Bad Customer Service Rant?

[SteveL]

Statistics suggest that unhappy customers tell 11(or so) other people, while happy customers tell 3 or 4. I think that each of us has an obligation to share our unhappy experiences, and thus prevent others from going through whatever consumer hell we have experienced.

Recently I went to Calif, and while I was gone, Verizon was supposed to upgrade my DSL connection. After three years of charging more, for slower speed than other Verizon customers were getting, they agreed to do this while I was out of town. Of course, I came back after ten days and while they had turned off the old DSL, they couldn't find an order for the new DSL! So, no internet for three weeks.

I invite anyone else to share their latest tale of speaking to some helpless person in India about their DELL computer. Or how about that campground membership you tried to cancel for your dead Mother...surely, there are others who have these experiences. It can't be just me.....

 

[Sheryl]

Well this won't help others unless they happen to host their e-mail at the same small provider I use - but I had another frustrating experience yesterday - what really drives me crazy is when IT people insist that one system going down at the same time they have been working on another is really just total co-incidence. I am supposed to believe that transferring our mail hosting to a new server had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we could no longer receive e-mail in the office. It's really a problem with OUR server, and just total random coincidence that it happened to start with the "welcome to your new server" mail.

ARRRRGGGG.

 

[SteveR]

SteveL,

Wow, this topic is can certainly fill up some bandwidth and comsume a few hours. I could write a book but I won't. I will give the condensed version of my gripes:

* Sprint cell phone-- Tried to change to a new phone number after I moved from IL to UT. They said we can do it over the phone with customer service. We went through the steps and then they said...your phone is too old to do this. This is after they erased my old phone number and made the phone worthless as it was not recognized by Sprint anymore. We did this on a Thusday night. They said wait until Monday and they would have the correct software installed to do this. I could not call an ambulance for my sick wife while we were at our cabin in the mountains (no land lines possible there) so I had to drive her to the ER. She died the next day. Would it have made a difference? No one will ever know but I do not have Sprint anymore.

* Earthlink ISP. I waited two years for DSL to be available in our area. The week it came on line I called to have it installed. The phone part went fine, the Earthlink part was a nightmare. The guys in India customer service had such a thick accent I could not understand what he said. I finally told him I wanted a supervisor. This guy was even worse. I complained to Earthlink about it and was told that there was no one else to address my problems. I told them they needed to find someone who could at least speak English. I eventually got it to work (my son is an IT person).

I could go on but will shut up now before I really get pissed about it. BTW, my DW works in customer service quality and I hear all the stories from both sides of the phones.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I suspect that everyone could fill a book up with phone and cable companies!

Anybody tried using this audible.com for audio books. I tried it and didnt like and it was impossilbe to cancel and no customer service.

 

[73ss454]

A little trick for reaching your cable company.

Call the sales department, they answer the phone on the first ring.
Then ask them  to switch you to the department you need.  They can usually get you through to the proper place.

 

[sgeeeee]

A little trick for reaching your cable company.

Call the sales department, they answer the phone on the first ring.
Then ask them  to switch you to the department you need.  They can usually get you through to the proper place.

I've never seen that work. They just stick you in the same que you would have gotten to if you had called service to begin with.

 

[TromboneAl]

Other tricks for getting to a person that sometimes work:

1. Press O. This works great for one big company I deal with. I press O twice, and someone answers immediately. I skip about 4 menus, and the need to enter my account number with the keypad.

BTW, whenever you have to enter your account number with the keypad, they always ask you anyway. "I already entered my account number on the keypad." "Well, we have to ask for it again for security reasons."

2. Don't press any numbers. This doesn't work as often as it used to.

Also, I always try to avoid calling tech support. Abandon all hope ye who call. Often, you can get answers by search Google groups instead.

 

[LovesLife]

It really sucks when you finally get transferred and then promptly disconnected.

LL

 

[maddythebeagle]

how about the recording "your business is very important to us...." going on for 30 minutes!

 

[HFWR]

"Please stay on the line..." (hanging up is OUR job!!)

 

[tryan]

File this under price gouging ...

An employee used a ATT calling card on a 2 week bussiness trip and came home to a $900 bill !!

Apparently the rates were never adjusted over the 5 years our company have used ATT. Most people use cells - with unlimited calling - so we haven't seen a calling card bill for a couple years. Until now ... WOW!

 

[MJ]

As it has been suggested. I always try "0" first. If it's a toll free number and it doesn't work, press re-dial and you start over again with little loss time.

I also hate going through complicated menus and being disconnected before speaking to someone. G-d forbid if you finally reach customer service and voice some dissatifaction which can be followed by an abrupt disconnection as well.

If the conversation gets a bit testy or going nowhere, after getting the person's "real" name or number, I ask to speak to a supervisor. They usually are more knowledgeable and may have more authority.