Comcast Way Up In Cable Customer Service Survey

PHILADELPHIA — Comcast Corp. showed the biggest gain in customer satisfaction among cable and satellite TV operators, a survey showed Tuesday.

Philadelphia-based Comcast's overall score rose 9.3 percent from the prior year, according to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index. The improvement comes as the cable operator reached out to disgruntled customers who posted complaints through blogs or on social networking sites.

It's a marked turnaround for Comcast, where complaints against service ran so deep at one point that a Web site called ComcastMustDie.com arose and a frustrated customer smashed a keyboard with a hammer at a Comcast office in Manassas, Va.

DirecTV Group Inc. came in on top, up 4.4 percent, keeping a perch it has enjoyed for several years. It pulled away from fellow satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp. whose customer satisfaction score fell 1.5 percent to a historic low as the company retools its service.

Satellite TV operators partner with phone companies to offer phone and Internet services, and the choice of partner affects customer satisfaction. The Michigan researchers pointed out that DirecTV has a deal with Verizon Communications Inc., which ranks high on customer service, while Dish partnered with Sprint Nextel Corp., which ranks low.

Atlanta-based Cox Communications Inc. was the top cable TV performer for the sixth straight year, up 4.8 percent to an all-time high score.

Time Warner Cable Inc. had the same score from a year ago while Charter Communications Inc., which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, fell the most. Its satisfaction score fell 5.6 percent to a record low for any company in the survey's 15-year history.

Comments

[MScott80]

I'm from NY, and I think the success of Direct TV and Comcast can only continue to rise with losers like the Dolan's running their competition (e.g. Cablevision). I just saw an article saying that in a recent survey, 2/3 of current Cablevision customers polled were planning on making the switch to a http://www2.timesreview.com/esreview.com/ST/stories/T052109_poll_bh

With Cablevision cutting channels left and right (including HBO and MSNBC in its analog service), its no wonder that companies who keep more options open for their customers are goinng to grow. The key to success in the future of the cable industry is options!

[R.W. Sanders - Huffpost Blogger]

after having direct tv for years, i moved and could only get comcast. if comcast is second to direct tv it is a distant second. direct was very, very good. comcast is just ok

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

Comcast still (rhymes with ducks). Cable is overpriced and you get 3 of the same channels in their enhanced package. Their internet service is a mess, and if you can get hold of customer service, they take forever to come and fix something.

[Totto]

The Comcast cable guys couldn't care less about the job they do. They always leave a mess when they leave. Right-wing Comcast put MSNBC in an upper tier for much money. "Packin' heat" Lars Larson is, I think, still one of theirs. They can keep him.

[WorldGoneWild]

Comcast must have paid big bucks for this survey. I live in Comcast's back yard and their customer services is not so good. We had major problems with On-Demand and couldn't view movies. After calling customer servie ad nauseum for almost a week, the service was back online.

[hulagirrrl]

I wish we had a competition here on the Island of Hawaii, Time Warner rules, and the customer has to suck up whatever crumbs they give you. Customer service truly sucks, but they know we have no other choice.

[Aaron Cohen]

OK, it rose 9.3 percent...­TO WHAT? 10%? Terrible journalism.

[GNAIR]

Comcast is horrible, this is a bogus survey. I switched and I am not going back.

[SKonnery]

Direct TV has some of the worst customer service there is. They hang up on you when you finally call in frustration about your HD-DVR not working properly. I have had three receivers since they started making them instead of TIVO. The TIVO receiver still works fine on another tv. The problem seems to be the high definiton which is fine on some channels but terrible on others. Their answer to everything is reset the receiver. If you tell them you have done the hard reset and the soft reset then they say they will transfer you to the technical people and you are promptly disconnected after having waited forever to talk to a real person.Thi­s has happened on numerous occasions. I'm waiting for Verizon FIOS to come to our area. What's the point of having a nice high-def flat panel TV if you get bad reception. Direct TV stinks.

[tompoe]

One more wannabe corporate shill posting total garbage for headline. We're last in the list of developed nations when it comes to broadband, and your attempt to legitimize Comcast and the other incumbents is embarrassing.

[Checquoline]

COMCAST CENSORS.

[bipartisans]

This is a farce. Comcast's on demand setup is an example of how not to do something. " Please wait" flashes continually when switching to on demand. Hit fast forward and it goes on for minutes after you hit play. Error code cl16 comes up constantly and when you call they tell you to reboot, which takes up to 5 minutes, with no apparent improvement. They need some serious competition.

[SangZe]

Too bad we're not given real choices. I reportedly get over 800 channels on satellite TV. Unfortunately only two or three are worth watching. Most that I'm stuck with are garbage, like Fox, countless foreign language channels, a score or so of God channels, and the balance mostly channels selling trash at $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

[hulagirrrl]

I can relate to that. It would be great if we could order our own package of stations and just pay for that. I think I would end up with a handful of channels.

[Totto]

Hey, get basic cable ($8.77 a month), I finally did. Because of terrain there's no antenna service here. Subscribe to Netflix.

[GrowBag]

Who did they survey?

I'm a Comcast customer, and they are a nightmare. They have the worst customer service in the world-- and you now have to pay for that privilege, or subscribe to a "service plan".

I own my modem, yet out of the blue- Comcast started charging me a modem rental fee. I have spoken with them at least 60 times, explained the situation, and each time they deactivate or block my modem- so I have no service. Then you have to call back, spend and hour reactivating the modem only to be charged a rental fee on the next bill.

So, I tried paying the bill minus the rental, earning me a $6 late fee on top of the rental charge. Driving down to Comcast each month to pay my bill is a pain-- I may start paying the fee just to avoid the hassle being this has gone on for 14 months. I have spoken to every manager, supervisor and IT tech they will let me talk with and I still get the charge-- I hate Comcast and every employee they have.

[the964kid]

Gimme a break. I used to have Comcast - there's is no possible way to have poorer customer service. They used to have 0% satisfied customer service and now its up to 9.3% - they still suck.