You Just Can't Get Customer Service Anymore!

[Doc Safari]

I'm tired of the lies, deceit, failure to disclose, rudeness, unwillingness to help, saying anything to get rid of you, and downright lack of concern that permeates this country's lack of customer service from commercial entities these days.

I will be "that guy" and say it: Most companies you deal with have become as bad as the government when it comes to not being able to get them to help you, or downright lying to you.

Cases in point:

1. I bought a new all-in-one desktop computer a couple of weeks ago from Best Buy. It came with Windows 8.1 installed. Everything went fine for about a week, then the computer did one of those famous "auto updates" of Windows. After restarting, nothing worked. The desktop wouldn't load; the start screen wouldn't load. I had to do Ctrl-Alt-Delete to get the Task Manager, at which point I could navigate and get the desktop, internet, etc.

I called Best Buy's Geek Squad to help me troubleshoot it. After describing the problem the lady asked me to bring it in. I asked if I needed to bring the mouse, keyboard, etc., and she said, "No, just the computer."

Here's where it gets dicey. I walked in to Best Buy and explained that I was the one who called in with the problem with Windows not loading after an update. She said that probably Windows hadn't been installed properly in the first place.

Next thing out of the lady's mouth was "Did you bring the power cord?"

I said, "No, the lady I spoke to on the phone said to just bring the computer."

The lady continued, "Well, that one takes a special power cord that we don't generally keep in stock." I explained that I live out in the middle of nowhere and it's a long drive to their store. Then I asked if this was something that they can fix while I wait or if I'd have to leave the computer with them.

After she explained that I'd have to leave the computer with them, I told her that the computer was full of my banking and credit card cookies and I didn't feel comfortable with that since there's all kinds of identity theft these days. I asked if they could just tell me how to fix the problem myself. (She had previously stated they normally just do a "recovery" and re-load windows, wiping everything out and starting over).

She went in the back and spoke to someone for a few minutes.

She finally returned and said, "No, we charge people to fix computers. It's against our policy to give out instructions. Did you sign up for our service (about $200 a year!) when you bought the computer?"

I said, "No, but this computer is not quite two weeks old. Isn't there some kind of warranty? Don't you stand behind the products you sell?" At this point I'm practically pounding my fist on the counter.

Without even blinking, she sort of sarcastically said, "Well, if you had the power cord, we could just exchange it."

Flustered, I drove all the way back to the ranch, boxed up the computer, and proceeded to use up another 1/4 tank of gas to drive back to Best Buy. Looking at my receipt I was literally on the last day of the 15-day exchange period, so it couldn't wait.

Upon returning to Best Buy, of course I had to talk to a different person. I started completely over from scratch as far as the problem and why I wanted to exchange it. I got some Asian guy who hardly speaks English. He asked for my ID and plugged the computer in.

I watched as it didn't load Windows or my desktop just as I described. After fooling with it for ten or fifteen minutes he turned to me and said, "It no working?" I just shook my head, trying not to scream at him. He went in the back for another ten to fifteen minutes, talking to someone above him, obviously.

Finally, he returned from the back and in broken English said, "Okay, you go get another." He pointed toward the back of the store. I took my new receipt to that department and grabbed another computer off the shelf. I wanted to be courteous and show the attendant in that department what I was doing. He would not even look up from his computer long enough to acknowledge me, much less check my receipt to make sure I was grabbing the same thing. I said, "Screw it" loud enough for him to hear me and proceeded to the front door. As I reached the front door, I waved my receipt in the air and told the front door attendant, "I just made an exchange."

Without even bothering to check my recipt or verify my paperwork or anything, he said, "Okay, you're good." He waved me through. Had I been dishonest I could have grabbed a much more expensive computer and they wouldn't have caught it until they checked inventory. Sure, they would probably have eventually realized what had happened, especially if I was the only person to return a computer, but they wouldn't have been able to prove it in court. Good thing I'm honest.

So the new computer works (so far), but Best Buy is on my list of bad people to deal with now.

2. I had home phone service through CenturyLink. Decades ago, the technician who originally buried the phone lines didn't bury them very deep. Over time erosion and farm equipment moving through my area have gradually caused my phone line to become unreliable when it gets wet from rain, and finally one day a piece of road working equipment cut the phone line accidentally. CenturyLink sent an engineer to contact me and make a field survey of the problem.

The short version is: they wanted ME to pay to re-bury the phone line deeper. I explained that although I know it wasn't their fault that Ma Bell originally buried the phone line too shallow, I did not think it was my responsibility to pay to re-bury it. The engineer was adamant that since it wasn't their fault some farm equipment cut the line, that I should pay for it. I explained to them in as blunt as possible terms: "You have to understand. I don't need you anymore. I have a cell phone and I can sign up for wireless internet. If you think I'm going to pay to re-bury a land line that I can live without, I would rather just cancel my service."

It's a little more involved than this, but for the sake of brevity let's just say that the next thing was for a CenturyLink technician to string a phone line ABOVE GROUND all the way from the main road to my house while he "argues" with them about who is going to re-bury the phone line.

My solution was to get a wireless home phone from Verizon. CenturyLink, the dinosaur phone company, lost a customer.

3. When I switched to my wireless home phone I bundled my cell phone and tried to bundle my internet through Verizon. The Verizon salesman said that they could bundle the cell phone and home phone with no problem, but that their internet was through Xfinity and their system isn't set up to just do it on the spot. I'd have to talk to Xfinity. Since this was for all three to be bundled at a lower price than what I was paying, I agreed and let them do the changeovers.

After finishing my cell phone and home phone signups, I proceeded to go talk to Xfinity. What do you know? Xfinity told me they don't have service to my area because I'm out in the middle of nowhere. I went back to Verizon to find out what to do now. Of course I don't get the low price for all three anymore because I'm screwed on the internet service through them. Now instead of paying one low price for all three I'm basically paying the same price for two.

I ended up having to get wireless internet through a local company, which so far I'm happy with.

Oh, and Verizon's salesman mentioned some low "changeover" fees for me to flush Centurylink and go with them. My new Verizon service was supposed to be a little over $60 a month for a home phone and cell phone. These "low" changeover fees resulted in my first Verizon bill being over $160 !

3. After all was said and done, CenturyLink sent me a bill for the month AFTER I no longer had phone service through them and had already switched over to Verizon. I contacted their people through a chat session online at CenturyLink's website. Supposedly it's all straightened out now, but if they keep sending me a bill I PROMISE I WILL FIGHT THEM TO THE GATES OF HELL NOT TO PAY IT!

4. Last summer, the main transformer blew outside my house. It was over forty years old, and I'm surprised it lasted that long.

I came home late one night to NO electicity. Of course, calling the electric company I couldn't get through late at night, but I expected at least an answering machine. Instead, after going through the prompts where I punched in my information from my cell phone, all I got was music on hold. After a half hour or so, I gave up and called in again. This literally went on until the wee hours of the morning where I called in, entered my information, and hung up after getting music on hold for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Finally, I got an answering machine, left my message, and went to bed. First thing the next morning, I called again and got the answering machine on the first try. I left another message.

I had gone all night without power in the hottest part of the summer. There were no storms and no one from the electric company sent a truck out until almost noon the next day. I asked the technician, "Aren't you guys supposed to send repair trucks 24/7? I had a lot of trouble leaving a message but finally go through around 1 am. Didn't you guys get my message?"

He said, "The first message we got was around 8 this morning?" Was it a lie from a lazy technician or did they really not get my first message? At any rate, he thanked me for pointing out the problem with their phone system by saying, "We've got a new phone answering system. I'm reporting it every time a customer has a problem."

They replaced my transformer and my power returned to normal.

A few days later, I got my electric bill. It was THREE TIMES higher than normal. Obviously, a mistake. I called into the office to complain that my bill was obviously an error. At first the lady tried to justify it by saying that I was just wrong about how much power I used. When I finally convinced her to check my consumption history, she agreed it was excessive. She said she'd send someone out to verify the meter reading.

When I got the letter from them supposedly verifying the meter reading, I thought it was in error too. The meter reading was some ridiculously low number as if the meter had just been turned on.

I called their office again. The lady this time explained that they had installed a new meter several days after replacing the transformer, so of course it was a low reading.

In other words: I had asked them to verify the meter reading from my OLD meter, which showed the excessive use. Instead, they just sent a guy back out to re-read the NEW meter, which of course wouldn't have a record of the excessive reading.

I ended up having to pay the high bill because when the old meter was removed there was no longer any way to prove that the meter reading had been wrong. I called an electrician friend of mine to find out how I could fight this.

His answer was basically, "Leave well enough alone. They're a bunch of crooks. The problem may have been that they discovered your old meter was reading low, and decided to make up past charges all in one bill. If you make waves they could decide to audit your use for the past ten or so years and REALLY screw you with a bill for past use. You should just pay that high bill and chalk it up to them making you pay for your new transformer."



I know this post was long, but these are just a few examples of the kind of lack of customer service I've dealt with over the last few years. I am getting to the point that something has got to change in this country or we are going to become a non-functioning society.

I was watching a program on US history one day. I forget the name of the program or even what channel it was on. But something in the narrative struck me: A person had asked several immigrants why they left their home countries.

A lot of the immigrants had answered, "Nothing works in my country. You can't get anything done."

Let that not be the epitaph of the United States of America.

[Eurodriver]

So you got a brand new computer, expected the phone company to eat the cost of burying a line that someone else cut, you're mad at Verizon because xfinity doesn't offer service where you live, and your electric company undercharged you for decades.

Am I understanding this correctly? Because that's what I got from your post.

[Ned Christiansen]

I feel your pain. Just shortened my life by another 30-plus minutes talking to Sprint. This issue is months old, I've tried them by phone, Email, and "live chat". Also with Netgear who makes the device in question. Opened a case with Netgear and the response was, "your case will automatically close in three days and will be considered resolved, thank you". I called the number on the message and waited 27 minutes, to be told I'd have to call another number. Waited for 45 minutes and gave the F up.

Tried "live chat" with Netgear. A circular, jerkular, waste of 55 minutes.

Nobuddy knows nuttin'. No one is authorized.

Filed complaints on both with the FCC. Have done this in the past with Sprint-- I don't think they live in fear of it.

I guess when you've got the only whorehouse in town, your staff can be ugly and filthy. That's what we got for CS from outfits like this.

It's comical, over the years I've observed how these companies (cable, CC, insurance, you name it) will spare no expense to get new customers. Yet when a long-timer has a problem, they can't escape the gravitational pull of their own ambivalence and incompetence enough to perform the simplest service. But the really funny part is when you call to say "I'm done, disconnect me, I'll get this done someplace else," SUDDENLY they perk up it's, "Oh yes sir, we can help with that! We'll have you out of here before ya know it!"

Wow, so there IS something they can do. They all know how and they all are authorized, sweet!

My other peeve is the incessant junk mail, after multiple polite requests to be removed from the list. Here's the new thing in the last year. When what they send does not include a paid return envelope, I just cycle it back through the mail-- they get charged again every time. I have four going right now from Comcrap.... the cycle through until they fall apart, usually a dozen or more times, then I retire them and I wait...... for one with a paid envelope. Put all the junk mail in there and tape the paid envelope to an empty Priority Mail large flat rate box. It goes, and they pay $17.90. Inside with their junk mail is a brief and polite letter telling them that I have asked multiple times to be removed from the list, and please consider this another request.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

The best one going right now is a large credit card company. Ever seen the main offices for these places? They have so much money it doesn't pay them to try and save money.

[223to45]

I feel your pain. Just shortened my life by another 30-plus minutes talking to Sprint. This issue is months old, .


Don't even get me started on Sprint.

[Doc Safari]

So you got a brand new computer, expected the phone company to eat the cost of burying a line that someone else cut, you're mad at Verizon because xfinity doesn't offer service where you live, and your electric company undercharged you for decades.

Am I understanding this correctly? Because that's what I got from your post.

I grew up in an era when companies actually bent over backwards to keep your business.


your electric company undercharged you for decades.



The electric company is the only one I'd expect crappy service from since they're a monopoly. They have a long and storied reputation for crookedness.

It's not that they undercharged me for decades. That's just my electrician friend's speculation. Since my monthly bill went right back to where it was (something I should have pointed out in my first post, I guess), I concluded that the extra large bill was due to a power surge (again not my fault), or as I was told: the electric company made me pay for the transformer.

In either case, I don't believe the extra large bill was due to my using extra electricity and that's why I'm mad about it.



So you got a brand new computer

Yes, I expect a brand new computer to have some kind of "warranty" support, especially when it's only been out of the box a week or two. Everybody knows most computers have issues. Charging people to troubleshoot something brand new is like the car dealership charging you to replace a part that's been recalled.


expected the phone company to eat the cost of burying a line that someone else cut

As for the phone company not wanting to re-bury a line: it was their technician's error that caused it to be buried only inches from the surface to begin with. Maybe we could argue that CenturyLink shouldn't have to pay for AT & T's sloppy technician, but since they purchased the distribution rights, they inherited the bad with the good. This is where we get back to companies wanting to keep your business. I voted with my feet after their little stunt of stringing a phone line across my land like a giant extension cord.


you're mad at Verizon because xfinity doesn't offer service where you live

I'm mad ad Verizon's rep because he wasn't smart or trained well enough to know that Xfinity might not cover my area before offering me the sun, moon, and stars. He should never have offered me the sweetheart deal he did. I had told him several times I lived in the middle of nowhere, mainly because I was worried the wireless home phone would not work. He should have had a little light bulb go off in his head that the internet might be a problem.....since I don't even get cable TV out where I live either and I explained that to him as well.

[SilverBullet432]

Im with you on the electric part Doc. ive been waiting for nearly 2 months for oncor to come power up my new home (which im already paying for but not living in btw) i call and call and all i get is a soon....

[skijunkie55]

Here's a customer service story for ya...

I bought my wife a new 2013 dodge durango a couple years back. Has about 32,000 miles on it now. Nothing was wrong with the car.
November 2013- Wife was at HomeDepot one day getting some DIY supplies and the gentleman loading the items in the car accidentally turned it too far, put a small tear in the headliner. "Oops. Let me get your info, our insurance will take care of that." We get a couple quotes from our dealership we bought the car from, and the adjuster for the insurance company got another. They send us to the cheaper place. $350 fix.

All is well for about 12 months. Dodge does a recall on a wiring harness at the sun visor for a "potential" fire hazard. Free fix from the dealer. We bring it in over the Christmas holiday. As they're finishing the recall, all sorts of fuses start blowing. Back-up camera goes out, computer is reading all sorts of errors. They begin to pull back the headliner and find numerous shorts in the wiring all the way back - problems from when the headliner was "repaired" originally. Additional cost on top of the recall, $1750.

We call the group that did the original patch job on the headliner to tell them they messed up our car and are responsible for almost 2 grand in damage: electrical, faulty rear curtain airbag, etc.
Cheap place: "Well how come the car was fine for all this time. We don't think we should be responsible for this"

Wires don't short over night. If you don't put them back exactly where you found them, things will go wrong. Had my wife gotten in an accident with my children in the car, I would own that business in a second.

At this point the cheap place has two options: Dealership and Chrysler have offered to cover 2/3 of the cost, they would need to pay about $500. Option 2: I take them to court for the full cost of the repair and my legal fees.

Hooray for people who aren't willing to own up to their mistakes and take responsibility.

[223to45]

Skijunkie55 , Next time demand that only dealer repair it, keeps your original warranty intact.

[skijunkie55]

Skijunkie55 , Next time demand that only dealer repair it, keeps your original warranty intact.

Yep. Who knew a small thing like that would turn into a nightmare. Lesson learned :p

[austinN4]

And I thought Time Warner was bad........

[Eurodriver]

I grew up in an era when companies actually bent over backwards to keep your business.


I guess that's the issue. I didn't mean to sound condescending, I'm just of a different era. I buy everything online so I don't have to talk to idiot CS reps, and I try to do as much possible myself to avoid having to rely on idiots to help me. If I were in your shoes:

I would have fixed the PC myself by attaching the HD to another machine and doing a clean reinstall of Windows.
I haven't had a non-cell phone line in at least 10 years.
I live in a big city and have multiple internet, cable, etc providers.

I rely on customer service as little as possible. Chalk it up to my time spent dealing with the VA, I suppose. (Which now has MyHealthEVet which makes dealing with their "diverse" employees [read: stupid, uneducated hoodlums] unnecessary.)

[Kain]

Having worked in customer service in one form on another several times over the years, 90% of those working it try to do as little as possible. Fact. People are lazy. Also fact. Second, I have known people who have gotten fired for trying to help people out and do the right thing, dead serious, guy comes in with computer issues and a friend fixes it instead of pushing the company line, gets fired for it. And somethings there is literally nothing you can do the fix the problem, seriously, somethings shit is out of my hands, or it is straight up prohibited and no amount of threats, bitching, or screaming is going to get me to do it, because it is illegal!

That said, yeah a lot of places have CS that makes shit look good. I have had places literally lie through their teeth that something isn't covered, IE a place that I had bought an extended warranty who claimed I didn't have the warranty to cover the item. Was ****ing hilarious when I pulled out the receipt with the warranty option on it and carved said manager a new asshole with his own words. Had a dealership who we took one of the cars in for maintenance because it wasn't running right. They say its the spark plugs, say they replaces one of the four, and oh by the way here are a bunch of charges for service and software upgrades. Car still runs like shit, take it to a mechanic friend of mine and he replaces the plugs and wow the car runs. Looking at the plugs that were pulled out, if they were changed it was with used one because everyone looked like it was pulled through pure filth. Go back to said dealership and after a full on song and dance how they are perfect and the mechanic who they can't produce worked for eight hours replacing the plugs, doing upgrades and cleaning the car the car ran perfect, ect, ect and software upgrades are super expensive and don't you have to upgrade microsoft and don't you pay for that as well (I shit you not that he claimed you are charged for microsoft upgrades), and this and that, we pulled the refund out of the piece of shit. Needless to say I tend to be a bit short with people at dealerships with a fair point that you tact anything on the bill that isn't agreed to beforehand you better not expect to get paid for it.

As far as phone and internet providers. **** them. I have had one company, after we told them to not so kindly to not only end the service after having issue with their service for months and literally having a technician supposed to show up three weeks in a row and the call being canceled and no one telling us, send a guy to our door trying to get us to sign back up. That was fun.

I have more, but have things to do tonight other than bitch.

[drsal]

Very simple, nobody cares. No major corporation cares about its customers, there are millions of them. Lose a few here and there .. so what. ATT doesn't care, you go to Xfinity, they are the same or worse. You're limited to 3 or 5 major service providers for a basic necessity nowadays like cell phone, internet or entertainment, and you are stuck with them.
Get a tracfone and pay as you is one alternative, but not a very satisfactory one. Major stores, hah! you're nothing but an inconvenience to the sales staff, which is why 95% of my purchases are online. Just the reality on the state of 'customer service'.

[MountainRaven]

I know, isn't capitalism great?

:sarcastic:

[Ned Christiansen]

Very simple, nobody cares. No major corporation cares about its customers, there are millions of them. Lose a few here and there .. so what. ATT doesn't care, you go to Xfinity, they are the same or worse. You're limited to 3 or 5 major service providers for a basic necessity nowadays like cell phone, internet or entertainment, and you are stuck with them.
Get a tracfone and pay as you is one alternative, but not a very satisfactory one. Major stores, hah! you're nothing but an inconvenience to the sales staff, which is why 95% of my purchases are online. Just the reality on the state of 'customer service'.

The one and only reason I stay with Sprint...... I am certain that any of my other options are equally devoid of actual service. The individual service people I deal with, when I can reach one, are usually not what I would call bad or stupid people, the outfit they work for has simply given them noting to work with, no training, no authority, nothing other than a script that says "We're very sorry for any inconvenience, how can we help?" But when I suggest how they can help it's "we can't do that", or " call this number". More than a few times I've been forwarded through no less than four people only to end back up with the first one who actually tries to start the cycle over!

[M&P15T]

It's not hard to understand, really.

Americans want everything cheap. We want good computers for a low cost. We want good cars and homes for a low cost. We want good phones and phone service for a low cost.

Price, quality and service. Pick two of the three, because you can't have all of them.

For the OP; Best Buy sold you that computer at a very low profit margin. Best Buy does volume, not customer service. There's plenty of places you could have paid more for the same computer, but you went with Best Buy because they're cheap. Well, if you had paid more for it somewhere else, with good customer service, you wouldn't have had the problems you did.

Or, you could have spent the $200 and gotten the service plan.

I bought my last computer at Best Buy. I knew for certain that I was taking a risk. I knew if something went wrong, I wouldn't even bother going back to them for help. Just like buying a computer from Walmart.

If you want good customer service, you have to pay for it.

[SpeedRacer]

It's not hard to understand, really.

Americans want everything cheap. We want good computers for a low cost. We want good cars and homes for a low cost. We want good phones and phone service for a low cost.

Price, quality and service. Pick two of the three, because you can't have all of them.

For the OP; Best Buy sold you that computer at a very low profit margin. Best Buy does volume, not customer service. There's plenty of places you could have paid more for the same computer, but you went with Best Buy because they're cheap. Well, if you had paid more for it somewhere else, with good customer service, you wouldn't have had the problems you did.

Or, you could have spent the $200 and gotten the service plan.

I bought my last computer at Best Buy. I knew for certain that I was taking a risk. I knew if something went wrong, I wouldn't even bother going back to them for help. Just like buying a computer from Walmart.

If you want good customer service, you have to pay for it.

This x a billion.

[sadmin]

American Express will change your mind. Best CS I've ever encountered.

This is a cultural issue, all sectors of big business are touched by it, from minimum wage to high-6 figure physicians. No accountability so why go the extra mile? Thank goodness for small business.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[M&P15T]

One other thing;

Service plans and extended warranties are not the rip-off they once were. At Best Buy, you spend the $200 if you want service after your purchase, it's that simple. With vehicles, extended warranties can be worth their weight in gold. With appliances, you are taking an enormous risk if you don't buy the extended warranty.

You have to look at it this way: Due to demands for low costs for goods, there's no customer service anymore. If you want customer service, paying for things like service plans and extended warranties is how you pay to get some good service after your purchase.

[Ned Christiansen]

I will gladly pay for better CS! God know I pay for bad CS, up front when I pay the bill or buy the thing in question, and again with the waste of lifespan trying to get help. Sprint alone I bet I spend six hours a year minimum.

I buy at Sears when I can. Can't stand Best Buy where I have to beg for assistance and often it's someone who doesn't want to be there, doesn't have the answers, and resents having to waste time with me. At Sears I am very likely to get someone who knows their department and the stuff in it, and be professional about it. I love that.

[M&P15T]

American Express will change your mind. Best CS I've ever encountered.

This is a cultural issue, all sectors of big business are touched by it, from minimum wage to high-6 figure physicians. No accountability so why go the extra mile? Thank goodness for small business.

That's because American Express is by faaaaaaaar the most expensive CC out there. You pay for the customer service, so you get it.

No accountability? Oh, there most certainly is accountability, tons of it. For every product sales and customer service company, there is epic accountability. Screw a customer over, and EVERYONE hears about it. I can guarantee you, this thread is not the only way in which the OP is expressing his frustration with Best Buy. With the internet, every company gets graded on many different facets of how they do business, from first hand accounts of purchasing and service experiences, all over the internet.

There is more accountability now than ever, in this information age. A lot more.

[M&P15T]

I will gladly pay for better CS! God know I pay for bad CS, up front when I pay the bill or buy the thing in question, and again with the waste of lifespan trying to get help. Sprint alone I bet I spend six hours a year minimum.

I buy at Sears when I can. Can't stand Best Buy where I have to beg for assistance and often it's someone who doesn't want to be there, doesn't have the answers, and resents having to waste time with me. At Sears I am very likely to get someone who knows their department and the stuff in it, and be professional about it. I love that.

Which is why SEARS is damn near out of business. Great service, which means they pay and train their people better, and take care of the customer better. But their prices are higher than any other competitor. So SEARS stores are closing left and right.

Which is very sad.

But don't blame companies. They're just doing what they have to do, to stay competitive.

[Doc Safari]

I would have fixed the PC myself by attaching the HD to another machine and doing a clean reinstall of Windows.

I could have done that, but it was a brand new machine and they should have been willing to step up to the plate and fix it under warranty. Luckily they did an even exchange or I would have dedicated my life to telling everyone not to deal with Best Buy.



I haven't had a non-cell phone line in at least 10 years. I hear you, and I admit to being an anachronism with a home phone. My thing is living out in the middle of nowhere I like to have multiple options when it comes to outside communications.


I live in a big city and have multiple internet, cable, etc providers. I live in a small town where cable TV doesn't even come to where I live (ditto wired internet that doesn't use a phone line). Without cell phones and satellites floating around in space I'd be living in the 20th century--that is---the early 20th century. On top of that we are just getting to the point where there is actual competition on TV and internet providers. Cell phone providers are everywhere, though.


I rely on customer service as little as possible.

I try to as well. I order online as much as possible. I was making the comment the other day that even with Wal-Mart, a good sized mall, and two or three gun shops, I still have to order some things online.

[Doc Safari]

And somethings there is literally nothing you can do the fix the problem, seriously, somethings shit is out of my hands, or it is straight up prohibited and no amount of threats, bitching, or screaming is going to get me to do it, because it is illegal!



I'd love to hear some of these stories!

[VooDoo6Actual]

The totality of this situation is the result of : Social Hacking / Engineering / manufactured consent / normalcy bias / cult of personality / multiculturalism / globalization / intentional dumbing down / Cloward, Piven, Alinsky doctrines et alia etc.

Welcome to the MBIC & CORPOCRACY model.

The APOGEE of stuidity ....

Sheeple, it's what for dinner !

[VooDoo6Actual]

The totality of this situation is the result of : Social Hacking / Engineering / manufactured consent / normalcy bias / cult of personality / multiculturalism / globalization / intentional dumbing down / common WH-core, Cloward, Piven, Alinsky doctrines et alia etc.

Welcome to the MBIC & CORPOCRACY model.

The APOGEE of stupidity ....

Sheeple, it's what's for dinner !

[SilverBullet432]

Which is why SEARS is damn near out of business. Great service, which means they pay and train their people better, and take care of the customer better. But their prices are higher than any other competitor. So SEARS stores are closing left and right.

Which is very sad.

But don't blame companies. They're just doing what they have to do, to stay competitive.

Back in high school, I worked at a sears auto center. I spent 6 weeks in training watching videos on how to properly change oil, differences in weights, viscocities, wheel torque specs, tire pressures, etc... Then shadowed under a level 3 tech for 3 more weeks.... All to change oil and tires lol..

[brickboy240]

Yep....calling a utility company or trying to get customer service from a large retailer is a total exercise in trying not to kill someone! LOL

I also experienced horrible customer service with BMW. Yeah...you'd think if you spent that much on a friggin car...they'd treat you decent but nope. Never again will I own one - the cost of the maintenance, the finickiness of the vehicle and the snotty customer service will keep me away forever.

A few companies have shocked me with how good their customer service was. Both Ruger and S&W had great CS as did BCM. There is also a local Volvo dealer that has been the nicest of any car dealership I have ever dealt with. Who knew?

but yes...on the whole...customer service in this country is going away.

[Bulletdog]

I'm dealing with a problem with Southern CA Edison right now. Getting the power turned off at the pole to repair some electrical issues on a new property was no problem. Getting it turned back on is requiring an act of congress...

About Best Buy: I refuse to do business with them because they won't let you return an item, even the next day and WITH a receipt, unless you allow them to swipe your drivers license (with all your personal info on it) into their computer system. "Its a very secure system sir..." "You have nothing to worry about..." Riiiiiiiight... Because no big company has ever been hacked before... When I asked what happens if my teenage child who does not have a driver's license bought me the wrong birthday gift and would like to return it, they said their system will not allow a return without a driver's license. I asked, "So only licensed drivers can shop here." The manager corrected me, "No. Only licensed drivers can make a return or exchange here." Store credit or exchange for something else is not possible without swiping a drivers license either. I suggested the manager swipe his own license since I don't have a driver's license, and he didn't like that idea at all. I was told this policy is to keep track of inventory and who is returning it. I said, "My name and credit card info are right here on the receipt. Can't you use that to track the inventory? It says what I bought and how much I paid for it right here." I told them I would not mind them looking at my license (of course I'd have to go home and get it since I already told them I didn't have one) to verify I am the credit card holder whose name is on the receipt, but that I didn't not want my info swiped into their computer. No dice.

I've encountered this problem at a few other places too, and refuse to do business with all of them.

[223to45]

Did you tell them that you would handle this through your credit card company?

[Bulletdog]

Did you tell them that you would handle this through your credit card company?

No. No I did not.

I feel so stupid... This should have been so obvious to me because I frequently use that tactic to strong arm a-holes into doing the right thing, in regards to customer service.

Thank you for the reminder.

[Kain]

I'd love to hear some of these stories!

Lol. Without getting into too much details, several involved working in a gun store and dealing with people who were trying to buy guns and either let onto they were prohibited, self denied themselves, who we were kindly informed to wait for the police to show up to escort the individual to a new home, or straight up denied to sale. The ones where the cops showed up were fun, the ones that were denied though, they took the cake. I have had them scream, plead, argue, threaten, and then get really pissed when we wouldn't allow their wife, girlfriend, **** buddy, ect, buy it because we knew damn right well that they were buying if for the person. Then there was always the women who would come in and get denied or self deny(Yes I am buying the gun for my BF who is a felon, what is wrong with that?) and try to shake their ass to try get us to sell them the gun. The other ones who were fun were the ones who lived out of state who wanted us to sell them guns which were illegal and try to plead, argue, ect. The best one was the guy who lived in NJ and who was buying a Mosin Nagant and we were not allowed to sell the gun with the bayonet to those in Jersey at the time because it was illegal there and the guy was trying to convince us that it wasn't a bayonet but a flat head screw driver and perfectly legal. Now, while I disagree with NJ's gun laws, I am not going to give you the damn thing because it would be my job. I thought he was going to come over the counter honestly.


And that is just one job.

[Doc Safari]

The best one was the guy who lived in NJ and who was buying a Mosin Nagant and we were not allowed to sell the gun with the bayonet to those in Jersey at the time because it was illegal there and the guy was trying to convince us that it wasn't a bayonet but a flat head screw driver and perfectly legal.

When I used to have more to do with gun dealers back in the 1990's, I remember hearing the same gripe with the Chinese SKS's that had the cruciform bayonet. All bayonets had to be removed from rifles, and you couldn't buy the rifle with the bayonet even after it had been removed. One guy tried to claim he wasn't going to reattach it to the rifle but that it would make a good slotted screwdriver. IIRC the gun dealer just stood his ground and told him sarcastically, "We can't take a chance on a drive-by screwdriving, sir."

[26 Inf]

I will gladly pay for better CS! God know I pay for bad CS, up front when I pay the bill or buy the thing in question, and again with the waste of lifespan trying to get help. Sprint alone I bet I spend six hours a year minimum.

I buy at Sears when I can. Can't stand Best Buy where I have to beg for assistance and often it's someone who doesn't want to be there, doesn't have the answers, and resents having to waste time with me. At Sears I am very likely to get someone who knows their department and the stuff in it, and be professional about it. I love that.

This is a perfect example of regional differences - Sears stores in our locale are notoriously understaffed. If you are comparison shopping the commissioned salesperson will ditch you in a heartbeat if they think another customer will buy now. (is that understandable?)