Sleepy Comcast technician gets filmed, then fired
Comcast might need to reassess its employment techniques. Not only did a technician in the Washington, D.C., area find it necessary to call Comcast's help line in order to fix a straightforward Internet connection issue, but he also fell asleep on customer Brian Finkelstein's couch.
The humorous video Finkelstein produced of the employee, snoozing comfortably on the couch, is available for public entertainment via YouTube. It's edited to include music (Eels pop song "I Need Some Sleep"), as well as humorous text slides in Comcast's signature font with messages like "thanks Comcast for two broken routers, four-hour appointment blocks, weeklong Internet outages." A law student at Georgetown University, Finkelstein made it possible for hundreds of thousands of viewers--the video, called "A Comcast Technician Sleeping On My Couch," has gotten 302,210 views to date--to witness the inactive technician. However, the 58-second film cost the employee his job and meant some not-so-good publicity for Comcast.
But was Finkelstein's effort really worthwhile? My answer is yes. Sure, Finkelstein could have written a letter of complaint to the company for its terrible service. But a story this juicy has to be shared. And it was.