Lisa writes:

Recently, my ancient iBook died (again, but that's another story). I'm not in a position to replace it right now, so I installed my equally ancient, but legally purchased and owned Macromedia StudioMX 2004 on my PC. Installation was fine, serial number checked out fine and then I tried online activation: fail. Since I wasn't prescient enough to deactivate the software before my hard drive failed, my iBook was still the active computer. I called the activation hotline, figuring I wasn't the first person who had a hard drive fail. Ann was pleasant but defaulted to "Too old. Can't activate." I cruised around a bit on the Adobe forums where a helpful Adobe employee named Dov told other old software owners that Adobe promised to honor all legacy software with activation, age notwithstanding. His advice was to call back and escalate. I got Ann again who escalated me to Daphne, who said "Company policy. Too old. Can't activate."

I'd love to be able to get a shiny new MacBook Pro and CS4, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. MX2004 worked just fine before my hard drive crashed and I wasn't looking for product support, just activation. On an off chance, I emailed Dov who responded in less than an hour and said that while he couldn't help me directly, he'd pass along my issue to customer care.

Another few hours later, I got a call on my cell phone from Bing who wanted to help. She tried to contact the old Macromedia activation server with no luck; she reserialized my software and we tried again. No dice. She had been so nice and had really tried to fix everything, so I was sad, but content. Then she knocked my socks off: she asked me to confirm the mailing address in my customer record and then told me she was shipping me a brand new copy of Dreamweaver CS4. Full retail, at no charge. We spoke at 7 pm Thursday night; I got the software in the mail today.

As soon as I can get my shiny new MacBook Pro, I'll spring for the whole web design suite.

Great work, Adobe!

[Royal Caribbean's] records indicate that this booking was not created in-house, rather, through a travel agent. During the booking process, the guests from Texas were booked as being residents of West Virginia – with a promotional discount that was being provided to residents of West Virginia at that time. When the guests were unable to provide government issued ID that showed they were residents of West Virginia, the discount had to be removed, thus, the additional charges.

In other words, Hoefs' family had used a discount that can only be used by West Virginia residents. When they couldn't prove they lived in West Virginia, they had to pay a fare difference.

I shared this information with Hoefs.

I paid for the two from West Virginia $1,787, which was the "special rate." The family from Texas, I paid $3,275. And from here in Arizona, the price was $3,275. So the Texas family did NOT have a special rate. Regardless, I booked and paid in full on December 16th, 2008, the cruise was not until March 14th 2009. If there was a discrepancy, they had plenty of time to notify me before rather then wait till we were standing in line to board the ship. If they did not feel they were in the wrong, then why did they return half of the $800?

Tripso recommends confirming that you are actually eligible for any discounts appearing on your itinerary, which yeah, is definitely good advice, and not just for cruises. Unfortunately, when an obstinate travel company demands money at the start of the trip, you really only have two options: walk away, or pay up and dispute the charge later.

"Pay an additional $800 or you can't board the ship" [Tripso]
(Photo: Rennett Stowe)

Shannon, Paul's girlfriend, writes:

I have had an unusually bad experience that is still unresolved with Comcast Cable.

My boyfriend, Paul, canceled his Comcast account over three weeks ago, returning all of the company's equipment and obtaining a receipt that reflected a zero balance.

Comcast has since continued to send bills for future service and rental for the returned equipment. Three customer service representatives have told us that it is company policy that they can keep your account active and bill you indefinitely until they decide to disconnect it. You have no real power to cancel your own account.

The disconnection appears to be scheduled each day for the current day and is automatically rescheduled at the end of every day for the following day when it is not done.

In addition to speaking with customer service reps over the phone, we have attempted to contact them through email to no avail.

He has filed a complaint with the attorney general of our state because he believes Comcast is using his old account information to maintain a fraudulent account.

I just wanted to warn other customers of this company policy.

Shannon later sent us an update:

I wanted to let you know about the conclusion of the story (I hope).

I had filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Attorney General's Department of Public Utility Control and they called Comcast on my behalf.

As a result, Comcast resolved the dispute and pro-rated the last month of service.

The actual disconnection was finally performed, possibly related to the fact that I filed a complaint with the FCC for leaking RF signal, though I do not know this for sure.

So, it was not a normal channel for resolution, but it's resolved nonetheless.

Geek Squad only fessed up to installing an inferior chip after Brian got Sony on the phone to confirm that they didn't use the replacement model in their laptops.

Brian writes:

A couple of months ago, I brought my laptop to my local Best Buy for repair. After being told it would be no more than two weeks before I had my laptop back, I left the store content. The only problem with the laptop when I turned it in to Geek Squad was a cooling fan that was starting to go bad.

A month and half later, I finally got my laptop back. They had replaced the cooling fan, the motherboard, the processor, and most of the cabling. Apparently, I was told, they had inadvertently damaged the motherboard and processor during the repair of the cooling fan. That's a kind of silly mistake, but I can forgive them for it. However, they replaced my processor with a model that was inferior to the one the laptop had in it to begin with. The laptop had an Intel T7500 processor, they replaced it with a T7300. It took several days of arguing with them. I finally had to call Sony (they manufactured the laptop) and get them to confirm that the laptop had indeed had a T7500 processor in it.

Eventually Geek Squad agreed to fix the mistake. However, I can't help but wonder how often this type of "mistake" happens. By replacing my processor (which they damaged) with an inferior T7300 model, they saved about $100 on the repair. Your average consumer would never have caught this "mistake." I've been searching message boards to see if anyone else has had a similar problem and have thus far not found anything exactly like my situation. However, there is an overwhelming amount of negative comments regarding Geek Squad's service.

(Photo: dooleymtv)

Hariette's story is long, but you'll alternately laugh and cringe as she shares what happened to her after her checkbook was stolen this past December. Hariette worked with her bank to quickly patch up any security holes from the theft, and soon she was set up with a new account.

Changing her billing info with Verizon was not so easy, however. Apparently Verizon's "e-center" has never been seen by any humans working at Verizon, but it's where you have to go to get anything done. Here's probably the most telling exchange Hariette has with any Verizon employee in the whole story:

As the 20th minute approached, the rep fearfully told me, "Ms. Surovell, I am only allowed to spend 20 minutes helping each customer. From this point on, you will have to hold for the e-center yourself."

"So, what was the point of your being involved at all, if you can't do anything for me?" I asked.

"Ma'am, I'd like to help you, I would, but I'll get in trouble if I don't get off the line now."

He was becoming frantic.

I stayed on the line, holding for the e-center until I got the announcement. It was 6 p.m., and the e-center was officially closed. I was welcome to phone back the next day between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

There you have it: a Verizon employee admitting that he has to not help solve your problem or his job will be at stake.

Our favorite person at Verizon now is officialy "T," the relocated Texan who is some sort of security agent for Verizon, and who used to work in Tampa, and who won't stop calling Harriette a "ticket" whenever she amuses him. Oh, also he keeps calling her from his Verizon cell phone, which goes in and out of range, and he suffers from road rage.

"Well, I gotta be honest here, Ma'am, and tell you that it's not looking good. Now, let me warn you, we're going into a zone, and my cell may go out, so..."

"I didn't hear the last thing you said. You're fading out."

"What? What did you say?"

"I said I can't hear you! I'm hanging up."

"What was that, Ma'am?"

A few minutes later, he called back.

"'T', I can't stay on the phone with you like this every day. These calls are taking a lot of time, and I need to use my time to be writing my articles. "

"Ma'am, you are a ticket! Hey, can you hold on there a minute, some people should not be allowed on the road (screaming out the window...) 'Lady, you fucking idiot, you goddamned moron, who the fuck taught you how to drive?!' (Without skipping a beat...) Pardon my language there, Ma'am, I hope I didn't offend you, but some people driving out there can really rile you up."

"I'm a New Yorker, it takes more than the f-word to shock me." I lied. "T's" segues from extreme formality (I was being "Ma'am'ed" more than Judge Judy) into gross obscenity unnerved me.

"Well you are a ticket, I tell you, that's what you are!"

Sure, that part of the story sounds like it's ready to be optioned for a movie, but there's no happy ending when Verizon is involved. In fact, if customer service is a priority for you, remember this response from Verizon when Hariette asked them to at least apologize for wasting her time for six months on what was supposed to be a simple account edit: "No, we will not."

Verizon Customer Diss-Service" [Matahariette]

I had just signed a lease for a new apartment when I had to provide my first month's rent ($750). The managers had a policy that the first month's rent had to be in form of money order only to prevent fraud. I went to the local Bank of America branch and got a single money order for the full amount without any event.

The problem arose the next day when I was checking my account online. I saw that BoA had charged me TWICE for the same exact amount of the money order. So now I was in the hole for $1,500 instead of $750. The charges were each just labeled as "transaction". I suddenly started to get a headache.

I dialed the customer service number and was on hold maybe 5 minutes before I was connected to CSR Mark. I calmly explained to him the situation, and that I had in fact only ordered one money order. He was very polite and asked me to hold so he could talk to his supervisor. After 5 minutes he came back and told me that he saw the error and
would reverse all charges. My online balance reflected the changes 20 minutes later.

I was really impressed about how painless the whole situation was, especially after hearing all the various CSR horror stories. My ordeal lasted less than 20 minutes and I actually felt like a valued customer. Just wanted to let people know there is some hope for a somewhat pleasant banking experience. Cheers.

And right about then was when we'd imagine Nathaniel dug through his pant pockets checking to see if he indeed had actually received a second money order, which would have covered the next month's rent for free.

(Photo: taberandrew)

You can find more useful phone numbers for online entities on this page at Bargaineering.com, too.

RELATED:
302 Phone Numbers To Reach A Human At Paypal
All The Secret Paypal/Ebay Email Addresses And Phone Numbers You Could Ever Want

Vendor Contact List [Bargaineering]

Alison writes:

I know Jiffy Lube gets a bad rap but I've never had any problems with them and have been taking my car in for regular oil changes there for years. That is until a few weeks ago when my husband took our '94 Corolla in for an oil change at a local Madison, WI Jiffy Lube before a big trip. They suggested flushing the transmission fluid. I don't think we'd ever looked at the transmission fluid and we figured it could use some attention, so my husband agreed. The next day we drove to Chicago to visit my parents before driving on a few days later to Louisville, KY for a wedding. My mom immediately noticed something leaking under car. We were able to get our car in to see a mechanic who told us that the transmission drain pan plug was completely stripped and we were just a bump or two away from losing it, losing our transmission fluid, and having catastrophic car damage. He repaired the damage and we were on our way, although miffed about all the money we just spent. When we finally returned home I drafted a complaint email and submitted it via Jiffy Lube's website. I actually submitted several emails over a period of about a week because we never heard back from them, or so I thought. We did find out later that they were trying to contact us via our landline phone fairly regularly (we don't use it and it's not hooked up to an answering machine). Their phone calls were showing up as Heartland Automotive and after reading about car warranty robo-callers on your site we didn't answer, thinking it was one of them. Doh!

Another couple weeks go by and I start getting ready to craft an EECB. I do some research and find that Jiffy Lube's CEO, Rick Altizer, has done a YouTube video on Jiffy Lube's commitment to service which lists his email address. I also find out that my Jiffy Lube is actually owned by Heartland Automotive Group "America's Largest Jiffy Lube Franchisee." The email addresses for CEO's at Heartland Automotive Services were relative easy to find with a Google search. I sent my email out and that night we get a call (coincidentally or not) from the manager of the Jiffy Lube store (this time we realize who's calling from Heartland Automotive and pick up the phone). He was polite and spoke with my husband about the situation with our car. Not surprisingly they denied all damage and gave an excuse that is too lame to repeat here. After confirming with our mechanic that his excuse made no sense, I re-sent the EECB with a follow-up regarding the phone conversation and expressing my continued disappointment with how the situation was being handled. That was this morning and by this afternoon I had a reply email from the CEO of Heartland Automotive Services assuring me that they were taking this matter seriously and apologizing for what happened. They also will be reimbursing me for the original transmission fluid flush, the repair for our car (that's about $250 total) and throwing in a coupon for a free oil change. I've already had someone contact me about getting the reimbursement rolling. I couldn't be happier with their response to this matter.

Thanks Consumerist for helping empower me as a consumer—EECB's totally work!

Learn how to craft your own Executive Email Carpet Bomb by reading this post.

(Photo: Gregg Sperling)

R. is familiar with the operations of one of Dish Network's US-based but outsourced call centers, and how their employees are treated and evaluated. He wrote to Consumerist:

Unsurprisingly Dish Network (wholly owned by Echostar) outsources much of its support to US based call centers. Although I have to applaud Dish for choosing a US based call center, the management within that call center leaves much to be desired. I'm going to provide everyone that cares to read it a brief list of the things wrong with Dish Network's call center located in upstate New York. First, allow me to explain exactly what this call center does and the kind of calls that they handle.

This particular call center's primary purpose is to handle "soft collections". The soft collections agents receive in-bound calls from Dish Network subscribers who have an outstanding balance and are attempting to contact Dish Network support. The subscriber may be calling for any of a variety of reasons such as to order pay-per-view or to change the plan to which they are subscribed. Instead of receiving the standard customer support representative they receive a soft collections agent who must attempt to solicit payment from the customer prior to fulfilling the customer's original reason for calling. This call center also handles the overflow from another general customer support call center although it makes up a small percentage of the total calls.

That is all well and good. I understand that Dish Network needs to be paid for the services they provide. What I am not okay with is how Dish Network (and this yet to be named call center) treats their agents. The employees are rated not only on whether they handle calls quickly and follow the guidelines set forth by Dish Network but also on a scale known as "CSAT" or "Customer Satisfaction". The CSAT is a direct grading scale that Dish Network receives from an automated system which calls the customer back after the customer's interaction with the soft collections agent. The automated system asks the customer to rate a variety of categories on a 0 to 10 rating scale. These CSAT scores are useless for the following reasons.

A) Many customers simply hang up or press 0 repeatedly without actually grading the experience.
B) Many customers are dissatisfied because Dish Network would not allow the call center employee to provide pay-per-view or other services due to an outstanding account balance (there is nothing the call center employee could have done better, the customer is simply dissatisfied with Dish Network in general).
C) The customer does not speak English and does not understand the CSAT survey (believe it or not the English speaking call center agents encounter multiple customers per day that only speak Hindi, Japanese, Chinese or another language the call center does not support).
D) A myriad of other reasons...

An agent's overall CSAT score is used to determine that employee's overall "worth" to the contract and whether the employee is performing satisfactorily. Repeated low grades on calls can and does result in the employee being suspended from work. The employee can also be "written up" and unsatisfactory reports entered into the employee's employment record. These scores can affect the employee's raises, promotions and even result in termination.

How fair is it to terminate or discipline an employee that has stellar "quality" scores because they do everything (and more) that is required of them by Dish Network during a call but is later rated a zero by the customer because his $300 bill wasn't waived or simply because he felt like it?

Recently, a rating of zero has even been given when all the agent did was take a customer's pay-per-view order. The customer called, got this call center due to the primary customer support call center receiving a high volume of calls, the agent answered, verified account info, placed the pay-per-view order, the customer got the pay-per-view they ordered but rated the experience a zero when the system called back. How is that the agent's fault and why should the agent suffer?

There has got to be a better way to grade soft collections reps than this. No matter how nice the person I'm on the phone with might be, the nature of the call will color the customer's perception of what happened—if the customer bothers to fill out the survey at all.

Maybe this is a cost-saving measure so management doesn't have to record and evaluate calls, but if so, it's a poor evaluation choice for this type of call center.

(Photo: boltron)

Wait...what?

After navigating the circuitous Sprint tech support line, unsuspecting callers are routed to a promo for phone sex. One man has documented his experience on YouTube, revealing Sprint's secret plan to make millions by offering customer service that's so shitty, you'll pay just to get someone-anyone-on the line.

Called Sprint, Got Transferred to Porn Ad [Hardware Geek] (Thanks, Josh!)

Update from commenter Ezra Ekman:

"it's a singles talk line. This particular one happens to have a business model similar to domain squatters: they buy up hundreds of toll-free numbers that are very similar to other, more popular numbers, then make money on the percentage of callers who are dumb/bored/desperate enough to stay on the line. In other words, someone at Sprint probably programmed a transfer number one digit off (human error, basically), and it happened to be one of the Talk Line's numbers."

Guest Bloggers Carrie McLaren & Jason Torchinsky are coeditors of Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture. In previous lives, they worked together on the hopelessly obscure and now defunct Stay Free! magazine.

Last week he wrote:

Okay, so I just moved across the country, and in the process, decided to ship a few things to myself via UPS. After doing some quick investigation, I found out that the only way to properly insure your stuff is to pay to have it packed at a UPS Store. Okay, no problem - there was one pretty close to my old place, and it would still be cheaper than paying a moving company to babysit a couple boxes (not taking too much stuff with me). So I bring a couple boxes of clothes that I packed myself and a computer that I paid the UPS store to pack. I get the extra damage insurance and at the recommendation of one of the staff, I print out a price quote for how much the computer would cost to buy over again since I no longer have the receipt ($1700). Fast forward a couple days, and I get my stuff delivered at my new place on the other side of the country. Only problem is the computer doesn't work. After looking at the packing materials, they didn't use any anti-static plastic, they just shoved it in the styrofoam chips. Oh boy, this is gonna be as fun as a trip to the dentist. So I call the UPS Store as per instructed to make a claim for damage. After some mixups on arranging to have a UPS driver come by and inspect the packaging, I'm finally told by UPS that the damage was caused by improper packing by the shipper (in this case, the UPS Store which is a franchise) and they can't discuss any of the claim details with me. After delaying a week or so, the UPS Store finally tells me that they won't be paying squat because the damage is "functional" instead of "physical", whatever the hell that means. The store manager even claims that she explained this difference to me when I originally called to inquire about shipping my things (she did no such thing according to my notes). She then tells me that the store owner will be handling things and gives me the contact info. So I call up the owner, and the guy tries to go all insuance company on me. Here's a partial transcript of the recording I made (yes, I decided to start recording calls):

Him: How do I know that the computer wasn't broken before?
Me: Well, normally what insuance companies normally do in situations like this is they check that what they're insuring is properly working before they insure it. Your staff at any time could have plugged the computer in and determined that it was working before they packed it. That's their failing, not mine.
Him: Well, my insurance coverage which you took the premium for, is saying that it's not covered. It didn't say that the package wasn't packaged incorrectly. There was no finding from UPS that we were responsible.
Me: That's not what I was told by UPS
Him: That's fine, if you'd like to proceed in other ways, then that's fine. But I'm not paying $1700
Me: So I just want to make sure I have the sequence of events right - I come in to your UPS store, pay your staff to pack
Him: You know what? You're talking to a lawyer, I don't need the sequence of events explained to me If you want to proceed through a small claims or some other avenue, then that's up to you.

So he essentially lawyers up and tells me to take him to court. Nice, huh? Oh, he DID offer to return my shipping and insurance costs (less than 10% of the cost of the computer they broke). Since UPS and the UPS Store are 2 different companies, UPS isn't doing anything. UPS Store corporate HQ is a little puzzled by this - they've told me that I paid the franchise to pack and ship it, computer died because they messed up, they should be paying. They're doing an internal thing and some district rep is going to be calling me. Fingers crossed.

We asked him for an update, and the news wasn't fabulous:

Well, the regional guy hasn't been in touch with me yet, but I did get another email from the UPS Store manager. She informed me that they won't pay the claim because policy dictates that they need original purchase receipts. This is different than what I was told when I shipped the computer. I didn't know how much to insure it for because I didn't know how much it was worth anymore, and I was told at the time that wasn't a problem and I should just get a price quote from Dell.com. So I borrowed their in-store computer, spec-ed out a similar system, printed out the cost summary and insured it for the purchase amount. The manager stapled the quote to her copy of the shipping receipt.

Oh, and I was cc'ed in on a response email from someone at the UPS Store corporate HQ who said that the manager's claim of needing original receipts was bogus because they had paid out claims before without them.

Sounds as though he's making slow, steady progress in prying the $1,700 from UPS's cold talons. But something tells me they're messing with the wrong SpaceMonkey.

(Photo: catastrophegirl)

He writes:

My wife picked up the Harry Potter Blu-Ray set today from our local Grand Junction, CO Best Buy and when we got home, we realized that the fourth film, Goblet of Fire, was actually an HD-DVD instead of a Blu-Ray. I realize now that this problem was reported when the set originally came out in December 2007, but it is surprising that there are still sets in the supply chain that still have this problem. The good news is that Best Buy was happy to exchange the set for another set that they had in stock, and that set contained only Blu-Ray discs. So my daughter is happily watching Harry Potter in Blu-Ray high-definition this evening.

PREVIOUSLY: Harry Potter Blu-ray Includes Unintended HD DVD [Gizmodo]
(Photo: AVS Forums)

Having been fed up with the way Capital One treated her, Suzanne decided she should see other cards. Hers is a story of a doomed relationship complete with the grand romantic gesture at the climax. But Suzanne chose to write her own ending:

Last week Capital One sent me a pretty pamphlet explaining that on August 2 they would raise my interest rate despite my long, blameless relationship with them. I'd heard the rumors that a Dear John letter was in the cards, but that didn't prepare me for the shock. For a few minutes I replayed conversations in my head, trying to figure out what I'd done wrong. Maybe I'd been too good for too long. Things were getting boring and needed shaking up. After a few minutes of self-loathing, I decided I deserved better than the 15.9% rate they were offering and declined the changes. I, too, have moved on and don't really need Capital One anymore.

The next order of business was picking up my belongings. I had a small balance of Rewards points. The pretty pamphlet said I had until August 2 to use the points or they would be forfeited so I quickly placed an order for something I'd been wanting. I was left with a small balance of 1, 721 points or $3.44, enough for a toothbrush. I didn't really need it, but my wounded ego told me Capital One had taken enough from me over the years that this time I should fight for what's mine. Any self-respecting girl would do the same thing. Try as I might, though, I could not get my hands on the points. The folks at customer service said I needed a minimum of 2000 points to use them, and unfortunately, the points would be forfeited.

I was angry and, well, a little obsessed. I went to my computer and looked at the Consumerist to see if anyone else had written about Rewards Points. The first thing that popped up, though, was the name and email address of Rich Fairbank, the CEO of Capital One. "Rich. Fair. Bank." It had to be the name of some kind of automated customer service system. Just to feel better, I quickly fired off the following email:

Dear Mr. Fairbank,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the new terms and conditions of my Capital One account. I've already responded that I'm opting out.

Now that we're breaking up, I need to redeem my rewards points before August 2 or I will forfeit them. This afternoon I ordered the Bushnell PowerView 12 x 25 Binoculars worth 10,750 points so I can watch birds from my back porch. There are 1,721 points remaining in my account. Your customer service supervisor Blake (extension 73904) tells me I can't use my points because the cheapest thing I can order requires 2000 points. I'm not allowed to have the points credited to my account and I'm allowed to give the points to charity. Sure, it's only $3.44 worth of points, enough for a cup of coffee, but it's mine, not yours, and I want it. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are in my same position, and if you keep everyone's $3.44, then you're keeping a whole lot of money that doesn't belong to you.

Please tell me how to get my $3.44 worth of points out of your bank before our relationship ends on August 2.

Sincerely yours,
Suzanne D.

I went on with my life and had sort of forgotten about the whole thing, then yesterday my husband casually mentioned that someone from Capital One called him at the office last week. The person said based on the email I sent him, he'd credited the $3.44 worth of points to my credit card balance. My husband couldn't remember the name of the guy on the phone but was struck by how he didn't seem like your typical customer service representative. In disbelief, I checked online and sure enough, my Rewards balance was 0, and $3.44 had been credited to my credit card balance. I dug a little deeper, and sure enough, Rich Fairbank is, in fact, the CEO of Capital One.

Dang it. I was almost over Capital One then they go and do something kind of charming. I'd be lying if I said that didn't make me feel a little warm and tingly, even a little nostalgic. I mean, it's hard to say goodbye after all the time we were together. We definitely had some laughs. Remember those funny barbarian ads? But I've been here before. I know what Captial One is trying to do. A credit card has needs and it's nice to have customers waiting on the periphery. But I know I'm ready for a credit card that's in it for the long haul, that will stick by me through thick and thin, that will show me the same respect I've shown it. And I know I'll always be the one that got away.

Props to Suzanne for staying strong when Capital One went into extreme schmooze mode. Those financial institutions may seem all nice, cuddly and sweet at times, but we all know they're only after one thing.

Brian's story of how he won, and then some, with calm persistence:

I had two issues with Chase and send an EECB to them as a last resort to clear up the issue. Here are the issues:

1) I had a WaMu platinum card and after months of not using it I received a letter in the mail stating the card had been closed. The letter arrived 14 days after the account was closed. I called and was told I could only get it by applying again. I spent a week trying to work within the system and finally gave up.

1) I had 2 missed payments reflected on my Chase Platinum account back in June and July of 2006. Although they should not have been reflected as late it was nearly impossible to clear them up.

WaMu Card Resolution (Now Chase Card): Finally I sent an EECB to Chase and I received a call from the Executive Team in regards to the issue. She reopened my WaMu account which was now a Chase account and set everything back to what it was. After all of this was done I noticed one thing. The APR was incorrect for this account. It was set at 0% Fixed! It is not a promotional rate it is fixed both for purchases and cash advances. It was a pleasant surprise!

Chase Card Resolution: I used the same EECB to address this concern. After sending supporting documents she removed the 2 late payments and had it reflected on my credit report which has now jumped 30+ points. I then called and left a message asking to have the APR corrected back to the 5.99% fixed it was before this happened back in 2006 at which time the APR raised to 27.27%. I received a message yesterday that she had fixed it back to 5.99% fixed and verified it in the Chase Online. She also let me know (without even asking) that she was crediting back the interest for the past 2 and a half years! Credit was processed for $1,474 in interest that should not have posted. Not a bad surprise!

Brian didn't just make lemonade out of lemons, he made lemon sherbet. If this were a TV commercials this would be the point where the fine-print and low lawyer voice mumbled "results not typical."

(Photo: epicharmus)

A reader IM'd me to say was able to get HP to fix his problem by making a new Twitter profile, hpdoesntcare, and then following every single HP-related profile he could find. Then he began tweeting every phone call he made to HP and tweeting every phone number he dialed. It worked, he said, and his final tweet was "Thanks HP. It is finally over. For real. :)".

The IM came while I was away and the direct messaging isn't enabled for his account so I couldn't follow up and find out more info, like if he @replied or direct messaged some of the profiles to get their attention. Also, he deleted all the tweets except for the final one, I suppose some sort of gracious bury-the-hatchet gesture, so we can't see the backstory.

In any event, a novel and potentially very effective tool to add to The Consumerist arsenal. Let's recap:

1. Normal attempts to contact the company and seek resolution fail
2. Make new Twitter profile.
3. Follow every person on Twitter associated with the company that you can.
4. Tweet every phone call and every phone number. Put @thenameofsomeofthecompanypeopleyouarefollowing in some of your tweets.
5. Wait for someone to get embarrassed enough to reach out.

(Photo: frankieleon)

Ned writes:

In early January, 2008, I was traveling via Delta Airlines from my home base in Las Vegas to Atlanta, connecting to Washington DC, where I was going to stage a new-book launch at the National Press Club. My seat was in the emergency exit row – at my request, because of the extra leg room – and after I took my seat, I put on a soft-collar neck brace, which I use in lieu of a pillow to support my head while in flight. Like most airlines, Delta's seats seem to have been designed by Torquemada, and anything that adds to my comfort is a plus.

When a flight steward saw this, he informed me that I'd need to change seats, as someone with a handicap could not sit in the exit row. I'm not handicapped – this neck brace stems from being rear-ended in '76, and I keep it around for flying and not much else. I explained this to the steward in reasonable terms, even taking it off and demonstrating my neck mobility. However, he was on a mission from God to purge the flight from evil handicapped men in emergency exit row seats, and would not be calmed. That the plane was full and the flight was long both motivated me to want to hang on to my aisle seat. After listening to this "gentleman" for way too long, I asked to speak to the senior flight attendant. Unlike this cretin, she was reasonable – I explained to her my situation and choice, demonstrated my mobility – and she told me to stay in my seat, but wait until after take-off to put the neck brace back on. She was so reasonable that I was glad to comply.

After take-off – in fact, I waited until we could all turn on our electronic devices again – I put my neck brace back on. A couple of hours later, during the in-flight movie that I was watching (at $5), the steward came back, manhandling the drink cart. When he saw me with the neck brace on, he went ballistic. He got in my face – literally, just inches away, and I thought I'd need an umbrella to avoid the spittle. He was furious that I had bucked his ‘authority.' I tried to explain to him that I'd gotten his boss's permission, and that he should back off, or at least check with her before he broke a blood vessel. That didn't seem to please him, but he finally backed off after threatening me with unspecified dire results. Under my breath, I mumbled "son of a bitch" – and meant it – but even though he didn't hear it, he figured out that it wasn't flattering, and really went thermonuclear. He demanded to know what I said, and I informed him that it was none of his business.

Well, it took me about 45 minutes to get my blood pressure back down from low earth orbit, but eventually I calmed down and "enjoyed" the rest of the flight. As I was getting off the airplane in Atlanta, this guy avoided my gaze, but with a smirk. Moments later, I found out why when I was accosted by an "official" looking middle-aged woman with an official red blazer, a clipboard and an attitude. She said something like, "I understand there was a problem on the plane …" Since I was intent on making my connection (also with Delta) and because I'd just about had it with power-crazed minions who should have been treating me like a customer instead of a problem, I chose an unusual approach.

"Yes," I said, "and I hadn't intended to report it – I figured I'd just let it go – but since you brought it up, I'd like to file a complaint against that flight attendant who treated me so rudely." I briefly described the nature of my complaint, and kept pressing her to give me the complaint form and get the name of the flight attendant, as I wanted to take this to the top. Suddenly, she got an emergency phone call and had to depart the scene. It clearly hadn't gone the way she'd expected.

Especially since 9/11, there have been a small but annoying cadre of airline people who think they have real power over passengers – that they can use the threat of booting someone off the plane (or worse) to enforce things that are way beyond their rights. This isn't the first (or the last) time I've been hassled on airplanes or at gates, and it isn't the worst case, either, but it was the only time when I'd figured out a way of deflecting the problem. I thought others might want to consider the same approach – instead of submitting meekly, complain ABOUT them to proper airline authorities, putting them (and the system) on the defensive.

(Photo: bixentro)

K writes:

I am having a problem with an external Maxtor OneTouch 2TB drive, which is being used in a RAID1 format. The drive works beautifully with my Vista computer, but doesn't work with my Win XP computer. The XP systems recognizes the drive immediately, but can't read it, and in fact wants to format the drive. So, I decided to contact customer service to see if there was a work around to this. I use other external drives all the time between these two operating systems without any problem. I suspect that the software supplied with the Maxtor drive is at fault.

The response that I received was unwarranted (see below). I do hope that this is not representative of their normal customer service. The rudeness of their representative will make me certain to avoid any Seagate or Maxtor drives in the future.

I have sent a copy of this exchange to their investor relations dept.

---

Please wait while we find an agent to assist you...
Hello. How may I help you?
Bruce W.: To properly assist you today, can you please provide me with your specific Operating System ( for example windows XP Pro, Vista Home Premium, Mac OS 10.6)?

K. : Hi! Vista and XP I have a 2TB Maxtor OneTouch III ext drive. It is set up as a 1TB mirror. Vista sees it fine, XP wants to format it. How do I make XP read the drive, please?

Bruce W.: the issue is that XP and VIsta have different ways of naming files
Bruce W.: This conflict is not something that is a Seagate issue
Bruce W.: so depending on what files you are saving and what you are trying to do, you may never get XP to read any Vista files
K. : I don't think that the FAT or drive format is an issue. The two computers have identical file formats. XP wants to format the ext file.
Bruce W.: for more information on this I suggest you contact Microsoft as this is not a Seagate drive issue

K. : I suspect that it has more to do with the mirroring software supplied with the drive.
K. : It is not a MS problem
K. : I share ext drives between XP and Vista all the time

Bruce W.: Well since you know better then we do, Im sure you dont need our assistance

K. : Excuse me?

Bruce W.: I am telling you what the issue is and you are telling me that I am wrong
Bruce W.: You contacted Seagate for this issue, if you dont want to take the information then there is nothign more i can do to assist you

K. : I am asking if there is an issue with the mirroring software supplied with the drive.

Bruce W.: NO there is not
Bruce W.: it is an OS issue

K. : Thank you for your help. It has been most interesting. I hope that your day goes better from now on. I'm sorry that you are upset about an innocuous question.

Update: K. writes:

I did hear from Seagate/Maxtor. The email to the company produced results. A very nice customer service representative contacted me and apologized for their technical service person. She put me in touch with a senior technical person and the solution was very, very simple.

All I had to do to get my new external drive recognized by both Win XP and Vista machines was to do the initial format with the Win XP machine. Then, ALL of my Vista machines (both 32 bit and 64 bit) recognized the drive as a 1 TB RAID1 hard drive.

(Photo: Piez)

Our tipster writes:

Being a fan of Circuit City before it went under, I was excited to learn that a website bearing the company name was going to be coming back up. I was hoping they would carry over the same service I had gotten from them for the 10 years I shopped at CCity prior to the closing. I just finished redoing my basement and found a great deal on a TV mount at circuitcity.com so i decided to give it a try. They advertise same day shipping on items and quick delivery, can you ask for more?

I ordered my item on May 25th, package was shipped May 26th, not the same day, but the order was placed at 2 p.m. so mayyyyybe it needs to be done earlier in the day for same day shipping. According to UPS Tracking the item had an "origin scan" done at 11:12 PM on the 26th, the day after it was ordered (that's 33 hours). I received the item today, May 29th and was a bit confused about the box it came in. It just looked like someone had wrapped cardboard around the product and taped it until it stuck. A little put off by the box, I opened it to find that there was no box from the manufacturer. They had simply wrapped cardboard around the mount and taped it shut.

Immediately I thought, having worked in retail, some items just don't have boxes, this must be how it came. As I unload the "box" I start pulling things out and realize, the mount is missing half the pieces. It is advertised to come with a stud finder, and the hardware needed to hang it, and well... an actual mount for a TV. The main part that attaches to the wall was in the "box", along with one of the brackets for the TV and half a pack of screws, a destroyed manual and some random Data CD, which I'm sure is just a digital version of the Instruction Manual.

Annoyed, I called the infamous 1-800-THECITY, which lead me to long conversations with a computer that never really seemed to stop talking. Finally when I got a hold of a person, they basically told me I was to call a second "parts" number and the person would ship me the rest of the parts for the mount. Being an experienced Retail Sales Manager, I understand when the more people get involved with a problem, the more problems it causes in the long run. So I asked her if we could just skip that step, and let me just return the mount so they can send me a brand new one. She then explained to me that if I talked to them and they end up sending me the wrong pieces, or not enough pieces, I am to call 1800THECITY again, and they will do a return for me. I clearly stated that I wasn't going to wait another week for parts, just to get the hardware and have to send everything back to them because I didn't get the pieces I needed. She finally gave in and agreed, but then told me I would have to pay for a second mount, and they would return my money for the first one when they received the package. Furious and just wanting to get off the phone, I agreed.

So currently I am out 200 bucks for both the mounts. The woman on the phone told me it would be shipped out today, just like they advertise on their website, so I am interested to see if that actually happens. Also if a "new" mount will actually be in a box, and if it is, why would they ship me the half put together one, and if they can do it with a mount, they can do it with a TV. It's funny how the kids at my local Circuit City worked extremely hard to make me happy for 10 years and I was sad to see them go. Just one experience like this makes all of that work go away, and I am now on the "I Hate CCity" bandwagon.

Corey writes:

I am an avid reader of your site, and just wanted to get the word out to your readers that may be having an issue resolving lost UPS orders that were shipped from Dell. Here is how my story goes:

On May 6th (Wed) I ordered a new Vizio 37" LCD (Model #VO37LF) from Dell Home. 3 to 5 day ground shipping was free and provided by UPS. I live in Philadelphia and had the package shipped to my house. To my surprise however, the order was actually sent to UPS the same day, and as I tracked the package on UPS's web site it wound up in Philadelphia and "Out For Delivery" on May 8th (Fri). Only 2 business days! I was so excited that I would have time on the weekend to setup and enjoy my new TV. That's when everything went wrong.

I left work a little earlier so that I would be there to receive and sign for my package, to no avail as it was never delivered. There was no notice that a delivery was attempted, as they usually affix a little sticker on your door with the date and time for a future delivery attempt. Checking UPS's site the next day, the estimated delivery date was bumped up to that day (Sat). This seemed sort of odd, as I wasn't sure that UPS made deliveries on Saturdays, and that the shipping specifically stated business days. Continuing to track the package up through the 5 business days, the Rescheduled Delivery Date would subsequently be reassigned to the current day's date, although the tracking information still read that it was "Out For Delivery" on the 8th.

I knew something was definitely amiss, so yesterday, the 14th I called UPS. The customer service rep was very nice and frank, stating that it looked like this package is lost, and that I need to have Dell contact them to initiate a trace on the package. When I called and told the Dell customer service rep what the UPS rep had said, he said he would be glad to help me with that, initiate the trace, and if I did not receive my package within 48 hours to call them (Dell) back. Today however, when I checked the UPS tracking site for my package, once again the "Rescheduled Delivery Date" had incremented itself to today's date, and still no TV. Another call was placed to UPS, only to find that the Dell rep never initiated the trace. This is when I went bananas, and so does this story.

Another call to Dell Customer Service sent me to a rep who told me the following. "UPS is showing that the scheduled delivery date is today (thanks I knew that) and that their policy is to not initiate a trace until 48 hours after the scheduled delivery date on UPS's web site!" It was a this point that I realized that the first Dell rep blatantly lied about initiating the trace, and was just going to have me call back after 48 hours when I didn't receive my package and initiate the trace then. I sternly tried to explain to the current Dell rep that there will never, ever be a time 48 hours past the rescheduled delivery date, because it increments every day. The poor guy just stated that that is their policy, and that I can track my package with the tracking number he reread to me on UPS's web site. Dismayed beyond belief that I had just been told that their policy didn't apply simple logic, and was unaware of how their own shipper's website operated, I stated that if this was not resolved by Monday, I will be issuing a charge back on my credit card and canceling my order.

Still not happy with this resolution I redialed UPS again. I told the polite rep what was going on and she offered to refer me to someone in the tracing department. I gladly accepted, and that is when I met Roger. I reexplained my situation and Roger went to work, first taking all my Dell order information, and then offering to call Dell Customer Support himself and see if he could get a resolution. He even took my phone # down, so that if we were disconnected while he was on the other line, he could call me back. After a few minutes on hold, he came back to tell me that, sure enough, Dell couldn't initiate a trace until 48 hours after the rescheduled delivery date. We both shared a chuckle at how boneheaded this policy is, and he stated he was waiting to talk to a supervisor. After a few minutes he came back to tell me that it was taking longer than expected to reach a supervisor, and he would gladly call me back after he had talked to one.

After about 5-10 minutes, my phone rang and Roger stated the following: "I tried to explain to two supervisors how our website operates, and that this trace will never occur under their current policy, but they were really sticking to their guns." He then told me he was initiating the trace/investigation himself, without the okay from Dell, and gave me his direct extension for any future questions I had regarding the shipment.

Roger, out of 5 calls to customer service to 2 different companies, you were the only one who really did anything meaningful to resolve this issue. You have my name and #, so the next time you are in Philly call me up because the first beer is on me.

Since it seems a little absurd that Dell would have a policy to never, ever ask UPS to trace a lost package, we asked Dell's Geoff Knox, a Supervisor in Global Operations, to clarify Dell's actual policy. He replied:

The policy guidelines state that if a package has gone 48 hours past the estimated delivery date the Customer Care rep is to initiate a process to create an exchange order- that is, a replacement order as the original is presumed lost in transit at that point. A trace is done by us after the fact, as the goal is to ensure the customer is taken care of first.

Generally when there is a lost shipment, the estimated delivery date doesn't change on the carrier side. Since it has done so repeatedly in this case, my guess is that the representative that was contacted failed to see (or possibly failed to act) the previous deliver dates and the changes made by UPS. Without having the case notes in front of me, it's hard to say for sure what happened. One of the things I've already done is make the folks who work on the guidelines aware of this so that they can double check their documents and make sure that there isn't a gap in the training as described in your first email. I've never seen a UPS (or any other carrier) delivery date change like this, but I can believe it is possible. That being the case, it's possible it may happen again and so I want to be sure that our side is prepared for it if there is a gap in the training.

Which makes much more sense.

Phil writes (to Best Buy):

I called the Best Buy store in [redacted] on 6/10 looking for a Mini-SD flash card. I specifically asked for Mini-SD and explained that I did not want a Micro-SD card. I need a second one for an older model camera. The person who answered the phone assured me twice that they stocked both Micro and Mini SD cards. Great, I thought.

I get to the store today, and no one knows what a Mini SD card is. Two employees assure me that I'm looking for a Micro SD card. I explain I need a Mini SD card for a camera and NOT a micro SD. The employee continues to tell me that they only have Micro SD cards and that he's certain the camera I am using needs a Micro SD card.

This is not true, and I'm a little worried that someone at a tech store doesn't know BASIC differences with flash memory. I'd expect this at Kmart or WalMart, but the Best Buy employees, so I thought, would know something about the products they sell. I also did not appreciate being told I was looking for the wrong card when I was not. The employees obviously don't know their merchandise.

Just wanted to know I usually have no problems at best buy, but I was really upset with my experience today. It's my favorite store for electronics. But after I walked out this morning, I went on Amazon and in 30 seconds got EXACTLY what I needed for $4 new.

I am disturbed that your employees at the [redacted] store tell customers they have products in stock when Best Buy doesn't carry them. I repeated my request to confirm the product and was assured that they had it. I wasted time looking for a product that best buy doesn't have. I also do not appreciate the employees trying to convince me that I'm looking for something that I don't want to buy.

Perhaps I'll stop going to Best Buy for things that are readily available online without the headache.

That doesn't sound like a bad idea, Phil. We're glad you stood your ground and refused to buy the wrong format.

(Photo:epicharmus)

We don't know, maybe the OP has a name that someone at Sprint didn't hear correctly, like Clay Pendergrass, or Raymond DeBlass, or Payton Morass.

Whatever his real name is, he adds that a Sprint customer service supervisor has called him and assured him that they're investigating it—"The supervisor... told me that they are digging through their DB to find out who made the change." As of this afternoon the name-changer remains a mystery to SprintUsers readers and to us, but we'll post a follow-up if anything comes to light.

"A Lesson in Customer Service" [SprintUsers] (Thanks to Anon!)

Note that this isn't a verbatim transcript, so take the whole thing with a grain of salt. It's still pretty funny and rude, though.

I just had the strangest customer service phone call. I was about to place an order for 20 Air-Eze Deep Breathing Devices (because I am a voice teacher, and I use them to help my students strengthen their breathing.) I called the toll-free customer service number at Jansen Medical Supply, who claims on their website to be the most respected company in their field. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Hi! I need to order some Air-Eze Deep Breathing Incentive devices, but I had a couple of questions first.

JMS: We don't answer questions.

Me: Really?

JMS: You need to speak with a respiratory therapist about your questions.

Me: Oh, no! I don't have any questions about the devices, just about ordering them.

JMS: We don't answer ANY questions.

Me: (Thinking the guy is pulling my leg...) Are you kidding?

JMS: I am not kidding. We don't answer questions.

Me: (Still thinking the guys is joking...) You can't be serious.

JMS: I am DEAD SERIOUS.

Me: (Inquiring...) So, then, why do you answer the phone? You are the customer service representative. What do you usually do when you pick up the phone?

JMS: (no answer...this obviously made him mad)

Me: Well, then, I am not quite sure what to do. I need to place a large order and you won't answer my questions.

JMS: You will not be placing a large order with us.

Me: I won't?

JMS: We don't want your money. You need to take your business elsewhere.

Me: What? May I please speak with your manager?

JMS: Missy, you need to go away. You need to go away right now.

And then he hung up. That was the funniest and strangest customer service call I have ever made. Thought you might find it humorous. After the call, I went back to their website which states that they have a "Toll free customer service line to answer all your questions." Obviously not.

We contacted Jansen Medical and sent them a copy of the exchange, and asked what was going on. Naturally, since that was a question, they have chosen to ignore us.

You are now chatting with Jonathan
Jonathan: Hello Timmy. How can I help you?
Timmy: do you know how wide the G-Shock Atomic Solar - AWG101 SKU #7403774 is?
Timmy: i mean, how big a wrist it would fit?
Timmy: Timmy has a big fat wrist
Timmy: Timmy need watch grande
Jonathan: I'll see what I can find out for Timmy.
Timmy: awesome. and can we please continue to talk about Timmy in the 3rd person? Timmy likes to boost Timmy's ego by talking about Timmy that way
Jonathan: Jonathan would be happy to neglect the use of pronouns for the duration of this conversation.
Timmy: Jonathan and Timmy shall get along just fine
Jonathan: Will Timmy be able to measure Timmy's wrist?
Timmy: Timmy's wrist is big, but not Biggie-Smalls big. Timmy doesn't have the required measurement instruments.

Yes, it goes on from there.

Zappos Live Chat [Todd's Blog] (Thanks, Lisa!)

(Photo: EricaJoy)

Sean writes:

In March, we (my girlfriend and I) made our normal monthly payment and never thought about it again (I know, our bad for not following our banking close enough). Turns out, Chrysler didn't want our money and it changed from "Pending" to "Returned" on their website. For whatever reason, again, my fault entirely, I did indeed forget to make a payment in April. I'm perfectly willing to pay any associated fees due to my inattention. May 1st, I get a letter stating that my payment is past due and that it can affect my credit rating. I go online to their website to see that I owe them for March and April, and it was still before the May due date. I paid the total amount for all three months, using the same stored checking account information that I had used the entire time for the last 12+ consecutive/on-time payments. It shows the submission as successful and the status as "Pending."

One week later, an email arrives stating that the payment didn't go through and that the checking account information was incorrect. I go back to the website, re-enter my information and submit the total payment again. Again, says it went through and changes to "Pending."

One week later, the same email comes back. I go back again, re-enter the information a third time, and submit just the May payment to see if it goes through at all. Again, status shows "Pending" after it submitted.

Strangely enough, it changes from "Pending" to "Submitted" during the week, meaning that they actually took their money this time. A week after we made the May payment, they repo'd the Jeep. No letters saying that it was coming, no phone calls, no messages-just the first letter on May 1st stating that I was past due.

Needless to say, I was a wreck, I had the first toothache (and the most painful at that, had an infected abscess…blech) that I've had since I was 12 all day, and then they took my Jeep away, catching me completely off-guard.
Friday morning, I call the repo center (Certified Auto Recovery Inc) since that's what I was told to do to ask about getting my car back. The guy I spoke to had no idea why I was calling him and instructed me to call the bank to clear it with them first. He then gave me the number to call Chrysler for their "Recovery" department. I put a call into Chrysler and spoke with Dawn, a fairly nice rep who explained the process and said that I owed the back payments and $370-$400 in recovery fees for the repo. I had to call off Friday (no way to get to work) so I was hoping I could have it resolved and pick up the Jeep that day. I also wanted to see a dentist ASAP as well as head to Ohio for a wedding on Saturday. She told me that no matter what, it would take 24-48 hours and the earliest I could pick it up would be today (Monday).

I proceeded on Friday to fax in all the information I needed to send in and Dawn let me know that when I call in Monday, I could pay with my debit card and it'd be about 45 minutes until they could release my Jeep to me. After faxing the info, a call to Dawn confirmed that they did indeed receive our faxed documents. Here the waiting starts for the mysterious "processing" portion.

That brings me to (Monday). At around noon (Dawn said that all paperwork should be processed by 1PM), I called in to make the payment. She takes our information and informs me that one of the pages didn't come through the fax properly and I'd have to resend it. Why I wasn't told Friday, I have no clue. She said I could email it to her to make it easier for me. An option I would've loved from the start since it cost me $6 to fax from the only local place that offers outgoing fax services. I called soon after I emailed the document and she confirmed that she had it and said it would take just a little bit longer for it to process and that she would call us back. From here, there were about 4 phone calls from me to Chrysler and to Certified Auto Recovery Inc. to see if the release was processed, being met repeatedly with "Not yet" and "Just a little longer." Finally, at about 3:25PM, Dawn let us know that I could wait 20 minutes before calling Certified Auto Recovery Inc. to get info on how to pick up the Jeep.

Upon calling Certified Auto Recovery Inc., I'm then informed that I need $210 in cash to pick up the Jeep (storage fees) and that I'd have to wait until tomorrow to pick it up since they stop releasing cars at 4PM.

I was livid at this bit of information. I did all I could to get this resolved as quickly as possible, hoping to get it all done Friday, only to be forced into dragging it until tomorrow, plus this new fee was a delightful surprise.

I called Dawn back and she insisted that during our first phone call, she let me know that there would be additional "agent fees." From what I recall and noted when we spoke, that was the $370-$400 added on to the past due balance. She said I could try to haggle with the garage to get them to lower it, but Chrysler wasn't going to do anything about it. I explained that I was very angry being essentially extorted into paying these extra fees because of the speed that they handled it and she said that it wasn't her fault and that I could take issues up with customer service. She also enlightened me and said that some of her friends in the customer service department have said that online payments don't work when accounts are past due, which forces you to call in to make a payment. This would be fine with me if it actually said that instead of appearing to work, only to fail a week after submission. Not to mention I hate paying the associated fee when paying over the phone as opposed to paying online.

So here's the breakdown:

2 Months of Owed Payments + Late Fees = I'm ok with this. While I still need answers from Chrysler as to why my March and May payments were returned, I know that I should've followed up with it more. BTW, I spoke to my bank (PNC) and they said that they have no record of Chrysler ever attempting to take the money during those submitted payments.

$370 in recovery fees = I'm assuming this goes to pay the repo guys

(Those 2 items were paid directly to Chrysler)

Now, $210 in cash only are due to Certified Auto Recovery Inc. upon pickup for "Storage Fees" thanks to this 24-48 hour period for processing, stalling all day today, and of course their inability to have anything done over the weekend.

You'd think a company that's gone bankrupt wouldn't have such a hard time taking someone's money.

UPDATE: Sean paid the fees and got his Jeep back.

(Photo: bucklava)

Comments from readers and around the net suggest that Tier 2 will follow the rules to the letter and not really give much nudge. If you need customer service people capable of independent thought and analysis, you'll want Tier 3, however, they can be hard to reach and seem to have a reputation for not returning phone calls.

(Photo: tanakawho)

Joseph writes:

I ordered a Dell Studio from Dell (My first mistake, I know). After I placed the order, where there were tons of helpful people eager to take my credit card number, I saw the Dell outlet center with some refurb laptops.

I called and cancelled my initial order, asked the lady on the phone (Name escapes me, but I KNOW they can find out who by my click to chat IDs) and asked her to compare, line for line, the two laptops. She assured me they were identical, component for component.

I then asked her about certified reburbs vs scratch and dent, which I did not want.

She says "Cert refurbs are conditioned to factory specification, the cases look just like a new laptop". I pointed her to the description online that hinted at some damage visible, she says "oh they just say that, I have never seen a refurb with any damage on it.

I place the order. It is a gift for my father in law.

I get the order.

It looks like a bear clawed the front of the cover. Someone took a flathead and gouged the bezel in the front. It is not line for line the same laptop, missing features, wrong OS, etc.

Best thing was the "present": a burnt .rar of Office 2007 corporate edition in the cd tray. It had a text file with the Warez site it was downloaded from as a reference. Yes folks, they sent me illegal software from a warez site. If this was refurb'd, where is the QA department? No one noticed a cd in the laptop?

I called corporate using Consumerist guidance, no help. I sent an email to corporate and CC'd Michael@dell.com, Got someone who honestly seemed to want to help me but "had hands tied"

Their compensation for a laptop that I cannot return (I was asking for a tech at least to come out and replace the case, drop off the OS I wanted, I was willing to eat the non-backlit keyboard) was this:

No restocking fee, return the laptop and get assistance ordering another.

I assure you, this was not "certified reburbished" but very much "scratch and severly dented".

I cannot return it as it was a gift to be presented in front of about 20 folks, one of them my future employer. The future is suddenly not so bright.

This worth a letter to BBB?

Thanks a lot Dell. Any advice from consumerist? Seems like Dell is considering this a "case closed".

Joseph doesn't need assistance ordering a new laptop. He needs is the laptop he ordered delivered at the price Dell quoted. They should provide a system of equal or greater value, free of charge. An apology note wouldn't hurt either.

I don't want to change my name, I just want to shuffle Pearl from my middle name there — over there to the next box, next to McPhee. Simple, yes?

No. That's a name change. They can't change it. I cant change it. Only the agent who booked it can change it. I call Andrews McMeel (who are the agent who booked it and also eight flavours of awesome through the whole thing) and tell them what's happening. They check the original booking, and find that while they provided my name correctly, and yay, verily, it is even correct on their receipt, something has shifted in the AWISNNBIATATGTTGH [Airline-Whom-I-Shall-Not-Name-Because-I-Am-Too-Angry-To-Give-Them-The-Google-Hits] computer. We agree that this is crazy pie, but that it sounds simple to fix. They call AWISNNBIATATGTTGH and point out that all of my names appear on the ticket. (This, it turns out is sheer folly, since I had already tried the superweapon of logic on AWISNNBIATATGTTGH, and they were undefeated.) AWISNNBIATATGTTGH replies that it does not matter, since my last name on the ticket is McPhee, and McPhee is not my last name. (On this, we all agree.)

For my part, while they are on the phone with the lady from AWISNNBIATATGTTGH, I pull out various pieces of ID with my name on it, and brandish the sword of calmness and information. It is fruitless.

Kathy from Andrews McMeel eventually figures this out too, after a very, very noble attempt to be sensible in the face of it all, and she finally snaps, and tells the AWISNNBIATATGTTGH lady (who is now on the phone with AWISNNBIATATGTTGH head office and Kathy, one phone to each ear) to forget it. The name is wrong. It does not matter why or how it is wrong, the degree of wrongness doesn't matter. We get that we can't change it. (The reasons for this are unclear, but the name now cannot be changed. Possibly because there are about 14 seconds until the flight closes. Who knows.) Kathy tells them to forget the ticket. That ticket is dead to us. We don't know any McPhee lady and we don't want to. We wipe the slate clean and say that we would like to buy a ticket to Florida please... a whole new ticket. A ticket that has nothing to do with the other ticket, and the lady from AWISNNBIATATGTTGH smiles a little, because she has won on the name thing, and then she says:

"Sorry. There are no seats available on that flight."

Pearl-McPhee finally gave up and walked away from the mystery airline so she could instead book a ticket with Air Canada.

In which I try not to complain [Yarn Harlot]
(Photo: dykstranet)

By now it's pretty clear that one day all American journalism — and likely all American industry — will be outsourced to India. Newspapers are among the leaders of the phenomenon, having long since not only shifted customer service, but even copy editing and, gasp, news writing to the other side of the world.

The New Haven Advocate jumped on the trend by outsourcing several stories to Indian writers, inadvertently proving their own obsolescence because the humor that resulted surpassed that which any native North American journalist is capable.

Take this review of the new Night at the Museum:

When the adventure comedy Night at the Museum first opened in 2006, it grossed close to $250 million in U.S. ticket sales. That impressive figure alone should be enough to tempt you to watch its sequel. Sadly, with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian history does not repeat itself. One assumes the production budget of $200 million was probably spent on the special effects rather than a decent script, which is where the film fails.

And a "weird news" column:

It is quite surprising that a Utah boy is trying his best to set a record by covering his entire face with as many live snails as possible. This 11-year-old boy named Fin Keheler had the guts to allow a whole bunch of 43 slimy mollusks to be put on his face on Saturday. He demands that his effort should be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The official Web site of Guinness World Records claims that the initial record that was set in 2007 was of holding eight snails for 10 seconds. While this little boy claims that he always knew that the record was around 36. On Saturday, the young boy Fin tried making around three attempts and the ones which remained on the face for the minimum of 10 seconds were considered.

Mark our words: The first print newspaper to go all-India, all the time adds five years to its life.

Outsource This! [New Haven Advocate, via Poynter]
(Photo:nailmaker)

@jeffTWC: Please RT: working on customer loyalty programs and would love your ideas/input - raffling an iTouch on Thurs to constructive suggestions

jchristenbury @jeffTWC I have a whole handful, where do I send them?

jchristenbury @jeffTWC I want to choose and pay for the channels I want. (I know this is not a TWC decision but TWC has the clout to push it)

jchristenbury @jeffTWC I want the CS reps to listen when I tell them I have already rebooted my computer and its not on my end. #customerloyalty

jchristenbury @jeffTWC I want a bill that I can understand that doesn't have cryptic misc. charges. I want to know what the charges are #customerloyalty

jchristenbury @jeffTWC I want Higher internet speeds. the US has the lowest speeds of all.

jeffTWC @jchristenbury Thanks for your tips here — but we're not really addressing industry problems with this, just creating a marketing tool

jchristenbury @jeffTWC These ARE things that will increase customer loyalty.

jchristenbury @jeffTWC Gimmicks only get you so far. Take care of your customers.

JeffTWC gets a gold star for telling an inconvenient truth about what his job really is. Too bad we have to take it away for his initial claim that he was actually looking for "constructive suggestions."

Another Reason Why Time Warner Doesn't Get It [jchristenbury's posterous]
JeffTWC on Twitter

James sent us his correspondence with Quaker.

He first wrote:

My 7 year old pulled a 2 inch sliver of WOOD out of her bowl yesterday morning, which I am very glad did not end up in her mouth. This would be the very first time we have tried this product, from this months Costco coupon, and now I have 4 pounds of Granola that no one wants to go near. How can I get a replacement or a refund? How would have this gotten in to the bag? Are there wood mixing paddles in the process anywhere? This is all too bad because they really liked the taste until she found the wood.

James:

We're very sorry about the experience your daughter had with our Natural Granola Oats, Honey & Raisins cereal and understand your concern. Your family's well-being is very important to us and we're relieved to learn that your daughter wasn't injured by the object she found in her bowl.

To begin, we're sending full value coupons to replace your purchase; they should arrive in about a week. Also, we're sharing your report with our quality assurance team. However, we need to request additional information from the package; please e-mail the additional code information following the Best Before Date found on the bottom of bag (in fold).

Next, be assured that many safeguards are in place in our plants to prevent foreign materials from coming into contact with the product. Screening equipment and inspection procedures should prevent an occurrence such as you reported.

Finally, James, we hope you'll accept our apologies, again—as well as our thanks for the chance to respond to the situation. Hopefully we've done so in a way that satisfies your concerns and questions, and allows us to keep you as a valued consumer. We know you have a choice of brands and always appreciate your choosing ours.

Geri
Quaker Consumer Relations

He responded:

Hello-

The (see attached) Best before date:
Aug 30 09 A(or R)B BB

I don't think Costco accepts coupons so I am not sure what good that would do me there.

Thanks-James

James:

Thank you for contacting us. We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with the response to your previous contact regarding Quaker Natural Granola Oats, Honey & Raisins.

We always try to understand each consumer's concern, and then provide high quality service. It appears that in your case, your concerns and expectations were not completely understood. We appreciate that you let us know, so that we can further improve our service in the future.

An adjustment for any product that does not meet our high standards of quality is usually made in the form of a coupon of equivalent or greater value for another product. Thus, coupon value to replace the product was previously included with additional value to compensate for your inconvenience. Since this form of compensation was not to your satisfaction, we are enclosing a refund for your purchase in the interest of good consumer relations. Additionally, we are sending a special gift for your 7 year old.

Mr. _____, we hope you'll accept our apologies, again—as well as our thanks for the chance to respond to the situation. Hopefully we've done so in a way that satisfies your concerns, and allows us to keep you as a valued consumer. We know you have a choice of brands and always appreciate your choosing ours.

Peggy
Supervisor
Quaker Consumer Relations

(From The Daily WTF) Thanks, Mike!

The cops got a call that the man was rampaging around his house and breaking windows. When they arrived, the man had fled, taking bottles of pills with him. The sheriff contacted Verizon to ask them to turn the man's cellphone cellphone service on so they could track his signal, but the operator said the missing man's bill had to be paid first. After some back and forth, the sheriff started to make arrangements to pay his bill. Just as he was doing so, the search party, which consisted of two K-9 units, several fire departments, and more than 100 people on foot, found the man, unconcious, after 11 hours of searching.

"I was more concerned for the person's life," Sherrif Williams said. "It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill. Ridiculous."

See, the essential problem is that in most call centers you don't get any bonuses for having humanity.

Unconscious Carroll man found after 11-hour search: Sheriff unhappy with Verizon's ‘line' on emergency [The Times Reporter] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

(Photo: akshay moon, Maulleigh)

It all started last night with a mundane "injured officer" report:

INJURED OFFICER: Officer from district 4 transported to Beth Israel Hospital, human bite to arm, suspect in custody.

Twitter user willcady used the opportunity to ask the police a burning question:

@Boston_Police if that was a zombie bite, would you tell us?

The police, setting the gold standard for government transparency, answered him:

@willcady Yes, absolutely

Keep this exchange in mind the next time someone tries to convince you that Twitter is completely useless. Customer service via Twitter can not only help solve your problems, it can get crucial information out to the public.

Boston Cops: No Lie on Zombie Attacks [Dumb as a Blog] (I learned about this via Twitter, naturally)

(Photo: ginnerobot)

• 1. Is the replacement battery a brand new battery?
  No, the batteries are used but have been certified, tested and fully-charged before being put in our Battery Swap inventory.
  
• 2. Can I participate in the swap more than once, or is it one-per-customer?
  Customers can swap four times each month.

We think this is a great program for cellphone owners. Batteries are a necessity, but not something that consumers necessarily need to invest a lot of time or money in. If AT&T would offer a similar program for iPhones—oh, wait. Never mind.

Evan writes:

I'm a fat person, I fully admit it. So I decided to do what everyone says fat people should do and purchase a second seat from Delta Airlines for a flight I needed to NYC this fall. More room for me, happier seatmates, Delta can keep the extra meal and coke. Only, I can't. For all this hullaballoo in the press about wanting fat people to buy another seat, the airlines make it impossible.

First of all, Delta doesn't offer one shred of information about this topic on their website. So you're left to guess what their official policy is, although in this article they say something about "offering the passenger the option of purchasing an additional seat. Um, how?

Here's what happened to me. First, I try to order two tickets online, but it says tickets cannot be assigned the same name. So then I try to call customer services, where after many times on hold while he checks with another person, the agent said he could help me. Only he gave me a price of nearly double the online price. After I protested, he gave me several different prices, finally ending on one that was $200 more than what I was looking at in front of me online. I told him I'd have to think about it.

I called back and spoke to another customer service agent who tells me that it can be done, but I have to speak to the department who assists with online purchases and they can help me make my purchase. After one of the longest periods I have ever spent on hold, I spoke to yet another agent who told me that I could try putting in a middle initial on one of the names to purchase the two seats, however he said, just so I know, they will give my second seat away if they need it, even if I paid for it. At this point, I had spent 1.5 hours on the phone (most of it on hold) and I hung up in a rage.

I sent a complaint email, but I've heard nothing back.

Okay, I'm big. You can hate me for it if you want, it seems to be all the rage, but if I'm willing to pay double, what's the problem? Why isn't my money good enough? By not allowing me to purchase the tickets, and by making it very difficult to find information or use online services, it really amounts to discrimination. Shame on you, Delta.

Honestly, what do you expect from an airline that tells passengers with special needs to ask for "Complaint Resolution Officials?" You can try contacting Delta's customer relations managers at either beth.reed@delta.com or leigh.attaway@delta.com. If they can't help, call Delta C.E.O. Richard Anderson and tell him that you hope to one day sit next to him. His number is (404) 715-2600.

(Photo: Dan)

Rouzbeh writes:

I'd like to share a wonderful story with you. I moved to Arkansas after graduation for work at which time i moved into an apartment complex run by AT&T Home Entertainment. This means we get our DSL and Dish Network service through them. So i set up my Dish Network which carries an additional $10 maintenance fee over the normal price and attempted to sign up for a non-phone DSL line. At first i was given a two week run around because they questioned whether or not my apartment even existed even asking me to confirm the address. After some harsh words, my service was set up for a $25/mo plan. My first bill was for $287 because they charged by for two DSL modems and three months of service. Upon fixing the pricing horror, i was instructed to pay it all because if i didnt the system would list me a delinquent. So, as of this email, i still have a $187 credit which will run out in about a year because they refuse to refund the money. The two times i have upgraded my speed service and entailed my repeatedly promising to Jesus that my building existed and that i have active service.

A month ago they began to offer Uverse service since they put one of those giant boxes right outside of the property. Even get a $200 rebate if i sign up by 5/24. So, I sign up because im sick of these additional fees on my Dish Service and terrible TurboHD package. They immediately cancel it because my apartment doesnt exist. Keep in mind i have Wireless, TV, and DSL service at this address. I tried it again, and it was cancelled because for Uverse to be installed I need to disconnect my DSL service (they dont like my nonphone DSL line). So I placed a disconnect order and Uverse installation order. I called back the next day to verify it all worked out and found out it had been cancelled due to "customer request." They guy was angry with me for calling to taunt him and i had to explain that i wasnt. So, we set up try three which fails to even go through. I go to a store around here and they set it up. It got canceled 3 days later, but i still get the "dont forget your install date" postcards. Then i spoke to the manager... he said that i need to cancel my DSL, wait two weeks, then sign up whcih would mean no Internet whatsoever for three weeks at least and thats if they realize these 25 buildings here actually exist.

I just signed up again, with a knowledgeable rep. She made a ton of notes on the account regarding the existence of the mentioned 25 buildings and a desire to not have Internet for more than a couple days.

This is my SIXTH attempt. Its so bad, that the property managers have yelled at the AT&T people as well. Please post and help me!

(Photo: jetsetpress)

E. writes:

The website imlive.com is a very popular webcam site. They provide (for the most part) adult entertainment with a per credit/ per minute fee of about 1$ per credit (bought in increments of 50$. I was a member of the site since 2006 and used it off and on. Stupidly i allowed the site to save my Credit card info on their site. Then much to my shock I found a 450$ charge on my card two weeks ago from their billing provider (ccbill). And found two "confirmation" emails in my inbox. I put quotes around confirmation as they werent really checking to confirm just cheerily informing me that i had made these purchases. I quickly logged onto their site and called their customer service and literally sat there watching the credits that had been purchased tick away by someone who had hacked my account on their site and was fraudulently making purchases on my credit card.

While on the site i changed my password and called their customer service. This stopped the hacker from being able to use my account. Unfortunately he had already used 250 credits by then. Upon contacting them they were able to disable my credit card purchases from the site (I later just canceled my credit card altogether.) Upon contacting their fraud department i was told that because the purchases were made under my username and pass and that purchases were already spent they were unable to refund any of the money. They offered to replace the credits. I found that to be wholly unacceptable as i really cant afford 450$ worth of adult material. I contacted my Credit card and they informed me that they would open a fraud investigation but they warned me that they would likely run into the same issue. As a good faith step i complied with imlive's request to keep them informed if i had made a decision not to accept their offer of free credits. I informed them that my credit card was investigating the fraud. Thats when the situation went off the rails. And i received the following email.

I am in receipt of your last email.

I want to make it very clear that all personal details regarding your Imlive.com account are held in strict confidentiality, and are never released to third parties.

Please note that it is one's responsibility to keep his Imlive.com account details secure and to not use it on other sites. Imlive.com will not be held responsible if your personal details have been accessed.

There are a number of locations on the site in which you are prompted to change and update your password to secure your details which you have not used in the past two years.

Your Imlive.com account was accessed with legitimate login and password to purchase the disputed charges, and thus we consider these charges as your own.

Nevertheless, since you have been a valued member since 2006 we offered an exceptionally generous solution as we rarely approve refunds for transactions of this sort.

Filing a fraud claim with your credit card company will result in a charge back. Charge backs are considered a serious violation of our terms of use.

If you have already filed a report with the credit company, I will not cover the debit that will result in your account due to the charge back.

In case you can pull back your filing with the credit company and respect the offer we presented, I will refund the last two transactions and bonus your account as previously agreed.

We reserve our right to keep all records of your activity with the Sexual Stress Relief Hosts on the ImLive.com platform.

Sincerely,

Sandy Mills,
Manager
Imlive.com

Not only were they trying to scare me out of a chargeback if one was issued by my credit card. But i think the last sentence is an explicit attempt to illicit fear that somehow my actions on their adult site would be exposed on a public forum. Obviously as i am emailing you to expose this gross mismanagement of security and subsequent lack of accountability for their mismanagement of security i could care less about exposing the fact that i enjoy the occasional viewing of the bare human form. I have yet to hear back from my Credit card company (USAA) but my account on imlive has been closed (by them) and I am beginning to believe more and more that i am out of 450$ because of a security flaw on their site. My account info and password on their site was never given out or used on other sites and was hacked as an obvious use of username/password list hacking software (i.e. software that repeatedly tries u/p combinations until it finds a hit).

E. later sent us an update:

My credit card company agreed to call it fraud and gave me a chargeback for the 450$. After that imlive deleted my account with them. Which is fine with me after the way they treated me. I received no contact from them since.

KING 5 tracked down Blessed Limo and tried to get a ride to the airport, but the driver sped away when he realized he was about to pick up a pack of biased reporters.

I contacted the Department of Licensing and they told me that Blessed Limo's license to operate had expired in late October. And that's why we couldn't believe he sent someone to take us to Sea-Tac.

"Blessed Limo is anything but. It's a roll of the dice at best with those guys," Gary Sharnbroich says.

The owner promised to speak with us last night, but then changed his mind.

The company did take care of the parent's car that was hit.

But he did charge us $55 for the trip we never took to the airport.

Washington's Attorney General recommends running any limo company by both the Department of Licensing and the BBB before finalizing your big plans for the big day.

Limo service blessed with complaints [KING 5 via All Consuming]
(Photo: faster panda kill kill)

When he refused to do so, he was dragged off the plane by three police officers, pinned into a wheelchair, held by the throat, lost the cane he uses to navigate, held at the airport for five hours without food, water, or access to any phone, moved to a 6' x 7' police cell at 3 a.m., questioned by a psychiatrist, and detained for 16 hours. And it was only at the end of this ordeal that the police finally believed he wasn't faking his blindness.

Cantisani has since had nightmares about "being held hostage," waking up in a prison cell, and generally reliving his "kidnapping." He has no plans ever to return to Philadelphia and, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, he remains "'beside himself' about the flight procedures, the crew and the officers who handled him."

But instead of receiving an apology from U.S. Airways and the Philly P.D., Cantisani is facing charges for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. It would appear that U.S. Airways still hasn't learned a thing from Southwest and needs to retrain its crews until they understand the difference between a true "security risk" and a frustrated passenger.

(Photo: Sebastian Fritzon)