Customer Call Center Nightmares

Businesses all over the world are so busy they can’t answer their own phone lines. This is very understandable and I commend them in seeking outside help to conduct their business efficiently, but where does one draw the line? If ever a problem arrives with a certain service needing technical support it is very annoying and time consuming to their customer when they are bombarded with sales pitches or award hotlines having nothing whatsoever to do with their issue. Chances are the telemarketers whom the second or even third party has can’t even make you understand what they are telling you. It becomes a nightmare to the customer. Sometimes it becomes so irritating to the caller that nothing is accomplished, leaving both the business and the customer unsatisfied.

Most companies have websites designed to help with any customer service. But there are a few support topics the website is not set up to do. This is where the dreaded customer service call comes into play. A five minute task may take an hour just to get through to an actual person on the other end. And if for some reason your internet service is interrupted, your only option is to call. Automated answering systems are not that complicated and most businesses have used them for years. This new twist to answering phones is a nightmare to consumers. It is a dream for the telemarketers.

If you buy a new unit of any kind, beware if a subscription is needed to use it. If you can activate it online you’ll find the task much easier. Cell phones, internet service, satellite radios, satellite television, and other modern day devices all run by someone activating the service to their systems. Why they would let another company answer their phones misleading the customer into thinking they have to stay on the line in order to reach the one they are calling to begin with makes no logical sense to me.

I was on the phone for over an hour trying to transfer a service to a new unit which should have been a five minute task. I knew it would most likely be time consuming done by telephone, but there website was a bit hard to follow and I didn’t find a way to do it online.

I called the number in the user guide booklet from the new unit. I was hooked up with a hotline and my call was transferred to an award promotion representative. I could barely understand the person trying to give me a free gift card which required a three dollar and ninety five cent shipping fee payable by credit card. Dumb found idly I accepted the deal thinking I was dealing with the same company my service was out of. It was their number after all which I called. I thought the gift card could be used for the service I was calling about. I was wrong. This representative was someone holding the line until my actual technical support person was available. They had nothing to do with the subscription I was inquiring about. After what seemed like an endless conversation of getting my name, address, credit card number to confirm the deal they added on still yet another deal to confirm absolutely free for thirty days. If not totally satisfied I can cancel at any time. If I don’t cancel I will be billed a monthly fee. I’m asked again to confirm the same information I had just gone over. But this is not the end of it. This confirmation needs to be done two more times for two more promotions as if one was not enough you are suckered into four of them altogether. I’m at my wits end. I’m ready to cancel any deals before the conversation is even over and strong thoughts of canceling the service for the transferred unit I just bought as well. They knew I was upset. To make matters worse my husband is waiting for the transfer to complete. He tells me, “Do not buy or agree to anything. Our subscription is paid up for a year. We only want to transfer to a new radio.” I’m nearly in tears. My head aches and I can’t seem to make them understand I only want to wait for technical support. I really don’t want their promotions. I’m sure they could hear my husband in the background because the line is cut off and the phone begins beeping in my ear.

I go back to the website. Finally, I locate another number to call. This time I’m on hold for a spell, but I finally get to talk to an actual technical representative to transfer the service to the new unit. I can clearly understand the guy. The task takes five minutes. I let him know about the nightmare I had trying to get through to his service. I was kind about it and thanked him for his assistance. He apologized over and over. I really don’t know if the complaint will ever go any further than him, but I had to tell someone. You see their website is not set up to give an email address for complaints. Trouble shooting is to be done by telephone. After all this is serious business.

The next day I get a call from the promotion representatives I talked to the night before. The reason they called was to verify the information I had given them the night before. They apologize for the frustration I had dealt with earlier. I was calmer and I was able to understand them a little clearer. I ask my husband to please be quiet while I’m on the phone. To my surprise he calmly left me alone.

All these promotions are for discounts on various things. It could turn out to be a money saver. For each promotion I was given a number to call if I want to cancel after using each thirty day free trial offer. After everything was verified which took only ten minutes or so this time I felt better about it. This is why the call was cut off before because I wasn’t given the phone numbers or verification numbers. I wanted to let them know how wrong I thought this way of business is to mislead people. I wasn’t given the chance to. I hope when I call to cancel I’m not facing another nightmare.

As with many of you this was not my first customer service call nightmare. One time I saw an advertisement on television for something I wanted. I called the toll free number. I was detoured over and over and over again. You get the idea. They were throwing sales pitches at me to buy other products. Nothing for which I wanted to buy, but I had to keep listening to one lingo after another until I finally just hung up without confirming to buy anything. Now you would have thought that nightmare would have taught me something, but oh no, I’m a tough nut to crack when it comes to doing stupid stuff.

None of these customer service call nightmares were scams at all, but misleading the customer by well known and well used service companies just is not right. If you pay for a service you should have a direct line to support that service. I can’t imagine why these companies would do this. They certainly are not thinking of their customer at all who they claim are most valued. They are forgetting whose paying them. I doubt any of these practices will change, but we can avoid a few if we are careful not to let them keep getting away with it. I don’t mind being put on hold nearly as bad as I like talking to telemarketers who have found new ways to trick people into talking to them. It would not be quite as disturbing if you knew they would keep your phone number to themselves, but we all know how that works. Nobody’s phone number is private once a telemarketer gets a hold of it.