Comcast comments on customer blogs

Comcast monitors blogs as a way of improving its image with customers

A Washington student got a bit of a shock when he received an email from internet service provider Comcast about comments he had made on his blog.

Brandon Dilbeck, at the University of Washington, used his blog to complain about the service he was getting from Comcast.

Shortly afterwards he got an email from Comcast apologising for the problems and suggesting that he might like to look at a guide posted on the company website.

"It feels like nobody ever really reads my blog," he told The New York Times. "Nobody has left a comment in months."

However, Dilbeck described receiving the email as a "little creepy", adding that the rest of the email may as well have read "Big Brother is watching you".

Comcast has admitted to monitoring blogs as a way of improving its image with customers.

The company was ranked at the bottom of the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index which tracks consumer opinions of more than 200 companies.

Frank Eliason, digital care manager at Comcast, described the company's actions as a new way of communicating with customers that should get problems resolved faster.

"When you're having a two-way conversation, you really get to clear the air, " he said.

Lyza Gardner, vice president at a web development company in Portland, used Twitter to complain about Comcast and was surprised to be contacted directly.

"It is one thing to spit vitriol about a company when they cannot hear you," she said. "I immediately backed down and softened my tone when I knew I was talking to a real person."