Time Warner Cable is driving me insane

[REDREAD]

It seems that a lot of companies are doing this. I called AT+T about a year ago to question something on my bill. Was on hold for 2 hours, with that annoying recording assuring me that someone will get to me soon, but maybe I should call back on a lower volume day.

I ended up dialing an AT+T operator, who hooked me up to a customer service rep immediately. They didn't understand that I wanted to cancel my Long Distance with them because waiting 2 hours on hold was totally unacceptable. Then they try to bargain with you, offering you something like 3 cents/minute long distance (which I'm sure will get jacked back up to 10 cents/minute plus other fees within a couple months).. Anyhow, told them I wouldn't stay with them even if their service was free. Then they threatened me with a disconnect fee.. Told them I didn't care.

Anyhow, the point is that companies seem to be using the "infinite hold" strategy DELIBERATELY in order to try to get you to give up. After all, there were reps available to answer my call immediately when I called the AT+T operator.

[Yachtzee]

It seems that a lot of companies are doing this. I called AT+T about a year ago to question something on my bill. Was on hold for 2 hours, with that annoying recording assuring me that someone will get to me soon, but maybe I should call back on a lower volume day.

I ended up dialing an AT+T operator, who hooked me up to a customer service rep immediately. They didn't understand that I wanted to cancel my Long Distance with them because waiting 2 hours on hold was totally unacceptable. Then they try to bargain with you, offering you something like 3 cents/minute long distance (which I'm sure will get jacked back up to 10 cents/minute plus other fees within a couple months).. Anyhow, told them I wouldn't stay with them even if their service was free. Then they threatened me with a disconnect fee.. Told them I didn't care.

Anyhow, the point is that companies seem to be using the "infinite hold" strategy DELIBERATELY in order to try to get you to give up. After all, there were reps available to answer my call immediately when I called the AT+T operator.

MSN did that to me and I told them I was filing a complaint with my state's Attorney General. They cancelled my membership very quickly after that.

[saboforthird]

Ironically enough, I was on hold with Time Warner last night as well. Spent a good 45 minutes waiting for someone to pick up. Finally got ahold of someone. We were having problems with our internet service. The modem picked up a signal and would drop it 10 seconds later. It would stay off and then come back on for 10 seconds 5 minutes later. It was driving me insane. My wife's company pays for our internet service. I told them this was a business account and that my wife had to do her work or risk being terminated. They said that they'd get it to dispatch and someone would call us tomorrow (today, now). At about 11:50pm we heard a door slam in our driveway. I peeked outside and saw someone walking by my wife's car. Then, I heard the doorbell ring. It was the Time Warner service tech. He was there until about 12:15am, and got the line fixed. He said that the signal was weak, and he had to replace a amp on the pole or something. Scared the hell out of me when he got there. I totally wasn't expecting someone to come out that late.

Just be glad he didn't greet you at the front with a "wakeup call", a rifle over the shoulder, and crossbelt full of bullets.

[saboforthird]

It seems that a lot of companies are doing this. I called AT+T about a year ago to question something on my bill. Was on hold for 2 hours, with that annoying recording assuring me that someone will get to me soon, but maybe I should call back on a lower volume day.

I ended up dialing an AT+T operator, who hooked me up to a customer service rep immediately. They didn't understand that I wanted to cancel my Long Distance with them because waiting 2 hours on hold was totally unacceptable. Then they try to bargain with you, offering you something like 3 cents/minute long distance (which I'm sure will get jacked back up to 10 cents/minute plus other fees within a couple months).. Anyhow, told them I wouldn't stay with them even if their service was free. Then they threatened me with a disconnect fee.. Told them I didn't care.

Anyhow, the point is that companies seem to be using the "infinite hold" strategy DELIBERATELY in order to try to get you to give up. After all, there were reps available to answer my call immediately when I called the AT+T operator.

REDREAD, I'm glad I'm not the only conspiracy theorist around here. I've been saying this for YEARS, that companies really don't give a rat's ass about the customers. It's all about the dollars, anyway they can get them. If they have to lose 100 customers to gain 200 customers, that's just fine with them. If it doesn't work out, they just add on more mysterious charges to their existing customers in the name of "yearly increases".