Comcast has appointed Charlie Herrin as senior vice president for customer experience as part of the company's plan to improve its customer relations after being named the "worst company in the United States" twice.
Some recordings of conversations between a Comcast customer service representative and customers were released on the Internet, showing how poorly employees treat the callers, the Los Angeles Times reported.
One case is a conversation from a Northern California caller who was harassed by a Comcast customer retention agent for nearly 10 minutes. The man had called to cancel his TV and Internet service.
Another situation concerned a Chicago resident who was charged $1,000 as an early termination fee after he chose to opt out of Comcast's home security service.
"Charlie will partner with leaders across all business units, including customer service, technical operations, sales, marketing, training and development, and product innovation to reimagine the customer experience and ensure that we are delighting our customers at each touch point," Comcast Cable Chief Executive Neil Smit wrote in a blog post.
Herrin has been working with the company for 15 years. His most recent post at Comcast is senior vice president of product design and development. This unit was responsible for the creation and distribution of Xfinity products that include the next-generation TV services. He will work alongside Senior Vice President of Customer Service Tom Karinshak and report to Smit and Chief Operating Officer Dave Watson.
Comcast admitted that improving its customer service is not easy, but expressed that it is currently the company's priority.
"Transformation isn't going to happen overnight," Smit wrote. "In fact, it may take a few years before we can honestly say that a great customer experience is something we're known for. But that is our goal and our number one priority...and that's what we are going to do."
Comcast is currently waiting for the government's decision for the $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable. If the merger pushes through, the company will be the largest and widest Internet and TV service provider in the Los Angeles area.
