« Southern California living | Main | Star Wars: Super Duper Special Edition »
May 30, 2006
The Worst stuff ever
PC World delves into its archives to compile a list of the 25 worst computer products ever.
Surprising no one, the all time worst, number one in sheer soul-crushing badness is . . . .
AOL!
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I had an AOL account. When I tried canceling the service (note "tried"), they continued taking my money, until I noticed the small charge appearing every month on my bank statement. What can I say, I was more lackadaisical about finances back then.
During the ensuing more-than-thirty-minute conversation with AOL "customer service," I was berated for wanting to leave, called an idiot, and ultimately suspected I was on Candid Camera, so ridiculous was the level of abuse being directed at me.
The entire list is a funny (in retrospect) walk down memory lane, reminding me yet again why I left behind the wonderful world of Windows -- although Apple does make the list for a few eggs it's laid over the years.
Take a look; I'm certain you'll find something that will have you nodding in agreement.
Posted by Mike Lief at May 30, 2006 08:18 AM
| TrackBack
Comments
AOL, famous for doing the bank balance boogie. That list is fun, shows how far things have come.
Posted by: Vermont Neighbor at May 31, 2006 09:17 AM
AOL subscribers can now compare horror stories, thanks to this latest consumer report from MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13447232/
• AOL service woes
More than 800,000 people canceled their AOL accounts last quarter. So it must be easy to cancel right? Not always.
Two weeks ago, Vincent Ferrari tried to cancel his 5-year-old account—he'd heard from others in the blogosphere that AOL customer service could be awful. So he recorded the conversation with a representative named John. Here is the transcript of the conversation:
AOL: Hi, this is John at AOL. How may I help you today?
Ferrari: I want to cancel my account.
AOL: OK. I mean, is there a problem with the software itself?
Ferrari: No. I don't use it. I don't need it. I don't want it.
John disputes Ferrari's claim that he never uses the account.
AOL: Last year, last month it was 545 hours of usage.
Ferrari: I don't know how to make it any clearer. So I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, explain to me what is wrong.
Ferrari: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
It goes on like this for 5 minutes.
Ferrari: Cancel my account. Cancel the account. Cancel the account.
CNBC later interviewed Ferrari by phone about his experience. “I've never ever experienced anything like that,” he said.
He recounts how the AOL representative as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.
“I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point,” said 30-year-old Ferrari.
Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous. AOL sent him an apology.
Chris Denove of market research firm J.D. Power & Associates says companies talk about customer satisfaction but actually see their call centers as a costly investment.
“They're trying to squeeze every penny out of that cost center without regard for what may be happening, the damage that may be done,” said Denove.
---
AOL later tried to make amends. They sent a statement to CNBC claiming that the incident was inexcusable and that the customer representative, John, violated guidelines and was no longer with the company. “We're going to learn from this. We can do better, and will," the statement said.
To put this claim to the test, CNBC reporter Matt Lefkowitz called again. Here is a rough transcript:
CNBC: I want to cancel my AOL account.
He was promptly disconnected.
He tried again.
CNBC: I need to cancel my AOL account. I never really use it. ... Well, if I can cancel it anytime, why can't I cancel it now? Can I just cancel my account?
It took him 45 minutes to finally get his account canceled.
Vincent Ferrari’s blog is now inundated with others who say they've suffered the same fate, making him the patron saint of customer dissatisfaction.
Posted by: Vermont Neighbor at June 22, 2006 09:58 AM