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Comcast Pays Contractors Peanuts; Poor Workmanship, Bad Behavior Result of Low Pay

Phillip Dampier June 13, 2016 Comcast/Xfinity, Consumer News Comments Off on Comcast Pays Contractors Peanuts; Poor Workmanship, Bad Behavior Result of Low Pay

raceComcast has systematically sought to flatten wage rates, drive small contractors out of business and overwork the independent contractors that remain, while paying them less than $20 for many service calls.

Those are some of the accusations leveled against Comcast in a federal lawsuit filed in Scranton, Pa., this month by two former Comcast installation contractors.

Owners of Cable-Line Inc. of Perkasie and McLaughlin Communications Inc. of Moosic argue Comcast deceived them in 2010 when it urged both companies to buy trucks and hire experienced installers while “secretly implementing” a cut throat “national subcontractor reduction plan” that gradually reduced the amount of compensation and time expected to complete installations and repairs.

As a result, the number of independent contracting firms Comcast works with has declined in the northeast from 176 in 2009 to 39 in 2012. Even as the number of available contractors have dropped, those that remain are under pressure to find employees willing and able to finish jobs fast and, as far as customers allege, not always completely.

comcastA veteran telecom supervisor told the Philadelphia Inquirer some installers are saddled with 15-20 service calls a day. That leaves little time to troubleshoot problems and as a result many technicians “hope for a quick, loose cable connection so they can move onto the next job.”

Rushing through service calls makes sense when one realizes those independent technicians are paid by the service call.

“Some calls last 20 minutes, and that’s where you’d pick up some time and quick dollars,” the supervisor told the newspaper.

But even if the installer does get a lot of simple jobs in a row, Comcast is still putting constant pressure on their potential earnings.

Triplett

Triplett

“The money that Comcast pays a contractor for each task they do at a house has gotten lower over the years,” said the supervisor. “A cable drop, running the cable from the pole to the house, used to pay about $20. Then it went down. The contractors tell new hires they can make $400/day, it’s like running your own business. That is virtually impossible because of limited time. Some installers may actually complete eight jobs (in a day) and gross $130. That’s not even $20 a stop. It varies, though, by what has to be done at the job site. Most of these guys use their own truck and pay their own fuel and insurance.”

“Every Woman’s Nightmare”

Comcast also makes sure those contractors are non unionized, which gives the cable company the upper hand on just about everything. As a result, the number of people willing to work long hours for what is often declining pay has become a perennial challenge at many contracting firms. Some are accused of lowering their employment standards long ago to accept more applicants, sometimes with disastrous results.

Last month, a Chicago-area jury took just 40 minutes to convict Anthony Triplett, a Comcast subcontracted cable technician, of the sexual assault and murder of Janice Ordidge. Almost a decade ago, Ordidge was found dead in her bathtub two days after Triplett arrived to fix her cable TV. Police immediately considered Triplett a suspect and questioned him several times while also collecting a sample of his DNA. Despite the prominent investigation, Premier Cable Communications, the company performing service work for Comcast, kept Triplett on the job. Seven weeks later, Triplett strangled, sexually assaulted, robbed and killed 23-year-old Urszula Sakowska during a service call in her home.

Prosecutors argued Triplett used his “house calls for Comcast” as a hunting ground for female victims, calling him a “sociopath and psychopath.” He is now serving double life sentences.

Comcast Cable Guy Sentenced to Life on Rape-Murder Charge; “Every Woman’s Nightmare”

Phillip Dampier July 23, 2013 Comcast/Xfinity, Consumer News, Public Policy & Gov't, Video Comments Off on Comcast Cable Guy Sentenced to Life on Rape-Murder Charge; “Every Woman’s Nightmare”
Triplett

Triplett

Anthony Triplett used his job as a Comcast subcontractor to hunt for unsuspecting female victims while installing cable service — customers he would later return to rape and strangle.

On Friday, a Cook County judge sentenced the murderer to life in prison.

Judge Kevin Sheehan agreed with prosecutors who called Triplett both a sociopath and a psychopath, treating his victims with all the reverence of a used facial tissue.

Sheehan said Triplett’s defense was ludicrous, calling it a “wicked web of lies.”

“You were dancing like an ant on a sugar cube,” Sheehan said.

Triplett was found guilty of raping and strangling 23-year old Polish immigrant Urszula Sakowska,  whose lifeless body was found in a bathtub inside her Chicago-area home back in 2006.

Triplett is also facing charges in the death of 39-year old Janice Ordidge, a Comcast customer in Hyde Park.

Victims’ families say Comcast has a lot to answer for after subcontracting cable work out to Premier Cable Communications, a third-party company accused of maintaining shoddy hiring practices. Comcast is under scrutiny for doing nothing to stop Triplett after being informed he was being questioned by police in the death of Ordidge.

comcasticBoth Comcast and Premier are being sued for allowing Triplett to continue working, which lead to his encounter with Sakowska.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Sexton said Triplett “obviously could not help himself” from committing the sexual assaults and killings.

“This is the most dangerous individual you will ever see in this courtroom — and that’s saying a lot for 26th Street,” Sexton told the judge, calling Triplett “every woman’s nightmare.”

“This is who you killed!” he shouted at Triplett while holding a photo of Sakowska.

Sakowska’s fiancé, Grzegorz Magiera, said he will never recover from her loss, which would have never happened had she not called Comcast.

“I can still see her in our house, smell her and feel her warm embrace,” Magiera said in a victim impact statement read by prosecutors. “My life will never be the same as it was before. No one will ever be able to replace my Urszula. She was my one and only. She was my angel.”

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WLS Chicago Comcast Killer Sentenced to Life 7-19-13.mp4[/flv]

WLS reports Comcast-contracted cable repairman Anthony Triplett was found guilty of rape and murder and is yet to face murder charges in a second case. Triplett used his “house calls for Comcast” as a hunting ground for female victims. (2 minutes)

More Cable Contractor Attacks: Comcast Cable Guy Found Guilty of Murdering Customer

Phillip Dampier May 22, 2013 Comcast/Xfinity, Consumer News, Public Policy & Gov't, Video Comments Off on More Cable Contractor Attacks: Comcast Cable Guy Found Guilty of Murdering Customer
Triplett

Triplett

A jury has found Comcast contractor Anthony Triplett guilty of first degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and robbery in the death of Comcast Cable customer Urszula Sakowska, 23, killed by Triplett in December 2006 when Comcast sent him to her home to work on her Internet service.

It was not the first time police investigated Triplett, who was also under scrutiny for possible involvement in an earlier homicide of Comcast customer Janice Ordidge, who was found strangled in her bathtub after Triplett was sent to install her cable television service.

Assistant district attorney Brian Sexton said Triplett got his thrills watching his victims suffer and die.

“As he strangles them, he looks them right in the eye and sees the light go out,” Sexton said.

Comcast had come under fire in the case because the cable operator permitted the contractor, Premiere Cable Communications, to continue to send Triplett on service calls even while he was under investigation by local police.

“I don’t understand how he was allowed to keep doing cable jobs after he was questioned regarding my sister,” said Loretta Shamley, the sister of Janice Ordidge.

Comcast-LogoNeighbors say the incident made them more wary of cable repairmen, some not directly employed by the cable company.

“I don’t even feel safe enough to take out the garbage anymore,” said Latia Warren, who lives two floors above Ordidge. “If I’m alone I won’t let a serviceman into my apartment unless he works for the building and I know him.”

A second trial on the death of Ordidge has not yet been scheduled.

Triplett faces up to life imprisonment.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WLS Chicago Cable Repairman Guilty 5-14-13.mp4[/flv]

WLS in Chicago reports a Comcast cable technician working for a third-party contracting firm was found guilty of murdering one customer and has alleged involvement in another homicide committed while doing service calls. (2 minutes)

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