Avoiding Boost Mobile Will Lower Your Blood Pressure

I'll be the first to admit, that describing the pitfalls in dealing with mobile phone customer service representatives, is not the most inventive of subjects. However, that being said, I truly believe that there can be no other company in any industry on this planet, whose customer service is more inept than Boost Mobile's.

I must also admit, that 50% of this article is to inform the public of the gross inadequacies of Boost Mobile's customer support, and the other 50% is to try to recover some of the sanity that I have lost in dealing with them over the past 24 hours. Furthermore, I have recently discovered that I am not alone in my disdain regarding Boost Mobile. I found websites with tens of thousands of other disgruntled users of their service, and the lion's share of the negativity was pointed toward the customer service department.

I will not mention the fact that, even though my address was tested at a Boost Mobile facility for service quality, and was given a clean bill of health, yet 75% of my calls are dropped, because that is not the focus of this article. So you can disregard that particular problem (for the time being, anyway).

The problem pertaining to this article started last night, after I received a relatively benign text message from Boost Mobile, informing me that my current credit card was soon to expire, and that I should call their customer service department, and provide more current information. In this case, it was simply a matter of updating the expiration date of my existing credit card account in Boost's system.

The first call seemed to go smoothly, until I was told to remain on the line, and complete the automated verification process. It was at this time, when my scalp started to tingle due to the growth of new grey hairs. The automated verification prompts offered no options consistent with what I had just done. In fact the automated prompts only offered the choice of making a payment or going "back to the original menu", the words of which will haunt me for all eternity.

When I called back to ask if my credit card information was indeed updated, no one (neither a customer service rep., an account payments rep., a supervisor, nor the president of Boost Mobile) could verify the information. None of them could tell me if the credit card's expiration date was updated. None of them could even remain on the phone with me, to listen to the prompts, and walk me through the verification process. To make matters worse, one representative told me which numbers to press at each level of prompts, and it resulted in my making two payments for one month of service.

In summary, I was on the phone for no less than an hour, I talked to no less than five customer service representatives, was disconnected no less than three times, my solicited issue and chief concern was never verified, and I was misled into making an additional erroneous payment. Wow. What a service.

I read about fifty complaints this morning regarding Boost's customer service, many of which were pointed toward not being able to talk to a live support person. I am actually envious that I do not fall into that category. Although this is pure conjecture on my part, I would wager that one is better served by going through the automated system rather than talking to any live customer representative at Boost Mobile. How many companies hold that distinction?

Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I continued my plight (for verifying that my credit card information was updated), and spoke to an additional three service reps this morning. I asked one of them if they would reverse the erroneous charge back to my credit card. This is where the absurdity reached new heights: The "payments" representative said that I would have to be transferred to a customer representative in order for the payment to be allocated to the "Advanced Payment" ledger for my account, and then I would have to be transferred back to another "payments" representative in order to reverse the payment back to my credit card. I am totally serious. This was not a "Who's on first, What's on second" routine (although it should be). This is the circuitous nature in which Boost Mobile's customer service department operates.

Furthermore, once I made it through the first gauntlet of customer service reps, and got the funds allocated to the "advanced payment" ledger, I was then put on hold for such a long time, that I was eventually forced to hang-up, in order to go to work. Calling two hours in advance, to solve my issue, was evidently wishful thinking on my part.

I will never know if my credit card information was updated correctly, until my service is cut-off, which is rather disconcerting since this is a business line. However, the prospect of waiting for my telephone line to be disconnected, is much more favorable than having to deal with Boost Mobile's customer service department again.

When I asked one particular service representative if he received complaints similar to mine, he said, "Yes, sir." When I asked roughly how many complaints he receives in a 24-hour period, he answered, "I'm not sure." Naturally, I said, "Too many to count, huh?", to which he replied, "Yes, sir." There's not much more I can say.

Boost Mobile would probably argue that for every 10,000 complaints written about their customer service, that there are probably a million satisfied customers. I would speculate that for every 10,000 complaints that are written, there are probably a million dissatisfied customers who simply do not have the time or patience to publicize their complaints. I'll even go so far as to say, that for every 10,000 complaints, there is an additional million, who cannot form a valid judgment of Boost's customer service department, because their calls get dropped before they can reach a customer service representative.

My only solace from dealing with Boost Mobile, is that now I have another venue for which to vent all of my frustrations (whether Boost-related or otherwise). Their customer service representatives are virtually numb from constant complaints, and their responses are robotic at best. I truly feel sorry for them, but I can't help but feel more sorry for Boost Mobile's customers.

I thought that it was impossible, but Boost Mobile managed to reach a new low. When I originally bought my phone, I was asked if I wanted insurance. It was $5 per month. My phone cost $150, so I figured if something happened to it within 21/2 years, than the insurance would be worth it. Now, I want to preface that in addition to being an attorney and a so-so writer, I am an astute businessman. I am not one to make financial errors of any kind. You'll just have to take my word for it.

My home was robbed a few weeks ago, and my cell phone was stolen. This phone was one of my business lines, so it was important to replace it quickly. I reported the loss to Boost Mobile and they proceeded to tell me that there was a $60 deductible. I said that I was never told that tidbit of information, knowing that I never would have paid $5 per month to insure a $90 investment. Not in a million years. But, as we all do, including myself regrettably, I did not read the small print of the contract. I trusted that the salesman at Boost Mobile would have made me aware of the relatively large deductible.

Okay...my mistake. So, after getting nowhere with that argument, I figured that I would get a $90 discount on my replacement phone. No, it doesn't work that way. Boost had to have their insurance claims adjuster make sure that the phone indeed had to be replaced. In my case, I imagine that he would have needed to see my police report or something of that nature. The process would have taken 2-4 weeks to complete. I needed a phone, so I offered to pay full price for the replacement up-front, and wait for my $90 reimbursement. No, that’s not the way it's done. How is it done? You won't believe this, but if I replace my phone before or during the claims process, then I my insurance agreement is voided, and I wouldn't get any money back. I was so furious, that I told them to start the claims process, and then I proceeded to change my service to AT&T. I had my new phone the next day, the monthly price difference was negligible, and the signal coverage was better. And to prove that I never would have bought Boost's insurance, when AT&T asked if I wanted insurance, I crunched the numbers, and it wasn't worth it, just like I would have done with Boost. I hope that this article is informative to prospective phone service buyers.