Over the past year, hundreds of you have asked Whistleblower for help. While we can't investigate each tip, we want to share more of what you tell us. In 2009, we started publishing a few tips each week to stimulate online discussion and create ways for our readers to help each other. If you have a tip, send it to whistleblower@startribune.com.
Steve Compton expected to see glittering gowns and hear weeping "thank yous" when he sat down to watch the Academy Awards in his Minneapolis home Sunday night. Instead, the image on his screen flickered and the sound cut in and out. Compton e-mailed Comcast to complain and ask how they would compensate customers.
"I didn't really expect anything when I first wrote Comcast, mostly I just wanted to point out that their service was poor on a night when a lot of people were counting on it," he said. Comcast apologized and offered Compton a 67-cent credit. He sent another e-mail: "You guys are making Dish Network look better all the time." Comcast then offered him a $20 credit. "When they admitted it and offered a 67-cent credit, that was insulting," Compton said. "Why bother?" Mary Beth Schubert, a spokeswoman for Comcast, said the intermittent service problems during a three-hour period on Sunday night affected customers in Minneapolis and the southwest suburbs. She said the company was dealing with each customer complaint on an individual basis. How do you get companies to compensate you for poor service?
