Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

1.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 1:49am

   
   

   No Subject Given

   I have learned that before I do business with any company I will try to contact them via phone. Depending on how easy it is and how well they respond then I consider actually doing business with them.

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

2.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 3:54am

   
   

   customer non-service

   Two months ago I called a company to tell them that I had recieved and EXTRA $500 DVR from them.
   After waiting and waiting on the phone I finally left a message. Evidently they never listened to the message because I never got a return call.
   
   Their loss.

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

3.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 8:56am

   
   

   Re: No Subject Given

   every time I call 911, it takes "forever" to get through to a live operator... and after being on hold, waiting for up to 20 minutes, on my cell phone, just to speak to a live operator (about a major accident that has just happened on a freeway / or car across the way being broken into, etc) I stopped calling them now. Their customer service really bites. I now just ignore that the whole incident ever happened. Gawd, I need to move out from Los Angeles.

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

4.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 9:06am

   
   

   Re: No Subject Given

   Problem is not 911 in LA, the problem is with all the stupid people that live there, that call 911 for less than emergency reasons.
   
   I've also worked Tech Support, and believe me, the average caller should not be calling. 80% of all calls should be to a computer school to learn how to use their own computers, and not to a technical support dept.

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

5.  

   

   hautedawg, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 11:08am

   
   

   it's hit and miss

   Believe it or not, there are CSRs out there that do give a rats patootie. I for one work in a call center, which is indeed a hideous job, but at the same time a chance to take the responsiblity for consumers issues. While there are some true problems for consumers, there are also consumers who are never happy no matter what. Consumers who have old and out of warranty products they want fixed free, the consumers who screw the pooch on their systems and want free service and then those who are just ass hats and want to belittle someone to make themselves feel better. If the customer service lines were just for consumers with legitimate complaints, it would go faster, happier and easier for everyone involved. Next time you start to use your vocabulary on some poor CSR, remember that person is who you are asking for help.
   

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

6.  

   

   Dan, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 11:13am

   
   

   No Subject Given

   One day my long distance service, provided by Sprint, wasn't working even though I never miss a bill or pay late. I knew if I were to call support I'd spend at least an hour of my time on hold. So I just called up MCI and switch to them. Since I was asking for a new service, I got put to real person right away -- companies only put existing customers on hold, they don't put potential new customers on hold.
   
   Now I'm not advocating MCI. I'm sure they suck as much as Sprint. The point is that if a service doesn't work, cancel it right away and get a replacement service -- I know that doesn't work for monopolies like the cable company (unless you can get DirectTV), but it works in 90% of the situations.
   
   Also, if a product is satisfactory, return it right away. Don't call tech support to debug the problem. I don't care how trivial the problem is, I don't get tech support the chance to fix it because my time is valuable. If it doesn't work as advertised upon delivery, it doesn't work. Give me my refund or I'll have my credit card company issue a charge back, which increases the credit card processing fees of the merchants and they don't like that.
   
   The fact is that it is easier and faster to switch to a competing product or service than it is to deal with web or phone based support. The people running most companies believe that their existing customers are locked in and will not switch to a competitor because of the hassle. That is why they don't care about good customer/tech support.
   
   The best option the customer has is to walk away. If enough customers do this, the companies will change. If not, at least you didn't waste any of your finite time on Earth dealing with those scumbags.
   

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

7.  

   

   Jobe, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 1:41pm

   
   

   No Subject Given

   Liked that link, gethuman.com that I was able to get when I read that story.
   Also some sound advice here, like trying to contact them via phone before doing business with them.
   
   

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

8.  

   

   Marcin, Aug 30th, 2006 @ 8:27pm

   
   

   www.nophonetrees.com

   You may also want to try www.nophonetrees.com. It's very similar to GetHuman, but they take the idea to the next level and call you when operator from selected company waits for you on the line.

    

   [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

Add Your Comment