I was a billing center manager in Atlanta for BS net until May of this year (I left due to the merger). As for the tech support, I feel your pain (I went through it at work). Most customers feel the need to pick the billing option for tech support. Once they get a billing rep, they get frustrated. Billing must transfer the customer to tech support. Theres the issue. Tech support can only help if billing has done certain things. So, you get xfer'd back. The customer is pissed. Off-shore tech support hears "I'm having troubles logging on" and reads the system wrong then states that the customer needs to go to billing to be activated or something. Billing gets the customer back and then reads the system correctly and must xfr back. Tech support must MUST MUST read the 3 hours of script having you unplug and plug and unplug before helping you change your screen name. There is a reason for this. 60-70% of the customers having problems (not picking on anyone-i'm being serious) shouldn't have the internet or anything else more complicated that a nice red ball. These customers cause ts to make you go through everything before helping u. If you don't complete certain things, then something could be overlooked. From there, the tech was just a POS. Bell techs are really good guys. I'm not sure why he came early. As for biling providing a poor credit, it depends on the rep. I instructed my reps to provide excellent credits as a person's time and headache deserves it not to mention the company's service shouldn't go down so it deserved to compensate customers. The min-credit I would provide was 6 months. 6 months if you escalated. It was easier to fix the issue and get you off the phone as I had WAY too much admin work to do. Now, multiply an escalated call by every customer that thinks a "supervisor or manager" will get things done quicker or better then you have to over credit customers and higher prices. You would not believe the escalations. I need a sup..I get on the phone and the idiot wants to know their address listed. WTF!?!?! 90% of the time that I was helping a customer, the agent was doing all of the work while I spoke. I rarely touched a keyboard away from my desk. Trust me, there are some sharp agents in the billing center in ATL. More sharp than dull. Ironically, you could tell the escalations before you got on the phone. Most escalations came from Florida due to the snowbird population. Older people tend to read bills wrong, goof up their computers, and make TOO MANY CHANGES. Alabama customers were usually older southern-gentlemen types that KNEW someone or had connections. If you have connections-call them first. Mississippi never called. SC was full of rude college-aged guys always threatening to fight or find you. As for there not being anyone available above a center manager, well that's the truth. I'd see my senior manager maybe 4 times a week. He won't do anything that a manager won't do. It's funny seeing it from the inside and outside. I feel everyone's pain with any customer service situation. It can be a headache. Just remember to be nice. You'll get more.
As for Comcast, I've never had an issue. I'm not saying that b/c of being ex-bell but as a real customer. Before anyone flames, this was an honest post and I wasn't attacking anyone but only giving everyone a snapshot.:banghead:
