Comcast closes Carpentersville service center, opens retail stores elsewhere

The Comcast Service Center in Carpentersville closed this month, but company officials say new store locations are offering more appealing services.

At the 300 Carpenter Blvd. location, customers could sign up for new services, exchange or pick up equipment and pay bills, said Jack Segal, regional vice president of public relations.

But the company has begun expanding its Xfinity retail stores, he said, where customers are provided the same service while also getting the chance to try out Comcast products. Equipped with chairs, televisions, tablets and other equipment, those stores offer hands-on demonstrations of the company's services, he said.

“It allows (customers) to really understand the products and services we offer, and what they can do,” Segal said.

Additionally, more people are going online to pay bills or order equipment, reducing the significance of service centers, Segal said.

The Carpentersville service center is not large enough to be transformed into a retail store, Segal said. Plus, he added, Xfinity stores are typically placed in shopping centers or high-traffic areas.

Instead, Carpentersville's location now operates as a technical facility and warehouse, where equipment is stored, Segal said. Though it's not open to the public, the facility still employs 40 technicians.

Village Manager Mark Rooney said this change does not significantly affect the village. It does, however, inconvenience Carpentersville residents with Comcast services, he said, as a “large percentage pay their bills in cash.”

In addition to an Xfinity store in Schaumburg, Comcast this month opened its first in the Fox Valley at 57-59 Randall Road in Batavia. Another is scheduled to open early next year in the Crystal Point Shopping Center in Crystal Lake.

“The retail stores have been extremely well received by customers,” Segal said. “They're attractive, they're comfortable, and you can sit down and watch TV and test products.”