Honestly, I never thought I’d be writing a positive customer service story about a cable company in my lifetime. Cable companies, in my mind, have always been grouped together with poor service heavyweights like the postal service, IRS, and DMV.
My Twitter conversation last month with @ComcastBill changed all that. For the uninitiated, Twitter is a social networking website where you can post short messages of 140-characters or less. You can choose to follow the Tweets (short messages) of other Twitter users, and they can choose to follow yours.
Below is the chronological series of Tweets that made up our Twitter conversation. Note that my initial message at 8:59 AM on Feb. 26th was addressed to no one. I just launched it out into the Twittersphere. Fortunately for me—and the productivity of the remainder of my day—@ComcastBill was “listening.”
8:59 AM Feb 26th from txt
Comcast is out at my home. Tried resetting modem. No luck. Forced to find a good cup of coffee and Internet connection elsewhere.
9:06 AM Feb 26th from web in reply to enthused
@ComcastBill @enthused can i look into for you
9:11 AM Feb 26th from web in reply to ComcastBill
@ComcastBill Wow! Didn’t expect that. I just arrived at It’s a Grind in Aurora, CO and accessed my Twitter account. I’ll DM (means “direct message” in Twitter speak) you w/ details.
9:17 AM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill Not able to DM you. Can you DM me or send e-mail to info@stevecurtin.com? Thanks!
9:19 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill There, got you. I phoned Comcast (local service #) and an auto attendant lead me through the process of resetting my modem… (cont.)
9:20 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill (cont.)… No effect though wireless signal is strong!? My home # is (home telephone #). Thanks for any help you can offer from Pennsylvania!
9:29 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill @enthused I think the connection just came back up, can you confirm? I am showing everything good.
9:31 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill I’ll check it out in ~an hour when I return home. Either way, excellent service! And if you’ve been to my site, you know I’m a critic! ; )
9:33 AM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill @enthused having DNS issue in CO right now try changing your DNS to (DNS #) and (DNS #)
12:21 PM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill Yes, up and running…Thanks! Can Social Media Improve Customer Service? I think yes! A blog post in the making.
12:55 PM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill @enthused were trying
Wow! Did you also notice that @ComcastBill’s initial reply was within 7 minutes of my original Tweet—even though that message was addressed to no one in particular? That’s responsiveness! The issue was addressed, diagnosed, and resolved within 30 minutes of my original message!
My experience with @ComcastBill has transformed the way I view customer service and responsiveness by Comcast. Rather than being a critical detractor of Comcast customer service based on the negative reputation of the industry and my own personal experience, I am now—as evidenced by this blog post—a promoter!
I wonder when the postal service, IRS, and DMV will begin Twittering?
