Remember that Comcast customer service representative who just wouldnt let Ryan Block cancel his service? We locked down the ability for most customer service reps to disconnect accounts, a billing systems manager who worked for Comcast from 2008 to 2013 told The Verge. A current employee at Comcast who participated in the Comcast Confessions series provided The Verge with a copy of the 20-page guidelines the company uses for retention specialists.