Comcast Customer Service Hell

Recently, Comcast rolled out a new security feature that requires account holders to enter an assigned PIN before the website will display detailed account information--you can see your balance due, just not the detailed charges that add up to the amount. However, Comcast is not mailing out the PINs as promised, so I used the website to request a PIN be mailed to my house. After more than a week, nothing arrived, and the website is a mess--a mishmash of irrelevant content designed to enhance my Comcast experience and completely confuses the account management experience.

So I tried chat, hoping for a quick fix. Disclaimer: I entered into the chat already frustrated by the website. The chat rep gets high marks for managing through my frustration but low marks for efficacy:

Actual Chat Transcript:

analyst Marygold has entered room Marygold: Hello Rob, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Marygold. Please give me one moment to review your information. Rob: My Issue: Comcast never sent an account PIN to me. I have already requested this once before using the website. You need to provide me with a PIN now. Marygold: Were you able to successfully log in? Marygold: Sorry for the typo. Please disregard that last message. Marygold: Our goal is to provide you with a consistently superior customer experience – that’s our guarantee. Learn more about the Comcast Customer Guarantee at http://www.comcast.com/corporate/Customers/CustomerGuarantee.html?fss=customer%20guarantee Rob: Well it ain't happening. Marygold: I understand the importance of having your security PIN, Rob. Marygold: By the end of this chat I am sure we will have resolved this issue together to your satisfaction. Rob: Comcast is currently denying me access to my account information online Marygold: What username are you using to access your account? Rob: (xxxxx) Marygold: Thank you. Marygold: Let us stay on top in resolving this issue by pulling up your account first. Thank you for providing your account information in the chat initiation form. Marygold: To protect your account I will need to verify some additional information. Would you please provide me with the last 4 digits of your social security number? Marygold: Did you receive my last message? Rob: (xxxxx) Marygold: Thank you. Marygold: I have sent your security PIN to your Comcast email which is (xxxxx) Marygold: You can check it by clicking this link: Marygold: https://login.comcast.net/login?ts=e5919f1b&s=wnamp Marygold: Log in using your Comcast email and password. Rob: Why would you do that? I never use that account Rob: Send it to my gmail account Marygold: If you have Internet service with Comcast, you automatically have a Comcast username. Marygold: All your Comcast notifications are sent to your Comcast email. Rob: Which. I. Never. Use. Marygold: If you want, you can set Email Forwarding, so that all your emails and notifications from Comcast will go to (xxxxx) Rob: Such a nightmare. Rob: So I reset my password on comcast.net and got an error Rob: Sorry! Something went wrong... We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a moment. If this issue persists, please contact us and a customer support agent will help you. Marygold: Can you access your Comcast online account? Rob: Well after I log in I get a landing page with links to email , vmail, text messages and other content Rob: But when I click the email button I get a page that reads: Rob: Access requires Comcast High-Speed Internet Need it? Subscribe now » Have it? Use your Comcast ID & password to Sign in now » Forgot your Comcast.net sign-in info? Get it now » Learn more about mySIGN-IN by Comcast If you landed here when attempting to configure "Advanced Call Forwarding" on Xfinity Connect, it is because the Xfinity Voice 2go "Advanced Call Forwarding" feature is not currently available for your level of service (Xfinity Voice only or Xfinity Voice & Xfinity TV). At this time you cannot have calls forwarded from your Xfinity Voice home number to your mobile devices or to your Personal Phone Numbers. This feature should be available in the near future. Please look for an e-mail in the beginning of July letting you know when the Advanced Call Forwarding feature will be enabled. Marygold: May I ask to what account did you log in? Rob: comcast Rob: http://xfinity.comcast.net/ Marygold: Okay. Rob: This is a horrible customer experience. Rob: Either give me a PIN now or send it to my gmail account Marygold: I am sorry but we can only send the security PIN to your Comcast email account. Marygold: Please refresh the page of your email account. Marygold: You may press F5 key on your keyboard. Rob: Not working. Marygold: Is it okay with you if you will give me your password for your Comcast online account so I can replicate the issue here on my end? Rob: I want this escalated--this is a serious customer experience breakdown. I have done everything right and Comcast is keeping my detailed account information from me. Rob: This is a breach of my customer agreement Marygold: If you can take our call on your Comcast home phone, we can call you and give you the security PIN over the phone. Rob: I don't use the phone. And I am at work. This simple task is becoming a burden Rob: Comcast owes me a PIN now. I submitted a request over a week ago and have not received it Rob: Your own channel is failing Marygold: Rob, I have sent the security PIN to your Comcast email account. Marygold: The reason that I am asking for your password, is to check if your email account is functioning properly. Rob: again?? Rob: (xxxxx) Marygold: Thank you. Marygold: I was not able to log in using the password you gave me. Rob: Exactly. because I used your instructions to try and reset it Marygold: I did not give you instruction to reset your password, Rob. Marygold: Is this the password you are using to access your Comcast online account? Marygold: I am referring to your Comcast online account where you can pay your bill online. Rob: Yes Rob: You sent me a link to a page that gave me instructions to reset my password. Rob: I would advise that you not get caught up in semantics right now Marygold: The link I gave you earlier is a login page where you can log in using your Comcast username and password. Rob: All I get is a page with the $$ of my bill. No other information Because I Don't Have a PIN Rob: So you need to answer this question: are you going to send me to a manager or do I have to escalate this issue? Marygold: What username do you use to access your Comcast online account? Is it (xxxxx) or (xxxxx)? Marygold: Rob, I assure you that this issue does not require a manager. Marygold: All you need is access to your Comcast email account. Rob: Apparently it does. Marygold: You mentioned earlier that you reset your password. Is (xxxxx) the new password? Rob: I have logged into my comcast account using my @gmail user name and usual password. The Comcast website will not display my account information because I don't have a PIN. I don't have a PIN because Comcast never sent it. I requested a PIN using the website over a week ago and it never arrived. You sent the PIN to my Comcast email--which I never use and have never used--but when I follow all instructions to access it the website displays an error message, which I have copied and pasted for you Marygold: I believe I advised you to log in using your Comcast username and password. Marygold: Since you are using your gmail account to access your Comcast email account, you need to have a password for your Comcast username. Marygold: Since you are using your gmail account to access your Comcast email account, you need to have a password for your Comcast username. Marygold: Since you are using your gmail account to access your Comcast email account, you need to have a password for your Comcast username. Marygold: I am sorry for the repeated posts. Marygold: Since you are not home to take our call, you need to call 18009346489 to have your password for your Comcast username. Marygold: Once you have that, just go to www.comcast.net , click the EMAIL icon and log in using your Comcast username and password. Marygold: You will then see the security PIN emailed to you. Rob: It Does Not Work. Marygold: If you want, I will stay online while you call the number I posted above. Marygold: What does not work? Rob: No. I am done. You've wasted my time.