The salesperson ( actually a man ) was excited when I said I was looking at the Palm Treo, and the Black Berry for the email feature. He was a certified Treo carrying "specialist", and I was soon headed down the Treo path. However, nary once in all this did he mention that I might experience less than satisfactory call functionality on my new Treo gadget because of some technological goo, gah ( to me, it's all "magic" anyway ) explanation, but that is another story.
Now let's fast forward to actually using the device as a phone, and here is where things started to get a little spotty ( pun intended ). You would think that driving down a major street, surrounded by houses, in a major metropolitan area ( not to mention the birthplace of many, life changing technological advancements ) that you could make / receive a call with some regularity and quality. But NOOOooo! Nope, not even close! So, I began to inquire about how this might be improved.
One day, after SEVERAL conversations with various people, departments and the related voicemail message maze, which seems to accompany many big company "customer service" strategies, I decided to pay my bill at the local office. In the process I thought I would inquire about my coverage issues, but while standing in line I was struck by the imagery, and related "promises" the company was making relative to my satisfaction and connection quality.
Finally, after several months of no change I decided it was time to move on ( the carriers call this "churn" ), and went to a different carriers local store. Not five minutes into the conversation this salesperson brought up a local map, and asked me to pinpoint where my lack of coverage issues were occurring. There it was, right smack in the middle of a major street, the one with houses all around, in a major metropolitan area was a BIG GAP where two full circles DID NOT overlap. The salesperson frowned, and explained that "their ability to provide quality coverage in this area would be questionable too". There it was, the truth, and I was so impressed that I decided to forge ahead with a "test" of a new device and the new carriers service, I was happy!!
Now let's segue back to my original carrier, and here is where their service promise REALLY gets broken. I had sent a "final check" not once, not twice, but three ( 3) times, and had even talked to someone in the "corporate offices" that sounded competent enough, but strangely even she was NOT ABLE TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT, so much for their 100% satisfaction guarantee!?! So, there I was trying to get rid of these people, and they were like a dog with a new bone, they just kept chewing on my time and patience, sending me threatening letters, etc., etc., so, I hired a lawyer!
Then the issue seemed to cleared up pretty quickly ( THANKS C.G. YOU ROCK !! ), and I even got a small refund check back, but I was so mad that I felt I only had two options:
1) Try to tarnish the offenders reputation by slugging it out in internet chat rooms, there was already more than one site doing this, and the company was a least smart enough to purchase all the "XYZCarrierSUCKS" URL(s) you could think of...
2) Build this website as a way for other consumers to hopefully avoid these problems, and build some true consumer data, which may someday help change the carriers ideas relative to the cost of churn vs. the cost of providing the GREAT SERVICE they advertise providing in the first place. We are also heartened by the fact that Joint Venture Silicon Valley has a committee focusing on cellular service improvement, and perhaps they might recognize these sites as a valuable tool in helping to achieve that goal...
So, that's the story. What's your story? Map your "Dead Spot"(s), and let us know!!
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