Now THIS! is why Mediacom will NEVER get my business again!

OK.  I'm not piling on an easy target here.  This stuff is stranger than fiction. 

My wife called an canceled all of our remaining Mediacom services on Sunday.  Of course the rep asked "Why?"  He was treated to an ear full and just had to chuckle at his own company's ridiculous lack of service.  Yeah...hah hah very funny (in my best Eddie Murphy Raw voice).

Well yesterday evening, just about dinner time, the phone rings.  It's Mediacom coming back from the grave.  An obviously ill trained youth starts reading a script to me about how Mediacom is dedicated to keeping me...how they want me to stay...how they're going to offer me a great discounted package for another year if I'll re-sign!

How dare they!!!!  THE WHOLE REASON I LEFT is that I can was getting the "regular customer for 12 months and 1 day screw you" price.  I gave them no less than 12 full additional months at their usurious rates to appease my desire to get a "fair" price.

Mediacom MUST know that all we consumers have to do is switch services about every 12 months to get the new customer price points by now.
I told the representative that it's ironic to be offered a discount package by him...an anonymous call center hack...2 days post disconnect vs. when I kindly asked for it 8 times over a 12 month period!

Arrrrgh! 

1. How can the customer service process be SO broken that only a DISCONNECT makes them pay attention?
2. How can Mediacom put such ill trained call center script readers on the "win back" call designed to woo the client?  I started toying with the guy a bit for my own pleasure with questions and comments well outside the script.  He simply returned to the script.
3. Why doesn't Mediacom offer a "price for life" with an XX month commitment?  I'm TIRED of expiring good deals that go from market price to "at least make me a sandwich on the way out" price.   
4. If you're "waiting for the new HD receiver" that actually works from them...I've heard that you have to go down in person and demand them.   The "list" that you are allegedly on doesn't exist.  I know...a bad dream.

Comments

[Scott]

Mediacom is my nemesis. When I was a customer, they regularly called my cell phone to solicit business for their other services. Each time I requested (angrily) that they take me off their call list and never ever ever call this number again. The calls kept coming until I canceled my account. I've never experienced business that had so little respect for their own customers.

[Rush Nigut]

When I was their customer I think I spent more time on hold with Mediacom's customer service than my "high speed" Internet access worked. At least you talked with someone. I'll never go back.

[Art Dinkin]

Amen brother. Amen. I know of many companies which offer poor service, and Mediacom makes all of them look great.

[grasshopper1980]

Ok, I know I'm a little late getting for posting here, but was doing some quick searching and came across this one.

"# How can the customer service process be SO broken that only a DISCONNECT makes them pay attention?
# How can Mediacom put such ill trained call center script readers on the "win back" call designed to woo the client? I started toying with the guy a bit for my own pleasure with questions and comments well outside the script. He simply returned to the script.
# Why doesn't Mediacom offer a "price for life" with an XX month commitment? I'm TIRED of expiring good deals that go from market price to "at least make me a sandwich on the way out" price.
# If you're "waiting for the new HD receiver" that actually works from them...I've heard that you have to go down in person and demand them. The "list" that you are allegedly on doesn't exist. I know...a bad dream"

That broken customer service process? Yeah, how about more of a highly overloaded process where most of the people are doing the absolute best they can.

Those anonymous call center hacks that you "toy with for your own pleasure", they get that more in one day than you think. They are doing the best job they can, especially when someone decides to yell at someone to make themselves feel better when the person they're talking to had nothing to do with the problem.

I'm guessing you had the full bundled package, cable, phone, and internet? If so, good prices even after the special price falls off. Those expiring good prices you're talking about are actually a profit loss for mediacom as they do lose money on that one instead of making it, with everything that they have to pay to give you service. Like your movies, sports, or other special stations? Yeah, mediacom has to pay each and every broadcast company for each and every viewer they have for those programs. That is also why they drop some broadcast companies, those are the ones that demand compensation for every viewer mediacom has, even the ones that don't subscribe to that offer.

And about that new HD receiver, not mediacoms fault. Try thinking more towards the supplier end? That list does exist, and going in person to demand it, you might get lucky if the local office actually has one in stock that just got returned, and if you're pushy and angry enough to actually get them to give it to you because they really are trying to make you a happy customer, you just pushed someone who was on that list
longer than you and waiting patiently back again(there are mediacom employees that have been waiting over half a year for that hd box, so that's not the problem if you were thinking along those lines).

Granted, I know it can be frustrating to have a problem come up several times, but try this, instead of yelling at the person trying to help you, or put them down because as one customer whose phone I fixed, and gave a test call to told me, "yeah I know you had nothing to do with this, but it rolls down hill so you get it too", try to actually be polite and courteous to the person, because that will get you so much further and down a better road than yelling at them. I do a lot more for a customer that's being nice to me, than I do for one that's being a pain, those guys get the bare minimum, especially as I'm not supposed to deal directly with the customers. Chew on this next time you're trying to power trip on someone that's just trying to do their job, you wouldn't want to be treated the way you're treating that kid on the other end of the phone.

Now let's see if this is actually approved as I just spoke against everything you posted on here.

[doug]

I appreciate your viewpoints, and yes it's posted and live. You're making assumptions that I fit into your "irate customer box" and tagging me as someone who "power trips someone just trying to do their job".

I think what's key to recognize here is that I've never treated anyone from Mediacom with anything but utmost respect. Never "yelling" or "pushy or angry". My blog posts are the place where I can vent the frustration I spare anyone I deal with.

My "toy with" comment was directed toward 1 person who was asked questions...questions that should have been within their realm of knowledge to answer...not mean spirited or rude questions. Simple questions. No one appreciates more how broken processes make good people look bad. But my commentary is directed toward a company that consistently provides a poor experience to its customer base. I politely and calmly asked for about 12 months for someone...anyone to listen to me without any hint of displeasure...and nothing. So, my solution was to leave and get all of the those services somewhere else.

If you believe everything I've gone through...and all of those other people have gone through out there...are simply our own doing because we're rude angry power trippers trying to hassle the regular Joe...then Mediacom needs to just keep doing what it's doing.

[Gabe]

I was offered a "promo" only to find my bill didn't reflect the promo rates! Long story short, I had to dispute the charges with my credit card company. The credit card company overturned the charges only to have Mediacom bill them right back to my statement. I called again and the supervisor said they would credit me the $120+ charges and they would show on the next statment. Now I get a new bill with the current months charges plus the $120 past due that was to be credited....and along with that, a $5 late fee!!!! I call Mediacom and there is no record of $120 credit to my account. Absolutely terrible customer service. This was a supervisor too!!!! Never trust them and there customer service is the worst.

[ad]

I couldn't agree more. I opened my most recent bill and saw that my charges had doubled. Apparently I was on a promotional offer for discounted cable and internet. I called on a Sat and spent 62mins on the phone with a rep whose gears turned slooooowwwwwly. Finally agreed to sign me up for a bundled package (phone, cable internet) for 12 months after i told her that I had would not hesitate to switch to dish/directv (moving in 1yr so don't care beyond that). She tried to give me some drivel about how how MC offered superior service (not true from what I read here). Also spun me a yarn about how her sis-in-law had trouble with her satellite cable. I asked her if her sis-in-law had switched to MC for their superior service... there was a long pause from the other end.

Then they called 3 days later and said they could not port my current phone number. I didn't want the hassle of changing my phone number and so I called back the following Saturday and spent another hour on the phone. I was offered a $20 discount per month for 6 months which I declined. I told the rep that all I really wanted was cable and internet. She said she would ask someone and what my options were. Again, I told her without skipping a beat that I would switch to satellite cable, with a contract, rather than give MC any of my money. And then I would call back after the stipulated time and sign up with a new customer package. Net result= someone besides MC would get my $$. She then came back on the phone and said that I was in luck- she had just been given info about a promo for cable and internet that fit my needs. She signed me up for one year and we all hung up happy. To her credit she was very professional, nice, and actually made an effort to work with me.

Moral= Ask to speak to someone in Promotions or Retention. Threaten to switch to another service provider. If you do ened up switching, switch back to MC after 1yr ( or at least 4months) to get the promotional offers. The cable subscription I wanted was the same price with satellite cable.

The cable market is competitive enough that you don't have to stick with the same company and be gouged. Someone has led MC to wrongly believe that they have a monopoly, and so customers have no choice but to stick it out. If enough folks unsubscribe, there is a small chance that they will change their policies.

[Job]

I agree with you all. There a nice reps out there trying to do their job, but most are "clock watchers" without enough knowledge or authority to really do the job right. I've spent 4 hours over the past 3 days trying to port my land-line to another location, to a different person and - go figure - they won't let me. They've sent me to multiple people in several departments, they've had me drive to a office for a from that (when I get there) doesn't even exist.)

So instead of transferring the MC service to someone else's MC service, we'll have another company take the number from MC. No more MC for me either.

And those wait times to get through...I've specifically said, "my battery is going to die I've been on here so long, can you call me back so I don't have to spend 45 minutes on hold getting an automated system and ending up with a different rep and starting my request again. You'll never believe I was told no, they can't use the phones. A phone company that doesn't have outgoing phones - should be an indication of the service they can offer others if they can't even provide it to their employees.

Good riddens to bad rubbish with ever increasing prices and ever decreasing customer service.

Good luck to you all,
Job