Where does the time go? Since I moved to Philly back in October 2007, we have been working on several fronts to change and improve the customer experience. It’s early, but we hope the improvements we’re seeing in our internal metrics, and in the recent increase in the ASCI survey (PDF), are an indication that our focus and commitment are beginning to make a difference. Back in 2007 we started listening to our customers in more ways. One of the first things we did was make it easier for customers to interact with us. We created the "Six Ways to Get Help," including "Ask Rick," a way to share feedback directly with my team. Of course we needed to do more, so I went on a listening tour to hear from customers and employees regarding their thoughts on Comcast. I took a lot of notes and now it was time to take action. So what else did we do?
We are building tools to proactively monitor our equipment. We’ve also built tools that give our customer service representatives and technicians the ability to quickly and easily perform a full home health check. Within seconds we can review products within your home, and even review the entire area in which you live, and quickly determine the cause of trouble. The tool is easy to use (even I can do it!) and thorough (a screenshot is below).
We have, and will continue, to focus on network reliability. We measure this by what is known as ‘node health’. I know that phrase probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but it has improved about 35% in the last 2 years (which is pretty good). In 2008 we also saw a decrease in overall trouble calls and a decrease in repeat trouble calls. What does this mean to you? An improved experience for you. It also means that we are doing a better job at getting it right the first time.
I’m very proud of all these changes. I’m also excited about the new Customer Guarantee that we are in the process of rolling out. This really provides our employees with the ability to show our customers that we are dedicated to getting it right the first time, and when we miss the mark, they are empowered to make it right.
As you can see there is so much that goes into improving the overall experience, including new tools, improving training and reviewing all our systems to make sure they are in line with our goal. I’m excited to see improvements, but as the ASCI survey indicates, we still have a lot of room to improve, and I promise you we will continue to do just that. I look forward to seeing another strong increase next year.