Sure, we focus on stories of bad customer service here, but Gizmodo turned the shiny white counter around and solicited stories from anonymous Apple Geniuses about the worst customers they’ve ever encountered. [More]
bad
Another Gap Markup Story, Higher Price Rung Up At The Register
By 12.28.08
After seeing our story about Gap selling pants at an elevated sale price, reader Neff told us the same thing happened to him in Texas, with the higher price ringing up at checkout.
Angry U-Haul Manager Says You Stole A Truck
By 6.20.08
Now that it’s summer, many people are doing the moving thing. For some, this might mean renting a truck or trailer from U-Haul, like reader Ryan. He reserved a truck from U-Haul online well in advance of his move, but when he went in for pickup was told none were available. Ryan called corporate, who called the store and convinced the surly manager to give Ryan a truck. Three days after Ryan returned the truck, he got this voicemail from from U-Haul: “This is Alexandria U-Haul Rentals. Your rental truck was due three days ago and you haven’t returned it. If you don’t return our truck today I will call the police.” See how Ryan handled the situation, inside.
CVS Doesn't Like Kids
By 6.18.08
Lisa sent us a short angry email about her local CVS, and how it treats local teens. Her local store separates customers into two lines, and the line containing the 18 and under crowd is only allowed into the store two at a time. The store employees say it’s to keep down shoplifting. Lisa thinks it’s blatant ageism, and she’s avoiding the store from now on. Teens can be annoying, but did CVS cross the line in punishing all for the bad actions of a few? Read her letter and leave your comments, inside.
Bank of America Loses Customer When CSR Doesn't Get Her Morning Coffee
By 6.9.08
Here’s yet another reason to avoid Bank of America, from reader Alison. She received a call on a Saturday at 8:30 in the morning from Bank of America, to deal with an issue she resolved the previous night. She was not pleased with being roused so early on the weekend, so she called BOA to request they disturb her no earlier than 9:00 am, especially on the weekends. The cranky CSR answering her call not only told her such a request was impossible, but added “Well, I have to be at work at 7 in the morning, ma’am.” Alison didn’t feel that was adequate justification for waking her up, and is closing her account. She told her story in an EECB to Bank of America, and let us listen in. Read her email, inside.
K2 Auto Group In Minneapolis Uses The "I Hate You, Get Out" Sales Method
By 5.20.08
Jesse sent us a copy of the letter he recently sent to CarSoup.com about the treatment his mother received at the K2 Auto Group car lot in Bloomington, Minneapolis.The salesmen who “greeted” them employed a novel sales technique whereby you treat the customer like she’s not rich or smart enough to even own a car, much less one of your beauties. Oddly, it didn’t work, and they left without buying anything. Read on for the salesman’s amazing technique in action.
T Mobile: Listen To The Most Pointless Customer Service Call Ever
By 5.12.08
Kapil’s brand new Blackberry arrived with a battery that won’t charge. He wants T-Mobile to exchange it, but he says T-Mobile wants to replace it with a refurbished Blackberry instead of a new model. Kapil is fighting back, but even at the executive support level all he’s found are rude, uncooperative T-Mobile employees who keep saying there’s a process, and that someone will call him back—which never happens. Kapil refused to hang up on the fourth day and demanded to know what happens next after nobody calls back, which seemed to confuse and anger the T-Mobile rep he was speaking with. And for those of you who can’t listen in, we’ve transcribed some of the juiciest parts.
Amazon Screws Up Refund, Charges $2,288.44 for $750 Of Gym Equipment
By 4.18.08
Reader Craig ordered some gym equipment from Amazon, but he accidentally used his debit card instead of his credit card. Realizing his mistake, he immediately tried to correct the problem. He went through the change payment process right away and figured all was well. Of course it wasn’t, and he ended up getting charged $2,288.44 for $750 worth of equipment when Amazon got the refund process backwards. Twice. See how it happened after the jump.
Creative Backs Down, Reinstates Spurned Developer
By 4.5.08
Creative Labs heard your chest-beating across the internet and decided to reinstate spurned developer Daniel_K less than a week after booting him from their forums. Unlike Creative, Daniel_K issued drivers that allowed Creative sound cards to work properly under Vista, and even enabled previously crippled features. The drivers were downloaded over 100,000 times. The company thanked the developer by accusing him of “enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, [in] effect, stealing our goods.” Even though he has been reinstated, Daniel_K is still pissed.
Buy.com Doesn't Honor Rebates Like Newegg
By 2.8.08
Yesterday’s post about Newegg honoring a failed rebate request prompted this email from another reader, who had a similar situation with Buy.com but with a very different outcome. If you’ve ever dealt with Buy.com—known for having some of the worst customer service in the industry—this won’t surprise you.
Delta's Atlantic Southeast Airlines Is America's Worst Airline
By 11.7.07
The Department of Transportations Air Travel Consumer Report was released Monday and it confirms what we’ve all been thinking: Delta’s Atlantic Southeast Airlines is just stunningly terrible.
This IKEA Infographic Is Extremely Easy To Understand
By 9.24.07
BoingBoing has an infographic from IKEA that seems like a good idea at first, but then makes your brain hurt if you look at it for too long.
Amazon's Valentine's Day Bad Gift Ideas
By 2.13.07
Amazon.com has put together a list of bad gift ideas, and we must say we enjoyed it. Of particular interest is the Fresh Whole Rabbit that we posted about previously. Other bad ideas we like:
New Hampshire’s Crappy Lemon Law
By 12.26.06
In New Hampshire, if you buy a car rated for over 9,000lbs, and that car is a lemon, you’re in trouble. New Hampshire’s lemon law has a loophole that classifies any vehicle over the 9,000lbs limit as a commercial vehicle, and thus ineligible for consumer protection. So what do SUV buyers do with their lemons? “They either have to fight it out with the dealership or perhaps even file a civil claim depending on the defect,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Fun.
SBC/AT&T DSL: Is A Bad Connection Breach Of Contract?
By 12.15.06
Does lowering a connection beyond their ability to charge for it constitute breach of contract? Jim isn’t getting what he’s paying for. What should he do? He might try bargaining with AT&T. If he really can’t get a reduced rate, maybe there are some features he could get for free. If they’re not willing to negotiate, it’s time to escalate. Ask for the supervisor. Tell them they are not providing the service you are paying for and you expect compensation. Say “Work with me here.” Don’t give up! —MEGHANN MARCO
