DOES THIS SOUND LIKE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO YOU

Posted Tue February 13, 2007 12:00 pm, by Tugba K. written to BellSouth Telecommunications

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To whom it may concern
Bellsouth.net


Does this sound like a customer service to you?

To Whom It May Concern,

If my life depended on BellSouth they will let me die.....
I had service with BellSouth for a long time. In the beginning, I had a simple phone line, which I only used to get on the Internet (using AOL as my internet provider, not BellSouth). In addition, my whole purpose of having a simple phone line is to call my family and friends in case of an emergency , when and if in the act of Florida's famous and unpredictable hurricanes chooses to take away all the cell phone connections .
I later on decided to try BellSouth's Fast Access internet. Besides the fact BellSouth sent me the wrong modem, (I needed the regular modem got the wireless) (Mistake 1) but also the items were sent to the wrong address, (Mistake 2). I realized that with all the installations and the down loads, my PC unit at home became slower instead of faster when connecting to the internet. I called BellSouth and cancelled the Fast Access Internet service and explained to them that program they offered was not compatible with my home unit. However, I explained to them that I will be keeping the phone line active with them and in the future if I do decide to get a lap top I will definite give them call.
As time passed, I decided to invest in my education further and purchased a lap top. I figure that since my lap top has more memory and is part of a modern technology I will preferred to use some sort of Fast Access internet service instead of dial up. This is when I decided to call BellSouth. I spoke with a Sales Rep by the name of Sam, he was to send me the wireless router/modem, the wireless internet card and of course all the accessories to set it up. I stressed on the fact that I needed these supplies to be sent to my work and not my home. I explained to him that since I work full time and I am a fulltime student it is very hard to locate me at home. Therefore, there will be no one there to sign for it.
A week later I find a UPS tag at my door stating that there is a package to my name and "they missed me they will reattempt deliver the next day." (Mistake 3- It was to be shipped to my work). The next day, I called BellSouth and explained to them what the problem was and informed them to forward the UPS package to my work which, they were to do in the first place. I also told them to send it by UPS NDA service since I already waited a whole week for it.
Next day at work, I receive the package by BellSouth. (I work for 8 hours and go to school after work) I wait tell I get home from school that evening and get ready to set up my wireless route/modem. I opened the package and the only thing in the package is the Westell router, the adapter, and the use guide. (Mistake 4) The DSL cord is missing, the USB cable is missing, and the Ethernet cord is missing as well as the short phone line. I knew these items were required from my previous order from Bell South. At this time I am thinking to myself, does this get connected to my lap top, if so how can that be?
By this time, since BellSouth Customer Service proved to be for the fourth time that they don't know what they're doing, I go out and buy the USB cable, the Ethernet cord and I already had a short phone line at home. In addition I realize that the filters and the line splitters are missing as well, (Mistake 5). So then, my family member who is also with BellSouth provides me with the extra filter he had at his home. Finally, I think to myself everything is set and nothing else can go wrong. I gather everything that I need and struggle to set up my home PC with the router that I have. Mean while I am able to get on the internet using my home PC but not the lap top. So I call Dell, thinking there is something wrong with my brand new lap top.
I later realize that the router/modem that was sent to me was not the wireless router (Mistake 6) and that I never got my Wireless Internet Card either (Mistake 7). I later conclude it is probably at the same place somewhere in BellSouth's warehouse with the other items that I was missing: the Dsl cord, the Ethernet cord, the phone cord, ect...
So now I know that the reason why I cannot get on the internet using my lap top is because I do not have what I ordered.
I call BellSouth On February 11, 2007. I spoke with a rep name Kirk in the Tech Support department who had me on the phone for 45 minutes, who was not properly trained and could follow my simple instructions. All I wanted him to do was see if what they sent me was the right item what they had in their system and if not exchange it or the right one. After the 45 minutes and no progress, I asked for a supervisor. (Mistake 8, if the problem is not fixed with in the 15 minutes gets someone who can help the customer). I waited for nearly another 15 minutes and there is no supervisor to be found. My this time I am very frustrated and I am annoyed at the fact that I am spending an hour of my precious Sunday with people who do not know what they are doing. (Mistake 9, if there is a supervisor needed there should be on available right away, especially for an aggravated customer)
I figured I might have better luck calling back and asking for a supervisor than waiting for this rep to find me one. So I call back, and I explained to the person who answers the phone that I want to speak with a supervisor. I get a supervisor by the name of Joe, who explains to me that he is the floor manager for the Tech Support department. I explained to him the problem and tell me that the only way I can get the wireless router is if I purchase the Fastest DSL service that is offered by BellSouth for five dollars extra. Now, this may sound wonderful for someone who is not familiar with the products and does not better. Besides what is an extra $5.00 any way?
The problem is that I know better. Any of the Fast Access DSL internet speeds that are offered by BellSouth can be used with the wireless service. Now, how do I know that? Remember when the very first time I ever received the router and it was the wireless one instead of the one that can be used for the home one.... Yeah;;, this is how. So I prove this to this supervisor my making him go to my account and see for himself. This supervisor catches himself miss informing the customer, not to mention revealing the fact that the customer knows more about the product then someone who is identified as a supervisor within the company. (Mistake 10, very embarrassing)
By this time I explain to him to just exchange what I have at my home for what I need and send me the Wireless card that I ordered. He informs me that he is not trained to do any of those things and the only think he can do is to send me a "call tag". (Call tag is basically a prepaid UPS tag by a company for them to send the item back to them". He informs me that I should return everything and cancel my service and start over again or cancel service all together. (Mistake 11, I thought supervisor's were suppose to be the first ones to promote business, this guy clearly wants me to cancel my service.)
I figure I educate him a little bit based on what is expected from a customer. So after my lecture, he informs me that he is sorry and that if I call the billing department or the Sales department they may be able to help me. I am so upset at the fact that he not only miss informed me of something that I already knew better off, but he is pushing a customer away, and on top of it, he is tells me to call the other departments. Why is it that he did not tell me this an hour ago, that he did not know how to help me and that in order for me to get the proper assistance would be to transfer be to the right department. (Mistake #......I lost count)
Am I missing something, I though companies try to get people's business, especially a supervisor who is suppose to be lead by example. I am very, very disappointed......
I came to the conclusion, that no matter how hard I tried to let them have my business, BellSouth customer service continued to shoot themselves in the leg with their own mistakes. Now, what I will be do is wait for the call tag send the wrong supplies that they sent me back to them, I will also cancel my Ultra Fast Access DSL service with them and as a bonus I will be cancelling my home phone with them as well. I wanted to congratulate you and your company of its mistakes because they service that you provide is guaranteed to make the customers drop your service and go to someone else.
I am sorry to say that something that could have been fixed in 15 minutes max had to come down to this. In addition, I did not want to spend an hour of my Sunday with a rep that did not know what he was doing, another hour of my same Sunday speaking with a supervisor who did not know what was going on. However, I figured what is another five minutes I will go ahead and write a letter to inform all of you of the service. Even though I made up my mind of cancelling my service, may be this will solve the problems of prospect customers.
PS. I will be sending a copy of this letter to Better Business Buroe


Train all your staff properly and then have someone give me a call to let me know that my account has been successfully cancelled.
Sincerely,

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Re: DOES THIS SOUND LIKE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO YOU by Marge Posted Fri February 16, 2007 @ 7:21 PM Okay, your letter is well written, great chronology of events and documentation, however some words you misspelled are a concern. Mainly, bureau, in the words Better Business Bureau. Also, when decribing your router, you say router/modem. It can't be both, it can only be either. The router, unlike the modem, allows for more than one desktop/laptop to use the same internet connection, hence, when you want to network computers, you use this device. A modem allows only for one of either to access the internet at high speed, at once. BellSouth charges an additional $5 for home networking. That's just the way that is. They are a company, they can charge for whatever services they offer. Now it was my understanding, that if you purchased their highest speed offered, you get home networking for free. In addition to a router, if you are using a laptop with this connection, you would need the wireless adapters, which I don't blame you on that one. I would be very HOT as well, since according to you, you indicated upfront, that you would need that capability. BellSouth teaches its reps to do nothing but sell. If you want customer service, go somewhere else. They are not required to coddle, or baby the customer, according to their standards, but they do however want to sell to you. In this case, some classes on retention would have helped them. You are right in taking your business elsewhere for such foul ups. They had an opportunity to make it right, but didn't. Reply First and For Most by Tugba Sun February 18, 2007 @ 11:11 PM