 |
| Laocoon and his Sons, by Francesco Righetti (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) |
"Their reward for enduring the awful experience was the right to tell about it," J.K. Rowling writes in her novel, "The Casual Vacancy."
And in that sense, I'm blessed to have a newspaper column, since my dire downs — and happy ups — can be whipped into a wordy froth and spooned to the public. Those without such an outlet sometimes write to me, and Monday's adventure ordering coasters and shoelaces inspired a number of readers to share their consumer travails — including several whose woes involved subscribing to the Sun-Times. Those I tried to help. And since I've got this maw every goddamn day to fill, I thought I would share John F.'s ordeal:
As a regular reader I can sympathize with you on your recent foray into the world of AI and the shoelace incident. It really hit home as I reflect on my recent encounter with Comcast. Not long ago, Comcast lost the NBC Sports Channel. I know you are not a big sports guy so in case you did not know (I'm sure you do) was the home to the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox.
Originally, there was no price adjustment to customers for losing local professional sports in a major market while they negotiate with a new channel similar to the Cub's Marquee network. To date, these negotiations are still ongoing in spite of the fact that promises were made that a solution would be announced by the end of November.
Originally, there was no price adjustment to customers for losing local professional sports in a major market while they negotiate with a new channel similar to the Cub's Marquee network. To date, these negotiations are still ongoing in spite of the fact that promises were made that a solution would be announced by the end of November.
Meanwhile, Comcast decided that they would offer customers a rebate backdated to the date when NBC Sports went off the air. It was to be just over $8/month. I received the first rebate of just over $6/month on my bill but nothing for the first 2 months so it was not backdated as promised. Add to that the fact that next next bill did not include the rebate so I was right back to the higher rate.
This is where the AI part comes in. It is virtually impossible to get a live person on a phone with Comcast. Instead you are directed on line to a 'live chat'. I am assigned an agent with what sounds like a human name attached to it. After typing in, at length my issue I am greeted with "rest assured that I am the person who will take care of your issue". Fasting forward, It took four hours and a total of five 'agents' each of whom promised that they were the 'person' to take care of my issue. Each time I was promised that the new agent has reviewed my chat so that they would be able to pick up right where I left off. Needless to say, with each new agent I had to start from Square One. During that time they offered me a new deal that would cost an additional $5/month while still not providing local sports. I chose to reduce my service to the lowest level where I would lose some channels but save me $30/month. This was negotiated on 11/18.
Then came my next bill which not only did not include the discount for the Sports Channel issue but it reverted to the original price for the higher tier programming. So it was back to the 'live chat'... It turns out that because I have auto pay to save $5/month, that bill which was generated on 11/16 to to paid on 12/12. They claim that that is why the bill was for the higher rate. The bill did show that my next bill would have the corrections for the original issues which included the missed credits and lower programming tier ($151 down from the new rate of $188). So my current issue was that the bill I received for $208 should have been $188). This time, it only took three hours and two agents so I suppose that is an improvement. I was promised that my next bill will have the additional credit and will be $115 as this was negotiated prior to the autopay billing date.
Had I not called to fix my issues, I wonder how many other people out there who do not have hours to wait on-line end up overpaying. By the way, if there is a local Comcast brick and mortar store it is a waste of time going there for billing issues as that is above their pay scale and they'll just direct you to the 'live chat'.
Life was so much easier when you could get an actual person the phone. Good luck with your shoelaces.
oooh. Comcast! United Healthcare may be the most hated company nationally right now, but Comcast has got to be at the top of the list on a local level. For all the reasons John F has given. I pay all the household bills except one. If my husband wants to stay with Comcast (like John F, he's a sports fan), then HE must be the one to engage with the devil. If it were up to me, we'd have dumped Comcast years ago. I can't stand their incompetence and customer abuse. After reading about John F's experience with the rebate fiasco, I suspect my household is, indeed, one of the ones overpaying for cable service right now. I doubt my husband would be as persistent. All I know is he purchased an external local antenna and set it up on an older TV, and now watches the Blackhawks in a different room. He remains optimistic a deal for coverage of local sports will "come soon", so is not willing to ditch Comcast just yet.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I prefer to reward competent companies with my business, and I also value the human interaction of customer service. I liked Mr S's stories re: the wedding gift purchase and the shoelaces.
How many people just give up and continue paying for something they do not receive any more? I always get a sick feeling of dread when I have to deal with any providers. BMP
ReplyDeleteAny time that I’ve needed to address an issue with Comcast I’ve always talked with a live person. Maybe I’m just lucky.
ReplyDeleteThe closest I ever came to a stroke - and I'm not exaggerating - my blood pressure skyrocketed - was an exercise trying to get a rate adjustment from ATT. I was to get a decrease for a change I made, instead the bill doubled. It took two weeks and countless hours on hold to resolve. I currently pay monthly for two services I never signed up for and never use (ESPN plus and the Athletic). I've tried for a year to no avail to cancel them. I feel like I'm in a Kafka novel.
ReplyDeleteIf John F (or anybody else for that matter) has this challenge with Xfinity, I’d strongly suggest using Reddit.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/Comcast_Xfinity
It’s clumsy to get going with receiving help but you’re dealing with real people. Every issue I’ve ever had has been dealt with without hours of continuous effort.
It makes you wonder... that whole, corporations are people thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen the site Consumerist was operating, Comcrap won the Worst Company in America multiple years in a row!
ReplyDeleteI had to get into my account at Experian last week to take off the credit freeze on my credit reports. Somehow it wouldn't take my password, so guess what?
It's flat out impossible to get a human there. I even called their office in Costa mesa California & they refuse to help! Their system said it was too long since I was signed in, stupid beyond belief.
I also had trouble with trans Union, based here in Chicago, but they have humans, apparently overseas, but actual humans.
And the reason I froze the credit was that when I first looked at it, I had over 100 looks at my credit report from companies that I not only had never done business with, but most I had never even heard of! That's an improvement in the credit reporting law needed, making random looking at accounts illegal, but that will never happen with the fat orange traitor & his insane billionaires running the country into the sewer for the next four years!
And you think in four years you will be free of the Trumpistas? As His Majesty has said, I love the uneducated. They want to believe in him so they do. World without end, amen.
DeleteThere's already Trump 2028 merch out there. I'm still hoping for a stroke-and-croak. But whether it's four days, for months, or four years, we will not be off the meat hooks so easily (Adolf's boys tortured his would-be assassins on them).
DeleteThe Trumpistas will be succeeded by the Vanceros. Or, if you call him Jethro V. Dance, as I like to do, the Danceros ("Dansero" was the song on the flip side of "Ruby."--and both sides of the 45 rpm record became international hits, back in 1953).
AT&T U-verse sucks, too. No multi-year contracts, so I have to get on the phone and re-negotiate every year. I hate it. You have to whine and plead and threaten to cancel your service. At that point, they will offer you a "promotion"--and lower your monthly bill to a reasonable amount.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, while you aren't paying attention, your monthly rate creeps back up, well before the year is over. Taxes and fees doncha know. State fees, federal fees, local fees. What the hell are all these "fees" about, anyway?
Could be worse, I suppose.
In Quebec, you have to pay an additional fee.
It covers the cost of processing all those fees.
They call it a "fee-fee."
Always leave 'em laughing.
If you stay at it long enough, you discover that whichever cable/satellite company you’re currently using is the worst ever for customer service. There was a Janet Evanovich novel in which “the cable company” came up for discussion several different times. On each occasion, someone remarked “those f***ers.”
ReplyDeleteComcast/ Xfinity cable service is the pits. Their internet service is better.
ReplyDeleteWe dumped Comcast months ago in favor of Astound. Its bill has been inching up, but still a hundred bucks less than Comcast, with no channel issues.
ReplyDeleteBut Astound may not have On Demand. And streaming only services skip too much like PBS. Heard AT&T cable service isn't any good.
DeleteAnd dish of the roof, can cause roof leaks or not work if there's heavy snow.
DeleteNot just snow. If trees or buildings block the southwestern sky? No signal.
DeleteI try try to keep my subscriptions at or very near to zero. I have Adobe which I use for my business. Once upon a Time I had a Yahoo account and my son used it to purchase Adobe. I knew about this, but after his student discount expired, the bill went from $13 to $67. During a recent review of my purchases with my debit card and my automatic deductions I saw that I was getting two bills from Adobe but one was for $67. I looked back and that had been going on for 5 months so I was asleep at the wheel. I called a phone number and got some kind of AI generated voice but not a person. When I asked for a person they gave me a person who refunded me for the last 5 months of payments and canceled one of my accounts and thanked me for being a long-standing customer
ReplyDeleteMost of the time when I'm having difficulty online on the phone with a chat bot or some other feature of the customer service system of a company. I come to realize it's me not them because when I ask my 28-year-old son to help me take care of it, he click click clicks and everything's fine at my age 66. I just don't have the technology skills. I need to do some of these things so I do as few as possible. Saves me a lot of money
I loved (cringe) reading John F’s ordeal with Comcast. I had a similar adventure with Sprint, back in the day when you DID get a person, and one who spoke clear (un accented) English. Over 5 hours, I was passed to 5 or 6 agents. I grew increasingly louder and more sarcastic (my wife’s opinion) as I had to explain and reexplain everything ad nauseum every time. Agent 6 was the best. He told me, after hearing my issue, that he was NOT the person who could help, but that his boss (gone home for the day) could resolve my problem. He gave me the phone number of his boss’s answering machine (remember those?) and told me to record my complaint/issue, and that his boss would contact me the next day. I did this and I’m still waiting for my call back 14 years later. When I finally realized that I had been HAD, a week later, I laughed and vowed to use this trick myself if I ever could. Never did. Never Sprint again. So, perhaps reaching real people instead of chat bots is overrated.
ReplyDeleteYahoo email. First email ever had, boss forced employees to open personal account by boss when business got computers (1998) . Required standard info plus security questions as identification if problem. Still use it as personal exchanges only. No social media. No mixed uses. In last few years Yahoo forced users to provide an alternate email for "recovery" purposes. So I did, my elderly parent's yahoo email they were forced to have for medical communication. They'e now trying to force me to give them a cell phone # for proof of identity. I have a landline. (The only working phone in neighborhood when a tornado took out the towers.) But they can't text a landline. No option to prove identity by security questions.gice them cell # or open a new account which...requires a cell #! Yahoo Help is all AI , chatbots & "community help". Every official Yahoo explanation of why I may be suddenly locked out does not apply. Their own rules! So there is nothing more I can do but call their premium care phone # which costs $$$. Hand me your cell phone or your credit card before we let you sign in normally. My computer people are telling me this is real, not a scam. Talk extortion!
ReplyDeleteI am in almost exactly your same situation with Yahoo email. My first advice is DO NOT upgrade to the "new" Yahoo email. If you have already converted, it may be possible to revert to the old one. I would try & see if I could. I was warned by a co-worker (she & you & I are all about the same age & been using Yahoo email about the same length of time). She upgraded when the offer was first available & was totally unhappy with it. She was able to revert to the old Yahoo email (again this was more than a year ago, so that option may no longer be available). At any rate, she warned me about the nastiness of the "new" Yahoo email and advised me NOT to change to it. So far I have been able to avoid changing to "new" Yahoo email by clicking on the "Remind me later" button each time they prompt me to change. As for the "recovery" email address, I had another Yahoo email address that I used for personal stuff which I gave them for my "recovery" email. Then when they hit me up for a recovery email on the personal account I used the first Yahoo email for its recovery email. So far they have been ok with that. But they do occasionally prompt me to provide a cell phone #, which I can't do because like you I am a hold out on the old landline. I will say one more thing: The current Yahoo email sucks compared to what IT USED TO BE!
DeleteThen take a deep breath, count to 100 and then download and delete any message you're not willing to lose when you're locked out because you are in the purgatory stage. Next they'll send a verification 6 digit code to your alternate email. Unfortunately you can't have two yahoo accounts open at the same time in a single browser and you'll have less than two minutes to write down the code, logout of your recovery email and get to the locked email account screen and enter the code or it won't work. You may be given the option of choosing to "keep verified" by the given code , but surprise!, that choice doesn't actually work. You will have to go through the two browser sprint every time you login. Master it, grasshopper, because if you "try to login and fail 5 times, your account will remain locked for 12 hours for security". Legal extortion!
DeleteAnyone who rants about waste and inefficiency in government should spend some time dealing with their cable/internet provider, health insurance provider or cell phone company. The private sector is the problem, not the solution. (And chatting with a bot!? Who thought up that waste of time?)
ReplyDeleteOne thing about talking to real human customer service reps is that sometimes you get the truth. My healthcare provider was taken over by an out-of-state group. I called to complain about billing for simple procedure. First call ender with "what do you expect me to do about it, I have a crappy job with shitty pay!" When I called again, the response was " we don't have enough people and we don't know what we are doing". In the third call, I got the first rep, she said "you are wasting your time, they will never change anything".;
ReplyDeleteomg.
DeleteThese same people voted straight Republican. Expletive deleted.
DeleteWe had been with AT&T forever for our cell phones and land lines. Recently they sent out a notice that the prices were going to go up on the phones and offered 3 different, and presumably less expensive plans. We selected one and waited for the bill to decrease. The difference was only a few dollars for the two lines that we had. To add to the mystery, online in the lower corner of the bill was something where you could see the forecast of what had changed and the estimated new prices. This area bore no resemblance to reality - different close / billing dates, and much less then was billed.
ReplyDeleteWe shopped around and decided on Xfinity (Comcast). We had a good experience with them when our internet gateway went on life support. Believe it or not, it was easy to get phone support and the sales person at the store was knowledgeable. They made the transfer almost painless. There is both an Xfinity and AT&T store in downtown Evanston. As part of the switch, I had to walk from Xfinity to AT&T.
The AT&T store had one clerk working with a customer, and one person waiting. After concluding my business I went back to the Xfinity store. They had 6 clerks working with customers and maybe 2 waiting in line. I think this says a lot about AT&T.
There is also the adventure of converting our last wired land line to a new AT&T product. Ever since the state passed a law saying that the old regulation that they must provide the service of last resort (or some such thing) was no longer applicable , they have been pushing to remove any people who still have land lines.
But that is a tale for another day....
I find this works with some companies. Publically complain and humiliate them for others to see on their facebook page. That seems to work better than X or IG. You can also facebook message them. They'll usually resolve it that way or pm back or have someone call.
ReplyDeleteSic the Commerce Commission on the cable company. Consumer Services Division 1-800-524-0795. https://icc.illinois.gov/about/contact-us
ReplyDelete