Reader Kevin wanted to sign up for Verizon’s One Bill service, so he called to see if he qualified. The CSR told him that he did, so he signed up for it. Turns out, the CSR secretly signed him up for a more expensive DSL plan because his current one did not qualify. Now Verizon wants an early termination fee for the new, faster DSL and an activation fee to put Kevin back on the plan he used to have. Yuck.
csrs
After Your House Burns Down, Verizon Wants You To Use Your Melted Phone To Forward Your Calls
By 8.1.08
Whoever or whatever they’ve got working the phones at Verizon doesn’t seem to understand the concept of “fire.” As in, “my house burned down and everything inside it is melted and charred.” It’s not a difficult concept, but James’s father in-law was unable to explain it to Verizon.
This HP Customer Service Rep Thinks He's A Genteel Salesman
By 6.17.08
A Consumerist reader called HP to ask whether they could help him with a broken computer. They couldn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop the CSR from trying to ever-so-politely upsell a brand new HP computer at a low, low price. Thanks for calling HP Total Care for Desktops! What can we do to put you in a new computer today?
Simplehuman's Excellent Customer Service Makes Other Companies Look Like Garbage
By 6.12.08
Pani just had an astoundingly good bit of customer service from aptly-named simplehuman—makers of those elegant-but-expensive trash cans—and wrote to let us know about it. Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and every cable, cellular, and telephone company, you might want to print this out and pass it around your CSR executive offices.
Former Time Warner CSR Arrested For ID Theft
By 5.28.08
A woman in Cincinnati was arrested this week and charged with two counts of identity theft and two counts of theft, for allegedly stealing the credit card information of a customer who was paying a bill in November 2007. Time Warner fired her when the investigation started and it appears no other customers were affected, but it’s a good reminder to stay on top of your credit report at all times.
Why Does It Take IKEA Four Months To Replace A Defective Couch Cover?
By 4.26.08
Joyce has been waiting since December for IKEA to send her a replacement couch cover. IKEA admitted that the cover had a known defect, but since they were out replacements at the time, they promised to call Joyce a month later when new covers arrived. Joyce gave her information and asked for a reference number, but was told that one wouldn’t be necessary. Wouldn’t that have been nice?
Cablevision Claims They Are Not Lying Liars, But Mysteries Remain
By 4.20.08
Cablevision responded to our post chastising their attempt to force customer to upgrade to digital service by pointing to an unrelated FCC mandate. Cablevision admits that there is no connection between their unilateral business decision to cut channels and the FCC-mandated transition to digital television, but their statement leaves several questions unanswered. Read Cablevision’s statement and our response, after the jump.
Cablevision Blatantly Lies To Subscribers As The FCC Twiddles Its Thumbs
By 4.19.08
Update: Cablevision responds.
Sprint's "Nucking Futs" "Jessica" Fired
By 4.16.08
benpopken: How did the company track down which “Jessica” it was?
Sprint To Customer: "Are You Nucking Futs?"
By 4.12.08
Reader Pam asked Jessica if she could port her landline to her mobile account, prompting the Sprint CSR to respond: “No, are you nucking futz?” Pam wasn’t expecting an abusive chat when she visited Sprint’s website to research a potential contract extension, but Jessica unexpectedly appeared with advice that wasn’t just rude, but also wrong.
Qwest Sells Woman "Cheaper" Package That Costs More, Has Unmentioned 2-Year Commitment, And Requires New Modem
By 4.7.08
Matt’s mom, a longtime Qwest customer, called up the company to switch her long distance over from AT&T. The CSR suggested she switch over to a bundled package that would save her $11 a month and offer faster Internet connection speeds. What the CSR didn’t mention was that the new package required a 2-year commitment, that it wouldn’t work with her current DSL modem, and that it actually came out to about $3 more per month.
Air Canada To Charge Extra For "Specially-Trained" CSRs
By 4.4.08
Air Canada has heard you loud and clear, and they’re going to start making sure they have decent customer service reps on-hand to help you the next time your flight is canceled, delayed, or re-routed. And you’ll have to pay for it: “$25 one-way on short-haul flights and an extra $35 one-way on long-haul routes within North America.”
AT&T Won't Sell Man GoPhone Because It Can't Verify His Credit History
By 3.29.08
Nathan’s been having trouble this week buying a prepaid GoPhone from AT&T Mobility’s website. He finally found out the reason: they couldn’t verify his credit history. This is confusing because it’s a prepaid GoPhone and because his credit history is superb. “Cheryl refused to transfer me.
Adobe Needs Eight Employees To Completely Screw Up CS3 Cross-Grade
By 3.21.08
Jay wanted to update his copy of Adobe Creative Suite 2 to CS3 and simultaneously switch the license over to the Mac platform. The first sales rep he spoke with did everything right and Jay was very happy. Then that sales rep disappeared forever, only to be replaced by a comically inept parade of CSRs who can’t figure out Adobe’s own systems, who make up their job titles, give out fax numbers to call, and who—in one case—claim to be on a phone system that doesn’t connect to the outside world.
Everything About This Sears Order Is Wrong
By 3.21.08
Half an hour of arguing on the phone with a Sears rep and I was able to get the discount credited back to my card, but no free shipping, and it could take 10-14 days for them to “trace” my $20 blow gun. I am filing a claim with my credit card issuer just to be safe. This is the same company that sends me a free ratchet in the mail every time I exchange one in the store, so I can’t complain too much.
This order is tragic. Just another reason customers avoid Sears like bird flu and the company can’t turn a profit. If Sears further bungles the response or fails to send a free ratchet, share the failure with Sears’ executive office—but don’t ask for Mr. Lewis. He was fired for gross incompetence.
