Yet another unpleasant customer service experience at the hands of Comcast so-called customer service.
Our internet and phones went out on Friday 3/23/12. My wife called, and after interminable slogging through menus, finally reached a human, who, after going through some perfunctory self diagnostics, said a technician would be there between 3:00pm and 7:00pm. My wife had to be somewhere at 4:00, so I left work early to go home and wait.
Four hours and 7:00pm came and went, and I called Comcast. An automated recording informed me they had arbitrarily changed the appointment to Saturday 3/24 between 11:00am and 1:00pm. Infuriated, slogged through the deep muddy of menu choices and finally got in touch with a human. He said somehow the dispatch had not reached any technicians and the service call was rescheduled. I told him I expected someone to be at my home tonight, not tomorrow, that it was unacceptable to have me leave work, costing my two hours pay, and unable to telecommute due to lack of internet service. He offered me a $20 credit which infuriated me even more. I demanded to speak to a supervisor. Once the supervisor got on the phone I did not relent until she agreed to send someone over.
The technician arrived at 9:00pm. He did some diagnostics and said the modem was fine, then went outside and looked around and informed me there was a problem with the box on the pole, which was affecting everyone on the block.
I found this odd, since no one I spoke to before this mentioned anything about anyone else having trouble, and wouldn't some other person have called if the entire block had this problem?
He said a technician would fix the box on the pole overnight and my service would be restored the next morning.
Needless to say, when I checked in the morning there was still no service. I called back, and explained the situation, and the person in the phone said someone worked on the pole overnight. They said they would send a technician over. The technician arrived at 10:00am and when he looked at the modem, lo and behold, it turned out the modem was bad, the opposite of what the idiot the night before said. He replaced the modem and all is now working.
It is now obvious to me that the "problem with the box on the pole" story was false.
So here are my problems:
1.) Two hours of lost pay
2.) Being trapped in my house for four hours, unable to leave, waiting for a technician who never showed up
3.) Being lied to and jerked around on the phone by an incompetent service rep.
4.) Having an incompetent technician come to the house, lying and misdiagnosing the problem.
5.) Overuse of my iPhone data plan due to inability to connect to my wireless network, costing me money
6.) Loss of service for over 24 hours, service I am paying for
7.) Extreme stress due to having to deal with incompetence every step of the way, except for the technician who came Saturday morning and fixed what the others were unable to fix.
I am blind with rage over this situation. It will take more than a $20 credit to make me whole.
The original Pick's Place blog. See PicksPlace2.blogspot.com for the current Pick's Place
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Thumbs Up for Amazon.com Customer Service
Brace yourselves, folks. Pick's Place is about to say something positive.Since I spend so much time on this site bitching about anything and everything, it's time I gave credit where it's due, so props to Amazon.com for their outstanding customer service.
The other day I found the screen on my three month old Kindle frozen. After Googling "Kindle troubleshooting" I found this:
| Symptom | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Kindle screen frozen or Kindle unresponsive. Possible cause:
|
|
I tried this, and it didn't work. Other Kindle discussion boards had the same advice.
I braced myself for the worst and called Amazon customer service.
Amazon: How can I help you?
JRP: My Kindle screen is frozen
Amazon: Have you tried holding the switch for 20 seconds?
JRP: Yes.
Amazon: May I have your name, email, and address?
JRP: (provides requested info)
Amazon: OK, it looks like your Kindle is still under warranty. We're putting a new one in the mail and You should have it by October 11.
JRP: That's it?
Amazon: Yes, and we will provide a prepaid mailer for you to return the old Kindle. Is there anything else I can do for you?
JRP: No, you've been very helpful, thank you.
What I just described is 100% true and is a case study in customer service. It seems very simple to me. Why can't all companies do this?
Thank you, Amazon, for showing us how it's done.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Dear Scott's Lawn Service: Please stop calling me.
Not sure Scott's Lawn Service understands the meaning of the words "Do not call". See email trail, and the ensuing Twitter exchange:
From: jrpickens@gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 8:33 AM
To: SLS-Runnemedebranch
Subject: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
The following information was submitted from the Scotts LawnService customer service page:Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 8:33 AM
To: SLS-Runnemedebranch
Subject: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
First Name:Jeff
Last Name:Pickens
Email: jrpickens@gmail.com
Message: I received a voice mail about an alleged service call. When I tried to call back 856-312-0480, I was put on hold, then prompted to leave a message. When I was transferred to the voicemail, I got another message that the voice mailbox was full. This is no way to run a business. My lawn is still an infestation of crabgrass and weeds, and you have the audacity to send me a bill? There is no evidence that you have done anything to my lawn, except leave some paperwork on the ground on the side of the house.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from: SLS-Runnemedebranch runnemedebranch@scotts.com
to: jrpickens@gmail.com
date: Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 9:20 AM
subject RE: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
I see we came out to do a service call for weeds on 8/10 but we don’t charge for service calls and this was a weed control the balance you see is from 6/30 we didn’t charge you for the service done on 8/10 please call customer service 856-312-0480
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from: Jeff Pickens jrpickens@gmail.com
to: SLS-Runnemedebranch
date: Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 10:13 AM
subject Re: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
There is no evidence that any service was performed on 6/30. There is also no evidence that any service was performed on 8/10. My lawn was and remains an infestation of crab grass and weeds, and is an eyesore in my neighborhood. Any reasonable person looking at my lawn would agree there is no rationale for paying one cent for this alleged service.
When I attempted to call, I was put hold for an interminable amount of time, then directed to a voice mail and a message that the mailbox was full and I was unable to leave a message.
I consider my business relationship with you terminated and I have no intention of paying you any more than I have already paid.
- JRP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from: SLS-Runnemedebranch runnemedebranch@scotts.com
to: Jeff Pickens
date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 8:52 AM
subject RE: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
I have cancelled the account as of today any questions please call office 856-312-0480
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from: Jeff Pickens jrpickens@gmail.com
to: SLS-Runnemedebranch
date: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 5:46 AM
subject Re: Runnemede Customer Service Inquiry from JeffPickens
What part of "cancelled the account" don't you understand? STOP CALLING ME!
Labels:
customer service,
lawn,
NJ,
Scott's Lawn Service
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