Consumerist
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technical support
Company Will Program Your Universal Remote For $250
When I was in college, an older woman I worked with paid me $25 to come over and program her VCR, and that is not a euphemism. Clearly I missed a valid business opportunity when I didn't think to package that skill and resell it as an in-home service for idiots everywhere. You know, sort of like what InstallerNet offers with universal remotes for the low low actually-sort-of-high price of $250. More » -
no service
AT&T Refuses To Give $3 Credit For Lack Of Service
AT&T loves your money and will not give up that money no matter what, even if it means making you waste nearly an hour of an AT&T employee's time, which surely must be worth more than three dollars. We guess it's the principal; as long as AT&T refuses to admit they've got problems, the problems don't exist. More » -
troubleshooting
Dell Support Tech Accidentally Gives Away Free Advice
Our reader humphrmi recently managed to avoid shelling out unnecessary bucks for paid technical support from Dell. His secret? Listening very carefully to the support rep, who inadvertently gave away the info he was trying to get humphrmi to pay for. Which is good, since that information was only one sentence long. More » -
technical support
Verizon And Nokia Announce "Constant Reboot" Feature
Ryan's new Nokia Intrigue 7205, which Verizon gave him, doesn't work with the Verizon network: "48 hours ago, the phone began cycling on and off continuously." He's not the only Intrigue owner experiencing this problem on Verizon, although Verizon is following that tired old "it couldn't possibly be our fault so let's make you jump through a dozen useless hoops" protocol. Sadly, a single Google search would give them the quick fix for Ryan and other Intrigue owners. More » -
sass
Seagate CSR: "Since You Know Better Then We Do, Im Sure You Dont Need Our Assistance"
If Seagate tells you to call Microsoft for technical support, don't talk back or you're going to get an earful. At least that's what reader K. learned when he called to ask why his external drive worked well under Vista, but not XP. Seagate's customer service representative immediately blamed the problem on Microsoft, and when K. tried explaining why the problem might lie with Seagate, the CSR responded: "Well since you know better then we do, Im sure you dont need our assistance." More » -
qwest
Mystery Solved? Using OpenDNS Results In Glacial YouTube Downloads For Qwest Customers
Earlier this week, we posted an email from a frustrated Qwest customer who said he couldn't download YouTube and other online videos at a speed equivalent to the Qwest service he was paying for. Qwest wrote to us, and spoke to the customer, and swore they were not interfering with any download rates. Instead, it looks like the problem is with OpenDNS, a free service that usually speeds up downloading, but that seems to have an issue when it comes to certain video streams. More » -
customer support
Cracked Explains Why Tech Support Sucks
Cracked takes a stab at explaining why your calls to customer support inevitably lead to frustration. You'll probably recognize your own experiences as you read their article, and learn a little about why being a customer service agent sucks so much, too. More » -
UPDATE: It's getting worked on!
Comments still not functioning correctly for you? As Ben suggested, I've opened a complaint on GetSatisfaction.com to try to reach Gawker's tech team. If the comment reply/preview feature is still broken for you (it seems to be working for some, not others), why not head over there and add your two cents to my complaint? [GetSatisfaction.com] MORE » -
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hasbro
Hasbro Casts Spell Of Greater Invisibility Over D&D Cancellation Page
You can't cancel your annual membership agreement with Hasbro's "D&D Insider"—at least not easily, and not at all for some frustrated users. Company admins keep giving out ridiculous instructions on the user forums, but those posts are followed by customers saying all they get are error messages, no matter what browser/OS combo they try. To make matters worse, their customer service department was closed over the holidays, so nobody was answering the phone numbers they listed. This is the kind of runaround we expect from scammers like the Acai resellers, not a national toy company. More » -
rcn
The Mystery Of the 8-Hour RCN Hold Time
Last Friday we posted that a customer in D.C. was on hold with RCN's tech support for over 7 hours. (And no, she didn't sit next to the phone that entire time—she periodically checked in to see whether she'd been disconnected, but always heard the same hold music and message.) We received several comments—one from the Senior Director of Operations at RCN—saying that her call had likely been dropped from the system. But Meredith says someone finally did answer her call. Here's her story and the RCN Director's version. More » -
rcn
RCN Tech Support Keeps Customer On Hold For Seven Hours And Counting
Meredith has been on hold with RCN's tech support line for over seven hours now. She's put down the phone and keeps doing other things, but whenever she goes back to see if they've finally disconnected her, she hears their "please hold" message and music. Apparently RCN doesn't think you need tech support over the weekend. More » -
technical support
Verizon: Go Ahead And Email Us, We're Not Going To Read It
At least Verizon is being honest about the fact that they're not going to read your emails, right? More » -
good companies
Canon's Customer Service Is Helpful, Painless
A reader writes in to commend Canon for their efficient and—brace yourselves—helpful customer service: "I was on the phone less than two minutes beginning to end." Among the surprises: the customer service department was based in the U.S., he was called back when a rep was available instead of being abandoned in an endless hold loop, the people he spoke with seemed motivated to help him, and the Canon rep had enough autonomy and intelligence to come up with an alternative solution when the original problem couldn't be solved. More » -
lolcats
LOLTech Support!
This lovable fellow runs the Convergys call center in Hazelwood, Missouri.
BONUS LOLCAT: oh noez mah mortgage dun readjusted
[via icanhascheezburger] (Thanks to Therese!)
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verizon
If FiOs Man Doesn't Show Up, Make Sure You're Not Without Phone Service
Apropos of, "Verizon Harasses You For 3 Months To Switch To FiOS, Then Never Shows Up To Install It," if you sign up for FiOS and they don't show or they have to reschedule, don't forget to call your current phone provider and get them to change the disconnect date. Otherwise you can find yourself without phone service because they're still going to use the same disconnect date they have written down.
A Verizon FiOs tech support rep and Consumerist reader wanted us to pass this on because they field "100 calls a day" about it because the sales department seems to never bothers to tell this to customers. The same advice would apply to anyone else switching over from regular copper to any of those "triple-play" packages various cable companies offer.
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leaks
Comcast's Official Angry Customer Policy
This is an internal Comcast document entitled, "So you have an angry customer?" It's a guide for technical support and customer service representatives for when unhappy customers call. It's actually very good, full of plain talk and ways to think about the situation to help solve and defuse it. Apparently none of the Comcast customer service reps our readers complain about have ever read it. More » -
apple
Help Improve Tech Support At Apple, Dell, Gateway, And HP
Vocal Laboratories, a company that helps other companies improve customer service by surveying customer calls, is working on project to improve tech support at Apple, Dell, Gateway, and HP, and you can participate. More » -
dell
Dell: Absolutely Free Vista Upgrade 70% Off
Brad bought his Dell on October 25th, the day before Dell announced that all future purchases would be eligible for a free upgrade to Vista. Brad called to cancel his order so he could reorder it and be eligible for Vista. Dell, ever the kind soul, told Brad not to bother; they would give him the upgrade for free. More »
technical support
New York, 1:47 AM
Mon Nov 23
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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