Comcast Teams Up With UPS Stores

Looking to give its customer experience a boost, Comcast has struck up a deal with the UPS Store that lets customers return equipment such as set-tops and cable modems to Comcast for free from more than 4,400 UPS Store locations.

Comcast said customers can drop off their equipment “as-is,” noting that agreement, which aims to ease the process, covers processing, packaging and shipping. Customers who use the option will receive a confirmation or receipt and tracking information from UPS. Comcast customers can also to return equipment to  more than 500 Xfinity Stores.

“This is all about convenience for our customers,” Tom Karinshak, Comcast Cable’s SVP, customer service, said. “The process is super simple and will streamline equipment returns. Customers can walk into any The UPS Store location, drop off their equipment and take their receipt.  And this is all free for our customers.  The UPS Store is known for its efficiency and customer service so we’re excited to be working with them.”

Comcast said the agreement with the UPS Store is one example of how the MSO is trying to “rethink every aspect of the customer service.” The agreement comes soon after Comcast named Charlie Herrin to the new post of SVP of customer service.

Comcast’s customer service has come under scrutiny as it tries to gain regulatory approvel for its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable and as the operator faces a lawsuit form a former Comcast customer, Conal O'Rourke, who claims his complaints about the cable company's poor customer service led to him being fired from his accounting job at PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Jose, Calif. Herrin issued an apology to O’Rourke about the MSO’s customer service performance, but Comcast has denied playing a role in O’Rourke’s termination.