Customer Service Hall of Shame!

[gallo]

Quote by: Winter wind I think America has some of the worst bureaucrats in the world.

That may be true, but we aren't talking about American bureaucracy.

In Hong Kong (British system) the people over the phone are so warm and friendly and genuinely willing to help.

I don't know about that, usually the offshore support people have such heavy accents that it is almost impossible to understand them. Rarely have they been of any meaningful support.

In America, you get such an attitude of "I'm here until I can punch that clock" that you just get mad on stat.

But at least they can offer understandable support until time to punch the clock.

The difference a warm tone makes is incredible.

No, it doesn't. I could give a rat's tootie about warm tones. Tones are meaningless if they can't help, which has been my experience with most customer service.

[Winter wind]

Quote by: gallo That may be true, but we aren't talking about American bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy includes customer service (for me)

I don't know about that, usually the offshore support people have such heavy accents that it is almost impossible to understand them. Rarely have they been of any meaningful support.

What? I live in Hong Kong. I meant local service.

But at least they can offer understandable support until time to punch the clock.

Yet they don't.

No, it doesn't. I could give a rat's tootie about warm tones. Tones are meaningless if they can't help, which has been my experience with most customer service.

I donno. The transaction is smoother. And I also meant tone, as in more willing to help.

[another day]

The smaller the company, the better service you get, as a benchmark.

The big companies obviously have discovered they don't need great customer service to be successful - they usually offer a service that is not easy to switch or go without completely.

[Cephus]

You WISH!

Two recent examples I've had with doctors that made me want to shoot them.

The first, my daughter's dentist didn't take the new insurance my company switched to so I kept up the old insurance for her until she finished. The insurance issued a new policy just for my daughter. The dentist couldn't figure out how to bill it, they kept calling the insurance company, giving them the OLD information (even though they had the new info) and getting turned down. After having them bill me for the tenth time and getting sick and tired of calling them to tell them what the hell they needed to do, I got them and the insurance on the phone together and gave the insurance all the information they needed. And the insurance was telling this bitch at the dental office "why didn't you do this in the first place?" Morons.

Secondly, I went to a doctor a couple times over a year ago, they finally started sending me a bill 13 months after the visits. I told them to bill the damn insurance. They said "they refuse to pay, you weren't covered". Finally, I look at the bill and they're billing the wrong insurance. So I call and correct them. Three weeks later, I get another bill, same problem. I call *AGAIN* and correct them, the idiot on the other end of the phone doesn't get it. Finally, I tell her to look in my file at the copy of my insurance card. Then I tell her to look at the bill. See a problem? You can't just pick a company at random to bill. What a bunch of idiots.

Being a small company doesn't make you any better or smarter.

[Maryjane]

This is just one of many related to my husband's death:



We ran our business from our home, I was the office manager. A month after my husband died, I called Verizon to cancel the business line and finalize the bill. They refused to shut it off because the service was not in my name. In order to cancel, they needed to talk to the person that opened the account, my husband. I told them time and time again that he was no longer alive. This went on for two days until I finally told them that I would unplug the phone from the wall and they could eat all the charges or I'd give them his plot number so they could go to the cemetery to collect. They turned the service off within an hour.

[GHook93]

Quote by: gallo That may be true, but we aren't talking about American bureaucracy. I don't know about that, usually the offshore support people have such heavy accents that it is almost impossible to understand them. Rarely have they been of any meaningful support. .

Does Dell computers come to mind?

[GHook93]

Quote by: Cephus You WISH! Two recent examples I've had with doctors that made me want to shoot them. The first, my daughter's dentist didn't take the new insurance my company switched to so I kept up the old insurance for her until she finished. The insurance issued a new policy just for my daughter. The dentist couldn't figure out how to bill it, they kept calling the insurance company, giving them the OLD information (even though they had the new info) and getting turned down. After having them bill me for the tenth time and getting sick and tired of calling them to tell them what the hell they needed to do, I got them and the insurance on the phone together and gave the insurance all the information they needed. And the insurance was telling this bitch at the dental office "why didn't you do this in the first place?" Morons. Secondly, I went to a doctor a couple times over a year ago, they finally started sending me a bill 13 months after the visits. I told them to bill the damn insurance. They said "they refuse to pay, you weren't covered". Finally, I look at the bill and they're billing the wrong insurance. So I call and correct them. Three weeks later, I get another bill, same problem. I call *AGAIN* and correct them, the idiot on the other end of the phone doesn't get it. Finally, I tell her to look in my file at the copy of my insurance card. Then I tell her to look at the bill. See a problem? You can't just pick a company at random to bill. What a bunch of idiots.

I had the same exact problem when my dentist. Smaller is better, it only matters on the company.

Being a small company doesn't make you any better or smarter.

Exactly its the company that matters. Try using Apple computer's customer service genius bar. They go above and beyond to help you out and fix the most complex problems!

[Cephus]

Quote by: Maryjane We ran our business from our home, I was the office manager. A month after my husband died, I called Verizon to cancel the business line and finalize the bill. They refused to shut it off because the service was not in my name. In order to cancel, they needed to talk to the person that opened the account, my husband. I told them time and time again that he was no longer alive. This went on for two days until I finally told them that I would unplug the phone from the wall and they could eat all the charges or I'd give them his plot number so they could go to the cemetery to collect. They turned the service off within an hour.

That's similar to what a friend is going through with a cell phone contract that was under his father's name. The provider refuses to give any information to him, including when the contract expires. He keeps telling them that his father is dead but they don't care.

My advice to him was to tell them he was canceling the contract and if they didn't like it, they could bill his dead father to their heart's content, especially since the estate went through probate years ago and there was no way they could touch it.

These companies are really stupid.

[Cephus]

Quote by: GHook93 I had the same exact problem when my dentist. Smaller is better, it only matters on the company.

Unfortunately, when the top person at that company is a complete idiot, you're left with few options. At one point, I told the idiot to go ahead and sue me (it was for a small amount, it would end up in small-claims) and I'd be sure to have the judge ask why in the world they were so utterly idiotic to refuse payment when they could EASILY have gotten it.

That shut them up for a few minutes at least.

[GHook93]

Quote by: Maryjane This is just one of many related to my husband's death: We ran our business from our home, I was the office manager. A month after my husband died, I called Verizon to cancel the business line and finalize the bill. They refused to shut it off because the service was not in my name. In order to cancel, they needed to talk to the person that opened the account, my husband. I told them time and time again that he was no longer alive. This went on for two days until I finally told them that I would unplug the phone from the wall and they could eat all the charges or I'd give them his plot number so they could go to the cemetery to collect. They turned the service off within an hour.

Yep verizon is pretty bad. When I switch over to AT&T I call and cancelled my service after my contract was up. I got a bill for the next. I called them and they said my fault we will cancel it and credit the amount. Another month and another bill with a late fee for not paying last month. I called and they said the same thing our bad we will cancel the account and credit both months back. Month 3 they stated another bill came and they stated my service has been suspended and its critical you pay your pass due amounts in order to avoid collections. Now I was pissed I called verizon and they told me that they had no record of me cancelling. To make a long story short I had to talk to countless people over a week before they found my original record of my cancellation and they stated we will honor the original cancellation and close the account. And it was finally closed. Never going back to those guys.

[Maryjane]

Quote by: Cephus That's similar to what a friend is going through with a cell phone contract that was under his father's name. The provider refuses to give any information to him, including when the contract expires. He keeps telling them that his father is dead but they don't care. My advice to him was to tell them he was canceling the contract and if they didn't like it, they could bill his dead father to their heart's content, especially since the estate went through probate years ago and there was no way they could touch it. These companies are really stupid.

You'd think some companies never dealt with death before?

After the land line episode, I had to deal with Verizon and my husband's four business cell phones. I wanted to transfer the contract on two phones and let his business partner take over the other two. My boys were just leaning to drive and I needed one phone for them for comunication and that way we could call to hear my husband's voice message. I didnt want my 6 year old to forget his father's voice. (I found out later that my husband's friends were calling to hear it too, so don't think we are weird)

Verizon tried to charge me $75 to get out of his contract but I reminded them (in the fine print of the contract) that all I needed to do was send in a death certificate and I could end the entire thing. In the end, I took over two of the phones and the partner got the other two but they wouldn't let me keep the same number and I lost his voice message : ( All it took was me sending in a death certificate. (that's why you need so many copies)

[JaneDoe321]

Part of the reason customer service has gone downhill, in my experience, is that Americans are calling in or going to the service desk.

Seriously.

I work in customer service. At least half of the calls I get are from people who have decided that I am their free anger management therapist and they proceed to treat me like dirt. Never mind that I didn't drive the UPS truck that ran over their product, I didn't weld the bars on upside down, and I didn't incite their dog to eat the tray in their dog's crate NOR did I type in *their* (self-entered) information incorrectly so they got (what they ordered but didn't actually want because they didn't pay attention). It's all MY FAULT because I am on the line, and by GOD the world revolves around them and if I'm too stooopid to recognize that they are here to teach ME a lesson.

It's really a vicious circle. Lack of common courtesy becomes customer service burn out, which incites less courtesy, which creates MORE burn out, until we're all so pissed off at each other we might as well just start pillaging and looting again.

[lynn]

AT&T is pretty bad. I was trying to cancel my internet service because I was moving. I did not have a land line telephone, but I had internet service through AT&T, therefore, I had no AT&T phone number, only my Verizon cell. I called and this is what happened...

Computer Automated Voice:
Please say the AT&T telephone number on your account.

Me:
I don't have one

Computer:
Are you calling about..(goes on to list about 10 things I was not calling about before realizing I needed to speak to a live body.

Me:
I said nothing for 45 minutes because I was on hold

Computer:
All of our representatives are busy assisting other customers, please stay on the line.

Live body:
What is the AT&T telephone number associated with your account

Oh My God!!!