Comcast CEO Tries To Calm InvestorsVoIP going well, trying to improve customer service... ( old news - 12:12PM Tuesday Nov 20 2007) tags: competition · business · bandwidth · cable · VoIP · ComcastInvestors have been afraid of Comcast lately, in part because they believe the company is planning to spend a fortune to enter the wireless broadband space, but also because investors have gotten caught up in all the press surrounding telcoTV. As we've discussed previously however, it will take the telcos many, many years to make a dent into cable's footprint. For the time being, overbuilders like RCN actually have more to worry about. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts talks to Fortune Magazine in an effort to calm skittish investors. Roberts reminds the magazine that the company is adding VoIP customers a lot more quickly than Verizon and AT&T are adding TV customers, and they're set to leapfrog Embarq and become the nation's fourth largest phone provider before the end of this year. He admits the biggest problem they face is their poor reputation for customer service: I hope that reputation is not universal, and we are working very hard to improve where we have made past mistakes. We do 250 million phone calls a year between orders and services, and, inevitably, with that many calls, you are going to have failures. We have added 11,000 technical and customer-care employees just in the past 18 months. And we are beginning to call customers before and after service appointments to make sure we did the work properly. It is a major goal to continue to improve. Roberts touches on a number of other topics including DOCSIS 3.0 and DirecTV's NFL stranglehold, and makes the interesting claim that "video-rich content works better on cable modem."
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- Comcast Gets Investigated While Cox Gets Free Pass
- Comcast Installs DOCSIS 3.0 In Two New Markets
- Comcast 50Mbps Coming To Florida
- Comcast Unveils New International VoIP Plans
- Comcast Says They'll Play Nice With Vonage
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 MalibuMaxx
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN
 ·Comcast
| Video Rich Content??? Video Rich content works better on a Cable Modem??? Please explain... psshh
In my opinion Video Rich content works better on a T1 connection but we're not going to get into that...  | |
|  | | | | MalibuMaxx
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN
·Comcast
| Re: Video Rich Content??? I will be lol it was a joke just like his comment was a joke... I've got 8 mbps sustained...
And yes I know thats powerboost but from Chicago to San Fran. thats not half bad...
FIO's as well as many other companies offer much higher sustained rates than that of Comcast. It's just the point that a Cable modem does not make a video look better, but the bandwidth at hand... | |
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dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @12:32PM
| Re: Video Rich Content??? OP stated that "...Video Rich content works better on a T1 connection..."
Uhm. getting that content is a very important part viewing or using it, right?
FiOS is irrelavent to this news item and to the comment(s) made by the OP.
A T1 would take a wee bit longer to download anything, let alone video, no?
No one that I can see ever said that the video would look better, did they? No. They didn't. 
He asked for explaination, I provided one.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
| | | | | MalibuMaxx
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN
·Comcast
| Re: Video Rich Content??? Hello did u not see that I said it was a JOKE dude you take me way to seriously... As a matter a fact you take this whole thread way to seriously... LOL
I agree maybe I should have put a J/K at the end of my statement but I thought the wink was enought to tell it was a joke...
Look/Works... all the same thing... and fio's does work better A.T.M. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA | If the video bitrate and resolution size is low and it's bi-directional communication than I'd take the T1 over a cable connection. | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ | So how does one get 43mbps when a cable node maxes at 38mbps 
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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sumcomcast
@comcast.net | im sorry but id rather take the 1.544mbps T1 line that guarantees me full sustained speed and a dumb pipe than comcast's secretly capped pipe full of crap! | |
| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Video Rich Content??? Then buy the business class service and shut up already. Enjoy the $500 monthly bill too.. ok?
It's comments like that that displays the ignorance of some people who don't get what "RESIDENTIAL SERVICE" is VS. a business class service with an SLA..
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| 
newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD
 ·Vonage
| We want you to love us quote:
"we are working very hard to improve where we have made past mistakes."
Comcast has got a looong way to go just to reach average.
quote:
"video-rich content works better on cable modem."
What a crock.
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Ö¿Ö
The Rules of Spam | Maryland's Newest Anti-Spam Law
Where are we going? And what's with the hand basket? | |
| | 
N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: We want you to love us Loving Comcast is like trying to cuddle a porcupine....
I love their commercials, though. The ones with the turtles are HILARIOUS people, HILARIOUS!
The ones making fun of the big old expensive phone company are funny too.
Especially considering Comcast is the big old expensive cable company....
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… | |
| | | bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA | Re: HoHum interview - nothing really new at all And such a reassuring write-up by Karl. | |
| | | ANWDREW
join:2004-01-21
Sterling, VA | Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service horrific sums it up quite well.
I would pay more for that T1 but still a little hi for us. | |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
| "Karl used the word "poor", but in my experience "horrific" is an accurate characterization."
250 million phona calls a year....there are going to be disconnects with that sort of volume.
Hob
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"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @12:45PM
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service People like to overlook sheer volume and only see that a few bad experiences happen.
A quater Billion phone calls... DAMN!
Naw, they all have to be perfect or the company is teh devil!
LOL!
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service It's not always the number of bad calls, but how bad they are. Minor screw ups people can live with, even a lot of them. But if the majority are biggies, they draw attention. And I'm not referring about Comcast specifically, but support in general. | |
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dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @01:18PM
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service said by Jodokast96  :It's not always the number of bad calls, but how bad they are. Minor screw ups people can live with, even a lot of them. But if the majority are biggies, they draw attention. And I'm not referring about Comcast specifically, but support in general. True, but volume dilutes(or should) bad calls.
I have called Comcast before and got a clown.
Ended call and called again, got someone that was human.
So, did I rag on that bad call? No.
I used common sense and got a different CSR by calling again.
Issue was resolved and no headaches.
250 million calls - 250,000,000. Even if 25,000 were "bad", that makes it... 0.01%?
EDIT: Typo.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @01:32PM
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service said by JTRockville :The willingness of Comcast to dismiss the horrific experience of many (most?) customers as an anomoly is why their horrific reputation is cemented in stone. No.
The people holding onto the few bad experiences while disregarding the hundreds of millions of good experiences and tagging the overall performance as "horrific" is pathetic.
If I had 250 million of anything, I certainly would expect a few bad items.
There is no such thing as perfection. Sorry!
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
| | | | | | | | gateguy
Premium
join:2001-02-12
Reisterstown, MD
·Comcast
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service said by dadkins :The people holding onto the few bad experiences while disregarding the hundreds of millions of good experiences and tagging the overall performance as "horrific" is pathetic. You actually convinced me to reconsider my review of Comcast.
I have only had a few bad experiences (by phone and in person). I have not had a 'good' experience yet.
It is not that I choose Comcast, I have no alternative for high speed internet.
But because Comcast has had 'hundreds of millions of good experiences', my review is no longer valid and I should update it to reflect other peoples experiences.
Thanks for helping me to ignore my own point of view.
Quick question though, whose point of view are you using?
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Without data, it is just an opinion | |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·surpasshosting
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service said by halfband :...Now you have moved to broadband nirvana (or is it FIOS Heaven.) Did they run Comcast out of town yet in Rockville?... Nirvana... heaven... FiOS is all of those things. 
Actually, Rockville won't let Verizon FiOS in. Thankfully I live just outside the city limits, where we can "get lit", so-to-speak. John Britton (a self-described disgruntled Comcast subscriber) was recently elected to the city council, so we'll see how successful at breaking the standoff he is. But given the new mayor's stance, I think Comcast will be able to keep City of Rockville residents captive for quite some time.
Neither Comcast nor Verizon posts regional subscriber data (that I can find), but from what I've heard, lots of folks switched from Comcast to Verizon. Everyone I spoke to who did it was delighted to ditch Comcast and is very pleased with Verizon.
said by halfband :JT, Dadkins, newview, been more than 5 years here now hasn't it. We have all had very different experiences with comcast havn't we Not all of us have been here more than 5 years, but yes, experiences vary. However, I haven't come across anyone in person (including people from several different states) who doesn't have a horror story to tell about Comcast.
It's nice to know you guys are out there. Maybe there is hope. But given Roberts' seemingly detached view, I doubt it. | |
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halfband
Premium
join:2002-06-01
Huntsville, AL
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @04:53PM
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service Thanks for the link. Don has always provided great insight into what goes on behind the scenes for franchise agreements, build outs, and the day to day dealings with service providers.
So comcast still has customers in your area? I would have thought that if verizon provided "equal" service they would have grabbed about 50% of the available customer base after a couple of years. Since service equal to comcast in your area would have required hiring a mixture keystone cops and drunken lemurs why have they not been able to grab 80%+ (assuming 20% would not even know they have service problems or think verizon is a government conspiracy)
Too bad Don can not get access to the customer numbers in your area.
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Registered Bandwidth Offender #40812 | |
| | | | | | | | | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service Verizon has their own horror stories.. Fios billing, I've heard, is a sight to behold it's so bad.. It will probably make a great case study on what not to do for future grads.. | |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·surpasshosting
·Verizon FIOS
| said by halfband :...So comcast still has customers in your area? I would have thought that if verizon provided "equal" service they would have grabbed about 50% of the available customer base after a couple of years. Since service equal to comcast in your area would have required hiring a mixture keystone cops and drunken lemurs why have they not been able to grab 80%+ (assuming 20% would not even know they have service problems or think verizon is a government conspiracy) Too bad Don can not get access to the customer numbers in your area. LOL @ keystone cops and drunken lemurs.
Sure, Comcast still has folks like John Britton, who can't get FiOS. Verizon hasn't covered the whole county yet (they may never actually get to the City of Rockville). And TV service just became available this year, which may have slowed the stampede since Comcast "internet" is quite expensive solo.
Of course, since both Verizon and Comcast keep regional subscription numbers out of public view (even from the council), it's hard to know for sure. None of my neighbors on the same pole as me have cable anymore, and I see tons of ONTs around the 'hood, so I think it's likely Verizon may have 50-80% penetration, despite the fact that they don't advertise much.
I only know one person who can get FiOS but kept Comcast. He's just waiting for his promo to expire.
I see people smile when they talk about Verizon FiOS. No one smiles when they talk about Comcast, except maybe Rockville's mayor. It's going to be nearly impossible for Comcast to win folks back after they switch, so I hope they shape up quick. Don wrote another blog about that - it's a good read, and echos my sentiments: »libes.com/don/blog/2007/10/hammer-this.html | |
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Jodokast96
R.I.P Bassman442
Premium
join:2005-11-23
Erial, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| You're right, but if the screw ups are big ones, and if most of the ones they have fall into that category, then even a small number can be unnaceptable.
Look at it like this. It' basically a quality or quantity issue. If one produces x number of items, but the majority of them are garbage, is that acceptable? Probably not. Now flip it. If they have x number of screw ups, and the majority are major ones, is that acceptable? Probably not. | |
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dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
November 20th, @03:28PM
| Re: HORRIFIC reputation regarding customer service said by Jodokast96 :You're right, but if the screw ups are big ones, and if most of the ones they have fall into that category, then even a small number can be unnaceptable. Look at it like this. It' basically a quality or quantity issue. If one produces x number of items, but the majority of them are garbage, is that acceptable? Probably not. Now flip it. If they have x number of screw ups, and the majority are major ones, is that acceptable? Probably not. Ok, now... if there are hundreds of millions of _______ and a few are totally fucked, does that make all of the rest bad?
What are your acceptable limits?
0.01% bad?
0.1% bad?
1% bad?
Let's use Comcast HSI for an example. 12.2 million(?) HSI customers.
How many totally fucked up connections are *Realistically* acceptable?
1200?
1200 out of 12,000,000 is 0.01% - 1/100th of 1%
12,000?
12,000 out of 12,000,000 is 0.1% - 1/10th of 1%.
Do the math.
You cannot go by what you read on a help forum, when it's good, there is no reason to be asking for help. Right?
Only time people post is when it's bad.
Also, MANY people like to exaggerate - severely.
Some people live to complain too.
Yeah, the *occasional* customer experience is a bad one. Granted.
Millions(good) vs thousands(bad). Hmm...
If this were a gambling situation, where would you put your money?
I already have.
My bet has paid off. Many times over.
I am not alone.
More people win on this bet than lose. By an WIDE margin.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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See 7 replies to this post | |
| Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Pittsburgh, PA | The way to improve customer service is to hire highly qualified people who know what they're doing and pay them what they're worth so they don't leave. If Brian Roberts said he was actually going to do that he would really scare investors. | |
| 
yuutomo
The Wonder Kitter
Premium
join:2001-08-27
Missoula, MT | how to calm investors 1. admit you've been bilking them and customers for over 10 years.
2. pick a someone from BBR Comcast forum as your replacement.
3. everyone happy. | |
| 
i5050MbSoon
Formerly TwoKDialup
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Coloma, MI | Yet... I've been using Comcast over three years now and must say that their Digital Voice, video, OnDemand and HSI have all been TERRIFIC!
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Meet Bill and Karolyn at www.theslowskys.com | |
| |
See 6 replies to this post | |
karlmarx
join:2006-09-18
Nashua, NH
·Fairpoint Communic..
| Want to REALLY scare comcast? Verizon, you listening.. Offer a-la-carte channels. I guarantee you will still sell them the high speed internet, but you will ALSO strip the cable companies bare. A-la-carte vs forced bundling is a no-brainer for everyone to see.
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Stick it to the MAN. Support your local torrent sites. Proudly providing 100mb of upstream for all your TV, Movie, and MP3 needs. | |
| | openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Navarre, FL
·Mediacom
| Re: Want to REALLY scare comcast? How/Why would you expect telcos to offer à la carte when cablecos can't/won't? I don't see it happening anytime soon, by either provider. Nor do I see it being the price boon or customer attraction that you're implying that it might be. I think that an à la carte structure might introduce an interesting dynamic in the marketplace, but I just don't see it being "all that". | |
| | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: Want to REALLY scare comcast? No it definitely won't be a price boon. In fact for heavy watchers, it will cost more. But for those few of us who watch maybe 1 or 2 shows a week, we'll be able to save some. | |
| | Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Pittsburgh, PA
edit:
November 20th, @09:06PM
| A la carte won't happen unless Congress changes copyright laws to prevent the content providers from from tying. | |
| | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: Want to REALLY scare comcast? Copywrite laws need to be changed anyway; right now it is the authors lifetime + 70 years. Rediculous.
It should be the authors lifetime + 0 years, UNLESS they sell the rights, in which case it is 15 years. | |
| Network4
join:2002-12-03
|  CEO Brian Roberts as he sees customer service
»money.cnn.com/2007/11/19/technol···fortune/
Q: As a CEO you must be aware of your company's horrific reputation regarding customer service. How do you plan on improving it?
-- Eric Sodee, Arlington, VA.
A: I hope that reputation is not universal...
=============
WOW!!
That little slip screams volumes!
If we are to take him at his word, he is a sheltered CEO, as far as the level of customer satisfaction (or lack thereof) is concerned. He clearly -- by his own admission, and with all of the resources at his disposal, does not much care to know the extent of disatisfaction. There you have it, the traditional Comcast position towards its customers as seen from the very top. | |
| Tim
Premium
join:2006-06-19
| Custtomer service I don't think Comcast's customer service reputation is "set in stone." But it's a longer process than anyone would like to improve it... as Brian Roberts said, they've hired 11,000 people in last 18 months. If my math is correct, that's 20 people a day. Along with that comes the infrastructure to support it... building or expanding the call center itself, hiring and training the new people, the supervisors, the managers, the HR department, etc.
It's not an easy task to localize call centers. But it's being done. Just check Google News to see the number of new call centers being created, and a lot of them aren't even mentioned in the news.
Will everyone be happy when the project is complete? No. 100% customer service is unattainable for any industry. It's especially true of cable... it's a completely different animal from other service companies. It's amazing how many customers can't operate their own TVs... and cable will roll a truck to do simple things like turn off closed-captioning. It's expensive and it takes time away from customers who have real problems with their service.
Still, I think Comcast is moving in the right direction. | |
| SKYWARP
join:2005-02-02
Portland, OR | Stock Stock price hit a low low $19.
This would be a damn good time to buy Comcast stock. | |
| | Tim
Premium
join:2006-06-19
| Re: Stock said by SKYWARP :Stock price hit a low low $19. This would be a damn good time to buy Comcast stock. A lot of people think cable stocks are severely undervalued. Witness the failure of the Dolan's to take Cablevision private at would have been a premium over the current stock price.
With Comcast prepared to buy back 8.4 billion dollars worth of stock, that should prop up the stock short-term. But investors are still waiting to see both the effect of FiOS and whether or not Comcast makes a big play (presumably in wireless field).
What Comcast needs is a really good quarterly earnings report. | |
| | |
Bellunder
@teksavvy.com
| Re: Stock The Dow has to correct to 10,000 or below. Hedge funds have been trying all along to prop up the Dow the same way the hedge funds tried to sell gold short at the 690 level. This is an exercise in futility and the dow will fall just as gold rose well above the 690 area. It's no secret Comcast is one of the most shorted stocks and the short sellers have gotten rich already on this one. The direction of Comcast's stock is still sharply lower as well as the direction of the Dow and the NASDAQ. | |
| | | | Tim
Premium
join:2006-06-19 | Re: Stock Actually, Comcast is one the 5 biggest stocks decreasing in short interest. That means investors think it's bottomed and is going to go up. | |
| CableConvert
Premium
join:2003-12-05
Atlanta, GA | Hope that video isn't... coming to you via a torrent file...(I cant honestly believe that there hasn't been one jab at this yet in this thread...you guys are so disappointing...lol...yes, said in humor for those 'serious' people who dont get it) | |
| fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| What does all this poor customer service reflect, really? If you ask me, take comcast at it's massive size.. line up all the so-called 'bad people' that work for the company giving poor service...
Does this reflect poorly on the company? Sure... but does just about every fail to see what else this reflects on? ... it reflects poorly on the nation itself as to the type of people we turn out to the work force in general.
Maybe every mom and dad that is part of this forum ought to look closely at their own and take this as a wake up call as to what they are putting into the next generation.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| mikenolan7
Premium
join:2005-06-07
Torrance, CA
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
| Customer Service The first step that the telcos and the cablecos need to take to improve customer service is to stop lying about what they are selling. If they want to block certain traffic, fine, tell everyone that's what you are doing. If you want to have caps, fine, tell everyone that's what you are doing. Don't sell unlimited services and then limit the service. That is lying.
Personally, I find it insulting when someone lies to me. I feel like they just called me stupid (which I am, but you don't have to point it out, and I certainly wouldn't call pointing it out good customer service). When they continue to lie in the face of hard evidence they are calling themselves stupid. | |
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HoHum interview - nothing really new at all