This Story is Archived
MP3 Recording: Trying to cancel AOL »
Posted by: techman05 2 years, 2 months agoHere's a recording I did of a conversation between myself and AOL while trying to cancel an account I no longer needed. It was old, and I hadn't used it in a REALLY long time, I just never got around to cancelling it. Enjoy!
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Comments: 76
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lane
June 15, 2006, 1:18 a.m.Great idea... looks like not enough diggers are showing up to make a difference though...
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dugg
June 15, 2006, 2:25 a.m.wow, so you view the article within netscape which takes up a quarter of the screen..... you don't have to hold people hostage AOL, if they like your site they will return.
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solidcube
June 15, 2006, 2:31 a.m.Typical business model for modern megacorporations. Instead of trying to improve their service so that people actually want to be there-- that's too difficult in committee-driven companies-- they continue to pander to the lowest common denominator while engaging in sharp business practices. This guy should report AOL to the Better Business Bureau, the state attorney general in their home state and the Federal Trade Commission. All three have the power to make things rough for even a group like AOL. Remember, gang. Don't make the product better. Just hardsell it.
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solidcube
June 15, 2006, 2:33 a.m.And a good example. It's supposedly a Digg-killer, yet it's writhing with ads. How's that work out? Hawking overpriced 56k dialup 5 years too late not workin out so well? Rock on with your bad selves.
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c4ribb34n
June 15, 2006, 2:45 a.m.I don't know how old is this, but when I tries AOL the eventual cancelation went smoothly. However, after the nice mexican lady to whom I talked to finished with me, she transfered me to some other line to get me to buy something. Now, that was the annoying part.
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elamb
June 15, 2006, 3:26 a.m.tainted by digg.. I hate you digg bastards. You make me want to puke. Go back to your hole and worship Kevin Rose.
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minic Rivera
June 15, 2006, 5:22 a.m.I personally experienced this as well when I was trying to discontinue my account three years ago. It was hard reaching them and hard for them (well, at least the guy from the other end) to understand that all I wanted to do was get rid of my AOL account.
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C.K.
June 15, 2006, 8:33 a.m.I think this is the number one complaint that I hear about AOL from regular people I know who do not work in tech. My father-in-law went through a very similar ordeal and would gladly tell you about it on his blog, if he had one or really knew what a blog was.
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JDAuerbach
June 15, 2006, 9:45 a.m.This really is painful to hear. (And more than a little embarassing to those of us emotionally invested in the whole thing!)
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beerimpact
June 15, 2006, 10:35 a.m.I hope your reading Calacanis AOL is bleeding and poor bussiness practices like AOLs customer retention policies need to be adressed bofore you can Luanch a site that is as freeform as Digg.
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arkmtech
June 15, 2006, 2:24 p.m.So deep in mediocrity, it's no wonder they're #1 ...at the top of failed product lists everywhere! Really - is anyone actually shocked by this?
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simongzster
June 15, 2006, 3:41 p.m.Don't blame the rep! From what I've been told is that AOL pays these poor saps a bonus if they "save" a certain number of customers from departing their service. Remember, these guys get paid crap, and they get a carrot dangled in front of them, which alters their behavior. If AOL really cared, they would not have such a system in place. There was a similar system in place at a call center I once worked. We got bonuses for - get this - low call times. Not good service, not friendly service - low call times. Of course, the quality and friendliness of the calls suffered. So, don't blame the rep for a systematic problem.
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chrisjara
June 15, 2006, 4:31 p.m.I heard this recording on a podcast recently and I felt like strangling the guy.
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jdm
June 15, 2006, 4:35 p.m.simongzster, don't confuse the incentives this rep receives for retaining customers with his outright horrid customer service. He was downright rude and disrespectful. I managed a team of folks that did his job for several years. My experience was that while not always easy, the job could be accomplished very successfully without being rude, dishonest or in anyway as slimy as this guy was. This punk was just an ass that happened to work a customer service job at AOL. AOL did not foster his crappy attitude. And in time he would have been let go anyway. In my experience that kind of utter disrespect would have been terminated immediately. He is/was an embarressment to AOL, anyone who does customer service and most importantly to his Mother.
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Conrad
June 15, 2006, 5:13 p.m.Boing Boing hit the story. HELLLOOOO traffic! http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/15/aol_sacks_customer_r.html
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Conrad
June 15, 2006, 5:14 p.m.Boing Boing hit the story. HELLLLOOOOOO traffic! http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/15/aol_sacks_customer_r.html
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TimALoftis
June 15, 2006, 5:59 p.m.Maybe I was just lucky. Over the years I was with AOL twice and both times the cancellation was very easy. The last time they wanted me to consider netscape as a ISP but when I told them 'No Thanks' the operator quickly ended the conversation about it. I also had accounts with earthlink and MSN. On both of those occassions it took 2 or 3 phone calls to end my membership. The only reason this story is currently rated as number 3 today is because of the bad apples with the Digg.com community. They are trying to do nothing else but to ****** on AOL/Netscape's parade today. How childish!
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DygitalJoe
June 15, 2006, 7:35 p.m.I want to convey a few points regarding this. People reading this here, and on Digg, are thinking this is the ususal behavior on calls with AOL Member Services. This is nothing like what the average call consists of. I know for some thats hard to believe, because we all "know a guy that..." in reference to calling AOL and getting upset. If I was this consultant's supervisor I would immediately fire him for his unacceptable behaviors. As such, AOL did the right thing and fire the consultant. The rudeness, abrasiveness, shallow commentary, and poor customer service are 100% unacceptable. I hope AOL docks his pay for "damages", since this was 'leaked' to the net from the Ferrari member.
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bugmenot
June 15, 2006, 7:38 p.m.Great, Ferrari. You've caused some poor sap to lose his job. I listened to the recording and Ferrari clearly went in with a chip on his shoulder. While the rep shouldn't have responded in kind, I can't really say as I blame him. The words
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