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Confessions

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insiders

7 Confessions Of An Apple Macintosh Specialist

It was a dark and stormy night, and the Consumerist team was hunkered down at HQ poring over leads. Suddenly, we heard a ruckus coming from the alley. Footsteps, followed by the sound of breaking glass and a cat crying out as if to say, "OMGWTF?" We ran out to see who it was, but by the time we got there they were long gone. Only the noise of faint footsteps could be heard dissolving into the distant hum of the night. I glanced down and spotted something on the ground. As I knelt down to pick it up I saw it was a tattered white envelope bearing the words, "7 Confessions of an Apple Mac Specialist." Its contents, inside...
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9:00 AM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Jay Slatkin
145,803 views, 98 comments

Latest by FavoritAccident: I've been reading the comments from other users and I'm surprised at what some former employees (or girlfriend's sister) are saying. At my store we are about making lives better, if that means the customer not getting attachments, then more »

insiders

5 Confessions Of An Apple Tech Support Supervisor

A tech support supervisor, from what we figure to be Apple, has stepped forward to break down some behind-the-scenes workings with his underlings who sometimes make both his and consumer's lives difficult. For instance, one of the reasons you might be on hold so long is agents using fake work codes to avoid taking calls. Also, we know that metrics rule the call centers, but, in one of the confessions, he talks about how not only is it important to not go over your average handle time, you also can't go too far under. Just strive to be perfectly average, and you'll go far... More »

12:00 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Ben Popken
18,643 views, 52 comments

Latest by TheJollyGreenGiant: As someone who takes those "let me speak to your supervisor" requests at a call center, I must agree... the kinder you are the better service you will receive. You do not have to be upset AND rude. I've taken on more »

leaks

Internal Documents Show Why Verizon Isn't Fulfilling Advertised Discounts For Tens Of Thousands

These internal Verizon emails, sent by the same insider and as a a followup to "LEAKS: Insider Says Verizon Isn't Fulfilling Advertised Discounts For Tens Of Thousands," shows why some of our readers have complained about Verizon offering them one price and billing them another, and then being inflexible in offering service credits. It appears to show that Verizon mailed out a half a million "Blitz" promotional rate cards, then decided it was an error and pulled the offer from the computers. Then Verizon let people get the advertised offers, but only if the customer specifically asked for it. Around the same time, on March 3rd, management cuts the discounts reps can give to $150. Two weeks later, it's $50. Two weeks after that, it's zero. Even if a customer was overbilled and legitimately deserved a credit, tough titties, Texas, you weren't going to get it. Verizon insider's explanation, rebuttal to the response by Verizon PR pointman John Bonomo, and the internal emails, inside... More »

9:05 AM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Ben Popken
12,408 views, 60 comments

Latest by lase170: IT'S ALL 100% TRUE, TRUE, TRUE! I too worked for verizon in NJ and was so disgusted too with all those emails and calls from customers that we were unable to help. Let me also respond to NOW to this comment that more »

insiders

7 Confessions Of A Sears Electronics Salesperson

A Sears electronics salesperson has generously offered to share some insider knowledge of how the game is played at Sears. Inside you'll learn why you shouldn't buy the extended warranty, why the salesperson keeps steering you towards one certain brand, and the pricing codes that tell you whether or not you're buying a discontinued product. Enjoy!
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11:54 AM on Wed Apr 9 2008
By Meg Marco
25,079 views, 62 comments

insiders

Confessions Of A Hedge Fund Manager Redux

n + 1 has a published a sequel to their much-beloved-by-us anonymous interview with a hedge fund manager. In this episode, HFM explains what went wrong with Bear Stearns:
n+1: So can you tell me what happened with Bear Stearns? What were the steps?
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11:24 AM on Wed Apr 9 2008
By Meg Marco
9,310 views, 43 comments

insiders

Confessions Of A Debt Settlement Company Worker

C writes:
After spending a year (one of the worst of my life) working at a debt settlement company, I feel that I am obligated to warn as many consumers as possible about how badly you can ruin your financial situation by using one of these companies. My new job is at an all natural bakery, I no longer wish to swerve my truck into a tree on the way to work. Debt settlement is the process of eliminating your debt by ceasing payment to the creditor, and then negotiating with the card companies or collection agency to pay less than the balance owed. The debt settlement company charges a rather hefty fee for this service; however, the consumer should be saving money on the deal because they are paying significantly reduced balances to clear their debt. This is how it is supposed to work. This is not how it usually works.
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4:30 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Ben Popken
46,025 views, 55 comments

Latest by lbhi2005: That would be true Brian....unless you require the creditor to put it in writing. Here is an excerpt from a recent settlement with CHASE.The original balance was $17,828.33 "We are pleased we found a settlement that works for you. This letter confirms more »

insiders

Former Sprint CSR Tells All

A man who worked on the front line of Sprint's customer service department sent us some dirt on what goes on over there, including officially designated fake supervisors, obnoxious personal notes left in your account from your last call, and credit quotas of about $2.50 per call. "I was once punished by a Supervisor and written up because I was giving too many courtesy credits. Apparently Sprint doesn't feel that being transferred 7 times and then hung up on is worth $10 in return." More »

11:14 AM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Chris Walters
14,256 views, 55 comments

Latest by bibbin: All I want to say is that online chat with Sprint CSR has proven invaluable to me more than a few times. You get all the documentation of the conversation e mailed to you in the form of more »

insiders

Manager Defends Retail Renting As Valuable Sales Tool

A former camera store manager came forward to defend retail renting as a common tactic that helps drive sales. Retail renting is when a customer buys a pricey item like a prom dress with the intention of returning it later. Our completely unscientific poll shows that 70% of you disapprove of retail renting, but our tipster insists that it is a victimless crime and a valuable sales tool. Our enlightening chat with the former manager, inside. More »

11:15 AM on Sat Mar 29 2008
By Carey
14,140 views, 92 comments

confessions

LEAKS: Insider Says Verizon Isn't Fulfilling Advertised Discounts For Tens Of Thousands

A mysterious letter was anonymously faxed to our headquarters by a self-described "disgusted" Verizon customer service rep angry at how he/she says Verizon is screwing over landline customers. Here's the highlights of his gut-spilling:

  • 30,000+ people nationwide have still not received the free HDTVs Verizon promised new FiOS triple-play subscribers
  • Verizon totally screwed up the "blitz" promotion, leading some customers signing up and not getting their discounts, others getting too much discount, and others not getting their discount for months
  • Employees issued over $1 million in credit in January '08, double what was given out in Jan '07
  • $250 in discretionary credit has been reduced to $50
  • Internally, Verizon refers to customer service reps who give out "too much" credit due are called "offenders."

If his allegations are true, they could prove fodder for the NJ AG's office.

Full letter scan, inside...

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12:28 PM on Thu Mar 27 2008
By Ben Popken
11,195 views, 34 comments

Latest by lase170: IT'S ALL 1,000,00% TRUE, TRUE, TRUE! I too worked for verizon in NJ and was so disgusted too with all those emails and calls from customers that we were unable to help. Let me also respond to NOW to this comment that more »

insiders

10 Confessions Of A Telephone Tech Support Quality Assurance Guy

Read in awe as a former Quality Assurance Specialist divulges the deepest, darkest secrets of outsourced technical support centers. Learn what happens to "rogue" call centers who refuse to give terrible customer service, why the tech support guy stops listening to you after you say certain keywords, and so much more. More »

3:15 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Meg Marco
15,507 views, 32 comments

confessions

The 10 Lies A Door-to-Door Alarm Salesman Tells

Taylor sells home alarm systems door-to-door, and he is the devil, lying, manipulating, and preying on customer's fears push a product. Now he has stepped forward to confess/brag about his sins:

I lie. I lie to people a lot about their home safety. And I don't feel particularly good about it, but when my iPhone buzzes in my pocket, I forget the lies I've told and think of the MacBook Air that just shipped to my house.

I sell home security systems for a living and I only work the three summer months of the year, and maybe four or five weeks the rest of the year. What I fail to mention is that my bank account regularly has 6 digits. All because I lie to people for a living....

The ten lies he tells, inside...

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10:12 AM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By profio
22,756 views, 161 comments

Latest by MeDG: What's the difference between a girl scout and a salesperson anyway, besides age? Innocence? Youth? So what? They're after your money to do something with their lives so you don't have any money to do something with your more »

insiders

10 Confessions Of A Ritz Camera Salesperson

A Ritz camera salesperson writes in to give you the skinny on scanning, digital prints, and which memory cards are just a ripoff. More »

1:52 PM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Meg Marco
24,006 views, 62 comments

cellphones

9 Confessions Of A Retentions Representative

Retentions representatives are the cellphone company's last line of defense between you and freedom. One brave retentions representative has come forward to teach us how to craft a direct, earnest request that will lead retention reps to do your bidding. Rivaled in effectiveness only by executive customer support, retentions reps are empowered to strike down nuisance fees and bargain liberally, all to keep you as a customer. If you were ever tempted to threaten your cellphone company with cancellation, this one is a must read. More »

10:09 AM on Sun Mar 16 2008
By Carey
18,973 views, 37 comments

Latest by nytmare: @oakie: You're a hypocrite. You are criticizing people for swearing and insulting CSRs, while you yourself are swearing and calling us names in your very own post. You ought to make up your mind whether or not swearing and insulting more »

insiders

7 Confessions Of A Verizon DSL Tech Support Rep

A former employee has stepped forward to tell us what it's like to work as tech support rep in a Verizon DSL call center. Learn about how the supervisors aren't really supervisors, the numbers and call times the reps have to meet to keep their jobs (and the sneaky tricks they use to meet these numbers), and more... More »

12:45 PM on Wed Mar 12 2008
By Ben Popken
91,149 views, 79 comments

insiders

9 Confessions Of A Former Sports Authority Manager

A former Sports Authority manager came forward to explain why their coupons are so damn useless. According to our tipster, "the coupons are always a sham," but apparently, gift cards worth less than $10 can be redeemed for cash. Read his other nuggets of knowledge along with zesty executive customer service contact information, after the jump. More »

1:16 PM on Sun Feb 24 2008
By Carey
28,246 views, 31 comments

insiders

36 Confessions Of A WaMu Banker

Reader B works at WaMu and wanted to share some tips that would be helpful to the everyday consumer. Most importantly, B gives some instructions for getting those annoying overdraft fees taken off of your account.
Checking
- About the WaMu Free Checking, yes it is a different "free" checking account. We just came out with the "WaMu" part about a couple of years ago, so if you have any "free" checking account older than that I suggest you change it to the newer one.
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12:49 PM on Mon Feb 18 2008
By Meg Marco
15,611 views, 54 comments

Latest by krismry: hi! i'm probably banned by the time you find this, but it was great to see you on here ~!~ more »

insider advice

7 Lies You'll Hear From Salesmen At Electronics Stores

Future Shop is a Canadian consumer electronics retail chain. Charlie used to work there, and has now passed along the 7 most common lies he heard salesmen use on unsuspecting customers. Whether you have a Future Shop in your area or not, you'll find these lies familiar. (We ran into a lot of them back when The Wiz was still in NYC, in fact.)
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3:16 PM on Wed Feb 13 2008
By Chris Walters
139,308 views, 90 comments

leaks

Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans?

Countrywide Home Loans was racist and automatically put African-Americans into exotic and expensive sub-prime loans they didn't want or need, and couldn't afford, according to a former employee. This employee worked there for two years up until the sub-prime meltdown. They write:
"...a customer would be qualified for a loan because their credit score and other factors based on the written product description, however, when I went in to put their (this only happened to African-Americans) - they were not qualified for the loan product and had to be referred to Countrywide's subprime mortgage company Full Spectrum. Full Spectrum offered higher rates and fees. I got wise one day and started not inputing the race so the computer could give me "approval."
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12:00 PM on Tue Feb 5 2008
By Ben Popken
6,831 views, 108 comments

Latest by uwouldntlikemewhenimangry: I am saddened to see the tone of comments. So many people so eager to blast this submission out of the water. So much passion. I, for one, would have more respect for some of you just came out and more »