Your Worst Customer Service Experience (1 Viewer)

[SaintsFanInLA]

I have many living out in LA but one that comes immediately to mind was when I attempted to cancel my AOL account. I remember hearing the tape of one guy who went through something similar and was shocked and not shocked at the same time because of what I went through.

When I tried to cancel, the woman on the end of the line harangued me to no end and finally when I said my new provider was far cheaper, please just cancel she told me: "Well then you are just STUPID!" That was her business plan to retain me, just insult me continuously until I decided that it was so great to be here and continue paying higher monthly bills.

I was outdone but after a few more calls and constant "New Offers" I was able to cancel.

I know that we all hate:

1. The automated voice systems businesses have that offer you options that YOU DON'T WANT and then when you press 0 for an operator, it says "Invalid Option. Goodbye!" and hangs up or

2. Going to a drive thru and the person taking the order DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH and invariably gets everything in your order wrong or

3. Entering a store and the 1 person at the cashier or behind the counter is on the phone on AN OBVIOUS personal call and talks leisurely for minutes or

4. Asking the person, WHOSE JOB IT IS to answer customer questions, a question and then have them behave as if it is the GREATEST imposition in the world and they wish you'd just go away.

So, I am asking for your most ridiculous & horrible customer service expieriences.

 

[Taurus]

Westercon, 1997 at the Seattle Sheraton hotel.

Ye gods. It was like they booked this big Sci/Fi convention thinking "Yay, hordes of paying customers!" then we all showed up in Klingon/Elven/What-have-you gear and they couldn't fathom who all these bizarrely-attired ruffians were and why wouldn't they just shut up about the broken elevator and go away?

The hotel had two elevators, one of which didn't go all the way to the top six floors, the other of which was broken. The overall impression one got when advising the staff of this was that they deeply, deeply cared...that you would just go away and leave them alone. It went beyond mere indifference to our tales of shlepping bags up six flights of dark stairs and into the realm of hostility. You could read it on their faces.

They also had a number of restaurants, the high-class one was closed during the convention for no discernible reason other than they didn't want us eating in there. The other place had something called "Andouille pizza" on the menu. I ordered it. It was sweet Italian sausage. Informing the waitstaff and the chef got me the response of "It said andouille on the package."

When we got home, my wife and I wrote a letter to Sheraton HQ, complaining of the awful service we'd just been subjected to. The response letter can be summed thus: "Bite us." It was more politely-worded, but the gist is the same.

Once in a while, we ponder the idea of writing to Sheraton HQ again with an accounting of all the money that experience cost them. (My wife lived in a Marriott for a year when she was consulting and stays in a Marriott whenever she travels for work. The total is upwards of $100,000 by now.)

 

[Webmeistro]

Rivals.com.

you can sign up on the website, but you have to cancel the subscription over the phone.

once you're on the phone to cancel your subscription, the idiot on the other end will try to give you a 2 month extension FREE, while trying to ignore your request for a cancellation. For 20 minutes, I went around and round with this foreign airhead. I then threatened them with a lawsuit and reporting to every consumer agency under the sun if they didn't immediately comply with my demand. THAT got her attention.

 

[Sarcastic]

I went through a McDonalds drivethrough. I was broke, and I ordered a McChicken sandwich and a sweet tea, both of which were on the dollar menu. Paid my $2.14, took the bag, pulled up and did as I always do, checked my order. How horrified I was when I saw that they had put cheese on my McChicken. Gross.

I parked and went in, got the attention of the 16-year-old kid at the drivethru window, and told him my problem. Looking very agitated, he took the cheesy McChicken from me. For one scary moment, I thought he was going to scrape the cheese off. Luckily, he threw it away and told the 40 year old woman making sandwiches he needed a new McChicken. He looked at me, said something else, called the manager, the three huddled like Ed Hochuli's crew after a fumble. The manager comes up and says, "There are no McChickens left." Horrible. "What can we get you instead?" I said, "My dollar and seven cents, please."

So he tells the kid to give me a refund, and the kid proceeds to take another order from the drivethru. Then two more. I butt in. "Hey, man, when you gonna get me my refund?" His response?

"In a second! I don't know what your problem is, DUDE, we gave you the cheese for free."

I was rendered speechless by the idiot. Walked out, never saw that dollar and seven cents again. I wanted to tell him to keep the buck and consider it an extra 20 minutes of overtime.

 

[pennstater]

I called this company today called "Agraquest" they manufactor the BIO-Fungicide 'Rhapsody', and I called to ask for a price check.

Agraquest not only couldn't tell me how much there own products costs, but didn't even know where they sold it.

- im not kidding

 

[theicebox]

delt with onlinecarstero.com
They had great prices.
But held my order up a whole week because there 1 item was sold out and was not indicated on the website.
I called them today after a week, was put on hold for 30 mintues. only to keep getting dodged by the Customer service rep.
I called a salesman.
He told me the story.
its a total time I spent on the phone 40 minutes.
I will never order from those ******** again.
They have good prices. but dont trust there website.

 

[bclemms]

Dell

/end thread

 

[Sarcastic]

Dell

/end thread

Yeah, that too. Dell Financial is the worst company ever created. I'd buy my next computer from Fidel Castro before I'd finance with them. I'd rather buy a laptop from Kate from Lost. I don't know how to put this any clearer.

 

[watts]

I don't know if it's the worst but it's the latest...

Got a call from a 'collection agency' saying I owed $26.08. After digging around find out it was from Sirius Satellite who, after I canceled the service on 6 different occasions last year, still decided to charge me for the month I 'didn't pay'....basically the signed me up for another month at the end of yearly contract because I didn't call them to tell them to stop. Oh wait..I did...six times.

The irony? I think (thought) the product is GREAT. The reason I didn't renew on the original contract was because I bought a new Jeep last year that gave me the first 12 months free. So for twenty six dollars....and eight cents....they

1) Guaranteed that I will tell this story to as many people as I possible can
2) Damaged the Sirius brand to the point that when my 'free' contract is up with the Jeep in June of 2009...I'll call them in March just to be sure...I will cancel and...
3) They have forgone a seemingly endless annual stream of revenue from me...I would have renewed at $200 a pop or whatever it is for as long as old watts keeps kicking another, what, 6k....for twenty six dollars. And eight cents.

Nice job, Mel Karmazin!! Why are you going out of business again

 

[handsolow]

Comcast.

I cut the service and waited on my final bill. They told me it would arrive in 7 business days after the guy comes out and locks the box. Ok, I go to their store and turn in my equipment the same day. When I get back, the guy is busy working and everything is great. After 10 business days, I call back because the bill never came. Sorry sir, it will be right out in the amount of $57 for half the month. Ok, fine. Can I pay over the phone? $10 extra charge for taking the payment over the phone. I'll wait on the bill. Two days later, a collection agency calls. I owe $180 bucks. I call Comcast. Sorry about the trouble. We will waive the $10 phone fee, so I pay the $57. The next day the collection agency calls and says I owe $10.50 to them in collection fees. So I call Comcast and somehow I developed the "nerve" to ask why I was put in collections and why they won't write off the fee for the mistake. Call after call, I get nothing. Finally, I get to talk to the head of billing. Problem solved. Chew enough backside and you get your way. I will never use Comcast and I let the other 250 homes in the community know about my experience with them.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

I forgot about this one:
I purchased 2 movie tickets for a show that started in about an hour. I needed to use the restroom which was on the other side of the velvet ropes behind the ticket taker. When I asked to use the restroom, I was informed that it was for customers only. No problem. I showed her my ticket for the upcoming show & she told me that the theater was not sitting people for this show yet. Furthermore, she told me that I was gonna have to use the restroom someplace else & said it with an attitude.
My first instinct was to walk in to the restroom & see what the ticket taker would have done. But I went to the manager who gave me the money for my tickets back plus comp tickets & apologized.

 

[Sarcastic]

DirecTV. I won't get into my issues with them, but when I moved I was talking to them about renewing my contract and taking the equipment with. I didn't like the deal they were giving me, so I tried the old "tell em what Dish offers" and see if they match it. Just playing the game, right? I'm gonna take the better deal, even with Direct's horrible customer service. So I'm being totally courteous and everything, trying to negotiate something, I tell her, "You know, if you don't give me the extra reciever for free, you're gonna lose a customer." (Dish was offering two free recievers to sign up.)

She laughed. Out loud, laughed. Says to me, "Sir, DirecTV has plenty of customers. They're not going to miss you." Wow. I hope they didn't.

 

[voodoo_blues]

In order

AOL - Trying to cancel account
Dell - trying to deal with anything billing
Comcast - Just all around nightmare (DirecTV on the other hand when I had that, was the best customer service ever)

 

[xpuma20x]

DirecTV. I won't get into my issues with them, but when I moved I was talking to them about renewing my contract and taking the equipment with. I didn't like the deal they were giving me, so I tried the old "tell em what Dish offers" and see if they match it. Just playing the game, right? I'm gonna take the better deal, even with Direct's horrible customer service. So I'm being totally courteous and everything, trying to negotiate something, I tell her, "You know, if you don't give me the extra reciever for free, you're gonna lose a customer." (Dish was offering two free recievers to sign up.)

She laughed. Out loud, laughed. Says to me, "Sir, DirecTV has plenty of customers. They're not going to miss you." Wow. I hope they didn't.

I had a very similar experience. DirectTV was scheduled to come out and install our satellite, this was 2 weeks before the start of football season. The guy comes out and even though we warned them multiple times in the first call...he still didn't bring a large enough ladder to get on our roof. They reschedule for the next week. Next week comes, no installer. They reschedule for a few days later. The guy comes and still didn't bring a big enough ladder. They reschedule for the NEXT week and promised to give us a free month etc etc etc..and this time they were going to send an installation manager or some other position similar. The guy gets here, no ladder...no manager....So we call DirectTV and they basically said the same as WhoDat...

Me: "This is the 4th time we've had to reschedule, one of which the person didn't even show...this is the 3rd time you guys haven't brought the right ladder. I've missed two weeks of football and not to mention Comcast gives us a better price on X Y and Z. You've offered us a free month, but we still don't even have the service! Whats going to be done about this?"

DirectTV: "Nothing. We can't control what our installers do or do not do, they are contracted out. We can attempt to schedule you for another installation or you can just cancel your service."

 

[Saint Tillage]

I went through a McDonalds drivethrough. I was broke, and I ordered a McChicken sandwich and a sweet tea, both of which were on the dollar menu. Paid my $2.14, took the bag, pulled up and did as I always do, checked my order. How horrified I was when I saw that they had put cheese on my McChicken. Gross.

I parked and went in, got the attention of the 16-year-old kid at the drivethru window, and told him my problem. Looking very agitated, he took the cheesy McChicken from me. For one scary moment, I thought he was going to scrape the cheese off. Luckily, he threw it away and told the 40 year old woman making sandwiches he needed a new McChicken. He looked at me, said something else, called the manager, the three huddled like Ed Hochuli's crew after a fumble. The manager comes up and says, "There are no McChickens left." Horrible. "What can we get you instead?" I said, "My dollar and seven cents, please."

So he tells the kid to give me a refund, and the kid proceeds to take another order from the drivethru. Then two more. I butt in. "Hey, man, when you gonna get me my refund?" His response?

"In a second! I don't know what your problem is, DUDE, we gave you the cheese for free."

I was rendered speechless by the idiot. Walked out, never saw that dollar and seven cents again. I wanted to tell him to keep the buck and consider it an extra 20 minutes of overtime.