Facebook, Comcast and Theater-re's

Last week I wrote that Facebook had deactivated our account. All of the "friends" that we had were gone.

Their policy is " . . .Facebook accounts are intended for use by single individuals, so groups, clubs, businesses, or other types of organizations are not permitted to maintain accounts."

We didn't know that, and I know a lot of theatres that have accounts. We started ours before Facebook had fan pages. What to do? I read up on the pages. We already had one started and had been trying to figure out the best way to migrate to using the page solo, instead of an account a group and the page.

I read their faq's which said they can convert "groups" in to "pages." So I asked them to. I also mentioned the account. How it was disabled and if there was anyway they could also convert those people who were "friends" into "fans." I asked and they did it. Within a day all the info, except for the pictures, had been moved over to the fan page. (The said in the FAQ's that photos and video couldn't be migrated.)

So now you can find us on Facebook here.

They were very helpful, even when they didn't need to be. The fine print stated clearly their policy on organizations not having accounts. They could have just erased everything.

Comcast would have. Seems Comcast and I have been in an epic battle for a couple of years.

I want things like a bill. I'm a busy guy and without reminders, sometimes I forget things. So if I don't get a bill (not a big request) for months, I may forget. Comcast would go months without sending me a bill. Our cable was shut off a couple of times for this reason. We'd call and they'd reactivate it, but it was a huge hassle everytime.

So we signed up for auto-billing. Why not just switch? Well its' the only service we can get in our building. Anyway so we've got auto-billing. A few months later our cable is off again. WTF!? I've ceased to be nice after a year and a half of their incompetence. It seems to pervade every aspect of the organization.

The failed to tell me that autobilling can take up to six months to become active. This on top of the bills which they can't tell me why they never arrive, even though the rest of my mail comes just fine.

So I call them to active it yet again. It doesn't work. I call the next day. It doesn't work. I call them again and the agree to send out a technician, who's a no show. I call again, someone comes out.

It seems that the last time it was shut off they sent a message to another technical to physically disconnect the cable. When I called back within five minutes of the cable going out, they had no way to communicate to their technicians. The people taking calls for Comcast are unable to communicate to the technicians in the field. Unable. They wouldn't even know how they could do that I was told.

Hmm, I thought of five possibilities while rereading that last paragraph. Turns out the first technician got the notice to physically disconnect the service, and did so, but didn't make a note. So when the folks in the office turned the signal on, it couldn't get through. Their inability to communicate between their right hand and left hand was staggering.

The second technical came four hours late. I had to get to a meeting so I was in a hurry. I told him everything that had happened. He was pretty understanding and not entirely surprised. He was able to hook the wire up, and made sure to make a note of it. I go back in turn on the tv and it works. A commercial for Comcast was on. It advertised their cable, internet, and phone services. None of which work between their different departments apparently.

"All set?" I asked the technician. "I'm kind of in a hurry 'cause you got here so late." Even with my intense hatred of his employer, I tried to be as polite as possible. It's not his fault . . .

"No, problem, I just need you to sign the work order. It's in my truck, one sec."

"Ok," I say, "I'll follow you so I can get to my meeting."

I lock the doors and go with him to the alley.

He stops. "Did you see a van here?"

"I didn't look . . ." I say.

"Aw hell no! . . . . Can I borrow your phone?"

The truck was gone. He had left the keys in the truck. Left it running. Left his phone in it. I let him use my phone to call and report it and call another technician to pick him up. The van probably ended up in the river somewhere.

The next day the cable went out again. I canceled my account. Now I have no cable, which actually allows me to get far more accomplished in the evenings.

The amount of money that Comcast spends on marketing is staggering. If only they spent a fraction of that on service, they'd probably do a lot better. They have been voted Worst Company in America. It's always amused me how awful most people I've known in "Marketing and Communications" are at actually communicating.

Facebook does much better than Myspace at this and is shows in their numbers. Unlike Comcast, Facebook acts like they actually want customers. Comcast spends far more money than effort and it shows. But you know who tends to do worse than Comcast? A lot of theatres.

With businesses we don't think too hard on our decisions. If a company has a better product, better service and better price, we tend to go there. Two out or three will usually get us there too. If one of three is phenomenal, that'll tip the scales as well.

So as audiences decline and funding dries up what should theatres focus on?

Read more: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/JayRaskolnikov/~3/395302138/facebook-comcast-and-theater-res.html