( CNN ) -- When life gives you Comcast , make a `` shamecast . '' Shamecasting is what I 'm calling tech journalist Ryan Block 's ingenious method of publicly shaming Comcast for the way the cable company treated him on the phone . I hope it becomes a national trend . On Tuesday morning , Block posted an audio clip of his 18-minute , nightmarish attempt to try to cancel service . Instead of cooperating with Block 's simple request , which Comcast is legally required to do , the customer service representative badgered him , threw up obstacles and generally exhibited sociopathic behavior . After the clip went viral , Block received an official apology from the company , which said , in part : `` The way in which our representative communicated with him is unacceptable and not consistent with how we train our customer service representatives . '' Nor is it consistent with the social norms of any society on Earth . Yet the clip went viral because of our cathartic solidarity with Block . We 've all been held hostage by big companies afraid of losing business . We 've all been told by anonymous customer service representatives that they `` ca n't '' help us . They `` ca n't '' discontinue service . They `` ca n't '' give us a confirmation number . In short , we 've all felt helpless . Comcast 's apology also cited its `` embarrassment . '' If embarrassment is the only language these companies speak , let 's give it to them . Let 's shamecast companies who refuse to treat customers with respect . Coincidentally , a few weeks before the Comcast episode , I started recording my own phone calls with customer service representatives . My latest dispute had gone on for months , and I was still receiving bills for work that was never done ( and that had been officially canceled ) . But things took a swift turn when I notified the representative that I was recording the conversation . Soon after that call , I was contacted by the same person â€ ” this time with an apologetic tone , assuring me the matter was resolved . Most customer service representatives do not exhibit the sociopathic behavior of the Comcast employee . Most customer service reps are nice people who are just trying to do their job . Furthermore , many of them have to suffer their own abuse from angry callers who feel trapped and mistreated by a company . Most of the time it 's not the customer service rep 's fault . But we 've got to do something about the dysfunctional system of customer service . Enter shamecasting . Online review sites are helpful , but there 's a big difference between interpretation and reality . With a recorded conversation , you 've got proof . It 's the difference between `` I 'm being mistreated by a company '' and `` I 'm being mistreated by a company â€ ” listen to this audio clip of our interaction . '' The next time you call a big company and get a difficult customer service representative , protect yourself . If you have an iPhone , you do n't need anything else . There are several apps that can record calls for you . ( For legal reasons , make sure you notify the representative that you 're recording the call . ) If you do n't have a smartphone , no problem . As long as you put your call on speakerphone , there are several ways to record it . Most laptops have built-in microphones , and you can simply record the conversation using Garage Band or another piece of recording software . Or you can buy a cheap digital audio recording device that records in several modes , including .wav and .mp3 . These files can be easily transferred to your laptop , and then , if necessary , to the Internet . As you record your conversation , stay calm . If anybody is going to look like the bad guy , it 's not going to be you . Hopefully , your call will go well , the company will cooperate with your request , and you can go about your day . But if not , you can upload your audio clip to Soundcloud , like Block did , and then broadcast it to the world through Twitter , Facebook , or your blog . Imagine the relief you 'll experience the next time you interact with a telephone representative . When he or she tells you that your call may be recorded for `` quality assurance purposes , '' you will be able to respond with : `` And just so you know , I 'm recording this call for consumer protection purposes . ''
A Comcast customer service representative 's rude call with a customer went viral . David Wheeler : We 've all been held hostage by big companies afraid of losing business . He says we 've got to do something about dysfunctional system of customer service . Wheeler : The next time you get a difficult customer rep , you can record the call .