About a month or so ago, shortly after we switched to AT&T DSL, Liz tried to order DISH through AT&T as well. She went online because that was their best price, except when she got to their website and entered our Zip/Area Code, she was informed we couldn't order online, that we'd need to call an 800 number, so we did.
When we called we were informed the only way we could get the same online package & price was if we signed a 24-month contract. No contract is required if you order online, which pissed off Liz no end, so she hung up.
Tuesday afternoon she'd finally calmed down enough to go online and try again, and this time she was able to place the order online, except the order could not actually be completed online. A Service Rep would need to call us to complete the transaction and schedule the installation, so Liz left my Cell Phone number as the one to call and specified a time between 8am & 12pm.
Yesterday morning, around 9:30am, they called us...at home. We missed their call because we weren't home which is why Liz had specifically requested they call my Cell Phone.
I'm a considerably patient person (most of the time) which is why I've just spent almost two hours on the phone, getting bounced around between AT&T and DISH, then AT&T again, then DISH again, and again, and again. Nobody could help me, nobody could find my order. They did confirm a note in my account left by "somebody" who logged that they'd called us at 9:30 yesterday, but nobody could actually determine which department or person had left the note.
Just like last time, the Reps who tried to help me could not honor the Online price until I was finally able to talk to somebody at the Online Order Dept., who even though they are the Online Order Dept. were still unable to find the order we'd placed ONLINE less than 48 hours ago.
Finally, after spending an hour & a half on the phone, I dealt with a woman who helped me place the order, and lo & behold, she got me a cheaper price than ordering online.
This Rant and seriously o_O moment brought to you by AT&T DISH Network.
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4 comments:
And possibly every other telco company in the developed world.
For some reason, Telco companies just suck at customer service - on a level far above anything you might get from Gas, Water or Electricity utilities.
Why is that? Is it because they employ monkeys?
I recently phoned Telstra from WA. I got a message asking me about various options, then some more options, then some more, and some more. Finally I get asked if I want to speak to a consultant, which I do. At which point I get told that the office is closed.
???
And here's the stinger in the tale. I get charged for 2 mins 30 seconds of calling a pay for line only to get no service.
>.<
When I first called I pressed 1 that I was an existing customer, because #2 was for new customers (those without accounts) and we'd already started to set up an account online. When it asked me to enter my phone number I did, and it didn't find our account, so it asked me to enter our phone number again. I refused. It said "I'm sorry, I didn't get that, could you please enter your telephone number..." again, and again, and again. I finally had to hang up and redial and press #2 because the system would not continue without me entering a valid phone number.
Apparently with most automated phone systems, there is a magic number that you can use (like *0054323#) that takes you speedily to a human person.
In the UK, there is the renowned www.saynoto0870.com website that allows you to completely bypass the automated system; I wish there was one for Australia :(
My wife and I ran into a similar situation when our cable contact expired. She placed an order online using our existing customer code number only to have the site tell us to call, so we did. When she called, she was politely informed that the online promotion was for new customers only (nowhere was this stated on their site and I looked everywhere). When my wife said well, it doesn't list that on your site, the rep told us that he was aware and that is why they tell customers to call before the order can be completed. So my wife (who likes to argue) goes round and round with this rep until the rep finally stopped reading from his cheat sheet and told her flat out there was nothing he could do and that if he were us, he would cancel the service, have a tech come and pickup the hardware, (box and modem) and then call back the following day as a "new customer". WOW. Talk about a waste of manpower. No wonder cable prices are getting so high, they have to pay technicians who have to do double the amount of work instead of just giving the customer the current promo.
Anyway, my wife thanked the rep for his honesty and told them we will be canceling our service and never doing business with them again if we can help it. They are scheduled to come pick up their hardware sometime this week.
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