Politics & Government

New Comcast Service Center Opens in Union City

The Fremont and Hayward Comcast centers were consolidated into a new storefront at the Union Landing Shopping Center.

A new Union City Comcast service center will celebrate its grand opening Saturday.

The new store at 31055 Courthouse Dr. in the Union Landing Shopping Center, opened for business on April 18, according to Andrew Johnson, regional vice president of communications for Comcast.

“It’s conveniently located,” Johnson said. “It’s in an obvious retail location [and] it’s very spacious.”

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Comcast stores at 555 Mowry Ave., Fremont, and 23525 Clawiter Rd., Hayward, shut down April 15. Employees at those locations were transferred to Union City. None were laid off, Johnson said.

The new, consolidated Union City service center is part of an effort to increase the company’s profile in the community, Johnson said. Customer traffic at the Hayward and Fremont centers, both located in industrial areas, declined steadily over three years, he added.

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“It’s really important for us to be in high traffic locations so customers can see us in a much more relaxed, convenient environment,” Johnson said.

The Union City site offers the same services as the previous locations, including bill payment kiosks and service sign-up. Customers can also try out new services by testing Internet service speed, hearing the clarity of phones through digital voice services and seeing new 3-D television technology at the Union City store.

“Because of the way our customer service has been evolving, most people pay bills online or through mail,” Johnson said. “A lot of them are going into centers to look at our services and test them out. It’s a very powerful way for customers to see the services up close and personal.”

The new Comcast center will not put any extra money into city coffers.

According to a staff report prepared by Union City's Economic and Community Development Department last September, the new storefront will not generate any sales tax because Comcast sells a service, not a product, and leases equipment to customers. The city will continue to receive the existing 5 percent franchise tax fee., which it would receive regardless of the .

The service center may draw new customers to Union Landing, the staff report said.


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