Xfinity is making a surprising bet on this old-school customer service feature

Not having in-person support options for tech- when it's often because the tech isn't working at all in the first place and thus CAN'T be used as part of the communications- is batsh!t. Not having a place you can go to get a broken phone troubleshooted in person makes it infinitely harder to get it fixed. Most people only have 1 phone and may not have another device at all. How are you supposed to get help if it's busted up like that? You can't go online, or on the phone. Landlines are almost obsolete, along with public phones, and unless you're familiar with your local library then computer access is also moot. Then there's the fact that a lot of the time, network issues simply can't be solved unless you see your carrier. If they don't have a store, you can't call them, because your service doesn't work! It's a nightmarish catch-22 that we've cornered ourselves in by tying everything in your life to your phone and phone number.