Customer Shmervice

I moved this past weekend and prior to the move chose to use DirecTV. The set-up was incredibly easy and fast, the service is so far so good, and I got a great deal for the next 12 months. Today I tried to set-up internet. Charter is Charter. I feel they have the majority of the markets business when it comes to internet. No complaints. The pricing however without a “bundle” is a little high, so I started to look elsewhere. I called AT&T to get pricing and to talk with a customer service representative. The conversation was going great. I gave him some info (first mistake) so he could see if my place was good for the service and then I started asking about options. He asked for my email address so he could send me the info. I gave it to him (second mistake).  At this point he tells me, “Sorry my computer is going really slow”….I responded, “I hope it’s not your internet”, he actually replied, “haha yea, ours is really slow, don’t worry yours will be better”…..right (third mistake). Even with all that it still seemed ok- - everything except for the ridiculous charges he wanted to charge me for setup, which he still said were “deals”, the modem costs, etc. At the end of the conversation I asked if I could call him back first thing tomorrow morning, with every intention to actually call back. AT&T was still a contender….at the time. I wanted to call around and get other pricing and options though – Nick, the customer service rep, apparently knew this. He did the whole, “Well you may not be able to secure these same deals tomorrow…” yada yada yada (**cough**bullshit**cough**). What a guy. Then I said “fine, call me back after 4pm today”.

Ok, great, this will give me enough time to look around. Or so I thought. Nick took it upon himself to place the order anyway, so when I got the confirmation in my email box letting me know that my service would be activated on Thursday, and my bill would be mailed to me, you can imagine the words I may have chosen to use. Frustration really set in when the strong accent speaking gentlemen who fielded my call to cancel, asked to put me on hold for a minimum of 4 minutes, yet left me on hold for a solid 15. I gave up. After I calmed down a little I called back. This time a woman answered. I told her my situation. Same conversation that I had with the gentlemen ensued. She asked to place me on hold, this time for a minimum of 2. I asked, this time Anita, if there was a number I could call should it take a while. She said to ‘trust her’. Great. At this point I’m on my way to a doctor’s appointment. I arrive, still on hold. I wasn’t giving up. Passing the NO CELL PHONE area with my phone to my ear (I know what you’re thinking – what a badass) I walked to the counter. I told the lady briefly that I was on hold with AT&T and apologized and told her that I wasn’t giving up on cancelling, she told me…. “Darlin, say no more”. After telling her what was going on (while I’m STILL on hold) she told me her brief horror story with them from weeks before. Anita’s ears must have been burning, that or she finally got tired of seeing the blinking light on her phone that I was still hanging on the line. She told me it was cancelled and that I do not have service with them. I asked for a confirmation be sent to my email. “Yes ma’am”, she said. I have yet to receive an email…..it’s been hours. I have a pretty good feeling it’s not gonna happen. Makes me wonder if at the beginning of the calls when they say, “This call may be recorded”, they’re serious. In this case I hope so.

Congratulations AT&T, you suck at life….if not your company, then at least Nick from Customer Service. Not sure who that is? Well, look for the guy who refers to himself as “The Internet Gooroo”. He said that’s how he is known around the office.