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**~~Crazeyal~~** · 04-18-2008, 01:31 AM

I hate to say it... but if you have a corporate policy of ripping off customers, pretty much the only way to get service is to make yourself lousy to deal with. I can't bring myself to do it. Until I get ripped off.

I give people a hand to shake, or slap away. I am *ALWAYS courteous at first. Everyone deserves respect and an honest chance to do the right thing. In your case, I'd leave the poor rep alone, and immediately ask to be escalated to a manager. Then, be nice. Explain that you were charged wrongly, and you'd like to clear things up. Tell them the call is being recorded. For training purposes

After the second or third repetition of droning language, ask for THEIR supervisor. Escalate your volume and your attitude only to match how you are being treated. If they yell and/or be rude, give it right back to them.

Sure, the people who scream and bitch at the drop of a hat sometimes get things they don't deserve.. but who wants to be one of them?!?!?

But you DON'T have to be passive and meek about bad service.

**Andara Bledin** · 04-18-2008, 03:17 AM

Quoth blas87 View Post

Charter will do anything to keep customers from going elsewhere."

Every experience I've ever had with Charter tells me that as a corporation (at least here) they are the suckmasters of the century.

You rent the modem. Don't let them charge you for replacing it. It's their equipment, so it's their job to make sure it works right.

If I had to choose between Charter and satellite internet, I'd choose satellite. I'm not joking.

^-.-^

**Seshat** · 04-18-2008, 04:01 AM

You can stand up for yourself without being sucky.

Do some preparation work:
- Find out what your legal position is.
- Find out what your moral position is. This frequently, but not always, matches your legal position.
- Decide what correction would satisfy you, and be within your legal rights.
- Decide what correction would make you blissfully happy, and be within your moral rights.
- Pick something between 'good enough' and 'blissfully happy' to ask for.
- Determine how much it's worth to you to fight for your legal and/or moral rights about the situation; and at what stage you'll back off and let the other side have whatever they have.
- Collect your supporting information. Receipts, a written history of the situation as it developed, repair documents, whatever you have or can get.

Then you go through a sequence of attempts to achieve your legal and/or moral rights in the situation. Stop when you reach success, or your 'I'll give up' point.

- Start with a verbal complaint to the basic 'customer service' level. Lay it out politely and clearly: "this is a one- or two-sentence summary of what happened, this is the correction I want, please give it to me." Have your supporting information at hand. Stay calm and polite, but be firm.
- If the basic 'customer service' team can't or won't help, ask for a supervisor.
- Escalate to the highest level of supervisor available in store/on the phone. If they can't/won't help, ask for an address to write to.
- Write a good complaint letter; your first paragraph should include a two-sentence summary of what happened, a two-sentence summary of the correction, and any customer id/item ID numbers. Then write a detailed summary of what went wrong, a summary of your supporting documents (receipt #s and the like). Summarise the failed verbal attempts to correct the problem, as well. Then in a separate paragraph or paragraphs, a more detailed list of what you want as a correction. Then repeat what you want as the correction, thank the reader for their time, and make sure you include your contact details. Keep a copy of the complaint letter for your own records.
- If the complaint letter doesn't resolve it, go talk to Small Claims court, Legal Aid, or someone like that. Ask for their advice, and follow it.

At all times, keep your tone calm and polite, but as firm as necessary. Keep control of the conversation if you can. I'll tell a customer service rep 'this situation is really frustrating me', but I'll stay polite to the rep.
I'll say things like 'that is not an acceptable solution', or 'according to my research, I'm legally entitled to X'. But I'll try to remember that the rep I'm talking to may not be permitted to give me X, even if that's what I'm supposed to get.

**Chanlin** · 04-18-2008, 04:40 AM

I think Seshats advice is awesome.

In fact I think it should be a sticky and or main part of the website. That seriously sums up how to deal with customer service and not be an SC.

Maybe "The CS.com guide of how to not be an SC"

**marasbaras** · 04-18-2008, 04:51 AM

It IS excellent advice. And, it's worth following 99% of the time.

Sometimes, though, you HAVE to yell at a manager to get them to engage their brain and be aware of their own policies.

**marty** · 04-18-2008, 04:40 PM

Don't get me started on Charter. Holy crap don't get me started on them.

Seshat's book on "How to get things righted without being wrong!" needs to be published.

**wagegoth** · 04-18-2008, 07:58 PM

That's why I rent my modem rather than buying it. My first cable modem died within 9 months. That would have been very expensive. The next one lasted for years. I have a fairly new one, but Comcast has been messing with the lines for several months while installing a bunch of new stuff for On Demand and new channels, so it's been up and down several times. I don't think it will last long, just because of all the service issues.

**blas** · 04-18-2008, 08:00 PM

The modem that kicked the bucket last weekend was at least 2-3 years old. It was my ex roomate's at the last place he lived before we roomed together. Then when he no longer wanted cable tv nor Internet and I put it in my name, I took it with me when I moved. It lasted quite a while!

**Andara Bledin** · 04-19-2008, 03:37 AM

Yeah, what Seshat posted is golden. Definitely sticky-worthy.

^-.-^

**~~Anriana~~** · 04-19-2008, 09:36 AM

Quoth Crazeyal View Post

Tell them the call is being recorded. For training purposes

Short version: Don't tell cable companies this; they will disconnect the call.

Story version: One night we had a crazy caller who would not stop cursing us out. Every time we would escalate him to our sup, the cust would tell the sup he was recording the call, the sup would tell him not to record, the cust would tell the sup to f off, and the sup would hang up on the customer for recording. Finally the cust realized that there was only one supervisor here and he was going to be hung up on until he calmed down. He called back, was nice to the tech who answered the phone, and got his problem resolved, although he ended the call by saying that all the fuss earlier had been caused because he was Mexican and our sup was black!

**Seshat** · 04-19-2008, 06:28 PM

Quoth Chanlin View Post

I think Seshats advice is awesome.

(and other compliments)

I'm blushing, folks.

I reformatted it and expanded it a bit, including (for marasbaras) the comment that you sometimes have to be seriously stubborn (I've never had to be rude, but I have had to be stubborn).

The new version is here in general work chat: advice.

Feel free to PM me with any corrections or criticisms.

**Blade_Raver** · 04-20-2008, 06:45 AM

Quoth Anriana View Post

Short version: Don't tell cable companies this; they will disconnect the call.

Story version: One night we had a crazy caller who would not stop cursing us out. Every time we would escalate him to our sup, the cust would tell the sup he was recording the call, the sup would tell him not to record, the cust would tell the sup to f off, and the sup would hang up on the customer for recording. Finally the cust realized that there was only one supervisor here and he was going to be hung up on until he calmed down. He called back, was nice to the tech who answered the phone, and got his problem resolved, although he ended the call by saying that all the fuss earlier had been caused because he was Mexican and our sup was black!

When I used to work at Charter Commons in St. Louis, the policy was that the rep was not allowed to hang up on the customer for any reason at all (i.e. cussing, threats, saying recording call, etc.) otherwise said employee will be fired if caught.

Yes, I will say that company treats it's customers and employees like utter crap. I am proof.

I dislike ATT/SBC more than I dislike Charter (I refuse to pay into their Universal Slush Fund (USF)), so I'm forced to use Charter for high-speed internet service. When a better deal comes to town for low-latency high speed internet service, I will jump on it immediately.

My $0.02.

Blade_Raver

**~~Anriana~~** · 04-22-2008, 08:20 AM

Quoth Blade_Raver View Post

When I used to work at Charter Commons in St. Louis, the policy was that the rep was not allowed to hang up on the customer for any reason at all (i.e. cussing, threats, saying recording call, etc.) otherwise said employee will be fired if caught.

Lowly employees are not but supervisors have much more leeway, and we are supposed to escalate to a supervisor for several reasons, including the customer telling us they are recording the call.

**Blade_Raver** · 04-22-2008, 09:59 AM

Quoth Anriana View Post

Lowly employees are not but supervisors have much more leeway, and we are supposed to escalate to a supervisor for several reasons, including the customer telling us they are recording the call.

Do you also get into situations where all supervisors staffed refused to take the call? I remember falling into that trap at least 5-6 times/day.

Their answer: Make a ticket into the supervisor callback queue and tell the customer that they'll get a supervisor callback within 3 days.

Does the customer get a callback within 3 days? No. A week if they're lucky.

Glad I don't work there anymore.. Their total lack of morals was way way too heavy on my conscience.

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