The cable industry has a notorious reputation for poor customer service. It’s an issue that they have been working to improve for many years. They’ve seen some success, but still have a ways to go. As a result, we see innovation in customer service approaches, with the latest coming from Comcast.
Comcast is introducing a series of customer service tools that are now mobile friendly – meaning mobile devices like smartphones and tablets can now manage some customer service activities.
Comcast outlined these new developments in a recent blog post. They include:
- Appointment management capabilities – customers have the convenience of confirming and rescheduling appointments from Comcast.com online or via their smartphone.
- Interactive remote control code finder – allows customers to program the Xfinity remote control to serve as the single remote to use with their TV and other home entertainment components.
- Mobile bill pay – lets customers easily view or pay their Comcast bill by signing in to Comcast.com directly from their smartphone.
- Service health status – enables customers to do a diagnostic check of their Xfinity services on our network right from their computer or mobile device without having to call Comcast.
Additionally, coming later this year, Comcast customers will be able to pay their bill from their smartphone. Specifically, this new feature will “…enable customers to use the camera on their smartphone or mobile device to scan, access and even pay their bills online securely and easier than ever before.”
These are smart moves by Comcast, but they shouldn’t be at the expense of core customer service practices like having the ability to speak with a customer service rep quickly and have that rep empowered to resolve a customer service issue.
Good customer service includes next generation tools like these mobile access services that will appeal to ‘digital’ customers. But it also includes ensuring that basic legacy customer service options also exist and perform efficiently. Not everyone is interested in resolving their Comcast complaint through their iPhone.
An integrated approach to customer service that allows all customers to get their issues efficiently resolved in the manner they choose to is the best approach.
