Customer Service Rants

[fuse]

I really wanted to title this, American Airlines s*cks.

My son sat next to an alleged AA HR employee on a flight tonight.

This employee decided to text her friend about my son with an unflattering description.

This brought a lovely end to a day which saw us pay for checked bags in a line 40 minutes deep with one gate agent, followed by an hour long wait on the runway on the next flight because of "missing paperwork that was delivered by truck to the cockpit window".

If that lady is representative of what AA employees deal with, I feel sorry for them.

[weezie]

What happened? Did a ruckus ensue after she maligned your son?

I wish I'd been there. Fun times at Lowe's the other day: began heating up when I decided to hone in on customer service desk, waving and calling from the paint section where I was in clear view. There wasd one poor paint guy trying to deal with a line of 7-8 customers.
Yeah, yeah, tiresome story, but two other customers thanked me for "taking it" to the help desk. Literally called and blasted the red vests from fifteen feet away.
Cell phones sometimes actually do good in the world.
Smiling sarcastically reeeeeeeeaaaalllly annoys people.

To fuse: write to the CEO of American. Not kidding, mark it personal. Try and include her name.

[fuse]

What happened? Did a ruckus ensue after she maligned your son?

I wish I'd been there. Fun times at Lowe's the other day: began heating up when I decided to hone in on customer service desk, waving and calling from the paint section where I was in clear view. There wasd one poor paint guy trying to deal with a line of 7-8 customers.
Yeah, yeah, tiresome story, but two other customers thanked me for "taking it" to the help desk. Literally called and blasted the red vests from fifteen feet away.
Cell phones sometimes actually do good in the world.
Smiling sarcastically reeeeeeeeaaaalllly annoys people.

To fuse: write to the CEO of American. Not kidding, mark it personal. Try and include her name.

We were dispersed to 4 different seats due to rebooking because of cancelled flights, I only heard after we all got off the plane.

I've lit up AA on twitter. The real letter is a great idea.

[left_hook_lacey]

What happened? Did a ruckus ensue after she maligned your son?

I wish I'd been there. Fun times at Lowe's the other day: began heating up when I decided to hone in on customer service desk, waving and calling from the paint section where I was in clear view. There wasd one poor paint guy trying to deal with a line of 7-8 customers.
Yeah, yeah, tiresome story, but two other customers thanked me for "taking it" to the help desk. Literally called and blasted the red vests from fifteen feet away.
Cell phones sometimes actually do good in the world.
Smiling sarcastically reeeeeeeeaaaalllly annoys people.

To fuse: write to the CEO of American. Not kidding, mark it personal. Try and include her name.

I have a couple of really bad experiences with customer service at lowe's. I don't even like to think about those times if I can. I've moved on and I'm in a better place now.

Let's just say one day, it took me almost 3 hours to pay for $7,000 worth of cabinets and granite counter tops and when they finally figured out what the hell was going on, it was still wrong. The wrong cabinets were delivered to my house.

[aimo]

My brother once ended up with a free dishwasher from Lowes b/c they screwed up the original delivery, then mistakenly credited him twice. The whole experience was such a nightmare, including first trying to deliver a refrigerator instead of the dishwasher, he said nothing.

[Jim3k]

Because I had become slowly dissatisfied with my cable provider, and because they raised my monthly fee into the $330 range, I (we) decided to switch to Comcast who offered more for quite a bit less (about $100). They gave us a window of 10am-noon on Saturday. No one showed so I called. They claimed to have called earlier; not so. Claimed a contact number from a different area code and that the person who answered claimed they hadn't ordered their service...no kidding.

Anyway, at 1:15 an installer arrived. He stayed until 6:30. And finally...finally...everything seemed to have worked. (Lotta false starts: couldn't get in through my router, lost the dial tone, couldn't figure out how to boost the signal for a while--just a lot of lost time. I did find him personable, so there's that.) Except for the primary phone unit placement which they know is error. So...we are having some more time with them shortly while they work that out.

And, to top it all off, when I opened the afternoon mail, there was a bill from my old company reducing their monthly charge to about what I had demanded. Of course, my discussion with their retention people had ended up with their knowing I was unhappy and had been offered a lower rate by Comcast. (Even so, Comcast provided a lot more channels plus their 6-recording DVR.) This last minute inducement was a big fail.

[PackMan97]

[budwom]

Because I had become slowly dissatisfied with my cable provider, and because they raised my monthly fee into the $330 range, I (we) decided to switch to Comcast who offered more for quite a bit less (about $100). They gave us a window of 10am-noon on Saturday. No one showed so I called. They claimed to have called earlier; not so. Claimed a contact number from a different area code and that the person who answered claimed they hadn't ordered their service...no kidding.

Anyway, at 1:15 an installer arrived. He stayed until 6:30. And finally...finally...everything seemed to have worked. (Lotta false starts: couldn't get in through my router, lost the dial tone, couldn't figure out how to boost the signal for a while--just a lot of lost time. I did find him personable, so there's that.) Except for the primary phone unit placement which they know is error. So...we are having some more time with them shortly while they work that out.

And, to top it all off, when I opened the afternoon mail, there was a bill from my old company reducing their monthly charge to about what I had demanded. Of course, my discussion with their retention people had ended up with their knowing I was unhappy and had been offered a lower rate by Comcast. (Even so, Comcast provided a lot more channels plus their 6-recording DVR.) This last minute inducement was a big fail.

Don't even get me started on Comcast (but you did)! How's this for a customer service tale: years ago Comcast ran an ad in the local paper for a special six month intro price of $30/month for internet service only.
I got them to come, then they told me the service would not work because they had some technical problem in their office (nothing to do with my home). Fine I say, when will this be fixed?
We have no idea, they said, but we're charging you starting today. Huh? Protest did no good, but fortunately I live in a wee state, and a quick call to me Public Service Dept got me a rapid callback from a Comcast VP apologizing for
the "misunderstanding" (which is wasn't of course.)

OK, so in a few weeks I get my first bill from Comcast, expecting the advertised $30/month rate, but I'm charged the full $60 regular fare. OK, so I call "customer service," where the first rep says there is NOTHING
they can do for me. Huh? So I ask to speak to a supervisor who quickly understands my beef (the half price ad they had run ran for weeks and was a full page ad, so it was hardly a secret, they must have
paid a lot of money for that). She puts me on hold for five minutes, comes back, and very apologetically tells me that "there is NO WAY our accounting system can charge you this half price rate. NONE."
So they'd run an ad proclaiming a rate they were incapable of actually charging. Fortunately she had a brain and gave me an instant $180 credit... I hate those people.

[moonpie23]

a couple of things about customer service...


you should record all calls, no matter how long they are. this recording will come in handy later.

when they bait and switch, or just lie, you can go online (in NC) and fill out a Dept of Justice Consumer Affairs Complaint.

it only takes a few minutes, but you'll be surprised how quickly the company you file it against acts on it. You'll get a phone call AND a customer service rep that his highly motivated to resolve your complaint.

these companies (telecons especially) have scientifically designed the customer service and sales department to lie, deflect and deny. (sound like someone down the road?)

when you make it official with the DOJ, they can't hide behind some of their bullcrap...

[budwom]

^indeed...though some states have more vigilant enforcement departments than others from what I've seen. Fortunately, in Vermont we get ultra quick action for legitimate gripes.

[camion]

My last dance with customer service involved redeeming credit card bonus points with Wells Fargo.

On the bonus points web site I found a Polar heart rate monitor that I had enough points to get. I ordered it and got an email saying my order went through.

I waited. A week later I got an email saying that the Polar wasn't in stock and my bonus points had been recredited.

I went back to the web site. I found the same Polar heart rate monitor that I had enough points to get. I ordered it and got an email saying my order went through.

I waited. A week later I got an email saying that the Polar wasn't in stock and my bonus points had been recredited.

I called Wells Fargo customer service and after being routed a bit I was told that they had no control over their own bonus program and couldn't guarantee that that item, or any item on the web site, was actually available.

I decided to play again.

I went back to the web site. I found the same Polar heart rate monitor that I had enough points to get. I ordered it and got an email saying my order went through.

I waited. A week later I got an email saying that the Polar wasn't in stock and my bonus points had been recredited.

I called Wells Fargo customer service and after being routed a bit I was told that they had no control over their own bonus program and couldn't guarantee that that item, or any item on the web site, was actually available. I told them that if they didn't either send me the item or remove the item from the web site then I would remove my account from their bank.


I got the Polar heart rate monitor 10 days later. My heart rate is now back to normal, but I'm still considering changing banks.

[aimo]

a couple of things about customer service...


you should record all calls, no matter how long they are. this recording will come in handy later.

when they bait and switch, or just lie, you can go online (in NC) and fill out a Dept of Justice Consumer Affairs Complaint.

it only takes a few minutes, but you'll be surprised how quickly the company you file it against acts on it. You'll get a phone call AND a customer service rep that his highly motivated to resolve your complaint.

these companies (telecons especially) have scientifically designed the customer service and sales department to lie, deflect and deny. (sound like someone down the road?)

when you make it official with the DOJ, they can't hide behind some of their bullcrap...

I learned that the customer service reps you first encounter are told NOT to forward the call to a manager until the customer has requested a manager X amount of times. I now say, "I realize I have to ask a certain number of times before I get to speak to a manager, so MAY I PLEASE SPEAK TO A MANAGER, MAY I PLEASE SPEAK TO A MANAGER, MAY I PLEASE SPEAK TO A MANAGER, MAY I PLEASE SPEAK TO A MANAGER," until they put me on with a manager. Who is probably not much more helpful but a little higher up so I feel it's a bit more effective to yell at him/her.

[Jeffrey]

My recommendation is to support your locally owned and operated businesses. As consumers continue to shop more online, for the best price, these businesses continue to close. The day may come when most of your complaint calls will be made to out of state, or country, call centers. I doubt most people are going to be thrilled by the customer service they're receiving then.

Our hometown hardware stores closed after the arrival of Lowes. Our hometown banks closed after the arrival of Wells Fargo. We wanted Lowes wide variety of products and low prices. We wanted Wells Fargo's ATMs on every corner and latest technology. And, now, we pay the customer service price, because we did not support our locally owned and operated businesses.

[BigWayne]

Because I had become slowly dissatisfied with my cable provider, and because they raised my monthly fee into the $330 range, I (we) decided to switch to Comcast who offered more for quite a bit less (about $100). They gave us a window of 10am-noon on Saturday. No one showed so I called. They claimed to have called earlier; not so. Claimed a contact number from a different area code and that the person who answered claimed they hadn't ordered their service...no kidding.

Anyway, at 1:15 an installer arrived. He stayed until 6:30. And finally...finally...everything seemed to have worked. (Lotta false starts: couldn't get in through my router, lost the dial tone, couldn't figure out how to boost the signal for a while--just a lot of lost time. I did find him personable, so there's that.) Except for the primary phone unit placement which they know is error. So...we are having some more time with them shortly while they work that out.

And, to top it all off, when I opened the afternoon mail, there was a bill from my old company reducing their monthly charge to about what I had demanded. Of course, my discussion with their retention people had ended up with their knowing I was unhappy and had been offered a lower rate by Comcast. (Even so, Comcast provided a lot more channels plus their 6-recording DVR.) This last minute inducement was a big fail.

At my previous residence, I had to use Comcast for internet as there was no wiring supporting anything else at that location. I tried using multiple modems I acquired on my own, but none would work reliably so I was forced to rent one from Comcast. When we moved, I had to physically go to a Comcast office to return the modem so I would stop being charged for it. It took about 20-30 minutes in their office to do the return. Everybody in that office was angry to be there. All of the customers were angry and all of the employees were angry as well. I have never been anywhere, before or since, like that.

[YmoBeThere]

At my previous residence, I had to use Comcast for internet as there was no wiring supporting anything else at that location. I tried using multiple modems I acquired on my own, but none would work reliably so I was forced to rent one from Comcast. When we moved, I had to physically go to a Comcast office to return the modem so I would stop being charged for it. It took about 20-30 minutes in their office to do the return. Everybody in that office was angry to be there. All of the customers were angry and all of the employees were angry as well. I have never been anywhere, before or since, like that.

Well, now I'm angry. And I've got AT&T Fiber. Which they want to call U-verse. Hells to the no. If GOOG hadn't promised us fiber, I'd still be on DSL.

[YmoBeThere]

The day may come when most of your complaint calls will be made to out of state, or country, call centers. I doubt most people are going to be thrilled by the customer service they're receiving then.

Meh, I prefer to rant in little corners of the interwebs or to my two Twitter followers. I don't want satisfaction, I want to be heard.

[Jeffrey]

Meh, I prefer to rant in little corners of the interwebs or to my two Twitter followers. I don't want satisfaction, I want to be heard.

Yep, unfortunately, there's a lot of truth to that. Many large companies have the need for some version of a Complaints Department. I've never known any large company to have the need for a Compliments Department.

[DukieInKansas]

Yep, unfortunately, there's a lot of truth to that. Many large companies have the need for some version of a Complaints Department. I've never known any large company to have the need for a Compliments Department.

I like to confuse them sometimes and call to thank them/compliment them. Well - it was really the mayor (who I know) and a local lawn/snow plow company that had been a client. Snow removal was done exceptionally well in both instances. I don't think they get many random compliments.

[Jeffrey]

I like to confuse them sometimes and call to thank them/compliment them. Well - it was really the mayor (who I know) and a local lawn/snow plow company that had been a client. Snow removal was done exceptionally well in both instances. I don't think they get many random compliments.

They were probably scared to take your call. Compliment? What's she up to?

[ricks68]

I kept getting 2 or more letters a week and constant phone calls for many months from ATT to switch to Uverse . I can't get Uverse as I am way too far from the nearest "terminal"(?), because I am up the mountain with a sparse amount of homes in the area. So, one day, after the usual "we can now offer you Uverse because we have expanded our coverage area" bit, I decided to take them up on it again and have them discover the situation in person, in hopes that they will now stop the wasted paper and the constant phone calls.

After the guy they sent spend about 2-3 hours discovering what I had already told them, I expected their wasted efforts and my wasted time with them to end. Nope.

After a few more weeks of this, since I figured it would take time for them to be informed, I decided to have them come out again and begin wasting their time. Well, the next guy spent about the same amount of time and came to the same obvious conclusion. This time, however, I told him to go back to his office and inform his supervisor that I was going to keep taking them up on their offer until they stopped sending the letters and calling me.

Bazinga!-----and it was so much fun, as I am retired and was home doing stuff anyway.

ricks