At times it can be difficult to schedule a service call with a cable/phone/internet provider when you notice an issue. So, it’s no wonder Consumerist reader Jack was suspicious of a voicemail he received last week from a someone claiming to be a Comcast employee notifying him that the company had detected poor signals reaching his equipment and offering to send a tech to investigate the issue. [More]
customer service
Time Warner Cable Admits Its Customer Service Stinks. Pinky Swears To Do Better
By 10.5.15
Once again, a company is attempting the tactic of being honest about the public perception of its awfulness. This time, it’s Time Warner Cable, which really wants customers — most of whom have no other choice for broadband service — to believe it gives one little bit about their satisfaction. [More]
Awesome Or Annoying?: IT Help Desk Human Answering The Phone Like A Robot
By 9.29.15
It can be hard work manning a help desk and fielding questions from people all day, so we can’t really blame a New York City Health Department employee who’s taken to answering the phone in a robot voice for trying to jazz up his day a little bit. Unfortunately for Mr. Roboto, a judge has suggested he be suspended from work — for the second time — for his monotonous style. [More]
Dish Customers Can Now Track Repair Tech’s Location, ETA
By 9.22.15
In an effort to add some accountability to install and repair appointments, Dish Network has launched “My Tech,” a new feature of its MyDish.com that allows customers to see where their tech is, when they’ll arrive, and what they look like. [More]
Comcast Customers In Oregon Get To Experience Hopefully Improved Customer Service
By 9.21.15
A year ago this week, following a disastrous few months of very public customer service humiliations, Comcast promoted Charlie Herrin to be the Vice President, Making Company Look Less Awful (Note: This may not be his official title). The company subsequently promised that customer service “will be our best product,” resulting in more than a few snickers from Comcast subscribers. Now it’s time to see if these leadership changes and vague boasts are going to get results. [More]
AT&T Employee Says Company Turns “Blind Eye” To Lying Customer Service Reps
By 9.15.15
AT&T is the second-largest wireless carriers, one the country’s biggest landline providers, and now owns the most popular satellite TV service with more than 20 million subscribers. That’s a lot of opportunities for customer service staffers at the company to mislead callers, and one AT&T employee says it happens — a lot — and that AT&T knows it. [More]
United Airlines Customer Service Reps Learn That Working From Home Comes With 20% Pay Cut
By 9.8.15
Last week, United Airlines decided to shutter two of its customer service call centers — one in Detroit and one in Honolulu — but did so without plans to lay anyone off. Instead, these airline staffers could either move to Chicago or Houston to work in a call center, or they could work from home, but with a pay cut. [More]
I Signed Up For Samsung’s “Ultimate Test Drive” And All I Got Was A Defective Phone With No Way To Return It
By 9.2.15
A few weeks ago, Samsung announced a new promotion called “Ultimate Test Drive,” wherein iPhone users (and only iPhone users) could sign up to receive a Galaxy smartphone and try it out for a month, for just a $1 processing fee. Consumerist reader Alex figured he might as well take Samsung up on its offer, and signed up to get a Galaxy Note 5 for the month. He’s now stuck with a Samsung phone that doesn’t work, no way to return it and the company hasn’t responded to any of his requests for help. [More]
Frontier Airlines Claims To Save $1.9M By Eliminating Toll-Free Customer Service Calls
By 8.11.15
If you’ve ever run into an issue with your airline of choice, then you probably know one of the preferred ways to reach out to the carrier is through their toll-free customer service phone number. But that’s not the case anymore for Frontier Airlines, which has ditched its 800 number in order to cut costs. [More]
Facebook Launches Feature That Lets Users And Businesses Message Each Other
By 8.5.15
After Facebook announced in March that it’d be launching a pilot program with a few brands that would let customers and companies communicate privately, the social media network said Wednesday that it’s expanding the rollout of Messenger for businesses. [More]
Acer Takes A Week To Fix $150 Pricing Error On Its Website
By 8.4.15
It’s frustrating enough when an online retailer makes a typo that leads customers to think an item is on sale. It doesn’t help when the retailer subsequently brushes you off when you bring this error to their attention. And even after the media has pointed out the mistake to the corporate office, it will inexplicably take more time for the price to be corrected. [More]
Bojangles’ Customer Who Returned $4,000 He Found In Bag Says His Good Deed Was Greeted With Disrespect
By 7.21.15
When you do a good deed, you probably don’t do it just because you’re anticipating a good reward. But at the very least, a pleasant “thank you” is surely something you could expect. But one Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits customer says not only was he not thanked for returning between $4,000 to $4,500 in cash he found in a bag that was supposed to contain his food, but was treated with downright disrespect by restaurant staff. [More]
Sony Says My PS4 Is Too Infested With Bugs And Dust To Fix Under Warranty, Won’t Offer Proof
By 6.17.15
There’s a certain sense of relief provided by a warranty — when your product stops working, you can just send it in for repairs or sometimes receive a new one to replace it. But Consumerist reader Levi says he found himself out of luck after his PlayStation 4 gave him the “blue light of death,” despite the fact that it was under warranty. [More]
Twitter Lifting The 140-Character Limit For Direct Messages
By 6.12.15
Although many companies have branched into social media as a customer service tool, it can be frustrating for all parties involved when customers have to explain their issues in 140-character chunks of text. To make things a bit easier for everyone, Twitter has decided to lift the character limit in direct messages. So it’s like, email…? [More]
Why Can’t I Reach A Live Human Being At Uber When I Need To?
By 6.9.15
Although there are many things that used to require a phone to do that we can now accomplish with an e-mail, a swipe, a tap or a Tweet, there are customer service situations — compromised accounts, dangerous situations and other scenarios — where we still want to be able to reach out and actually talk to a live human being. But unlike many other consumer-facing companies, Uber doesn’t offer a contact phone number or a more immediate way to get in touch with the company besides a support e-mail address. [More]
Survey Says: Everyone Still Hates Comcast’s, TWC’s Customer Service
By 6.1.15
Comcast keeps promising that this is the year their legendarily bad customer service gets an overhaul, but consumers don’t seem to be buying it. A national survey asking consumers about cable and internet companies has, once again, dropped Comcast and Time Warner Cable right at the very bottom of the heap. [More]
Here Is Comcast’s 10-Point Action Plan For Winning Over Customers
By 5.6.15
For years, Comcast’s plan to win over customers was to do absolutely nothing because they — just like most cable companies — were the only choice. But with its pay-TV subscriber numbers dropping, the company is realizing that can indeed lose customers by treating them horribly. In an e-mail obtained by Consumerist, Comcast leadership has outlined its optimistic plan to win back all those customers who hate being residents of Kabletown. [More]
Comcast Customers Will Get $20 When Tech Shows Up Late
By 5.6.15
While many opponents of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger were primarily concerned about putting too much control over the pay-TV and broadband markets in one company’s hands, some just really disliked Comcast for its history of abominable customer service. Now that this acquisition has failed, Comcast is promising to invest some of its money in turning that we-don’t-care image around. The company says it will be hiring thousands of new customer service staffers and customers whose Comcast techs don’t show up on time will receive $20 bill credits. [More]
