Silly Bryan: he got this idea in his head that “In Stock – Delivered in 3-5 business days” on the Google Nexus 7 ordering page meant that he could order a tablet and it would be delivered in 3-5 business days. He needed it within five business days, and placed an order. Instead of the promised two business days for processing, the tablet was set to ship out on Thursday when he’s leaving for the trip on Sunday. 2nd Day Air wasn’t going to work. [More]
customer service
Time Doesn’t Really Fly When Repair Shop Keeps Your Clock For More Than 22 Years
By 2.27.13
We’ve heard some horror stories about customer service here at Consumerist HQ, but the examples coming from customers of a clock shop in New York are totally taking the cake. One woman dropped off her timepiece for repairs 22 years ago… and hasn’t seen it since.
There’s A Thin Line Between Having Fun At Time Warner Cable’s Expense And Just Being A Jerk
February 25, 2013
We understand the desire to take out your frustrations with the folks in customer service, but mocking these people when they’re just trying to respond to your complaint can make you look like a bit of a jerk. [via TheBillFold.com] [More]
I Want Toys ‘R’ Us Protection Plan Help, Manager Threatens To Call Cops
By 2.19.13
It wasn’t very long ago at all that Esdras went to Toys ‘R’ Us and bought a tablet for his son. Barely four months ago, he picked up the KD Interactive Android tablet, along with a protection plan. A protection plan is generally a good idea when you combine a toddler and an electronic device, even if it is one designed especially for kids. Where Esdras got confused, though, was when the cashier gave him incorrect instructions regarding the protection plan. Just bring the item back if he had any problems, he was told. No plan brochure, no details, nothing. [More]
eBay Restricts My Account Because They Owe Me Too Much Money, Sort Of
By 2.11.13
LW sells on eBay a lot, and has a neat trick to save on listing fees. He sets up listings in a third-party program, then waits until the site is running a free listings promotion. Then, bam! All four hundred listings go up at once! The plan is flawed, though, because eBay doesn’t want to give LW those sweet, sweet fee discounts. He has to call to get them. Over and over. [More]
Should Diners Be Rewarded For Well-Behaved Kids, Or Should That Just Be The Norm?
By 2.5.13
We’ve seen the joy that can spread when restaurant employees type in an personalized discount on diner’s receipts — perhaps complimenting the customer or simply giving a discount to wish a mother-to-be luck. In another recent case of a generous restaurant server, the worker gave a family $4 off the bill for having “well behaved kids.” Sweet, right? Or should it just be expected that if you’re dining out, you keep your kids under control?
Boston Market Worker Fired For Telling Exec On ‘Undercover Boss’ That He Hates Customers
By 2.5.13
While service industry workers can’t go around thinking that every new hire is a mole operating as part of a reality TV show, perhaps it’s not the best idea to tell the co-worker you just met how much you despise, loathe and otherwise abhor your customers. A loose-lipped Boston Market worker found himself removed from those customers he hated so, after admitting as much to an undercover company executive on Undercover Boss. [More]
Shockingly, Customers Who Buy Google Products Expect Some Customer Service
By 2.4.13 — Updated: 2.5.13
We’ve posted before about how Google’s idea of offering product support is to maintain some customer forums and peek in every once in a while. That’s understandable for free tools like Gmail and standard Google Voice, but customers who have paid Google for services expect more. For example, many of the customers who have paid to port their phone numbers to Google Voice so far this month have received an e-mail confirming that their port went through…then discover that people who call them are getting a message that the number has been disconnected. [More]
SodaStream Customer Service Finds It Hilarious That Its Products Send Me Straight To The Toilet
By 2.1.13
Consumerist reader C. had a problem of a well, rather delicate nature. She writes that after receiving a SodaStream for Christmas, she was beyond excited to try it out, using a few of the company’s flavored syrups to make her own carbonated beverages at home. That excitement waned when she started experiencing an — how shall we say it? — ill health effect that sent her running for the bathroom every time she drank the stuff. [More]
This T-Mobile Chat Transcript Shows Why Online Customer Service May Not Be A Huge Improvement
By 1.25.13
More and more businesses are pushing customers toward online chat as a preferred form of customer service. Best Buy even ditched its e-mail contacts in favor of chat. But is chat really any better? [More]
I Use Facebook To Check On My Monitor Repair, Samsung Just Goes Ahead And Sends Me Better One
By 1.23.13
Graeme has two Samsung monitors, and has had them repaired under warranty a few times. Two years into his three-year warranty, he sent a monitor that snapped off its stand in for repair. Not terribly worried, he checked in on it using Facebook. Samsung took this as an indication that he was unhappy, and should be sent a larger, newer, better monitor.
Expert Says Time Warner Cable Customers Are Cutting The Cord Because Of Bad Customer Service
By 1.22.13
Much of the coverage surrounding the phenomenon of cord-cutting has focused on the cost savings of ditching cable. But some of the blame for all these fleeing customers has to be pinned on the cable industry’s notoriously bad customer service. [More]
4 Reasons Why Profanity-Filled E-Mails & Rants Will Not Result In Good Customer Service
By 1.3.13
Bad customer service — especially the kind that has the consumer bouncing from one department to the next without any hope for resolution — can be infuriating. It can be incredibly easy, if not downright tempting, to dust off every dirty word you ever learned by watching football with that one uncle as a kid. [More]
My Quest For A Defect-Free Microsoft Surface Goes Surprisingly Poorly
By 1.2.13
Being an early adopter can be difficult. Overall, Grady likes his new Microsoft Surface tablet, but noticed some hardware issues, like light distortion and a power button that doesn’t feel right. Those are relatively minor issues when the entire device is working well, but not what Grady expected when he laid out $600 for a new tablet. That’s when he began his quest to return his Surface to Microsoft and obtain one with no defects, cosmetic or otherwise. This quest turned out to be more difficult than he had predicted. [More]
Should You Feel Guilty After Receiving Amazing Customer Service?
By 12.28.12
We’ve long been advocates of using Twitter for customer service when the regular channels of customer service don’t work. There’s something about the combination of pithy microblog updates and public posting that some companies have done very well, and that others have been unable to manage. Others are giving up on the platform entirely.If you can get help via Twitter, that turns you into a VIP, and that made Lindsay Robertson of The Awl uncomfortable after she used Twitter to complain to Home Depot about her backordered air conditioner. [More]
Moleskine Is So Great At Quality Control & Customer Service, I Feel Kinda Guilty
By 12.26.12
Christmas might be over, but we thought we’d spread a bit of holiday cheer by way of Consumerist reader Matthew’s recent warm-and-fuzzy-inducing experience with Moleskine. He admits that he might not even really deserve the experience he had, because he was perfectly happy with his three-pack of Moleskine journals. He just kind of wanted to see if the company was listening. It was. [More]
Zappos, Where A 9-Hour Customer Service Phone Chat Is A Good Thing
By 12.20.12
Many front-line customer service reps are judged on how quickly they can get a customer off the phone, a metric we’ve repeatedly pointed out leads to consumers’ issues going unresolved. But the folks at Zappos.com apparently aren’t as clock-minded, with one record-setting call crossing the nine-hour mark. [More]
The Body Shop Ships Glass Candle Holder Loose In Box, Makes Up For It With Fabulous Customer Service
By 12.19.12 — Updated: 12.20.12
The lovely scented candle that Todd ordered from The Body Shop arrived on time and all, but smashed. It came in a glass holder, and no one working at the warehouse seemed to know that when you ship an item made of glass, you should put some kind of packing materials around it so it doesn’t end up pulverized into little shards that cut Todd’s hand. For example. Trying to get through to their customer service, though, added figurative insult to his literal injury. [More]
