AOL Said, 'If You Leave Me I'll Do Something Crazy'
Digital Domain
By RANDALL STROSS The New York Times
"YOU'RE going to listen to me."
This was the taunting command of an AOL customer service representative who sounded like a jailer twirling his keychain. The customer on the phone wanted to complete his business, but the person on the other end of the phone did not share a sense of urgency.
It is fitting that the customer service representative's wish to be heard has been fulfilled on a scale he never anticipated.
When Vincent Ferrari, 30, of the Bronx, called AOL to cancel his membership last month, it took him a total of 21 minutes, including the time spent on an automated sequence at the beginning and some initial waiting in a queue. He recorded the five minutes of interaction with the AOL customer service representative and, a week later, posted the audio file on his blog, Insignificant Thoughts
To listen as Mr. Ferrari tries to cancel his membership is to join him in a wild, horrifying descent into customer-service hell. The AOL representative, self-identified as John, sounds like a native English speaker; he refuses to comply when Mr. Ferrari asks, demands and finally pleads -- over and over again -- to close his account.
Posted 5 years ago by Monty Solomon in General Telecommunications Forum
