On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 12:06am

http://www.nbc10.com/news/9406462/detail.html?taf=phi


"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.

He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.

Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.

AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.

[peach]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 12:59pm

I heard the phone conversation replayed on the radio this morning. WTF? The caller was patient. I may have been a little more stern with the AOL rep - who was a complete jerk. Unbelievable.

I wonder how much of it was the rep - or how much was AOL instructing their employees to push customers into not closing the account?

Either way. The rep was simply refusing to do it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:18pm

There are many customer service people who are jerks. I don't know what the problem is. I have been fighting with my bank's customer service for six months. I had an incorrect charge on my credit card. They sent me a letter saying it would be fixed immediately. Five months have gone by and it's still not corrected. But they can tell me the dates and times that I've called concerning the incident.

Updated On: 6/22/06 at 01:18 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:22pm

I quit Virgin Mobile after screaming "F**k you!" at a particularly rude customer service rep. This is not something I usually do, mind.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:46pm

My guess is that AOL puts pressure on their employees to "save" accounts that try and disconnect. Maybe this rep was on some kind of performance plan and he was trying not to get any more lost accounts? I know that these companies can put a lot of pressure on their employees to "save" accounts.

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:51pm

I actually feel bad for this sales rep. It's not his fault that AOL probably instructed their sales reps to act this way and that he's just the unlucky S.O.B. that got the customer who would do something about it. I mean, this isn't the first person that AOL has screwed over in this manner. My stepmother had to cancel her AOL account five times because even after she cancelled it the third month they were sitll billing her--even though she didn't live at the same house. This poor customer service guy doesn't deserve to be fired. AOL in general is to blame. Not to mention that they just suck in general as an ISP. They should really just be boycotted.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:55pm

AOL was invesitigated for this practice last year by Elliot Spitzer and settled with the NY AG for their questionable practices.


"Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) has settled with the state of New York for what Spitzer had alleged were shady customer-retention practices. His office had received numerous complaints from consumers who were given a hard time when they contacted AOL to cancel their service.

With bonus incentives handed out to customer service reps who were able to dissuade callers from canceling their AOL service, it was easy to see how things could have gotten out of hand. Reps were motivated to turn up the hard sell and, according to some customer complaints, kept customers on as subscribers even after they had requested the service's termination."





You've Got Settlement

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:58pm

I think he deserved to be fired. After the third time the customer says CANCEL THE ACCOUNT you do it, you stop pusing to save it, you just do it. This guy wouldn't lose his battle and kept going at it, I applaud the customer for staying that calm.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 2:00pm

Hell, my mother called to cancel her AOL account and they gave her three free months. She stuck around.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 2:58pm

Hell, my mother called to cancel her AOL account and they gave her three free months. She stuck around.

It's been 4 years or so since I've had AOL, but my last year was basicially free because of this. I don't know if it's still set up this way, but I'd call to cancel, they'd offer me 2 months free, I'd call at the end of two months to cancel, they'd offer another two months, lather rinse repeat.

Apparently if you're signed up as a customer, even if not paying for service, they can count you in their "7.9 million customers" (or whatever the number is).

And then when I finally wanted to cancel once and for all and the rep was doing the sell (I think they're supposed to try and 'save' the account three times (are you sure you want to cancel, is there anything else that we can do for you to keep you on as a member, etc.) before being allowed to cancel someone's account?) all I did was use the word 'chargeback' and I was allowed to cancel.

AND- make sure you get the cancellation number. And keep it in a safe place. I had to deal with that with my cable internet account, but that is a whole 'nuther story. :)

[morosco]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:00pm

Whenever I call customer service to handle a serious matter the first thing I do is inform the customer service rep that I am recording the conversation for reference. Their attitude is SO much better after they hear that.

[singingwendy]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:08pm

I agree that the sales rep was in the wrong here, but am I the only one who thought the customer got pretty snotty and annoying throughout this call. It was as if he couldn't put up with 3 minutes of talking to the customer service rep. He should have know it was going to be a bit of a game to cancel his service.....it is anytime you try to cancel something, be it cable, or phone service, or a gym membership (remember the episode of Friends?). It just seemed to me that he wanted it done NOW and was annoyed that it took 3 whole minutes to cancel the account.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:14pm

"It just seemed to me that he wanted it done NOW and was annoyed that it took 3 whole minutes to cancel the account."

Can you blame him? People shouldn't have to deal with this garbage. The call should have taken 45 seconds. Cancel means cancel. No bartering.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:15pm

Keep in mind, kids often call to cancel their parent's accounts, and AOL could've just told their CS folks to watch out for that. So, I'd be a little slower to judge this CS guy.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:16pm

I don't think it was only 3 minutes. He had been on hold for 20 or more before he finally got through. I don't know if you've ever had to deal with AOL's so called "customer service" but it is pretty bad. Long hold times, then they transfer you around until you finally end up right back at the number you first called. Their online help is just as bad.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:19pm

"...but am I the only one who thought the customer got pretty snotty and annoying throughout this call..."

The customer was being firm. The customer was becoming frustrated. The rep should have picked up on those signals. Customer reps are not supposed to become aggressive just because their caller is "snotty and annoying".

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 5:58pm

But I don't think this guy was getting aggressive. He was doing what he was trained to do, and that's not right, but it's not necessarily the customer service guy's fault. I mean, if you needed money and you had a job and your boss told you to do something, wouldn't you do it? I still feel that it wasn't right for this guy to get fired, and I can't judge the background on this call so I can't say whether or not the guy was getting snotty.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 6:01pm

Is it bad that I'm so jaded that I'm all "well, all we have is AOL's word that he was fired, so I wonder if he's really been fired or not?" and I'm leaning towards not?

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 6:04pm

Good point there, Anakela. I guess it's smart not to trust anything that AOL says.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 6:18pm

especially since, I mean as much as we might think his job does or does not suck, it does look/sound like this rep was *good* at doing what he was being paid to do.

Again, just me and my jaded self wondering aloud here.


eta: and plus aren't there various laws (are they privacy laws?) and whatnot that prevent a company from saying if/when/how an employee has been reprimanded (or not)?
Updated On: 6/22/06 at 06:18 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 6:28pm

Why don't internet companies give customers the option to close their account online instead of having customers call in? Accounts are password protected aren't they? If there are folks who don't mind the harassment from a customer service rep they should continue to have the option of calling AOL. But if customers would rather avoid calling AOL they should have the option of closing an account online without having to begg a rep to cancel their account for them. Problem solved.
Updated On: 6/22/06 at 06:28 PM

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 6:29pm

Probably, but companies say constantly to the public that their employees have been fired if there is an incident such as this one.

That, of course, does not make it true.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 10:54pm

morosco, that's exactly why they don't do it online. They want everyone to have to be harassed by their customer service rep into continuing their service. If it were just a click of a button online, AOL would lose half their customers tomorrow, most likely.

The only reason I got to cancel my AOL service so quickly was because I had closed the bank account with the card they were charging. They tried to get me to give them another card number, but I told them I wanted to cancel and they had no choice.

However, that didn't keep them from charging me for an extra month because I called on the day that checks are printed and they "couldn't stop it." It wasn't the end of the month date that was printed on the bill, I called 3 days before that. I just blew it off because I didn't want to bother getting tangled up in that web all over again. But I still throw things at the TV whenever an AOL commercial comes on, bragging about their great service.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 11:15pm

Usually the best answer to give when cancelling your cell phone or internet service is to tell them that the company you work for is providing the service to you for free (even if it's a little white lie). That usually cuts the conversation with the rep short because they're not gonna counter offer free service.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/23/06 at 6:07am

You want a "white lie" that will do the trick? Tell them your 12-year old daughter is being cyber-stalked by some pervert, and you don't want her to have internet access. Say the guy sent her pornographic pitures, and the police are investigating.