4 Messages
support chat - apparently how not to reach customer retention
no point in reiterating the complaints about what happens when an agreement period ends. In the past, I looked up the current offers to customers in my area and called (gasp!) account retention and almost always on the first try the rep could match the offer no problem. Not too painful.
once I had to give up and call again to talk to someone else, and once I was calling 6 months before the current contract end to see if I could re-up for 2 years at a $10/mo less cost. No dice on that one, but fair enough.
since my contract is up at the end of november, my wife took a shot at it via online chat at 09:44. After trying to find a path thru the "xfinity assistant" sorting algorithm for around 40 minutes (I assume/hope she was doing other stuff during that time), eventually she gave up and went with the front line agent option.
at 11:25, the front line agent "Ashutosh" appeared to root around in the same stuff we can see ourselves from our account page and paraphrase it, even after my wife said she wanted to deal with account retention and was looking to get the current 2 year offer - $70/mo for 1.2GB (we need the up speed associated with that tier), including unlimited data and the modem.
it's been my experience that front line can't see or has no authority to do anything, and as expected they finally gave up and kicked my wife over to "billing". After about 15 minutes, agent "Ankita" said they could do the $70 for 2 years ... then disappeared.
agent "Yash" showed up 10 minutes later and asked for 3-4 minutes to review the previous conversation, then more-or-less ignored it. He looked in our account and regurgitated what the previous front line support person said. He concluded to get a different offer we should wait until next month and see what showed up. Completely ignored or had no authority to do what "Ankita" did.
I guess my wife ran out of patience and asked to chat with a manager. Yash stopped responding.
time now is 12:58:01, so around 1.5 hours into dealing with "live agents" and going from "we're done" to "start over", I figured I'd give this approach a shot before either calling account retention or seeing what att, verizon or the local wireless co-op has to offer. I'm pretty sure at least one doesn't play the expiring contract discount game.
unfortunately, I'm happy with xfinity and xfinity mobile and recommend it to people who ask - with the caveat that they will be annoyed every time the contract ends if they want to do something about it.
does support here have the authority account retention has, and if not, what is the current phone number for AR in northern california?
XfinityJoe
Official Employee
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743 Messages
1 year ago
@service_ok We would be happy to assist with any account concerns. Please send us a DM with your full name and address to Xfinity Support.
To send a direct message:
Click "Sign In" if necessary
Click the "Direct Message" icon or https://forums.xfinity.com/direct-messaging
Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon
The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there.
As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list.
An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line.
Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window
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service_ok
4 Messages
1 year ago
my status - the forum customer support could not help. However, they are a lot better to work with than the customer service chat on xfinity.com. I'd try here before using that system.
the support team here is quick to respond and understands the issues. Unfortunately, it appears they do not have the same flexibilty as account retention as they can only work with offers they can see.
one of the amusing things about comcast is the front line support, physical store and online/reseller offers can all be different, as well as regional differences. It's not clear if account retention can see more of these offers, or they just have the authority to zero out the extras (modem rental, unlimited data, etc.).
I have the chat logs from our first attempt with xfinity support (not the forum support), and also screen grabs. Below is my problem, where the agent says the can match the online offer - $70 month after paperless discount, 2 years, including xfi complete (free modem and unlimited data) - then they disconnect and the next agent to hop onto the chat couldn't/wouldn't do the same thing.
don't rely on saving the chat session from xfinity ... here's what that produces for the above screen shot:
Agent (11/22/2023, 12:04:47 AM): "As I have checked that I can help you with the same deal which you are referring."
PHIL (11/22/2023, 12:05:02 AM): "the two years at $##?"
Agent (11/22/2023, 12:05:23 AM): "Yes, you are correct."
PHIL (11/22/2023, 12:05:33 AM): "thatâs perfect thank you "
PHIL (11/22/2023, 12:08:06 AM): "are you sending me the agreement?"
PHIL (11/22/2023, 12:11:39 AM): "hello??"
somehow the important parts are garbled :-)
looks like I'll be calling account retention, and if that's no good I'll cancel comcast.
(edited)
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service_ok
4 Messages
1 year ago
status on 11/28. Called 1-800-266-2278 and said "no" a few times to prevent getting sent into the chat system. When eventually asked what I wanted, said "cancel service" and that transferred me to an agent. I asked if they were account retention and they said yes.
I just said my promo period was ending and I see a new customer offer for $70 month at my current data speed tier with xfi complete included, and asked what they can do. I also said I understand that costs go up, so I wasn't expecting them to be able to match the new customer offer.
end result ... $80/month for two years including xfi complete, 1.2GB down and I fastest available up speeds, including $10 no paper and no credit card discount. These are service discounts and not a contract, so I can change things at any time.
unfortunately, my cell signal was weak and the call disconnected when the brief internet service disconnect/reconnect happens, so I lost contact with the agent before I could say "thank you" ... not so much for the $80, but for the pleasant demeanor and sense of humor. Hopefully a satisfaction survey link will get emailed after the processing is complete.
conclusion is the forum agents don't have the same flexibility as account retention ... the best the forum guy could do was $90/month for 1 year or $115/month for 2 years, mainly because he didn't have the free xfi complete option available to him.
overall, the forum support was good and account retention was good. Just wish it wasn't necessary to do it :-)
(edited)
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