The Absent Uncle: Customer disservice
Over a year and a half ago I wrote a column about customer service – mainly about my wife’s experience in a local department store and the lack of care and understanding about the situation.
At the risk of sounding like an old guy beating a very worn out drum, I really have had it this week with businesses who just don’t get it; who use the new AI model of wear you down, make it harder for you to just “do business”.
OK, so back from an extended trip, I wanted to reactivate my local gym membership after freezing it for the month that I was gone. Offered by the gym chain, to save almost 75 percent of the monthly charge while you aren’t using it. It was a good deal, and I thought I complied with the steps involved, but found out that what I understood to be billing dates were not the dates that I needed to make my notifications, but rather four to five days “prior” to the billing date so that the “system” could be notified and charge me the lessor amount. So, without the early notification (which would have precluded usage of the facility) my freeze dates were adjusted to the day before my return and no savings would be accrued. Imagine my reaction to the just short of laughing reaction of the customer service person that relayed this information. He found my question of “is it four or five days prior precisely” to the billing date even more humorous.
This is what blood pressure medications are prescribed for.
Now to continue a woefully bad day with customer service, this one was totally of my making. I take full responsibility up to when I decided to say “no” after saying “yes”.
Our neighborhood has been overrun with new internet/cable providers. For the first eight years of our living here – we had no choice. You got what you got. Service was acceptable, price was getting a bit out of hand.
Along comes these new guys. Lower prices, faster download speeds, better technology. You all have heard it before.
I decided to contact my provider, let them know about my options, and they responded with a deal to match without change. No new cables, passwords, and updates. Status quo extended. I was all in favor of that.
The new guys put in the lines (I have a buried box from each of them on either side of my front lawn), made their best pitch, and for whatever reason,I succumbed to one of them. Faster service (which I don’t need), lifetime pricing (who’s lifetime?), and free installation!
I came to my senses the next day and started the process of canceling what I had done. It took me the rest of the day – after the gym experience – to get someone (a real person) to kill the deal, cancel the free installation, and just allow me to continue on without the benefits of their company.
It was a day.
