Tuesday, December 27, 2011

3 customer service stories, and 1 update (lyn)

First the update.  Gail sent me this article, from the front page of today’s New York Daily News.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a good time at Saks yesterday.


Now for my stories.

The Good One
I am making coffee and want to top it with some froth rather than my usual half and half.  I take out my Nespresso Aeroccino Plus, pour in the skim milk, and press the start button.  The milk doesn’t move and the button blinks red.  A bad sign.  I check the user manual, and though it’s in five languages, I can find nothing about a blinking light.  I do see though that the product is under warrantee for one year from date of purchase.  I bought mine in November of 2009.  Another bad sign.

I call the 800 number.  I speak to Charel; he’s originally from France but now works in Long Island City.  I explain the problem. 

Charel:  When did you buy it?

Me:  I don’t know exactly, but I’m sure it’s no longer under warrantee.

Charel:  Okay, I’ll send a new one out to you tomorrow.  I’m sure it’s close enough to the warrantee date.  What’s your address?

Really!  I think maybe I’ve reached the North Pole by mistake.  Charel doesn’t even ask for proof of purchase.  He doesn’t argue with me.  He doesn’t ask me to troubleshoot ten million ways.  Nope.  He just says he’ll send me a new one tomorrow.  I love Charel.

The Bad One
My new Lumix DMC-XS10 camera comes with only a basic start-up manual, and a pdf for a more detailed manual.  I don’t want to print 150 pages, so I call Panasonic and ask to be send the detailed user’s manual.  “That’ll be $16 plus shipping,” I’m told.  I hang up and decide maybe I won’t learn the more advanced features of the camera.

The Worst One
The day starts as usual.  I make a cup of coffee and sit down to read emails.  But today there is no internet.  I do the usual unplugging and re-plugging and still nothing.  I wait and try again.  Finally, I have no choice but to call Time Warner Cable (always my last resort).  I finally get to a live Customer Service Rep (CSR), after thousands of prompts and a long wait on hold. I tell her the problem and she confirms there is no outage in the area.  She then sends a signal to my house.  Still nothing.  She concludes there is a problem with my modem and she will have to schedule someone to come to my home.

Me:  I really need someone today.  I can’t have no internet.

CSR:  Let me check.  (After a few minutes)…I’m very sorry ma’am, but we have nothing for today.

I rant….what-do-you-mean-nothing-for -today?  I need my internet…I can’t wait until tomorrow….blah blah blah.  Finally, I regain my composure.

Me:  Okay, so when can you send someone out?

CSR:  Let’s see.  Well, because of the holidays we have been very busy, and we were closed yesterday, so……the next available appointment is on January 3rd.

I’m not kidding.  That’s seven days from now.  I’ll skip the rest of the conversation, but I end up with a supervisor who will try to see if they can squeeze me in tomorrow, promises to call-back later today, and a $50 credit.  I hang up 30 minutes from beginning my call.  My internet is suddenly working.

I wonder if I’ll still get the credit?

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