arnel.24970 > I do apologize for the misspelled word. I also accidentally hit the ENTER key.

Todd_ > I don’t have it with me. Can you look it up by address?

Arnel.24970 > No problem.

Arnel.24970 > May I know what services do you currently have with Comcast?

Todd_ > tv only - expanded package I think

Arnel.24970 > Okay.

Arnel.24970 > I will be very happy to process your order today.

Arnel.24970 > Let me go ahead and check out your order first.

Arnel.24970 > Thank you for waiting.

Arnel.24970 > Todd, can you please hold for one moment while I try to locate your address in the database?

Todd_ > yes

Arnel.24970 > Okay.

Arnel.24970 > One moment please.

Arnel.24970 > Thank you for waiting.

Arnel.24970 > Can you please provide me your Social Security Number and your active e-mail address?

Todd_ > the email address for the existing account?

Arnel.24970 > Yes please.

Todd_ > [provided email address]

Arnel.24970 > Thank you.

Arnel.24970 > For account identification can you please verify the amount and date of the last payment made to the account?

Todd_ > I have no idea. My wife pays the bill.

Arnel.24970 > I do apologize, Todd. We will be unable to process your order without proper account verification.

Arnel.24970 > Please do chat us back once you have that information.

Arnel.24970 > Were you able to receive my last message?

Todd_ > so I have wasted 30 minutes?

Arnel.24970 > I do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Todd_ > do you have the number for bellsouth? Maybe they are easier to do business with.

Arnel.24970 > For directions and the contact information of the local office in your area please visit:

https://www.comcast.com/Localization/Localize.ashx

Arnel.24970 > Is there anything else that I can help you with?

Arnel.24970 > Were you able to receive my last message?

Todd_ > If I wanted to place this order, would it still be in my cart or would I have to start all over?

Arnel.24970 > It is possible. Just provide your order I.D. to the representative. That would be [order #].

Todd_ > Gee, glad I asked. Is there no other way to verify the account except to provide the amount and date of the last payment?

Arnel.24970 > I do apologize, Todd Base on the information listed on your account, the date and the last payment made is the only information to verify.

Todd_ > Seems like I should have been told that I would need that info before spending all this time placing the order and scheduling installation.

Arnel.24970 > I really do apologize.

Arnel.24970 > Please do chat us back once you have that information.

Here is what I find so dissatisfying about this experience:

1. I should have been informed that in order to complete the order I would be required to provide certain information to verify the account.
2. Even though I had logged into my account to place the order, the agent…

• Did not know that I was an existing customer
• Did not know my account number.
• Did not know what services I was being provided
• Asked for my Social Security Number
• Asked for my email address

The bottom line: The word “comcastic” should be defined as: “Invasive, painful, frustrating, and dissatisfying.” Example: “My visit to the proctologist was utterly comcastic.”

Consumer complaints about airline service soared 107 percent in July, the highest level reported for that month in five years.

The U.S. Department of Transportation fielded 1,717 complaints in July, up from 831 in July 2006, according to the agency’s Air Travel Consumer Report.

According to industry analysts, frustrations were caused by delays that affected almost one-third of flights in July, severe weather in the northeastern United States, and an increasingly impersonal customer service system.

Following years of losses, airlines are now filling planes to record levels. When disruptions occur, rebooking problems cascade across the system, which has less flexibility than in past years.

Betsy Talton, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines, which saw its consumer complaints rise to 171 in July from 77 a year earlier. said Delta is trying to adjust its flight schedule by canceling flights when it knows far enough in advance that bad weather will force extensive delays.

American Airlines recently added five to seven minutes to the scheduled time of flights at major airports to reduce the number of flights classified as late. Flights are considered on time if they are within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival.

The 70 percent on-time arrival rate for all U.S. airlines in July was the worst on record for that month. Airlines blame an antiquated air traffic system for many of the delays, and in August, Delta sent an electronic letter to its customers urging them to lobby Congress for more funds.

US Airways received the most complaints (267) in July, a rate of almost five complaints per 100,000 passengers flown. Southwest Airlines was the least cited carrier with 33 complaints, a rate of 0.34 complaints per 100,000 flown.

Delta’s complaint rate was 2.44 per 100,000.

Almost 45 percent of the complaints were about flight problems, including cancellations, delays or other deviations from the schedule. Mishandled bags accounted for 17.8 percent of the DOT complaints.

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study^SM, BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust) ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 860 on a 1,000-point scale. M & T Mortgage follows in the rankings with 828 and Citizens Bank ranks third overall with a score of 825. These lenders all perform particularly well in keeping billing statement error rates lower than the industry average; providing a wide range of options for making payments; providing flexibility when scheduling electronic payments; designing and/or using automated phone systems that address customer needs; and handling customer contacts quickly and efficiently.

USAA, a financial services provider open only to the U.S. military community and their families and therefore not included in the rankings, also achieves a high level of customer satisfaction.

The study finds that there are considerable financial benefits for lenders in delivering a highly satisfying customer experience, including increased referrals and higher customer retention rates—which is the percentage of customers who pay off a loan and then refinance or take out a new mortgage with their current lender. Specifically, doubling the rate of customer retention from the industry average can result in an increase of nearly 3 percent in mortgage servicing valuations, or approximately $38 million for lenders with a $100 billion portfolio.

“In addition to the benefit of increasing servicing right valuations, moving customers to high commitment levels can triple the number of recommendations, almost double the number of additional products that the customer utilizes and reduce marketing costs for generating new business,” said Ryan. “To achieve higher retention rates, lenders can first and foremost enhance the billing and payment process to make it more convenient, and dramatically reduce errors through systems such as e-mail notifications and automatic payments.”

The study also finds that customers who say they “definitely will refinance” with their current lender are much more likely to make monthly payments via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) method, which allows the lender to take payments directly from the customer’s bank account. ACH can eliminate issues with lost, late and misapplied payments, which all negatively impact satisfaction. In addition, the elimination of high-impact errors—particularly, the mismanagement of tax and insurance escrow accounts and payments—and the prompt and precise resolution of problems can directly and positively impact satisfaction.

The 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study is based on responses from 11,481 home owners regarding their experiences with their primary mortgage servicer. The study was fielded in three waves in November 2006, February 2007 and May 2007. The study measures customer satisfaction with the process of servicing a loan based on four primary areas: the administration of the customer’s account; the billing process; the payment process; and the process of contacting the mortgage servicer.

For more information on customer satisfaction with home mortgage providers, visit JDPower.com.

If your company overemphasizes reactive approaches to customer satisfaction and habitually addresses customer service problems as they arise instead of taking proactive measures to prevent them, you may be engaged in a risky business.

This is the conclusion of a cross-industry analysis titled “A Look in the Mirror: The VOC Scorecard” recently released by J.D. Power and Associates.

The research included nearly 4,000 responses from 600 companies participating in J.D. Power’s online Voice of the Customer (VOC) assessment, which provides a snapshot of how a company compares to others in weaving the Voice of the Customer into day-to-day business practices.

The data reveal that a large number of organizations approach customer satisfaction reactively rather than proactively, confusing a commitment to satisfaction with a focus on responding to complaints.

“What we see is that many companies equate their commitment to customer satisfaction to the lengths they will go and expense they will incur to fix a problem once it has occurred,” said Bob Caruso, executive director and VOC leader at J.D. Power and Associates. “A significant number of respondents believe their company lacks a commitment to fixing identified problems in the early stages. This creates an inefficient way to do business that benefits neither customers nor shareholders, and reflects more of an interest in short-term profits than in building long-term customer relationships.”

In general, respondents indicated that their companies are doing only a fair job of meeting customer expectations, as the average score for the VOC Test was only 58 of a possible 100 points.

A copy of the report is available at www.jdpower.com/corporate/library/specialreports/pdf/LookInTheMirror.pdf.

With four models topping the rankings for their vehicle segments in an annual J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey of U.S. drivers, Honda Motor Company outperformed all other automakers.

Honda’s newly redesigned CR-V small crossover sport utility vehicle, Ridgeline truck and Odyssey minivan all topped their segments in the survey, which focuses on the first 90 days of vehicle ownership. The subcompact Honda Fit tied with Toyota Motor Corp.’s Yaris for a top spot.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW AG each had three models atop premium segments. Mercedes-Benz was tops with its midsize E-Class car and large S-class car, and its GL-Class tied for a top spot with General Motors Corp.’s Cadillac Escalade EXT in a segment that includes large luxury SUVs and crossovers. BMW’s 3 Series and 6 Series cars, and X5 midsize crossover SUV all received top rankings.

The study, now in its 12^th year, measures owner delight with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles. Based on responses gathered between February and May 2007 from more than 91,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2007 model-year cars and trucks who were surveyed after the first 90 days of ownership, APEAL is designed to complement the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study^SM (IQS), which focuses on problems experienced by owners during the first 90 days of ownership. APEAL measures how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive.

More information about the 2007 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study^SM from J.D. Power and Associates, including a video, article and appeal ratings are available at JDPower.com.

The United States Postal Service recently launched an online customer satisfaction survey by printing a survey link (http://gx.gallup.com/pos) at the bottom of customer sales receipts.

The stated purpose of the survey is “to help us improve postal service in your area.”

All that is required is a zip plus 4 of the post office visited (located at the top of the sales receipt) and the time of the visit. The confidential survey asks customers to rate not only the post office facility but also the clerk who assisted them on their visit.

The bottom line: Only time will tell if the survey results will lead to better service, but even the U.S. Postal Service, long noted for bureaucracy and inattentiveness, has recognized the need to measure customer satisfaction.