Monday, June 26, 2006

betapundit: Comcast tech fired for sleeping on the job

betapundit: Comcast tech fired for sleeping on the job: "Comcast tech fired for sleeping on the job
Last week I posted a video of a Comcast Tech who fell asleep at a customer's house. The post has generated close to 100,000 hits in just a few days. Today we have an update on the Technician and the customer courtesy of Forbes, who picked up on the story:

Comcast Corp. has fired an employee for sleeping on a customer's couch during a house call after video of the incident became a minor Internet sensation.

Philadelphia-based Comcast also said in a statement that it had apologized to customer Brian Finkelstein of Washington, D.C., for the 'unsatisfactory customer experience.'

Finkelstein posted video of the sleeping technician and told this story on YouTube.com, a site that lets users share videos.

His Comcast Internet connection had worked only intermittently since he moved to a new apartment June 1. A Comcast employee who came to Finkelstein's home June 14 to replace the modem called the company for help. Put on hold for more than an hour, he caught some shut-eye while he waited.

Finkelstein, a Georgetown University law student, picked up his video camera, added an Eels song with the lyrics 'I need some sleep,' and sent it to YouTube.

The 58-second video has been viewed more than 227,000 times since it was posted Tuesday.
I feel bad for anyone who has their livelihood taken away, but at the same time, this is a strong reminder not to fall asleep on the job. Let's not rule out the probability that this is as much as a top-level problem as it is a labor-level problem. I hope this sends a strong message to Comcast."