On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

I do actually ;-). Had bitten my tongue almost saying that about a dozen times previously, and now that I just said it out loud this time, I feel a lot better. Especially now that I know you will consider it.

(A good custumer rep would have left out the bit from "and I hope" on, btw ;-))

hmmmm...

these aren't some poor "phone schmucks". No one is forcing them to work at AOL...as for the spiel, yes, they all have one, but it doesn't include harrassment.

I've been aquainted with quite a few people who worked "boiler rooms" and other close to the edge phone deals.

The ones like the CSR in this story are of the ilk that have no problem with jerking people around. In fact they enjoy it because they are good at it.

Of course it's important to any company to retain customers, but their tactic is to make the customer feel like they are somehow accountable for explaining themselves.

Personally, I think it's part of the society imposes on people that they should always be "nice" even if the other person isn't, or isn't giving you what you want.

I suppose enough people give up and say "well....ok....I guess you're right, I do use it....I'll just keep it"

Next month, I'm going to be calling to cancel a credit card, and I dread doing it....that's exactly what the company wants. They want me to dread doing it so much, I don't call, I keep the card and eventually use it.

Pure and simple, if these people weren't working at AOL, they'd be on the phone telling some little old lady how stupid and pathetic there were and how they're such Losers because they won't send all their retirement money to some investment fund.

This isn't some gray area....these are just a$$holes who know what buttons to push.

Chai, why don't you cancel via mail? Make sure to register it though. :wink:

I just thought of a little thing that happened to me a while back with my credit limit on my Visa card.

I actually reduced the amount. Seems like that kind of behaviour is practically unheard of. I had a limit of something like $9000, and I don't need that much.

Reduced it to $4000, which is ample.

Anyways, of course the bank tried to talk me out of it. Stuck to my guns.

I'm one of those guys that pays it off every month, so why would I spend $9000 in a month?

I think it makes sense to ask once if there's anything they can do to change your mind. That's just good business. You want to know if something is wrong because you don't want to lose customers. I have called up to close credit card accounts after being jerked around by them (pretending they didn't receive the payment on time so they could charge late fees and up the interest rate) and have sometimes gotten good results, including fees waived, interest rates dropped, etc... But if they've answered, or if they've refused to answer, then you just need to go ahead and close the account.

Yeah, I've done that too...reduced a credit line I mean....I knew I was going to need to get some credit from somewhere, and didn't want too much credit avail, since that's a red flag....I'm sure that happens all the time, but, like you, they act like they never heard of such a thing.

I learned that as soon as someone starts asking me questions, I just ask to speak to their supervisor, then clam up.
Ususally they'll just do what you want...or if you get the supervisor, just tell them you're not going to talk about it anymore.....and let them know if they continue you'll ask to speak to the next step up.

Sadly this is not new news to me.

I worked in the 'saves' que at AOL.

people would make simple threats to customers , lie to them about cancling thier account and put free months on it so the bill would not show up and the rep would get the bonus for that account.


Most honest AOL reps make about 40,000 a year.

There were the few who made more in an honest way..but they were few and far between.
most of the times , the reps would 'harvest' accounts to make their money or lie and manipulate the customer to make them stay

The most amazing experience I ever had in this vein was with some insurance company whose product I mistakenly purchased.


After a year I decided they were useless (they had disallowed a perfectly good claim I made) so, when they sent me a renewal form, saying I had to pay by a certain time or the cover would lapse, I chucked it in the bin.


A couple of years later (I had moved by then) the people who lived next door to my previous home rang me to say they had received a legal looking letter, addressed to me, in their letter box. (By accident, one assumes.)


When I opened it, it was a summons to court for failure to pay a debt......I had no idea who the company was who were claiming I owed them money, so I rang the collection agency who had arranged the summons, in a mood that can only be described as bellicose.


It turned out it was the parent company of the company I had briefly insured with.


I called them.....my mood by now was beyond bellicose and into the realms of white hot fury.

The fella on the other end of the line told me, after some research, that when I inadvertantly forgot to renew the insurance, the company, out of concern for my well being, had renewed the cover out of the goodness of its heart, and sent me a bill for this altruistic service.


I (having moved, and informed everyone with an interest in my new address of where I was) had not received the bill.

The cmpany had sent gentle reminders, then less gentle reminders...meanwhile, when another year had passed, kindly renewing my insurance AGAIN, and sending me bills for BOTH renewal amounts, plus late fees!!!!!


Their pleas for money having fallen on deaf ears, they sweetly sent me letters threatening legal action, which I, with a heart of adamant, and ears stuffed with wax, refused to heed.

The poor company, treated so badly by a customer whom they had gone out of their way to help, put the matter in the hands of a debt collection agency, whom I also ignored, until the letter which accidentally reached my hands.


I told the fella what I thought of all of this in a firm manner. He attempted to say that, nonetheless, I owed the company the moneys it was claiming, since they HAD covered me!


I can only say that I believe he was very quickly brought to believe that his words were a mistake.


After a rather persuasive monologue, lasting some 10 minutes, where I described in great detail my views about the legality, ethics and morality and intelligence of his company's actions, I said that, if I did not hear within 10 minutes from the debt collection agency that they had apologetically withdrawn their supposed "action" (followed up by a letter also apologising and withdrawing the "action" within 3 working days), AND from the credit ratings agency that any mention of this supposedly 'bad debt" had been expunged from their records AND a letter of apology from the insurance company within 3 working days, then they would be hearing from my (nonexistent) lawyers.


All my demands were met....but, I imagine any number of people would have fallen for this scam, and paid up!!!

You kick ass dlowan


shewolf, you Biotch!


so, tell us the insiders view....what do we say to shut them up and cancel the account?

I just found out that the story originally broke on Vincent Ferrari's blog. (Ferrari is the guy who taped the call.) The call, in full length, unedited, can be found here:

http://63.209.191.205/~f8putfi/videos/16407473559.mp3

There are parts missing in the NBC link on page one of this thread. The missing parts make plausible that Ferrari was not lying about usage, and that "Jack" was every bit the jerk you guys thought he was. At the risk that nimh may accuse me of independent thinking again, I stand corrected.

Thats not what I said...

When I first read this, I thought you had to be totally joking...

you weren't?