Here is the note Cingular’s legal counsel sent us to take down documents we posted. The items have info about how Cingular determines a customer’s “long term value” or “LTV.” This LTV is used to determine how many discounts they will give you to prevent you from cancelling your account.
csrs
Cingular Wants Us To Take Their Documents Down
By 7.28.06
We just received a note from Cingular’s legal department.
Executive Customer Support: Finding The Number
By 7.26.06
So, you want to obtain executive level customer support but can’t find their phone number. That’s understandable, most companies don’t want you to. But access to the corporate switchboard can be yours with a little sleuthing.
The Real Dope on Recording Customer Service Calls
By 7.25.06
It’s totally legal to record conversations across state lines and you don’t have to tell the company at all.
Dell’s Low Call Time Kills Customer Service
By 7.24.06
Beyond mere armchair bubble-piping on Dell’s eroding market share blah blah blah, a former Dell tech support rep lays out plain-spoken evidence for Dell’s declining concern for their customers. It’s got numbers, too.
Former Elite AOL Retainer Interviewed
By 7.24.06
Tricks an AOL retainer used to keep people from cancelling:
AOL Don’t Wanna Talk Bout No Manual
By 7.20.06
CNet got AOL on the horn to talk about the AOL retention manual we uploaded, but the big triangle didn’t have much to say, except for:
Retro AOL Bashing
By 7.20.06
Even before the roaring 2000’s ravaged AOL’s subscriber base like colectomy through Denny’s, the ISP was catching flack over its retention policies, as noted in an article from the golden-tinged yesteryears of 1998.
How Cingular Avoids Giving Discounts to Worthless Customers
By 7.19.06
A snip from a recent memo that teaches Cingular retention specialists how to avoid giving discounts to customers they deem unprofitable.
Cingular Distills Customer Value Into Thermometer Form
By 7.19.06
A customer service source inside Cingular sends us some interesting internal documents and says the cellphone company has a new policy that’s got the headset set in a bind. He reports that Cingular will, “no longer discount equipment for customers that are not profitable for us, no mater where they stand contractually. I have received several calls from customers attempting to upgrade, only to have to inform them that although yes, they are out of contract, we will not offer them discounted equipment. “
AOL Retention Manual Uploaded in Full
By 7.19.06
And finally, here is the full AOL retention manual, along with flowchart. Right click
AOL Retention Manual Revealed
By 7.18.06
In August of 2005, America Online settled with the office of NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over complaints about how arduous AOL made it to cancel service. In addition to a $1.25 million fine, AOL agreed to streamline the cancellation process and submit all calls for third-party review. On June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari posted a recording he made of his attempt to leave America Online. It shot to national TV and revealed AOL hadn’t learned the error of its ways. For “John,” the call center employee heard on the tape, to deploy the kind of mental warfare heard on the tape, he had to be well-trained…
Page From AOL Retention Manual
By 7.13.06
We’re putting the finishing touches on our big post on the AOL manual but wanted to release this sneak peak…
Death, Taxes and CSR’s
By 4.20.06
Reader Matt’s dad recently died. We’re sorry for your loss, Matt. There’s never anything else to say when the life of one we remember as god-like when we were children is ultimately proved as fragile as anyone else’s.
