Solution to the Comcast Saga
For all the people who read this blog, maybe this posting can provide some ideas about a company that is managed by old-fashioned (defensive) thinking but has a few professionals who are really talented individuals.
The issues regarding my wife’s ability to check her work email from home seem to have been solved, for now. But the issues clearly were caused by a lack of communication from Comcast when they perceived a problem. In this case, they thought my wife - an international religious freedom and human rights advocate - was a spammer. I hope she lives down kidding from colleagues over that because nothing could be farther from the truth.
It did not help the situation but only escalated it and encumbered finding a solution by Comcast when a Comcast vice president suggested that all issues can be solved by getting a commercial account. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people check their work email from home, and to suggest that someone get a commercial account in order to check work email from home is simply ludicrous.
We live in a day and age when customers expect to have clear and transparent communication from service providers, such as Comcast. It’s not rocket science. With mobile phones and email, it’s not smart for a company like Comcast to create its own PR problems by imposing Orwellian “target blocking” filters on a person’s email with no prior communication or alert.
I am now tallying up all the otherwise-productive hours it has taken to fix this Comcast-caused problem, and I am thinking about all the thousands of other people I read about who have issues with this old-fashioned and very insular company. The thought crossed my mind that Comcast should be made liable to reimburse people on those thousands of times when the company screws-up through incompetence.
I am left hoping that the day will soon come when the Internet is deregulated, when such monopolies are broken-up and when there is more openness to tomorrow’s exciting world online.
[footnote: I have made an offer to Comcast to respond. If they do, I will post their comments verbatim, provided it's not a sales-pitch.]
About the Author: David is a veteran communications strategist ... writer ... blogger ... online publisher ... and Emmy Award winning former CBS Network News correspondent. He lives in Washington, D. C., area and works worldwide.
Allison | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
I applaud your tenacity. Comcast, Verizon and the others seem like relics from the Soviet-era behind the iron curtain.
CK | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Comcast is my liege lord too, and I wish it weren’t so, but just because I’d like to have a choice.
ru | Jun 17, 2008 | Reply
David,
glad things worked out for you. This whole incident was quite amusing for a european who has lived many years in eastern europe. I thought this kind of stuff only happens in our part of the world and not the great US of A.
glad its sorted and that we can keep in touch via the internet.
Alissa | Jun 17, 2008 | Reply
I’m so glad this was sorted out, but it’s horrible that you had to go through that. I’m sure this is happening to many other individuals who either don’t have the persistence or know-how to fight this type of injustice, and hopefully your sharing of your experience will help them as well.