The Comcast Service Center at 1555 Suzy St. shut down some seven months ago, but — according to chatter on at least one Lebanon County online forum — people are just now noticing.
Most of what people did at the service center can be accomplished more quickly and easily without driving to a physical location, Comcast spokesman Robert Grove told LebTown in an interview.
And, he added, Comcast is opening an Xfinity store in Lebanon next year that will provide the same services the Suzy Street location offered, and more.
Grove, based in Pittsburgh, is vice president of communications for the Comcast Keystone Region, which covers most of Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia.
“We’ve been working hard and listening to our customers about what they want,” he said. That includes “self-service, self-install and account management options,” which customers are using “in record numbers,” he said.
Customer use of the service center had been decreasing steadily as people began making use of other options, Grove said.
“That’s why it closed,” he said. “The vast majority of people were coming in to pay a bill. But you can pay a bill half a dozen ways without driving into the office.”
For most people, he said, it’s more convenient to pay bills by phone, mail, online, autopay, app or other option.
Customers can return equipment at no charge at any UPS Store, such as the one at 1451 Quentin Road, he added.
“Those old customer service centers were really small and transactional,” Grove said. “It was just waiting in line, paying a bill, swapping equipment.”
The new Xfinity store, which is expected to open sometime in the first half of 2021 in Cedar Crest Square, is an upgrade for the local community, he said.
“It’s a different customer experience than the customer service centers provided,” he explained. “While you can do all the transactions that you could at a customer service center, you can also see and have demonstrated all of our products. You can try out mobile phones, ask questions about existing services, or just talk to a sales associate.
“It’s a much more immersive customer experience. Our customers love these stores.”
In this region, Grove said, Xfinity stores have already opened in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, York, Chambersburg, Dickson City (near Scranton), State College and Williamsport. Business has increased so much at the Harrisburg location this year, he said, that they’re preparing to open another store in nearby Mechanicsburg.
Meanwhile, Grove said, the Suzy Street location is still open, used as a base by Comcast technicians. Other employees who worked there were offered positions at other stores in the area, he said.
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