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I think they finally heard me...
Usually I'm pretty passive.
I don't "nut-up" about many things.
If I get crappy service when I stop by Taco Bell I just chalk it up, and think to myself how big of an asshole I'd be if I had to work there, especially for minimum wage. Come to think of it, the only joy I'd have in a job like that would be finding new ways to piss people off. I would master the art of a shitty attitude.
Crappy job? I've been there. I've worked dead-end jobs that quite frankly sucked the humanity out of me. But, I can still remember the faces of the customers who went out of their way to be pleasant.
Now I go out of my way to make folk's (who work in jobs I know they hate), day a little brighter. I try to make real eye-contact with them, talk with them, listen to them, and wish them a "good day" (and really mean it) when the transaction is complete. It's surprising how a genuine smile can get you a extra helping of chicken fingers at Arby's.
Bad service from an employee is one thing. Bad service from a company, an entire company, a company that I'm contractually obligated to pay over $100 a month to is another.
This is about a situation I had with a cell phone company last year. And how, after I'd "had enough", I remedied that situation.
Here's the letter I wrote (in the most corporate vernacular I could muster) to the president of that company. The names and places have been changed. All changes are denoted by brackets "[--------]".
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[Mr. Big Bidness], President [Crappy Cellphone Company] [123 Main Street] [Corporate, NE 12345-6789]
February 10th, 2003
Dear Mr. [Bidness],
I am dissatisfied with my experience with [Crappy Cellphone Company]. Not only with the phone and the network but especially “who cares?” attitude of the customer care staff and the management.
The world and my business thrive on communications today, which is why I'm so upset with the service quality of [Crappy Cellphone Company] in Macon Georgia. Quite honestly, I'm furious about this issue.
Here is a timeline of events that will detail the problems I have been having.
December 21st 2002 - Visited the [Crappy Cellphone Company] store on [Lakeside] Drive in Macon, Georgia to purchase a new phone and switch my cellular service from Cingular to [Crappy Cellphone Company]. Before selecting a phone. I told the salesperson the importance of my cell phone then I asked the salesperson several questions about the different phones and the [Crappy Cellphone Company] network. I was told that the [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone] was the best phone that was offered and that it would be his choice if he were buying. I asked him about coverage and quality of service and he said that because the phone could take advantage of the three-way network that I could expect 100% coverage statewide and the digital quality would be better than that of the competitors on their networks. I asked him if I could have a "couple of days for a trial period", he refused and said they're not allowed to do that.
December 21st 2002 - I bought the [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone] ($100 rebate offered) - Paid: 206.67 (AMEX) - Bought accessories (earbud and leather case) - Signed a 2 year service contract with [Crappy Cellphone Company]. - Started experiencing problems with service immediately. Attributed problems to new network change over and my "newness" with the phone.
Late December/Early January (undocumented) - I made a call to customer service (*611) about the problems I was experiencing. I was told that the problems were probably due to the network change over and should clear up soon.
January 7rd 2003 – Called the local [Crappy Cellphone Company] number on several occasions to question them about the service problems. No answers on any of the lines dialed.
January 11th 2003 - I thought the original earbud that I purchased was one of the cause of the poor quality of service so I purchased an upgraded model. I mentioned to the sales rep at the time that I was having problems with reception and service quality I was told I must have been in a dead spot. No difference in service.
** Please note that I did not exercise the $100 rebate because of the problems I have been having with the phone. I thought if I had problems, then having the $100 rebate paid to me would complicate fixing the problems.
January 16th 2003 - While traveling on business in North Georgia I started having severe quality of service and drop out problems. I called customer service (*611) to register a complaint. I was told the problem would be looked into. I asked the customer service representative to give me a courtesy call back to update me as to what was found/done. I received no call back.
January 24th 2003 - I called the toll free number to complain again about the problems I was experiencing with the quality of service and dropouts. During the discussion the customer service representative put me on hold to get the supervisor to discuss the situation with me. During the conversation with the supervisor she suggested a three-way call that would include the technician from the Macon store. During the three-way conversation, I was asked to come into the company store to have my phone looked at. The technician said he was sure the problems I were experiencing were related to the unit and not the network. In another effort of goodwill I came into the company store and allowed the technician to test my phone. After a few minutes of working with on the phone the tech gave me the phone back and said it was fixed and that I shouldn't have any more problems. Before I left the store I asked him give me a test call, he obliged and when he called, the phone rang, I answered but he couldn't hear me on the other end. At this point he took the phone again to examine it. He couldn't determine what the problem was so he wrote an order for a new phone because the old one was "beyond repair". When I turned in the order to the sales rep at the front desk he gave me a new phone without any of the packaging. Satisfied my problems were over I discarded the packaging of the original phone.
January 31st 2003 - Still having problems with the quality of service and dropouts and very frustrated at this time I called customer service (*611) and started explaining the problems I have been having to the customer service representative during the rep stated that [Crappy Cellphone Company] had the CDMA network in place in Macon and I couldn't be having any problems. Then the rep put me on hold to go and get his supervisor, while on hold I experienced another dropout! I waited for several minutes for the rep to call me back, which never happened. So when I got to a landline I called the toll-free number back and explained everything again to yet another customer service representative who put me on hold in order to get his supervisor. This time I spoke with Melinda. I told Melinda I was extremely dissatisfied and "wanted to wash my hands of [Crappy Cellphone Company]". Melinda offered me a free month of service to stay, I told her "no, I want out of the contract and I want a refund on the phone". Melinda told me that she couldn't authorize anything like that. She said she would get with her supervisors after they got out of a meeting, explain the situation to them and have one of them to call me back. I gave here my home phone and my wife's cellular phone number just in case. No one ever called. Before we hung up I asked for Melinda for her direct phone number to call her if I had any problems. She gave me [555-555-5222 extension 5555]. I repeated the number back to her: [5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2]? She verified that was the number. The next week when I called the number it had been disconnected.
February 3rd, 2003 - I had a friend get in touch with [Honey Child] who works with [Crappy Cellphone Company] (National) and explain the situation to her and see if there was something that could be done. [Honey Child] called me and convinced me to stay, that soon all of the network issues would be worked out and I would really appreciate the service in the long run. She mentioned that she preferred [sing-song] phones to the [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone] and that if I were to try the [sing-song] I would surely have better luck. She said she would contact the store manager and setup a demo of the [sing-song] model [B654].
February 5th, 2003 - Visited [Crappy Cellphone Company] company store on [Lakeside] Drive. Spoke with [Cletus] (store manager). [Cletus] gave me a [sing-song] model [B654] to try.
February 5th - 6th, 2003 - I used the phone ([sing-song]) on several occasions. [Crappy Cellphone Company] service dropped out on at least 3 occasions that I documented. The service failed twice at my office on [Poverty] Avenue and once in my neighborhood (North [Ghetto] Circle) on my ride home. I decided that I would keep the phone, and try and live with the service until it improves.
February 6th, 2003 – I visited [Crappy Cellphone Company] company store on [Lakeside] Drive. After waiting for several minutes I spoke with Sheila at the customer service counter. After several more minutes (and other customers) Sheila said that [Cletus] said I needed to provide all packaging for the [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone] in order to exchange phones. Not ever receiving the packaging on the exchanged [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone], and throwing away the original packaging of the phone I bought on December 21st, I knew this was going to be one more hurdle in trying to get my problems taken care of. I left the company store angry and wishing more than ever I had never left Cingular.
February 7th, 2003 - On several outgoing calls I couldn't get cellular service at my home.
February 8, 2003 – Called the store today 4 times to try and get [Cletuses’] last name in order to be able to send him a copy of this letter. No answer.
In summary, I am dissatisfied with my experience with [Crappy Cellphone Company]. Not only with the phone and the network but especially the lack of concern of the customer care staff and the management. I'll definitely tell other people about my negative experience so they can avoid [Crappy Cellphone Company] in the future.
Here's what I'd like to see happen: I want out of the two-year contract and a full refund on the [wamma-lamma-ding-dong phone], and half refund on the service I have paid for since December 21st 2002.
Call me with any questions or concerns [478-555-0800].
I'll expect a response within 10 business days.
[my humble signature]
Mark [R80o]
cc: [Queen Elizabeth], Executive Vice President - Customer Care Cingular Wireless 5565 [Paved with Gold Street] Atlanta, GA 30342
[Crappy Cellphone Company] [Cletus] (store manager) [290 Lakeside Drive] Macon, Georgia 31204
Enc.
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After months of patience, and months of following their protocol I finally had stated my case to someone who I figured would want to know about it.
I'll let you know on the next post what the outcome was.
4/9/2004 12:18:19 AM
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