We’ve all met an extremely clingy person at some point in our lives. You’ve gone on a date that you didn’t quite enjoy, while the other party fell in love with everything about you. Your next phone conversation was awkward. You tried to gently convey to the other person that, maybe, the two of you should never meet under any circumstances ever again, while they demanded to know exactly which part of their maniacal infatuation you failed to find endearing. Then they boiled your pet lizard and punched your favorite flower in the…uh…petals? That’s just how life goes.
Sound familiar? Ever wonder what the company vs. customer version of that dynamic would sound like? No you haven’t, but here we are anyways.
Or maybe here?
Ryan Block and his wife tried to cancel their Internet service with Comcast. Now, it’s not uncommon for companies to have “customer retention” reps who try to steer you into keeping the service or at least downgrading to a cheaper one, instead of canceling outright. What’s somewhat less common is having those reps verbally terrorize you for twenty minutes, passive-aggressively demanding to know what they have done wrong and swearing they can change if only you gave them a second chance.
But Comcast went where none have gone before. The Comcast rep kept Ryan on the line for what must have felt like an eternity. The rep kept asking Ryan why he wanted to change. Over and over again. He. Would. Not. Take. No. For an answer.
Luckily for us, instead of finding out where the Comcast rep lived, sneaking into his house, and strangling him with a phone cord, Ryan recorded the conversation and uploaded it to SoundCloud. He only recorded the last eight minutes of the conversation, but trust me, it’s more than enough for you to question the Comcast rep’s sanity and your own will to live. Enjoy:
Nest Expressed 
Comcast has way too much power. What a shame they allow their reps to do anything more than their job. Glad Ryan recorded this. (I only listened to the first minute… I think I got the point.)
Welcome back Daniel! Yay!!!
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Well I guess that WAS the rep’s job, at least partially, except he misunderstood the “try to naturally work in the retention script into the conversation” part of the instructions! You’ve only listened to a single minute? You clearly aren’t as tough as Ryan, who not only had to listen to it, but maintain a semblance of conversation, too.
Thanks! Although I’m leaving next week for another 10 days again. Ukraine this time.
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Jeff and I were talking about this phone conversation today and we have now reminded ourselves to be very, VERY polite while at work. We are polite but I now have visions of someone calling and recording and uploading to the internet. YIKES!
Hope you have a great trip to Ukraine.
🙂
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I’m on my phone in a restaurant so can’t play it now, but I will when I get back to my hotel room. Sounds like something not to be missed. Hope you had a great vacation!
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Just listened to it. Wow, just wow. That customer is far more patient than me. My head would’ve exploded within seconds of that conversation.
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Agreed. I would’ve been yelling at the phone about 15 seconds into that exchange. I have anger management issues.
You’re reading blogs on your phone in restaurants?! Kids these days! With their smartphones and their interwebz. So rude.
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I know. They shouldn’t even have served me.
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OMG…So glad I do NOT use Comcast!
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Me too. Although I kind of do wish I had a rep like that on the line…the fun I could have trolling him.
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Unbelievable! Anyone else suspect the the Compas rep might have been near the top of the company’s commission league table?
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Ha. Or he was one failed “conversion” away from getting fired, and this was his last chance to redeem himself.
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