Customer Support Boredom
Customer Support Boredom
Not exactly customer support hell, but I got bored on hold and kept a running log of my experience.
4:58 PM - The DSL plan I currently have through Pacific Bell … no, SBC … right. The DSL plan I currently have through SBC … wait, no AT&T … right. OK, the DSL plan I currently have with AT&T is the same one I’ve had for four years now. Checking out their Web site I see that I could get the same service I’m currently paying $64.95 a month for can be had for $44.99. I don’t mind saving $20 a month and keeping that out of the pocket of AT&T. So, let’s call.
5:05 PM - Finally make my way through automation hell and get put on hold for a DSL service representative.
5:15 PM - Talk to a woman. Tell her that I’d like to change my plan to take advantage of current rates and that I’m happy to sign a one-year contract. If they can’t make any changes, then I’m going to cancel. She says she has to transfer me to a “DSL Retention Specialist.” Wow, they have specialists to help them keep their existing customers. Is providing good service and customer support just not enough anymore?
5:20 PM - Now I’ve been on the phone for a total of 22 minutes. Wasn’t this whole outsourcing to India thing supposed to make customer support better and faster?
5:23 PM - Still no answer. The on-hold music is 1950s Pop music. The song playing right now is “Let’s Make Sweet Love Tonight.” Odd choice. I guess that makes sense considering the sheer amount of porn online.
5:24 PM - I took the cordless phone with me into the bathroom. I could hold it no longer.
5:26 PM - I’m back at my desk and, yes, I washed my hands. Don’t nag.
5:28 PM - Finally get someone on the phone 30 minutes after I first picked up the phone. Full disclosure, this is a full 20 minutes faster than the last time I went through a process like this with PacBell/SBC/AT&T/The Nation’s Most Annoying Phone Company. I tell the guy my story. He listens, dutifully. Is nice enough. Tells me if I sign up online, I can get a deal that’ll save me $20 a month for the next six months with twice the service speed. I say thanks for your help, he goes on to read a 20 second goodbye message. No wonder why it takes them so long to pick-up the phone– they’re too busy saying goodbye to the last customer.
I checked out Adelphia’s cable modem offerings and I’ve decided to re-up with AT&T, only because it’s much easier at this point. I could save about $25 a month going through Adelphia, but that would mean waiting for an installer to come, having to reconfigure my firewall and, most importantly, having to look presentable early in the morning, something I’m not fond of.
