Customer Service

It is true, with self checkout at the grocery stores, ATM machines at the bank, self serve at the gas station, and the kiosks at airports allowing one to check themselves in for a flight....there are some definite benefits to the customer....but...

Have you ever tracked your UPS package online only to discover the delivery address is incorrect? To correct a mistake like this, a phone call to UPS is necessary. After long wait times on hold, and after pushing several buttons on an automated system you will eventually talk to a real live human being. The problem comes when that 'person' tells you 'no problem, okay, I've corrected the mistake.'.......Two days later your package has still not arrived, you call again, go through the button pushing and waiting, talk to a different person who NOW tells you there is no record of your previous conversation, and 'we are not showing any change in the delivery address.'

Cell phone companies: Frustration at its best! You go in personally to an AT&T store, change your cell phone plan, drop your additional line, they assure you that you are all set! You think all is well......then you get the bill. They've kept the line you wanted dropped, changed it unilaterally to a different plan of their own choosing, and inform you that you were required to give them 30 days notice before dropping the second line. WHAT?? But, we were told we were 'all set!'....So sorry, they say, you were misinformed.

Insurance companies: You submit bills for payment via email and ask for response. One week goes by, no reply. You call them to follow up, talk to some person that tells you your file is in the 'enrollment department.' HUH?? Another week passes, nothing. You call again. They inform you they had mailed a letter to you two weeks ago. HUH?? We have not received anything...can we confirm the address you mailed it to? 'Sure.....'. Guess what? They input the wrong address in their computer! Okay, you ask, what did the letter say? Well, they reply, I will have to request your file and that can take 24 hours or longer...then 'we will call you'. WHAT??!!

Internet providers: My parents just experienced this. Unable to get the internet, for almost 3 months. Call AOL....their customer service is in India or the Phillipines or somewhere where you cannot understand them. They promise to send you a CD that will fix all your problems. You wait, and wait....one month later, no CD. Nothing. Solution? Drop AOL, go with a different provider. Wait a minute? Doesn't AOL stand for AMERICA Online? Yeah, right.