February 23, 2014 - By When two of the worse customer service providers merge, can the result ever be better customer service?
An International Business Time article suggests that the Comcast-Time Warner Merger promises to be the worst customer service disaster in history.
[Comcast and Time Warner both] made it to MSN Money’s most recent “Customer Service Hall of Shame,” an annual survey of 1,500 consumers polled by Zogby Analytics. Out of 150 American companies in 15 industries, MSN’s “hall” lists the 10 worst. TWC and Comcast currently rank No. 9 and No. 2 on that list, respectively.
The companies’ failing grades can be seen as a broader referendum on the horrendous customer service reputation of the cable industry as a whole. Admittedly, pay-TV is the kind of service few pay attention to until something goes wrong.
Although Comcast has already attempted to “reassure” an uneasy customer base explaining that the merger simply expands its ability to provide services to new markets, the crux of the problem is that these cable service giants are already pretty much the only option available on their respective markets. The merger doesn’t add competition, only extends the reach of a mega corporation that many customers feel is out of touch with its customer base.
I think bad customer service will not only continue, it’ll only get worse. I see a major uptick in the number of customers who finally decide to cut the cord and go to streaming-only as their primary source of media consumption.
