From that time the cat wouldn’t stop attacking its reflection in the mirror, to the gargantuan bacon cheeseburger you ate last night, Instagram users post all kinds of memories on the photo-sharing site. So when Consumerist reader Dylan was suddenly faced with losing all his pictures, he was understandably upset. [More]
customer support
Comcast Launches New Support Forums For Customers To Help Each Other
By 6.10.15
Comcast is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in improving its public image (and hopefully its customer service), and part of that revamp is taking place in the newly relaunched Comcast support forums, where customers can get help from the people best poised to answer their questions: other Comcast customers. [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]
Comcast Memo: Rep From “Painful” Retention Call Was Doing “What We Trained Him To Do”
By 7.21.14
A week after the posting of the neediest customer-retention call in Comcast history, the fallout continues, with the company’s Chief Operating Officer telling Comcast employees in a memo leaked to Consumerist that the incident was “painful to listen to,” but that the rep “did a lot of what we trained him…to do.” [More]
Guy Gets His Stolen Laptop Back A Year Later When Suspect Calls Customer Service For Help
By 4.9.14
In perhaps the only example of when a broken computer is a good thing, a man who had his laptop stolen last year was reunited with his property after the suspected thief called up Apple’s customer support. [More]
Mozy Wants To Explain Wireless Internets To You
By 8.16.10
You might think that a company like Mozy, which sells secure online backup services, would be able to troubleshoot common technical issues that are directly related to its business. After all, surely Heather isn’t the only customer to have problems with her initial backup hanging for several days in a row. But instead of offering useful assistance, Mozy’s tech support person told Heather that the problem was that “wireless internets don’t like lots of files flying through the air.” Wow, that must really cause problems with Mozy’s business model. [More]
What Happens When You Put A Tag Cloud On Your Customer Support Forum…
By 12.4.09
…is that the conversational threads become very apparent. Full version inside of the Newegg forums screengrab. [More]
Dell Support Tech Accidentally Gives Away Free Advice
By 8.25.09
Our reader humphrmi recently managed to avoid shelling out unnecessary bucks for paid technical support from Dell. His secret? Listening very carefully to the support rep, who inadvertently gave away the info he was trying to get humphrmi to pay for. Which is good, since that information was only one sentence long.
Logitech Replaces Mouse Under Warranty When Tweeted At
By 8.5.09
Everyone is tired of hearing about Twitter. It’s not the newest and shiniest communications tool anymore, and stories about its effectiveness in customer service aren’t novel anymore. Reader Ryan is tired of hearing about Twitter, but he shared a story with Consumerist about how Logitech only replaced his mouse under warranty after he tweeted at them.
Comcast's Twitter Reps Save The Day (Again) From Ineffectual Customer Support
By 5.13.09
Comcast might want to slash the budget on its Live Chat service and devote more resources to Frank and Sherri over on the Twitter side of things. The only good stories we hear about Comcast customer service comes from encounters with them, it seems.
Qwest Has A Twitter Account, Wants To Hear From Customers With Problems
By 5.5.09
Monica, a Qwest representative, sent us an official declaration regarding yesterday’s post; she says that Qwest absolutely does not do any throttling. She also points out that if you have problems you can’t get resolved, try the Twitter route. Their official page is http://twitter.com/talktoqwest.
Cracked Explains Why Tech Support Sucks
By 4.21.09
Cracked takes a stab at explaining why your calls to customer support inevitably lead to frustration. You’ll probably recognize your own experiences as you read their article, and learn a little about why being a customer service agent sucks so much, too.
Has Comcast Hired ELIZA For Customer Chat Support?
By 4.8.09
This English-as-a-second-language tech support guy just wants to help Noah out, but the weird combination of formal exchanges and misunderstandings make him sound like an AI program. We don’t think Jullan even realizes that his good-natured attempts to help are only annoying the customer more. In theory, we like the idea of a tech support guy “extending an extra mile,” but maybe next time he should stick to tech support and leave billing questions unto the billing department.
Symantec's Support Chat: Upsells And Freeware, But Not A Lot of Support
By 3.6.09
Something bad has happened to Symantec’s once-good chat service, notes Neil J. Rubenking at PC Mag. In the past, he says, they were helpful and knowledgable; now they pass freeware apps off as their own and attempt to get you to pay $100 fees for their “expert” service when you’re trying to troubleshoot a problem with them. He writes, “My new experiences while evaluating Norton 360 version 3.0 opened my eyes to the magnitude of the problem. Did Symantec switch outsourced support companies? Has the chat support team gone rogue?”
Thank You For Contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My Name Is Lethel.
By 4.30.08
Katherine, a new Comcast subscriber, was setting up her online account access when for reasons unknown it told her that she must talk the online CSR. Suddenly she felt fear and trepidation radiate down her arm and settle into her mouse hand. She took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and clicked “CHAT NOW.” What proceeded was a mind numbing 20 minutes of her life that Katherine will never get back. Her letter and chat log inside…
HP Won't Issue New Drivers For Leopard, Tells You To Buy A New Printer
By 3.15.08
Matt’s Officejet 6110 scans perfectly under Ubuntu, but won’t play nice with Leopard. When Matt called HP for support, he was told that the company has no plans to issue new drivers so he should just buy a new printer. To soften the blow, the tech mentioned HP’s trade-in program, which would give Matt a whopping $16 for his printer.
Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money
By 2.24.08
Silly Bill. He thought Bank of America would let him spend $5,800 on a home theater system just because he had over $10,000 in the bank. He tried to charge the system to his Bank of America Visa Platinum Check Card but was declined. Confused, Bill called Bank of America customer support for an explanation and had the sort of conversation that makes you want to drive a fork through your ear.
PayPal Error Stymies One Laptop Per Child Shipments
By 1.27.08
Tired of repeatedly hearing that his One Laptop Per Child was on the way, PC World’s Harry McCracken called OLPC and was surprised to discover that the charity didn’t have his mailing address on file. Apparently, PayPal passed McCracken’s payment to OLPC without providing his address.
