OT: Am I get old and cranky, or does customer service just suck any more?

[TenerHallTerror]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

 

[fairgambit]

As an attorney I often hear people complain to me about other attorneys. The single biggest complaint by far? The other guy/gal "never" returns my calls. Typically the will say they get a secretary who says the attorney is with a client, in court, out of town, etc. This can go on for weeks. It has become such a frequent complaint that I make it a point to go to the opposite extreme. Every client I have gets my cell phone number and are told they can call me until 11PM every day, including weekends. They know if I am able, I will take the call. If not, I always return it within 12 hours and generally much sooner.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

As an attorney I often hear people complain to me about other attorneys. The single biggest complaint by far? The other guy/gal "never" returns my calls. Typically the will say they get a secretary who says the attorney is with a client, in court, out of town, etc. This can go on for weeks. It has become such a frequent complaint that I make it a point to go to the opposite extreme. Every client I have gets my cell phone number and are told they can call me until 11PM every day, including weekends. They know if I am able, I will take the call. If not, I always return it within 12 hours and generally much sooner.

that's kind of funny. I listen to Mark Geragos on his podcast with Adam Carolla. Geragos says you don't want an attorney who has the time to return your calls right away. It means he's so good he is always busy, LOL

But I think you're more "old school". that's the customer service I am talking about. Well done . . .

 

[ILLINOISLION]

As an attorney I often hear people complain to me about other attorneys. The single biggest complaint by far? The other guy/gal "never" returns my calls. Typically the will say they get a secretary who says the attorney is with a client, in court, out of town, etc. This can go on for weeks. It has become such a frequent complaint that I make it a point to go to the opposite extreme. Every client I have gets my cell phone number and are told they can call me until 11PM every day, including weekends. They know if I am able, I will take the call. If not, I always return it within 12 hours and generally much sooner.

So your clients all get your cell phone number but all of us on Tom's Board can barely get a b-day posting.....have you no shame?

 

[fairgambit]

that's kind of funny. I listen to Mark Geragos on his podcast with Adam Carolla. Geragos says you don't want an attorney who has the time to return your calls right away. It means he's so good he is always busy, LOL

But I think you're more "old school". that's the customer service I am talking about. Well done . . .

Believe me. I have thought about that and seriously considered delaying return calls just for that reason, but I just couldn't do it. My clients are paying me good money and that means they get full access.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Believe me. I have thought about that and seriously considered delaying return calls just for that reason, but I just couldn't do it. My clients are paying me good money and that means they get full access.

I just remember hearing Geragos say that recently. I prefer a professional who will take/return calls in a timely manner

 

[fairgambit]

So your clients all get your cell phone number but all of us on Tom's Board can barely get a b-day posting.....have you no shame?

Well, I do have a little shame, but not much. On this board just a little shame goes a long way.
By the way, this board has far fewer trolls since you've become a double secret moderator. Keep up the good work.

 

[psu00]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

I don't think it's you. Stayed a few nights in a hotel on a trip. Day 1 had no maid service (was out of room by 10am). So, the next morning I call the front desk about 10am as I'm leaving and ask very nicely if they could just make sure the room gets made up as I'm running low on towels. (Very low key- 'could you please do me a favor' type request on the phone). Lady at the front desk was very nice and said no problem.

So I head out to the car and before I can get it started (about 10 min from call to front desk) my cell phone goes off. Clearly they called the room and got no answer- then called my cell phone (which they must have got at time of reservation as I don't recall ever giving the number to them).

It's a female employee of the hotel who is giving me some attitude that they can not make up the room when I have the do not disturb sign on the door. I tell her it's not on the door and was removed as I left. She's caught off guard- clearly didn't look.

She then stammers and repeats how they can't fix up the room with the sign so I have to explain to her that on vacation I don't like to get up early so the sign is on the door to prevent an 8am 'housekeeping' knock on the door.....,,but that it may be off at 10am and the room is then free the rest of the day. She was clearly annoyed and stammered 'fine' and hung up.

Kind of irked me a little later. It wasn't like I was being pushy, or was an a$$ on the phone to the front desk (just the opposite actually). It wasn't like I left the room at 4pm and was annoyed it wasn't fixed up. (Plus friends in 2 other rooms had the same issue).

 

[rudedude]

I have been receiving the usual billing/ insurance statements post my recent surgery. Yesterday I get a bill in the mail from a physician billing service in Texas for my initial ER trip and EKG. The bill notes I owe $$ as my insurance has paid everything. Well I look on the bill and my primary insurance is listed as an insurance that I and my wife do not have! I gave the ER staff my insurance cards when I got there. I went online to change the insurances. Interestingly, the hospital I went to is where my wife works and the same one that provides her insurance (my secondary). I do a little research and see that her insurance notes only a $100 copay for ER services, but it gets waived if the person is admitted, like I was for my surgery! I imagine physicians and hospitals may lose $$ by people who cannot or do not know what to do with insurance info. And the poor person who is not savvy enough about knowing where to find their benefit info may wind up paying a bill they don't have to. Health insurance and medical care needs
to simplify.

 

[kgilbert78]

I have been receiving the usual billing/ insurance statements post my recent surgery. Yesterday I get a bill in the mail from a physician billing service in Texas for my initial ER trip and EKG. The bill notes I owe $$ as my insurance has paid everything. Well I look on the bill and my primary insurance is listed as an insurance that I and my wife do not have! I gave the ER staff my insurance cards when I got there. I went online to change the insurances. Interestingly, the hospital I went to is where my wife works and the same one that provides her insurance (my secondary). I do a little research and see that her insurance notes only a $100 copay for ER services, but it gets waived if the person is admitted, like I was for my surgery! I imagine physicians and hospitals may lose $$ by people who cannot or do not know what to do with insurance info. And the poor person who is not savvy enough about knowing where to find their benefit info may wind up paying a bill they don't have to. Health insurance and medical care needs
to simplify.

The new trick is to do a test while you are in the ER as an "office visit"--because the doctor gets more for that--and the insurance company can then bill you for a co-pay for both the ER visit and an office visit--and then they both blame the other party for the "error". Took me 6 months to fix that--and it wasn't worth my time for the $35. The other one? If your doc is busy and they send you the "nurse-practitioner" (in the same office) instead, it's charged as a "specialist" visit (higher co-pay).

 

[MtNittany]

Three words on airport travel:

Short. Term. Parking.

 

[CF LION]

As an attorney I often hear people complain to me about other attorneys. The single biggest complaint by far? The other guy/gal "never" returns my calls. Typically the will say they get a secretary who says the attorney is with a client, in court, out of town, etc. This can go on for weeks. It has become such a frequent complaint that I make it a point to go to the opposite extreme. Every client I have gets my cell phone number and are told they can call me until 11PM every day, including weekends. They know if I am able, I will take the call. If not, I always return it within 12 hours and generally much sooner.

Good for you. An attorney I worked with last year regarding some things with my wife would text me if he couldn't take my call....eg - "Heading to court..will call you after 11" ..and he would. I really appreciated that.

I try to respond to every VM or email that requires it in some way, even if it's "Got your email - working on it"..or some such response.

 

[kgilbert78]

Three words on airport travel:

Short. Term. Parking.

Useful for departure. Less useful for destination arrival.

 

[kgilbert78]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

The answer to your title questions are

Likely yes and definitely yes.

 

[ericstratton-rushchairman]

Both

 

[Plan Ahaed]

Receiving poor customer service is often a symptom of the "Do more with less" attitude from management, and the "You get what you pay for" attitude of employees, with a dash of automation thrown in. Plus you have the "entitlement" culture of consumers that we have running rampant throughout all segments of society to contend with. Look at Wells Fargo, customer service reps were opening up fake accounts in order to keep management from firing them for not meeting unrealistic goals. Management didn't give a hoot about consumers or their employees, they only wanted to increase the bottom line. Then you have insane customers who demand the 200% compensation for a minor mistake and threaten to make a federal case if you don't appease them.

You're right though - most companies don't care if you like them or not because at this point you have little to few options in many industries. Airlines - you have 4-5 major national options, cell phones - 4-5 carriers, media is owned by 5-6 companies. Just about all consumer goods are owned by 9 companies. The 4 largest banks combined own more assets than banks 5-20 put together. Most customer service reps. aren't paid enough to care enough, or have enough loyalty to a company to go above and beyond. They're monitored on their talk time with the customer, how much additional they're able to sell you and on the flip side how much they cost the company. If they go above and beyond to keep the customer happy and it costs the company too much, they get written up. If they're stingy and tow the company line the customer complains to mgmt., and the rep. gets written up.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

so I slammed the company in their customer satisfaction survey. Interesting, I got this email just now, about a minute after I received an email celebrating their 50th year in business LOL

Thank you for responding to our survey. I am so sorry to hear of the issues that you have had with our shuttle service at my location. This does not reflect the great customer experience that we aspire to provide or that you deserve. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced with us on your recent stay. I assure you our management team will speak with our teams and find out where our processes broke down. We’re still in the process of expanding our fleet and I assure you we are working diligently to ensure that all of our pick up areas are covered in a timely manner. We do appreciate and value your business and while we were the pioneers in this industry, we realize that we need to constantly be working to improve and I hope you will bear with us while we do so.

 

[Tri-Power65]

Stay away from the Post Office.

 

[Ktownlion]

I have been receiving the usual billing/ insurance statements post my recent surgery. Yesterday I get a bill in the mail from a physician billing service in Texas for my initial ER trip and EKG. The bill notes I owe $$ as my insurance has paid everything. Well I look on the bill and my primary insurance is listed as an insurance that I and my wife do not have! I gave the ER staff my insurance cards when I got there. I went online to change the insurances. Interestingly, the hospital I went to is where my wife works and the same one that provides her insurance (my secondary). I do a little research and see that her insurance notes only a $100 copay for ER services, but it gets waived if the person is admitted, like I was for my surgery! I imagine physicians and hospitals may lose $$ by people who cannot or do not know what to do with insurance info. And the poor person who is not savvy enough about knowing where to find their benefit info may wind up paying a bill they don't have to. Health insurance and medical care needs
to simplify.

My wife is in the medical field; combined with the fact that my son had a long illness has made her very experienced with medical billing. Her conclusions are that hospitals/dr's. just bill people regardless of what is owed or what insurance should cover, and people just pay them as opposed to taking the time to investigate. Her theory is supported by the numerous bills we have received over the years that we never owed and did not pay after she called and questioned, armed with facts about insurance plans, co pays. etc

 

[NedFromYork]

No doubt you are from NEPA.

 

[Ranger Dan]

You know that becoming old and cranky and customer service degrading are not mutually exclusive... lol

I tend to agree. It used to be that between good, fast, and cheap, you could pick two of them. I think now it's done to one of those options.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

I'm just happy when I get someone I can understand!

 

[canefan61]

I took on Medicare in Jacksonville, FL twice. My late husband had end stage renal disease and was retired from the school board. He had medicare disability coverage, school board coverage, plus coverage under my employer. Medicare was primary, but refuted that fact. The other two carriers would not pay because they felt medicare was primary. I was administrator of a large orthopaedic group practice and contacted the Atlanta office who referred me to a gentleman in Baltimore, MD who literally wrote the medicare book on end stage renal which is separate from the main medicare book. I set up a conference call and this gentleman told medicare in Jax. if they didn't pay and pay now he would help me own them. I demanded they send a letter of apology to every vendor and to the other two insurance carriers. Bills at that point were $250,000.

Secondly, my Mom had shingles which started on her head and followed a dermatone distribution down the side of her face into her left eye. She had had lens following cataract surgery; thus, went to an ophthalmologist. Medicare refused to pay because the CPT and ICD9 codes did not match.....in order words, you don't go to an ophthalmologist for treatment of shingles and regardless of the fact that the doctor wrote medicare a letter explaining this. She paid out-of-pocket over $800. Her face was horrible from the shingles. I took her and all the explanation of benefit forms to the Medicare office met with a representative and advised if this was not paid within 3 days, I would proceed to go to the Times Union newspaper and find a feature writer, plus would get an attorney. The representative was actually appalled that medicare had refused to pay. My Mom was reimbursed within 2 days.

A lot of times doctors and their staff make errors in coding which throws everything in a quandry. I have found a myriad errors particularly in hospital billings.

 

[psu1969a]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

There is not enough space for me to even get started. Guess who one my favorites are? Time's up; PSU Athletic Office.

 

[artsandletters]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

First you complain about the snow, now it's too hot. Take your bra off and relax, for chrissakes.

 

[Nitt1300]

Who is responsible for customer service? People

People suck, therefore customer service sucks- it's really that simple.
And the suckage of people is only getting worse, so there is that to look forward to, too.

 

[artsandletters]

Who is responsible for customer service? People

People suck, therefore customer service sucks- it's really that simple.
And the suckage of people is only getting worse, so there is that to look forward to, too.

You read my mind. Stop it.

 

[psu ironman]

I don't think it's you. Stayed a few nights in a hotel on a trip. Day 1 had no maid service (was out of room by 10am). So, the next morning I call the front desk about 10am as I'm leaving and ask very nicely if they could just make sure the room gets made up as I'm running low on towels. (Very low key- 'could you please do me a favor' type request on the phone). Lady at the front desk was very nice and said no problem.

So I head out to the car and before I can get it started (about 10 min from call to front desk) my cell phone goes off. Clearly they called the room and got no answer- then called my cell phone (which they must have got at time of reservation as I don't recall ever giving the number to them).

It's a female employee of the hotel who is giving me some attitude that they can not make up the room when I have the do not disturb sign on the door. I tell her it's not on the door and was removed as I left. She's caught off guard- clearly didn't look.

She then stammers and repeats how they can't fix up the room with the sign so I have to explain to her that on vacation I don't like to get up early so the sign is on the door to prevent an 8am 'housekeeping' knock on the door.....,,but that it may be off at 10am and the room is then free the rest of the day. She was clearly annoyed and stammered 'fine' and hung up.

Kind of irked me a little later. It wasn't like I was being pushy, or was an a$$ on the phone to the front desk (just the opposite actually). It wasn't like I left the room at 4pm and was annoyed it wasn't fixed up. (Plus friends in 2 other rooms had the same issue).

She probably cleaned the toilet with your toothbrush

 

[Woodpecker]

Who is responsible for customer service? People

People suck, therefore customer service sucks- it's really that simple.
And the suckage of people is only getting worse, so there is that to look forward to, too.

 

[Fairfax Lion]

I'm with Illinois on this. You call for assistance and after 10 minutes of bad elevator music get someone who is totally unintelligible who says his name is Dave.

PS I am old and getting crankier by the day!

 

[artsandletters]

I call the pharmacy and the recording says if this is a life threatening situation, dial 911.

I call my healthcare outfit and the recording says the same.

If I dial 911 will they tell me to call either my pharmacy or healthcare outfit for instructions?

Who would call their pharmacy or healthcare company while experiencing a life threatening situation, other than Nate and Jive, I mean?

 

[retsio]

After 20 years of the internet, that email form on the 'contact us' page is generally ignored. No matter what company 'name' you might be dealing with, always start at the top. Your letter of 'information' (complaint) and 'request' (demand) for action and restitution may not be acknowledged, but some companies actually want and need 'good will'. Some other companies regard this as impacting the customer base. Disney and American Express respond quickly to the customer since their brand is sensitive to any public issue.

The worst -- Comcast, bar none. The following is an excerpt of a 4 page letter with an additional 4 pages of documentation that will probably not receive the courtesy of a reply. I also forwarded this to my Attorney to circulate within the Comcast headquarters management personnel. Shame may work, but I doubt it. Again -- start at the top and keep pressing the issue !
==================
January 10, 2017
Comcast Corporation
Comcast Center
1701 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Attention: Mr. Brian Roberts, CEO

Re: Customer Service
Many companies take pride in their customer service personnel, providing responsible and capable action for a positive customer relationship. Unfortunately however, that has not been the most recent Comcast activity for us.
There is no other way to sugar coat the reaction of Comcast personnel, other than to say we have been lied to via phone conversations, and to our face in an office visit.
#1. On Thursday December 1, 2016 we visited the Tamiami Trail, North Naples office to establish and order Comcast service with installation to be completed the next day, December 2, 2016.
#2. By very late Friday 12-2-16 without any installation activity, I phoned the Comcast general phone number, and after a long wait, was connected to Allison in the Philippines. She kept me on hold several times while she explained that a work order form must be completed and sent to the proper office for any installation work to begin.
#3. On Saturday 12-3-16 and no installation work of any kind, I waited until the late evening to again phone the general Comcast number. This time I was connected to Steve in the Philippines who labored over our account status and was at a loss to assist in any way.
#4. Now Sunday 12-4-16 and no installation a activity at all, I was connected to Luis #91008 in Mexico who attempted to keep me on the line and solve the problem, but without technical help he could not.
#5. Again on Sunday 12-4-16, I again attempted assistance from an operator in the US but was connected to Chris #1584441 in Columbia. He again tried to keep me on the phone and solve problems, but could not.
#6. Next on Sunday 12-4-16, hoping to speak to someone in the US, I was connected to Miguel #963671 in Columbia who wanted to try…but could not because he did not understand the installation problems.
#7. Also Sunday 12-4-16, I learned that Francisco Villanneva tech #6117 should be the installation expert, but a work order had not been submitted by Allison in the Philippines. Therefore we should return to the North Naples office and obtain a ticket number for a work order.
#8. Now Monday 12-5-16 Work order ticket # CR657091873 // Reference #CR657097358 // Password #49HAK7AFTCAA4T73. But this new community is Fibre Optic and that requires a different tact.
#9. I attempted to contact Jesus Medina #6309 Mgr. of Tech Services in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1641 as was told the Fibre Department was an outside Contractor and would have to be scheduled.
#10. On Tuesday 12-6-16, I attempted to reach Mike Platt, Mgr. Of Tech Operations in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1829.….and was rebuffed when I asked to speak with Ms. Barbara Hagen, Vice President of Fort Myers to explain this ‘problem’.
#11. I also visited the North Naples office and spoke directly with Carlos J. Acosta who lied to my face when he stated we would be activated by tomorrow. Nothing happened.
#12. Now Wednesday 12-7-16 with no relief in sight, I phoned Comcast in Philadelphia requesting help from the Executive Assistants.
#13. Mario #-=A in New Mexico, had no idea what I was talking about and could not help.
#14. Sierra #name? in Seattle, WA also could not help and did not know why we were not assisted before.
#15. Finally Eddie R. #3012160 in Philadelphia understood and provided the case number as follows #ESL02790144 and Feedback #ESL10045503 and transferred all of this to someone who had the authority and foresight to solve this as quickly as possible.
#16. Ms. Crystal Hruby of the West Palm Beach office at 561-227-3413 finally made up for all of the previous transgressions of Comcast personnel on Thursday and Friday 12-8&9-16. In conjunction with Crystal and her scheduling work, by Saturday Danny Talleda #6806 had the fibre optic crew find a broken cable and correspond with Crystal to activate all of the television set-top boxes and our two computers in our two offices. Only when conversing with Philadelphia EA’s at this stage of this monumental problem, did I disclose with Comcast our business requirements. We were losing so many phone and computer connections on a daily basis.

For more than a week, we were forced to find a quiet Panera Bread location (impossible) to continue our businesses on a daily basis on improbable WiFi.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

After 20 years of the internet, that email form on the 'contact us' page is generally ignored. No matter what company 'name' you might be dealing with, always start at the top. Your letter of 'information' (complaint) and 'request' (demand) for action and restitution may not be acknowledged, but some companies actually want and need 'good will'. Some other companies regard this as impacting the customer base. Disney and American Express respond quickly to the customer since their brand is sensitive to any public issue.

The worst -- Comcast, bar none. The following is an excerpt of a 4 page letter with an additional 4 pages of documentation that will probably not receive the courtesy of a reply. I also forwarded this to my Attorney to circulate within the Comcast headquarters management personnel. Shame may work, but I doubt it. Again -- start at the top and keep pressing the issue !
==================
January 10, 2017
Comcast Corporation
Comcast Center
1701 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Attention: Mr. Brian Roberts, CEO

Re: Customer Service
Many companies take pride in their customer service personnel, providing responsible and capable action for a positive customer relationship. Unfortunately however, that has not been the most recent Comcast activity for us.
There is no other way to sugar coat the reaction of Comcast personnel, other than to say we have been lied to via phone conversations, and to our face in an office visit.
#1. On Thursday December 1, 2016 we visited the Tamiami Trail, North Naples office to establish and order Comcast service with installation to be completed the next day, December 2, 2016.
#2. By very late Friday 12-2-16 without any installation activity, I phoned the Comcast general phone number, and after a long wait, was connected to Allison in the Philippines. She kept me on hold several times while she explained that a work order form must be completed and sent to the proper office for any installation work to begin.
#3. On Saturday 12-3-16 and no installation work of any kind, I waited until the late evening to again phone the general Comcast number. This time I was connected to Steve in the Philippines who labored over our account status and was at a loss to assist in any way.
#4. Now Sunday 12-4-16 and no installation a activity at all, I was connected to Luis #91008 in Mexico who attempted to keep me on the line and solve the problem, but without technical help he could not.
#5. Again on Sunday 12-4-16, I again attempted assistance from an operator in the US but was connected to Chris #1584441 in Columbia. He again tried to keep me on the phone and solve problems, but could not.
#6. Next on Sunday 12-4-16, hoping to speak to someone in the US, I was connected to Miguel #963671 in Columbia who wanted to try…but could not because he did not understand the installation problems.
#7. Also Sunday 12-4-16, I learned that Francisco Villanneva tech #6117 should be the installation expert, but a work order had not been submitted by Allison in the Philippines. Therefore we should return to the North Naples office and obtain a ticket number for a work order.
#8. Now Monday 12-5-16 Work order ticket # CR657091873 // Reference #CR657097358 // Password #49HAK7AFTCAA4T73. But this new community is Fibre Optic and that requires a different tact.
#9. I attempted to contact Jesus Medina #6309 Mgr. of Tech Services in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1641 as was told the Fibre Department was an outside Contractor and would have to be scheduled.
#10. On Tuesday 12-6-16, I attempted to reach Mike Platt, Mgr. Of Tech Operations in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1829.….and was rebuffed when I asked to speak with Ms. Barbara Hagen, Vice President of Fort Myers to explain this ‘problem’.
#11. I also visited the North Naples office and spoke directly with Carlos J. Acosta who lied to my face when he stated we would be activated by tomorrow. Nothing happened.
#12. Now Wednesday 12-7-16 with no relief in sight, I phoned Comcast in Philadelphia requesting help from the Executive Assistants.
#13. Mario #-=A in New Mexico, had no idea what I was talking about and could not help.
#14. Sierra #name? in Seattle, WA also could not help and did not know why we were not assisted before.
#15. Finally Eddie R. #3012160 in Philadelphia understood and provided the case number as follows #ESL02790144 and Feedback #ESL10045503 and transferred all of this to someone who had the authority and foresight to solve this as quickly as possible.
#16. Ms. Crystal Hruby of the West Palm Beach office at 561-227-3413 finally made up for all of the previous transgressions of Comcast personnel on Thursday and Friday 12-8&9-16. In conjunction with Crystal and her scheduling work, by Saturday Danny Talleda #6806 had the fibre optic crew find a broken cable and correspond with Crystal to activate all of the television set-top boxes and our two computers in our two offices. Only when conversing with Philadelphia EA’s at this stage of this monumental problem, did I disclose with Comcast our business requirements. We were losing so many phone and computer connections on a daily basis.

For more than a week, we were forced to find a quiet Panera Bread location (impossible) to continue our businesses on a daily basis on improbable WiFi.

there is some weird internal component of these customer surveys.

in my experience, if you give them a 1 or 0 and trash them, corporate will insist on making contact

which is odd, since they get the 1 or 0 because your INITIAL contact with the company is so sh*tty . . .

 

[Woodpecker]

After 20 years of the internet, that email form on the 'contact us' page is generally ignored. No matter what company 'name' you might be dealing with, always start at the top. Your letter of 'information' (complaint) and 'request' (demand) for action and restitution may not be acknowledged, but some companies actually want and need 'good will'. Some other companies regard this as impacting the customer base. Disney and American Express respond quickly to the customer since their brand is sensitive to any public issue.

The worst -- Comcast, bar none. The following is an excerpt of a 4 page letter with an additional 4 pages of documentation that will probably not receive the courtesy of a reply. I also forwarded this to my Attorney to circulate within the Comcast headquarters management personnel. Shame may work, but I doubt it. Again -- start at the top and keep pressing the issue !
==================
January 10, 2017
Comcast Corporation
Comcast Center
1701 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Attention: Mr. Brian Roberts, CEO

Re: Customer Service
Many companies take pride in their customer service personnel, providing responsible and capable action for a positive customer relationship. Unfortunately however, that has not been the most recent Comcast activity for us.
There is no other way to sugar coat the reaction of Comcast personnel, other than to say we have been lied to via phone conversations, and to our face in an office visit.
#1. On Thursday December 1, 2016 we visited the Tamiami Trail, North Naples office to establish and order Comcast service with installation to be completed the next day, December 2, 2016.
#2. By very late Friday 12-2-16 without any installation activity, I phoned the Comcast general phone number, and after a long wait, was connected to Allison in the Philippines. She kept me on hold several times while she explained that a work order form must be completed and sent to the proper office for any installation work to begin.
#3. On Saturday 12-3-16 and no installation work of any kind, I waited until the late evening to again phone the general Comcast number. This time I was connected to Steve in the Philippines who labored over our account status and was at a loss to assist in any way.
#4. Now Sunday 12-4-16 and no installation a activity at all, I was connected to Luis #91008 in Mexico who attempted to keep me on the line and solve the problem, but without technical help he could not.
#5. Again on Sunday 12-4-16, I again attempted assistance from an operator in the US but was connected to Chris #1584441 in Columbia. He again tried to keep me on the phone and solve problems, but could not.
#6. Next on Sunday 12-4-16, hoping to speak to someone in the US, I was connected to Miguel #963671 in Columbia who wanted to try…but could not because he did not understand the installation problems.
#7. Also Sunday 12-4-16, I learned that Francisco Villanneva tech #6117 should be the installation expert, but a work order had not been submitted by Allison in the Philippines. Therefore we should return to the North Naples office and obtain a ticket number for a work order.
#8. Now Monday 12-5-16 Work order ticket # CR657091873 // Reference #CR657097358 // Password #49HAK7AFTCAA4T73. But this new community is Fibre Optic and that requires a different tact.
#9. I attempted to contact Jesus Medina #6309 Mgr. of Tech Services in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1641 as was told the Fibre Department was an outside Contractor and would have to be scheduled.
#10. On Tuesday 12-6-16, I attempted to reach Mike Platt, Mgr. Of Tech Operations in Fort Myers, FL at 239-432-1829.….and was rebuffed when I asked to speak with Ms. Barbara Hagen, Vice President of Fort Myers to explain this ‘problem’.
#11. I also visited the North Naples office and spoke directly with Carlos J. Acosta who lied to my face when he stated we would be activated by tomorrow. Nothing happened.
#12. Now Wednesday 12-7-16 with no relief in sight, I phoned Comcast in Philadelphia requesting help from the Executive Assistants.
#13. Mario #-=A in New Mexico, had no idea what I was talking about and could not help.
#14. Sierra #name? in Seattle, WA also could not help and did not know why we were not assisted before.
#15. Finally Eddie R. #3012160 in Philadelphia understood and provided the case number as follows #ESL02790144 and Feedback #ESL10045503 and transferred all of this to someone who had the authority and foresight to solve this as quickly as possible.
#16. Ms. Crystal Hruby of the West Palm Beach office at 561-227-3413 finally made up for all of the previous transgressions of Comcast personnel on Thursday and Friday 12-8&9-16. In conjunction with Crystal and her scheduling work, by Saturday Danny Talleda #6806 had the fibre optic crew find a broken cable and correspond with Crystal to activate all of the television set-top boxes and our two computers in our two offices. Only when conversing with Philadelphia EA’s at this stage of this monumental problem, did I disclose with Comcast our business requirements. We were losing so many phone and computer connections on a daily basis.

For more than a week, we were forced to find a quiet Panera Bread location (impossible) to continue our businesses on a daily basis on improbable WiFi.

I always tell my wife not to expect much customer service from people who have to work at night or on the weekends.

 

[nittany dave]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day??? You are correct! In too many cases, customer service sucks. I am in sales, and call on oil refineries. If I treated my customers like many customer service people have treated me, they would never let me in the front gate. It has to do with American business anti-Burger King attitude: You don't get it your way, you get it our way, or you don't get the damn thing. Then many companies wonder why their business is in trouble. All they have to do is to look in the mirror for the answer.

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

 

[Art]

It's not you. It's almost universal and it's by design. Companies spend as little as they can on customer service, both in terms of compensation and training, and hope the frustration of beating your head against it will cause you to go away, after you've given them your money, of course. Are they worried that you'll take your business elsewhere? Not so much because they're reasonably assured that the competition is following the same model.

 

[Art]

I always tell my wife not to expect much customer service from people who have to work at night or on the weekends.

It's not any better on Monday through Friday from 9-5.

 

[Langmuir]

One of my biggest complaints is trying to reduce your service for cellular and cable/internet companies. Not drop the service but just get rid of service you no longer use. You can go into any cellular store and they will gladly add hundreds to your bill. Try to drop a phone that you no longer use and you have to talk to somebody in the Philippines. You can add services to your cable by clicking a few buttons, but no easy way to drop HBO.

One of the worst cases of poor customer service was with Sprint about 15 years ago. My phone no longer worked so we were going to the Sprint store to replace it. My wife and I went to where we thought the store was and couldn't find it. So we called Sprint, we didnt have smart phones at the time and internet on our phones was very limited. They would not even talk to us until we gave them our phone number, user name and password. We were driving around and the user name and password was written down at home. We asked you can't even tell us where the nearest store is without a username and password? Nope. So after about 30 minutes of us trying username and passwords, we finally got it. The guy put us on hold to look up the nearest store. Got disconnected. We just got done giving this guy our phone number a dozen times, so he had our number to call us back. We waited 5 minutes. Nothing. Saw an ATT store across the street and dropped Sprint.

 

[kgilbert78]

I'm with Illinois on this. You call for assistance and after 10 minutes of bad elevator music get someone who is totally unintelligible who says his name is Dave.

PS I am old and getting crankier by the day!

 

[Agoodnap]

got a few examples, certainly not everything I've witnessed the last few years, but am I remembering life wrong? Was there really a time when businesses at least made the pretense they gave a crap when they screwed up?

I have a magazine subscription. December 2016 issue never came. So I filled out the online form to send a replacement. Got sent an email that said my subscription service ran from 6/2016 through 6/2019 so I wasn't eligible for a replacement. WHA??? Then they sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. I laid into them. 3 days LATER I got an apology email and a notice a replacement was being sent.

On my recent vacation, I used a parking service for the airport. Parked my car in a lot, they provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. I called them when we landed at DFW to send a shuttle. Normally I wait about 10-15 minutes MAXIMUM. After 30 minutes and a few phone calls, they kept getting snarky with me and said a shuttle was on the way and I needed to stop calling. After 45 minutes, the shuttle finally showed up. During one phone call, the dispatcher said OH WELL . . . it is the Sunday after spring break so wait times were longer. Except I watched ELEVEN shuttles from their competition pass by me while I waited in the heat. Gee, you think you'd have more shuttles running on a high traffic day???

Yeah, they just sent me a customer service satisfaction survey. Haven't filled it out yet.

I could go on . . . but I long for the days when you called customer service and they actually sounded like they cared that they were not providing a quality service to you. Seems that is the rare exception rather than the rule these days.

ach well, maybe I am just getting old and cranky.

Yes and Yes.

Twitter is the best way to get a quick response. They (all companies) react very quickly to negative social media...usually within minutes.