"Customer Service" in the digital age

[Ace-Garageguy]

After repeatedly informing one of my antivirus providers to cancel the account, they still put a payment through last week.

 

So I went to my bank last week and put a stop-payment on it...FOR WHICH THEY CHARGED ME $35.

 

I asked "will this stop future payments billed from this company?" 

 

They said "YES".

 

This AM I got an email from the antivirus that the payment went through.

 

I've been online with the AV, getting bounced around from site to site to site, going through the REFUND process for an hour.

 

Now I'm going to the bank to rip somebody a new one.

Edited Wednesday at 03:33 PM by Ace-Garageguy
punctiliousness

[Volzfan59]

Good luck! It’s like herding cats.

[Ace-Garageguy]

And...during the "chat" required to get a refund, during which they dodge and weave and try to talk you out of it, they give you a confirmation number (which I copied immediately of course) and tell you to "keep it in case there's a problem processing the refund in 5-7 business days".

Naturally the confo number is NOT a part of the refund confo email they send you.

I wonder how much MORE time I'll have to waste online getting this thievery cleared up if/when the refund fails to materialize.

 

[sidcharles]

try your state's Attorneys General Office of Consumer Affairs (file a written complaint) and then cc the Banking Commissioner  (may be a different name, but go high) with same.

local yokels are not going to do any more than the minimal AND they hate their names being kicked upstairs.

fastest way to get their attention is "i would like your business card please"

you can almost hear the flutter-valve slam shut; it works. 

[1930fordpickup]

Good luck Bill. Auto payments suck for this reason. They are like a time share. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 minutes ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Good luck Bill. Auto payments suck for this reason. They are like a time share. 

I avoid 'em if at all possible, but I let this one slip through.

The particular AV used to be very very good, but has recently been getting top-heavy with FOD, and the price has gone way up.

NOR do they send an email advising of the impending renew date as they claim. It's all bull.

What they DO say is "you are eligible for all this great new stuff that does nothing for significantly more money when your subscription renews" but NEVER provide the actual renew date...and I failed to follow up sufficiently.

It's SOP to make quitting stuff online so much hoop-jumping that I'm sure a lot of people get intimidated and give up.

There really ought to be a "one-click-end-enrollment" option for every online service.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 04:02 PM by Ace-Garageguy
punctiliousness

[TECHMAN]

You know, over the years, seems as tho people get "braver" when they can hide behind a phone or computer screen.....  I really MISS the "good old days" when business was done "face to face", a hand-shake was all the "contract" a person needed, and a person's word was worth something......

Hope you get it resolved without too much more headache.

DJ

[Ace-Garageguy]

It's shaping up to be a fun day.

As I was walking out the door to go to the bank, I heard a POP then siissssss coming from the bathroom.

 

Turned out to be the 6-month-old Chinese ball-valve on the hose to the point-of-use propane-fired water-heater excreted its seal...over 100 psi coming from the main...and drenched the room before I could find the water-meter wrench and get outside to shut it off.

 

Cleaned up the mess, going to the hardware store for a new valve as soon as I get done at the bank. I can't turn the water back on at the meter until it's installed.

 

Signing off fer now.  

[Kit Karson]

Can we just go back to the days of ANALOG? -KK

[TECHMAN]

56 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

 

 

Turned out to be the 6-month-old Chinese ball-valve on the hose to the point-of-use propane-fired water-heater excreted its seal...

And "product quality" seems to have gone the same way as "customer service"..........

When it rains, it pours.......😒

DJ

[Dragline]

Gym memberships are like this in that they require registered mail before they will honor your quiting of their establishment. Louis Rossman has a great channel on YT. I suggest you look him up. He can be a bit manic and he goes at 100mph most of the time, but he is an advocate for all of us. His daily "How you're getting F'd" videos and right to repair advocacy are the reason to stay

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, TECHMAN said:

And "product quality" seems to have gone the same way as "customer service"..........

When it rains, it pours.......😒

DJ

Pun intended, I assume?   

No joy at the bank. "So sorry. You just out the $35 for nothing. Sucker." New branch manager who's gone from being a teller with no clue to being the boss.

Funny thing...I've been with this bank for decades, through multiple name-changes and mergers and buyouts, and with every one, the level of service has declined while the costs have increased dramatically for everything, and branches and even teller machines have evaporated overnight.

Probably going to be a $5 "lobby transaction fee" in not too long, if they don't just skin you for it at the door.

Got her card anyway. Next stop: a strongly-worded letter to corporate.

Will it do any good? Probably not, but I'm sick of the bull everywhere I turn.

And the reason it is the way it is is because everyone just takes it...depending of course on what your definition of "is" is.

EDIT: And just to add to the fun, the only ball valve the closest hardware store had was the exact same as the one that failed, but molded in green instead of red, carded as the store's house brand. AND...when I got it home, it turned out to have been already cross-threaded on the hose end, and the washer was missing too. Guess I should have looked it over in the store as carefully as I usually do most things now, though it was carded and looked "new" at a glance.

Good thing I'm smarter than a plastic ball valve. Barely.

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:15 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[stitchdup]

i had to chase up a missing payment on paypal a few months back. the ai assistant was awful. even the simple question "where did you put the money from (payment id number) was too much for it to answer and there was no option for a human. 

[Volzfan59]

5 hours ago, TECHMAN said:

I really MISS the "good old days" when business was done "face to face", a hand-shake was all the "contract" a person needed, and a person's word was worth something......

Me brother, me too.