Comcast is evil

My experience with Comcast was painful, but short-lived. I was just coming out of school, badly needed a job, and took the Customer Account Executive position....great, customer service...that'll pay the ol' student loans. ANYWAY, after six weeks, Brandi (another trainee) and I were the creme de'la creme. Other trainees were asking us for help, even when the trainer was available and unoccupied. The final exam, a couple of days before "graduation," I miss ONE goddamn question, receive a 98%, out of 60 questions mind you, and was summarily dismissed the day of "graduation." Along with 13 others from that training class, I was trained, paid, then let go. That is a retarded method of handling your needs for employment. While I am much better off now than I would have been had I stayed, it always left a bad taste in my mouth. Brandi and I aced every exam, or "Confirmations of Learning" as I believe they called them, and to let go an employee you paid for six weeks and receive no productivity out of? And to repeat the same practices for 14 trainees? And to perform this inexplicable way of doing things several times a year?

I'm the OP, and I'm in Pittsburgh....where the hell Strausstown is....I don't care to know..

Ron said: My experience with Comcast was painful, but short-lived. I was just coming out of school, badly needed a job, and took the Customer Account Executive position....great, customer service...that'll pay the ol' student loans. ANYWAY, after six weeks, Brandi (another trainee) and I were the creme de'la creme. Other trainees were asking us for help, even when the trainer was available and unoccupied. The final exam, a couple of days before "graduation," I miss ONE goddamn question, receive a 98%, out of 60 questions mind you, and was summarily dismissed the day of "graduation." Along with 13 others from that training class, I was trained, paid, then let go. That is a retarded method of handling your needs for employment. While I am much better off now than I would have been had I stayed, it always left a bad taste in my mouth. Brandi and I aced every exam, or "Confirmations of Learning" as I believe they called them, and to let go an employee you paid for six weeks and receive no productivity out of? And to repeat the same practices for 14 trainees? And to perform this inexplicable way of doing things several times a year?

Sounds like they are stupid and you are better off. YOu already know that. From what I understand, Allstate does the same 6-week training thing. It's crazy. I guess that is why the cost of cable is so much: they hire people to train for 6 weeks and let them go after something minor. Somone has to pay!! Good luck in your search; I have been there!

I'm sorry but Not sure where you were taking these tests but you do not need to get 100% on every single one. That would be unreasonable for any position. In my area the minimum to pass the test was 80%. You would have to take a total of 4 Tests, and If you screwed up on 2 of them you were allowed to Retake them AFTER all the answers were gone over.

Comcast IS evil - there's no doubt about it. I worked in more than one location and the management must have gone to school at Satan's University - ALL the places I worked had MAJOR sexual harrassment of women, people of faith, etc. Would go into more detail but can't afford to as I'm looking for a job after being fired for reporting this abuse. They are evil. Don't waste your time. You don't need the money THAT bad.... especially since I think they put out a black list to other similar companies of people they don't like. They're just NOT WORTH IT!

This makes so much sense now. I have noticed that the Customer Acct. Exec. position in my area keeps coming up. Wondered why it was being listed every couple of weeks. Made me wonder if people hated the job so much that they were quitting and they couldnt keep the position filled. Now that I know about training it all makes sense

The world of HR thinks they have mastered the hiring process through psychological exams and trick questions. And yet, the turnover continues at alarming rates. While in training for one company, the CEO stepped into our class to introduce himself. He didn't say anything as he walked in and stood at the podium. He looked around the room slowly. Then his opening line was "60% of you will not be here within 6 months". we were all stunned. We talked about it after hours and we all knew we were going to keep sending resumes. Out of 11 trainees, 2 stayed beyond 6 months. Yeah, they spent all that money and honestly feel that they were better off by getting rid of people early.

Yeah- the "world of HR" as you put it at Comcast actually seems to ENJOY firing people for no legitimate reason and, as is obvious here, the problem with this company is NATIONWIDE! It must make them feel powerful or something. In reality, they're just pathetic.

All makes sense in Canton, Michigan said: This makes so much sense now. I have noticed that the Customer Acct. Exec. position in my area keeps coming up. Wondered why it was being listed every couple of weeks. Made me wonder if people hated the job so much that they were quitting and they couldnt keep the position filled. Now that I know about training it all makes sense

The real reason why it keeps coming up is prob b/c its an outside "door to door" position that people really dont like. Honestly tho, if you are a GREAT salesman, you could make a TON of money working for them.

I would never have comcast as my tv provider and internet.
Currently am self employed and love it.

Comcast, like many companies today, doesn't really care about thier employees. They are all replaceable- and probably at a much lower rate. The only things that matter are this month's revenue, the stock price and upper-level management trying to collect enough acheivements to try and get the next big promotion.

I don't think working at Comcast has been bad at all, to start all people in my class passed their test and graduated which means you had to have 80. But we were told even if you didn't pass it you wouldn't be let go because we wouldn't have been hired if our abililities weren't required. Basically not getting hired just meant that they would work with you until you understood what you were foggy on, true to their word they work with the 3 that were under 80 on the last test. I was in the mid 90's score and in the upper third of the class. I ended up with a nice weekend schedule and a window seat because of my seniority which is fairly based opon your test score. Comparing notes most of us were interviewed and hired in the last week in a half before class after another class, because they needed to fill positions of a lot of people that were moved to commercial. Some of us was hired that very day of the interview, especially if they like your work experience, most of us hired like that had backgrounds in computer tech or IP knowledge and customer service or call center experience. I recall two people had tech background and had worked previously at dish network at some point.
Background and work history checks were happening as we sat in class, because a few of us got calls for additional info. It’s most likely the reason people disappear from class, and who’s going to admit to that.
I don't know how it is at the other Comcast regions, but at the Three Rivers Region, they have high expectations and compensate well for it. They do expect you to come to work when scheduled and be on time and pay is decent, and besides free cable and internet (about $180), $15 for CDV, we get quarterly bonuses for adhering to your stats(low hold times, breaks on time) not threats.

The supervisors are pretty nice, they don't hound on you, unless you’re missing your stats. The Number one reason people get terminated is because of Zero Tolerance issues, avoiding calls, being rude to callers(heard someone was fired for swearing to a customer when they thought the mute was on another for being overheard by another reps customer), releasing calls. During your 90 days after training the sups don’t get on your case much about being in wrap up after calls when you’re learning things and asking questions. You are however required after your 90 days to self- promote to tier 2 in a year, but I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t. You can self-promote all the way to the top tier of 4, our area is expanding pretty fast, and we only have one tier 3 that I know of left in IP support. I Can’t think of any large company spread over a large area that runs perfectly, since they all depend on people who are either learning from there’re or not caring about their mistakes.

Stryker, you are the exception rather than the rule as this thread indicates. Most of the rest of us agree with what the latest poster from Boston wrote. Your experience regarding your supervisor is utterly unique in my experience and observation. I know of literally NO ONE who has worked at Comcast that would agree with you on that one. To anyone who is thinking of working at Comcast.... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

The people that complain are the ones who are never satisfied with anything in their life.

Comcast won't fire someone who scores a 98% on a test.

Pretty self defeating if you ask me.

With my attitude and my always,ALWAYS bucking the system,because some of their ideas are a bit messed up,and I've been employed for over 15 years...something doesn't add up to me about your 98% firing.

It's always someone else's fault for your shortcomings....I love it!

You must be kidding in Littleton, Colorado said: Comcast IS evil - there's no doubt about it. I worked in more than one location and the management must have gone to school at Satan's University - ALL the places I worked had MAJOR sexual harrassment of women, people of faith, etc. Would go into more detail but can't afford to as I'm looking for a job after being fired for reporting this abuse. They are evil. Don't waste your time. You don't need the money THAT bad.... especially since I think they put out a black list to other similar companies of people they don't like. They're just NOT WORTH IT!

You can't be fired for reporting abuse! Know your rights and fight for them!!!

I DID know my rights and I DID fight for them! They fired me ANYWAY!!!!! They are EVIL...how many more ways can we say it?????

A few facts of life here whether you will choose to believe them or not...

- A employer will always seek the best candidate for any given position.

- An employer will decide what parameters meet that ideal for themselves, independent of how any other company choses employees.

- Just as in the Olympics, you can lose by a tiny margin.

- It does not cost a lot more to have 15 people in a training class than it does to have 3 there.

- Large companies have tons of money to spend and money spent on training is tax deductible and helps the bottom line.

- There is always the chance that one of those other 12 will turn out to be better than the three you might have chosen to take the class.

- Just because you fail to secure a job does not make a company evil.

- Stock price and revenue has always been, is, and will always be the most important thing for any company. It is the very reason for the existence of a business.

- If you don't like that last fact, you need to go to a country that isn't capitalistic or get a job in a church or other non-profit organization.

Any questions?

BTW, I don't like Comcast's service either but I don't think they are exactly "evil" by any means.

Comcast fired me for being Type II Diabetic after working there a year and a half. All of the sudden, they did not want us to have our one hour lunch break and even though I had a note from a medical doctor that I need to eat every three to four hours. I filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and Comcast was charged with discrimination. I got terminated a short time later and Comcast got charged with retalation. I wanted to write a little more, but it would not fit.

QUOTE who="Ron in Strausstown, Pennsylvania"]My experience with Comcast was painful, but short-lived. I was just coming out of school, badly needed a job, and took the Customer Account Executive position....great, customer service...that'll pay the ol' student loans. ANYWAY, after six weeks, Brandi (another trainee) and I were the creme de'la creme. Other trainees were asking us for help, even when the trainer was available and unoccupied. The final exam, a couple of days before "graduation," I miss ONE goddamn question, receive a 98%, out of 60 questions mind you, and was summarily dismissed the day of "graduation." Along with 13 others from that training class, I was trained, paid, then let go. That is a retarded method of handling your needs for employment. While I am much better off now than I would have been had I stayed, it always left a bad taste in my mouth. Brandi and I aced every exam, or "Confirmations of Learning" as I believe they called them, and to let go an employee you paid for six weeks and receive no productivity out of? And to repeat the same practices for 14 trainees? And to perform this inexplicable way of doing things several times a year?[/QU

You must be kidding in Littleton, Colorado said: Comcast IS evil - there's no doubt about it. I worked in more than one location and the management must have gone to school at Satan's University - ALL the places I worked had MAJOR sexual harrassment of women, people of faith, etc. Would go into more detail but can't afford to as I'm looking for a job after being fired for reporting this abuse. They are evil. Don't waste your time. You don't need the money THAT bad.... especially since I think they put out a black list to other similar companies of people they don't like. They're just NOT WORTH IT!

I agree - same thing happened to me when I reported racial abuses by my supervisor. HR protects the management and despite assurances that I did the right thing according to our Employee Handbook, they retaliated a few months later and tried to pay me to keep mum. DO BEWARE OF COMCAST... not a friendly family-oriented company that it likes to present outwardly. Comcast Public affairs have their hands full cleaning their tarnishing image. Nepotism prevails from the top up and mediocrity is awarded so that those in upper management who are insecure and acknowledges that it's not important to know everything about one's function is kept comfortable.

If you are blacklisted, you could start your own company. Unlikely to start a cable company as you need millions of dollars, but look into other opportunities like owning your business doing landscaping, catering, being a massage therapist, personal trainer, opening a dollar store (merchandise for pennies on the Internet -- you can start for under $500 and sell to friends). There are many possibilities. Good luck.

Same thing happened to a co-worker of mine - shame on them for their unlawful conduct. Shame on them for using fear of losing our jobs to keep us onboard with their unlawful conduct to ensure that our mouths are shut tight. Thank God for the age of information and the democratization of content delivery. The truth always reveals itself. Justice will prevail. Hang in there.

I hope Comcast is reading this -- they will love it (not!). There was a co-worker who took lunch and did not return. She had shown no signs of being unhappy, so naturally we had worried that something had happened to her. After a couple of days, management told her "she is alright," and we were all like, what the f*ck happened to her? When they got rid of me, they suspended me for attendance (attendance was shot when I did not get lunch periods like I was supposed to for my diabetes, my sugar dropped in the evening and I was too lethargic to go to work the next day. After they were charged with discrimination, they had given me some days back, but not all, and when I was out a couple of month later for a sore throat, they claimed I ran out of days...). They told me during the suspension period it will be decided whether I have a job or not. I was thinking of telling coworkers, but figured it wouldn't help, so I just left. They did not call when they said to inform me, but I found out that I had lost the job. Apparently, this may have been how that woman disappeared. This is strange and twisted and reminds me of the movie Office Space in a way, but without the laughs. Anyway, after being fired, I went back to Civil Rights, who charged Comcast with Retalation a few weeks later (ha ha, ha ha on Comcast).

Been there done that! in Thornton, Illinois said: You can't be fired for reporting abuse! Know your rights and fight for them!!!

You can be fired for almost any reason. In some states you can be fired with no reason required at all (Right to Work states). Comcast flushes people faster than most public restrooms get flushed. Tends to keep the salaries lower.

Charlie in Atlanta, Georgia said: A few facts of life here whether you will choose to believe them or not...
- A employer will always seek the best candidate for any given position.
- An employer will decide what parameters meet that ideal for themselves, independent of how any other company choses employees.
- Just as in the Olympics, you can lose by a tiny margin.
- It does not cost a lot more to have 15 people in a training class than it does to have 3 there.
- Large companies have tons of money to spend and money spent on training is tax deductible and helps the bottom line.
- There is always the chance that one of those other 12 will turn out to be better than the three you might have chosen to take the class.
- Just because you fail to secure a job does not make a company evil.
- Stock price and revenue has always been, is, and will always be the most important thing for any company. It is the very reason for the existence of a business.
- If you don't like that last fact, you need to go to a country that isn't capitalistic or get a job in a church or other non-profit organization.
Any questions?

OK, some basic facts of life at Comcast:

Some employers seek the cheapest candidate to fill the slot.

Nice Olympic analogy. Reminds me of the Bird of Paradise sayings...

Let's see, thirteen extra imployees in class equals at least $5,200 to $5,500 per week. Maybe that's not a lot to you....

Tax deductions only give you a percentage return. You still have an overall loss.

True. Comcast does not care.

True. But in this case it's close enough that you can't tell the difference. Evil or just playing the Corporate game with total disregard to how they affect people's lives.

Stock price and revenure ARE the determining factors. In Comcast, this means a mandatory high turnover rate (keeps salaries lower), always stay understaffed (fewer salaries), overwork whenever possible (better bang for your buck). Management gets bonuses!

Check this article out www.lawyersandsettlements.com/settlements/08781/comcast-double-billing.html

That's the problem with monopolies. It's bad for employees and consumers. It's a shame to work for a company that thinks it's above the law because of its sheer size and money. I had drank the Comcast kool-aid but I'm waking up to the truth - will get out of here as soon as I find another job.

I drank that particular Kool-Aid for two years. It wasn't until I insisted on getting the pay raise (after waiting for two months) that I was supposed to get when I went from Comtech II to Comtech III that I got out. And that was because very shortly after it first showed up in my paycheck, they fired me. When I forced the raise,my supervisor actually told me he couldn't stop me from getting the raise, but he could make sure I ended up getting no money at all.

If Comcast is so horrible, how did they become among the biggest cable companies and ISP's in the country? Wouldn't all the poor service and mistreatment of employees have caught up at some point? I'd say these are isolated cases and not representative of how the company treats customers or employees nationwide.

Yes, I work for them. For about 1.5 years now. The only people who were fired out of my training class were people who could not keep up, which was obvious to the rest of us. No one who was left was surprised when those people weren't there the next day.

I get a raise once a year, on schedule. More when I transferred to a higher position, and that didn't cancel my regular raise as with other companies.

I get about $200 worth of discounts on our products every month, adding almost $1.50 to my hourly wage. There's also a good bunch of benefits. And a yearly trip to an amusement park. And occasional barbeques for everyone. And a yearly bonus.

I am a diabetic and I get the legally required lunch period and breaks. These are enforced for legal reasons, in fact. That is more than enough time to monitor my blood sugar and treat highs and lows. In addition, it is not a problem to keep food at my desk in case it is necessary. If I am ill, I get 'flex' time to use. If I use all that up, I think it takes about 5 strikes before they show you the door for absenteeism. I don't plan to check if that is actually how it's done.

I have used the 'open door' policy to discuss issues with the person a few levels over my supervisor and never heard a negative word about it.

Overall, a great company to work for. Of course, as with anything in the world, your mileage may vary.

As with everything, there's always the exception to the rule. Most of the problems at Comcast are management controlled, which means that managers at a particular location can make the system work as it should.
Comcast is among the biggest cable service providers in the country precisely due to their practices overall. I assume you have perused the amazingly large number of comments about Comcast's jobs that are posted on this site and must be at least a little confused as to why the overwhelming number are not good.
Poor service, unfortunately has nothing to do with growth in this business. In most regions, let's face it, they have a monopoly and Dish companies tend to be as bad as Comcast.
Mistreatment of employees allows for periodic removal of the highest wages, which were replace by new employees with lower ones.
There are plenty of people in line to replace those who are fired. In my office, which covered two different offices, very few people were anything but frustrated.
Seems, from the comments, to be the norm.

Hey buddy. I am the guy who was fired for being Diabetic. NJ charged Comcast with Discrimination and with Retalation. I found someone else on here who was discriminated against -- for having epilepsy. I am interested in filing a class action law suit against Comcast. I invited him to email me at anonymous666@optonline.net and am inviting you to do so too. Please provide your contact informaiton. I am not an attorney and I do not practice law. I will forward the information to my attorney. You were mistreated -- I am not sure if you can be in the same class action law suit, but maybe you can be - something like hostile work environment.

You must be kidding in Littleton, Colorado said: Comcast IS evil - there's no doubt about it. I worked in more than one location and the management must have gone to school at Satan's University - ALL the places I worked had MAJOR sexual harrassment of women, people of faith, etc. Would go into more detail but can't afford to as I'm looking for a job after being fired for reporting this abuse. They are evil. Don't waste your time. You don't need the money THAT bad.... especially since I think they put out a black list to other similar companies of people they don't like. They're just NOT WORTH IT!

I get a kick out of listening to all of you. You sound like a bunch of bitter, excuse making babies. All corporations are the exact same. "The only thing that matters to them is revenue"....hmmm I wonder why a company is in business in the first place, may be to make money. I bet they aren't in business so they can make sure that they are providing income to everyone, and make sure everyone is happy. I also liked how someone said that they have their hands full cleaning up their tarnishing image, I don't know if you have looked at Comcast financial info lately, but their revenue and profits are growing exponentially every single quarter. Sounds to me like they are doing something right if they can make 66% more net income from one year to the next....

I just quit comcast this month. I was a top performer and top commission maker at the call center and I was also a mentor in training at a point and have many awards from the company. I made a ton of money there but probably because it is a corporation and only managed by a collective entity and not a single person, things became increasingly unorganized and too demanding. I had plans to be there for at least 5 years, but left after a year and a half. I tried to quit 2 weeks before I actually left but my supervisor tried to get me to stay. Even after all of his attempts, I just left. Wonder why a person who performs exceptionally, makes great money, and gets recognition from the company quit just like that? It's because, for a person who is extremely organized and goal-oriented, working at a company that lacks sufficient communication (to give proper information to customers and to follow up on scheduling issues), accuracy in reporting (that affects commission every month by hundreds of dollars to over a thousand), and regard for sales before quality is living and breathing irony. I literally had my supervisor standing at my desk while I was on a non-sellable call telling me to sell something while I was talking to the customer. I had been on my shift for 6 hours and had sold 7 CDVs. I was outperforming most people on my team and I had the best stats of everyone. Yet, he felt the need to what I will call "whip the lash out on the slave". That did it for me.
I am now having a hard time looking for another commission and base pay job or anything comparable to what I was making, of course. Luckily I have enough money for now, but that will only work for so long. I heard something about being blacklisted and don't know of such a thing really existing. Does this really exist and how?

Enron made millions of dollars too -- what does that prove about corporate integrity?

You should look into starting your own company. I have an old friend who makes tons of money installing computer networks at businesses. You sound technically oriented; why don't you pursue something like that?

I think you should read this - Bob Garfield from Ad Age has dedicated an entire blog in regards to Comspastic - be sure to read all 6 parts!
adage.com/garfieldtheblog/article?article_id=120338&search_phrase=comcast+must+die

The consumers and employees (who are also consumers) are speaking up!

Here's an excerpt:
Posted by Bob Garfield on 09.24.07 @ 08:44 AM
My crusade to bring a gigantic corporation to its knees is moving along apace.

Judging by the comment traffic in the Bobosphere, the infuriating impenetrability of Qualmcast customer service has created a deep vein of resentment and hostility -- which I intend to exploit to the fullest. I will not be satisfied until Qualmcast is on its knees, weeping. In fact, I won't be satisfied until it is heaving with sobs, squealing and hyperventilating and snot dripping from it nose.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

At least two readers, moved by my righteous jihad, have bought domain names for a website devoted to Qualmcast customer disservice. One is comcastmustdie.com, which is simple yet elegant. Another, cleverly, is comcatastrophe.com

Actually, I have done that. No problem getting customers, however you have to pay for your own benefits which gets expensive with a family (even COBRA is over $1000 per month), you have to pay much more for SSN and computer customers have a tendency to want you available 24/365. I enjoy the work, but have a tendency to work myself to death.

Actually, I have no problem with how much money a corporation makes. It's how they make their money that matters. I'm much more frustrated with baseball players than I am Enron. Comcast recruits with a boatload of promises and the usual "Teamwork Ho!" retoric, knowing all the while that most of their employees are on the same level as your average Bic lighter.

I'm glad you brought this up. Comcast is one of the most frustrating customer service experiences out there. As an ex Comtech, I can't tell you the number of times I had to deal with frustrated customers who had missed multiple days from work and everytime they tried to reschedule, the CS rep would be trying to sell them something. Customer service and sales should never be combined. As to the blacklisting, I honestly don't think that occurs. Once you are out they couldn't care less. However, since we do live in the real world, and I have experienced Comcast management first-hand, I would definately concede the possibility.

I could increase my net inome 66% a year easily by mugging old people. Doesn't mean I would be doing something right. I am a definite capitalist. I believe in making money. However some methods are, at the very least, unethical. Whether some of us sound like babies (or poo-poo heads, or whatever other childish names you wish to throw around)or not, Comcast's methods are unethical.

if anyone in the Chicago area is looking for work I found my position from Strategic Talent. this is the email hr.strategictalent@yahoo.co

The recruiter we used was Jeanna and she was very helpful and why not pass on good people. She got me and my 2 co-workers excellent jobs w/ great pay!

It's worth a try

I'm glad I found this thread. I have been trying to get in at Comcast for 4 years now for the Customer Account Exec position. Anyway after the testing and the interviews, I got an email that basically said they chose to go with some other candidates they felt were better qualified. After reading all this, I'm glad I didn't get hired. I also have reservations about the company's hiring preferences, which seem to target candidate of certain demographics. During the application and testing process, I was asked repeatedly to identify myself by nationality/gender/age range. Yes, I know all about Affirmative Action/EOE, but I think Comcast is biased. I had a good look around the call center inside and it confirmed my beliefs. There's got to be something more going on here under the surface.

I no longer apply for jobs as I found they are not worth it and I work for myself. When I was applying for jobs, I stopped indicating what my race is. You have the right, under the law, not to indicate your race. Putting down that you are white can mean that your job application is put at the bottom of the pile. Slavery of blacks was very wrong, and so is Affirmative Action. I was discriminated in the past in another field, before Comcast. This is why I will never vote Democrat because they are always pushing Affirmative Action. Some say that Affirmative Action does not say not to hire white people, but what when I went to read the law for myself and I asked the Federal Government for a copy, I still have not received one. This was several months ago. Affirmative Action creates an entitlement mentality and fosters the feeling of victim hoood among African Americans. Just look at what is happening in Luisiana. An African American allegedly was kicking an unconscious white student repeatedly in the head and he expects to have preferential treatment in the courts. He should rot in prison or maybe get the electric chair. What he did was attempted murder and he needs to be punished like everyone else. If this post offended African Americans that is too bad and you need to face the truth. No one should be discriminated against. Anyway, it is good to avoid Comcast and I wish you good luck.

Yes, I can see your points. Having your own business is the way to go. Of course, because the benefits of being independent are so great, there is a lot of investment or initial loss and potential risk. I am looking into selling health insurance to self-employed/individuals, small businesses, and medicare recipients. I just have to get my life insurance license which is about $500 and 52 hours of prep time to study for and then another $200 to sign on with a company that provides leads ad training/support. This will take time and a lot of efforts. In the meantime, I am looking for another job that will pay my bills and give me flexibility to call the leads, schedule appointments, and go to their homes and show them how it will benefit them as an alternative to paying blue cross or another independent health care provider. This is a growing market and is very necessary in this age where people are paying huge monthly premiums at companies for "full coverage" and then also paying co-pays for their one or two visits per year, if any. With a company paying about 80% of the benefits and the employee paying about 20%, how much money do you think these health care providers are making essentially for free? It is pretty exciting, but keeping the bills paid until my pipeline is built is the immediate struggle. It is so hard to get a part-time job that pays decent and is flexible with my duties as a mother of a 4 yr old son and also as a continuing college student. I go to school in the mornings, my son goes to kindergarten (which is only 3 hrs a day), I pay for day care before and after school, and then we go home and I study or clean and look for jobs and get him fed and to sleep. It's a crazy way to live, but how else can it be? And this is without a job right now. With a job, it will be even more hectic! I know because I was working at Comcast last month and I could feel the pull away from my duties as a mother. I hardly get to go to his school activities!

I just got a job offer yesterday for entry level customer service. This is a later in life job change for me and I feel like I was lucky to get an offer. Of course, yesterday I also got an offer from a small company for the same pay plus commission. Overall I MIGHT make more money with the small company, but I am looking for stability and benefits. The second offer does not have the tentative reality of the training period with Comcast. When I weigh my options, the small company seems like a comfortable environment and nic ehours. Comcast has the unknown. The benefits do matter to me, but I feel nervous ... like turning down offer # 2 might be a mistake if Comcast is not such a sure thing. I'm not in a position to remain unemployed. I really need a reliable job. Does it seem that the people who post messages are usually the ones who are unhappyat comcast ? Is that whythey post ? Are there more people who ARE happy, in such a large company ? It's like hearing about planes that crash ... you don't her stories about all the planes that landed safely. My husband says if I have nmy foot in the door at Comcast I am lucky and I should go in that direction. I'm over 50 years old and I can't keep starting over. I want to make the right decision and with either decision I am burning a bridge. Any thoughts ?

I understand what you mean about people only complaining because of bad experiences. But, good people can have bad experiences and bad people can have good experiences, and vice versa. I can tell you first-hand that the Comcast I was at in Sacramento, Ca was unstable. Sure, I made tons of money on the commission plan, but I stand for customer service over extra cash in my pocket. They focused on sales no matter what and people were competing so bad to get sales that unethical things happened to get those sales. I now work at ATT in customer service and the pay is way less because it is not the same commission structure, but I took the sacrifice to feel good about myself at the end of the day. With Comcast, moving up is not encouraged and everything is highly unorganized and chaotic. I could go on and on but I don't have much time right now). You are told to do a million things and are not given the proper tools and support to do them. It is always better to weigh out the options and consider where you live compared to where I live because it is different everywhere. Even in Billing/customer service, though, there is a great deal of emphasis on sales. Don't get me wrong, I was a top agent in sales AND customer service and I set records for the company in those areas and became a Mentor in training as well as floor support at times, but the commission kept me in Sales/Customer Service because the higher positions paid less than the commission I made. This is just food for thought, but try the training and ask people in your city what they think of Comcast when they call. I can bet some will love the product and hate the customer service, but MOST will hate the customer service! The reason customer service is so bad is because of all the things I mentioned earlier. As good of an employee you are, without the proper support, you can't help the customer much! If I were you I would go with the other opportunity which you were leaning on anyway. Good luck

I, of course, can only speak to my experience at Comcast. I love working for the company. I have great benefits. The pay isn't spectacular, but I have not taken every opportunity to change positions just for more money. I want to like what I'm doing more than I just want to bring home big paychecks. There are many opportunities for growth and promotion in most positions, though there are dead ends too.
As for sales above all else, it just isn't true. I was educated about what we sell. I also get all the latest updates like the sales people. I have never been pressured to sell anything though. If a customer asks, I provide what information I have. If he wants to buy, I put him in contact with a sales person. From sitting in on calls in other departments, this is consistent.
I also agree that we only hear a small representation of Comcast, or any other company, in forums like this. Typically, the people who have a negative experience want to talk about it more than the people who have a good experience. Overall, I believe Comcast would not be what it is today without providing good service. There is no reason for Comcast to not try to give excellent service to everyone. It is true that you cannot possibly please all the people all the time. Internal surveys indicate that a much larger percentage of people do like what we do than disapprove. So does Comcast's growth.
In a typical day, I talk to many customers. It is an usual day that at least one of them is not unhappy about something. Often it has nothing to do directly with Comcast, but when I add the 'bad news' about an overdue bill, for example, to the bad day, Comcast is now another enemy.
There are exceptions to everything. I have encountered people at Comcast I would not want to work for or provide me with service. I think that happens everywhere.
Overall, I would recommend Comcast very highly as an employer.

Thank you for your replies, mrand90706 and curiousk. I hope I will hear from a few people in NJ. Job # 2 actually begins training tomorrow , while the Comcast training does not begin until early Dec. I'm smart enough to take the opportunity to begin training with the small company. Maybe the answer will find ME !
My past career was a good one, but self-limiting and I reached the point where I could no longer perform on the level I once did. It was a professional license that only required an Associate's degree, and my biggest regret is that I didn't go ahead and get that BS or BA. There are only a handful of jobs that don't require better than an associates degree, and luckily, Comcast offers opportunities to people like me. But yea .. my stomach is in a knot !
Thanks again !

I can respect differing opinions but one thing I cannot do is lie and I sure am not lieing about how things were at my location so to say that the "sales" thing is not true would be to say that you are me and you went through what I did but you didn't. Honestly, everyone's experience is different. As for my experiences, some were good, but most were not. The reason I am on here is because I check around at different companies to see what people are saying to get a better idea about the honest opinions of everyone. There is nothing wrong with expressing a bad experience. Sometimes, it is better to get different perspectives to make our own informed decisions based on what we feel is right. So, I disagree that Comcast is a great place to work, at this particular location. Hopefully things get better but nothing was happening for the year and 8 months I spent trying to help make things better. I am someone who puts 110% into everything I do and it felt like the company was giving me 20% of what I needed to get that 110%. Now I am at ATT and (1) the internal systems are WAY more sophisticated (2) the policies are well-communicated AND practiced (3) it is a UNION job which means whenever I feel something is unfair or just not right I can get an expert to help (4) it is not EXPECTED to offer on every call even when people DO NOT need an upgrade or extra services (and in my call center it was expected to offer on every call AND overcome any objections and I was rated for that above everything else-and I DID offer on every call and I made an average of $4500 per month doing so, but it was not the pressure that got me because I can handle pressure well, it was the inability for Comcast to be efficient in its accuracy, communication, floor support, policy implementation, goals and ethics actually practiced on the floor, and basically ORGANIZATION. I am happy at ATT. It is everything Comcast is not. Why else would I give up $4500 a month? They didn't want me to leave.

They asked me 3 times to stay. I have over 3 "Moments of Excellence", a Mentor Achievement certificate, Perfect Attendance Awards, Highest stats ratings in the sales department among other achievements and I still wanted to leave because unorganized chaos is not acceptable for people who aim to please their customers but don't get supervisor call backs as customers were promised or who have to tell an old lady she should upgrade from local service even though she only watches the news or who follow policies and procedures when supervisors tell them to just sell even though it is not within normal guidelines or who are expected to sell new service to 93% of total calls even though there are so many other kinds of calls to take care of other than just sales and the list goes on and on. I mean, I can perform what I am asked with a smile on my face, but I can't take a supervisor walking around asking his team how many new phone sales they have every 10 minutes just to be able to brag to his peer that his team sold 100 new phone connects in one day! It interferes with call quality and it's just ANNOYING! So, if other employees in other call centers do not have to endure this because they are in billing and have low sales quota to meet or because maybe their particular call center has it together, well then AWESOME, but for me ATT has everything I wanted in Comcast and I was humble enough to take a huge pay cut to find a happier and more caring place to be. At least at ATT, I can move up and it is strongly encouraged and it is PRACTICAL because at ATT the call center agents dont make more than their supervisors!
BTW- ATT decides to put profit into upgrading informational systems and training tools and customer improvement processes whereas Comcast decides to create greedy employees by putting all that extra money into the greediest agents' pockets. SO THERE, I vented and I complained and after a year and 8 months I finally got justice for all that I endured.