"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[hjaye]

Reading the cable stories reminded me of why I won’t ever use Direct TV again. (Warning: this is long)
I was having problem with my satellite signal going out whenever the wind picked up.  It finally went out and did not come back, I called Direct TV and they sent out a technician.

I had a two story house, the satellite dish was at the very top of the house, and it caught the wind like a sail.  As it turned out, the technician told me the dish should have been anchored with 6 6inch bolts, but it only had 4 4inch bolts, so it had been blown out of alignment. He realigned the dish, secured it with the 6 6inch bolts and all was good.

I called Direct TV and told them I believed I should not be charged for the service call since the problem was a result of an improper installation.  The service rep refused to help so I asked for a supervisor, the supervisor refused to credit the account as well.  She kept telling me I should have purchased a protection plan which meant a service call was only 20.00
I explained to her I did not believe in the protection plans since they cost 6.00 a month so 72.00 a year.  That plus the 20.00 I would pay for a service call, meant the first service call in a year would actually cost me 92.00, as opposed to the 80.00 I had to pay out of pocket.

I told her I did not have a problem paying the 80.00 under normal circumstances, but since my outage was a result of the installation tech not doing his job properly, I did not believe I should have to pay for the service call:

Sup: Sir, if you had purchased our protection plan you would only have had to pay 20.00

Me: I’ve explained why I do not believe your protection plan is a good deal.  Your installation technician did a poor job installing my dish, it caused an outage, and I don’t think I should have to pay for that.

Sup: Sir you don’t know the installation tech did a poor job.  The technician that fixed your problem should not have commented on the job the install tech did.  Different techs have different methods for installing dishes, so what the first tech did was not wrong.

Me: Do you not have standards for installing a satellite dish?

Sup: yes

Me: then I would like a copy of your standards to see if it was done correctly.

Sup: Sir, this is nothing wrong with what he did, I have a dish on my house installed the same way and I don’t have any problems with it (yes she really said this)

Me: so if different techs have different methods for installing satellite dishes, if one tech feels one 8 inch bolt is all that is needed to install a dish, from what you’re telling me, this would be acceptable.

Sup: No sir I’m not saying that.

Me: then again, please tell me what your standards are, and please send me documentation on these standards.

Sup: Sir there was nothing wrong with your installation and you are not going to get a credit.

Me: I can see we are going around in circles.  I’m not going to continue arguing.  I have a year left on my contract, I don’t want to pay an early termination fee, but when my contract is up, I will cancel.

Sup: Sir that is your right.

Me: well good by

I cancel a year later, when I call to cancel, now they try to talk me out of it:

Me: I’d like to cancel

Rep: Can I ask why?

Me: (I explain why I’m cancelling)

Rep: well sir, I see it’s been over a year since you’ve called concerning service.

Me: I told the supervisor the last time I called I would be cancelling, she didn’t care.  Was I supposed to call every two months, just to let you know I hadn’t changed my mind and I was still going to cancel when my contract was up?

Rep: Sir we have upgraded our service, we have better training for our technicians and I promise you will be very happy with our level of service.

Me: you had your chance last year when I spoke with a supervisor, maybe someone should have a talk with her concerning customer retention, I said I was going to cancel, and now that’s what I’m doing.

Rep: Well, if you want to just live in the past, I guess there’s nothing I can do.

Me: No, there wasn’t, and with that last comment, you’ve definitely put the nail in the coffin.  We’re done here.

[PastryGoddess]

Now see I love DirectTV.  It's comcast I can't stand

[guihong]

I would quit my bank if it wasn't such a hassle  .

The Thursday before Labor Day (so about Aug. 29), I called to report my debit card missing and probably eaten by an ATM.   I assumed someone was ordering a new one ASAP.  I know it takes 10-14 business days to get the new one, so I didn't ask again until I hadn't received the card by Sept. 16. 

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me one.

This time I was speaking with someone from my own branch, not corporate, so I assumed all was well and asked them to expedite the new card. 

Today, Sept. 23, a week later, I happen to be in the branch and ask about the new card.  I knew it hasn't been 7 days even, but they could track it.

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me a new one!  And this was with the person I spoke to standing right there  .

So here we go again.  I had them order the new one while I stood there.  We'll see if it comes in 7-14 business days (no, they wouldn't hustle it).

At least I can cash checks, and this has forced me to go on an all-cash budget, which is a good thing.  So I'm actually more amused than cross by now.

[VorFemme]

We have always had cable for our television channels - never satellite.  We did have DSL on our phone line for a while - then switched to cable (sorry - almost triple the speed for the same price makes a huge difference with students in the household and someone doing telecommuting at night for extra hours).

That was Cox in Georgia - then we moved to Texas and got RoadRunner - who sold/traded markets with Comcast about two years after we got here, so we become Comcast customers because that's who owns our location....

And no matter how many times they tick us off - from neighbors & other students grousing to VorSon about the way their satellite goes away if a butterfly breezes past the satellite dish at their house (slight exaggeration - maybe a dozen butterflies going by at the same time) - we will be staying with Comcast for the higher speed, slightly lower price (especially if you call and mention it every time the service goes out so they have to come fix it - we pay for the service because cancelling it would cost almost as much as six months of service - if we do have to have any repairs done in one year - it is cheaper to have paid than not) and relative reliability.  Which is partly based on VorSon's fellow students staying at the school to do their work on the school's network....

[PastryGoddess]

I would quit my bank if it wasn't such a hassle  .

The Thursday before Labor Day (so about Aug. 29), I called to report my debit card missing and probably eaten by an ATM.   I assumed someone was ordering a new one ASAP.  I know it takes 10-14 business days to get the new one, so I didn't ask again until I hadn't received the card by Sept. 16. 

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me one.

This time I was speaking with someone from my own branch, not corporate, so I assumed all was well and asked them to expedite the new card. 

Today, Sept. 23, a week later, I happen to be in the branch and ask about the new card.  I knew it hasn't been 7 days even, but they could track it.

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me a new one!  And this was with the person I spoke to standing right there  .

So here we go again.  I had them order the new one while I stood there.  We'll see if it comes in 7-14 business days (no, they wouldn't hustle it).

At least I can cash checks, and this has forced me to go on an all-cash budget, which is a good thing.  So I'm actually more amused than cross by now.

I had this happen to me at my credit union.  Luckily, they charge a $5 new card fee, so when I didn't see it after a couple of days I called back. 

[gramma dishes]

...   I called to report my debit card missing and probably eaten by an ATM.   ...They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me one.

This time I was speaking with someone from my own branch, not corporate, so I assumed all was well and asked them to expedite the new card.  ...   They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me a new one!  And this was with the person I spoke to standing right there  .

So here we go again.  I had them order the new one while I stood there.  We'll see if it comes in 7-14 business days ...

Next week you'll probably get three!   

[siamesecat2965]

I would quit my bank if it wasn't such a hassle  .

The Thursday before Labor Day (so about Aug. 29), I called to report my debit card missing and probably eaten by an ATM.   I assumed someone was ordering a new one ASAP.  I know it takes 10-14 business days to get the new one, so I didn't ask again until I hadn't received the card by Sept. 16. 

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me one.

This time I was speaking with someone from my own branch, not corporate, so I assumed all was well and asked them to expedite the new card. 

Today, Sept. 23, a week later, I happen to be in the branch and ask about the new card.  I knew it hasn't been 7 days even, but they could track it.

They had no record of my call, nor of ordering me a new one!  And this was with the person I spoke to standing right there  .

So here we go again.  I had them order the new one while I stood there.  We'll see if it comes in 7-14 business days (no, they wouldn't hustle it).

At least I can cash checks, and this has forced me to go on an all-cash budget, which is a good thing.  So I'm actually more amused than cross by now.

I had this happen to me at my credit union.  Luckily, they charge a $5 new card fee, so when I didn't see it after a couple of days I called back.

My credit union will give you a new card right then and there. 10 min wait, maximum.

[Emmy]

I won't order off of Macy's.com again.  They promise easy returns.  If the return I had was easy, I'd hate to see a difficult one.

I ordered a king sized bed sheet on sale from Macy's website and they sent me a California king (different dimensions).  So now I have this sheet I have to return which is a hassle because there isn't a Macy's close to me and I have a 2 year old and a newborn.  Today I decided to return the sheet since I had a doctor's appointment in the general direction of the Macy's.  To make a long story short, it took 20 minutes to do an exchange.  That would be bad enough if I was just wasting my time, but entertaining a 2 year old for 20 minutes while standing in one spot is challenge.

[Piratelvr1121]

Oooh, you have my sympathies.  Mine isn't 2 yet but he's awfully close and is starting to act like one!

[siamesecat2965]

I won't order off of Macy's.com again.  They promise easy returns.  If the return I had was easy, I'd hate to see a difficult one.

I ordered a king sized bed sheet on sale from Macy's website and they sent me a California king (different dimensions).  So now I have this sheet I have to return which is a hassle because there isn't a Macy's close to me and I have a 2 year old and a newborn.  Today I decided to return the sheet since I had a doctor's appointment in the general direction of the Macy's.  To make a long story short, it took 20 minutes to do an exchange.  That would be bad enough if I was just wasting my time, but entertaining a 2 year old for 20 minutes while standing in one spot is challenge.

Oh that stinks. I have a couple near me, and have never had issues returning stuff I ordered online.

[jedikaiti]

Now see I love DirectTV.  It's comcast I can't stand

I, too, had a great experience with DirectTV, back when we lived in a town where satellite TV was our only option. They also bundled with Qwest, which was our only landline phone option, and as the down did not have a cell tower, there was no cell service.

Actually, both Qwest and DTV were great - after our 1-year promos were over, they found us new promos to keep our bills down. When Qwest got bought by CenturyLink (after we'd moved and had other options for service), we had TERRIBLE service. We'd already cancelled DTV as we couldn't put a dish on our house. We used VOIP phone service with Qwest, which CL decided to discontinue - fair enough. So I call to get us switched back to a land line, and get some doofus who tells me they can't port our number, we have to get a new one.

Multiple phone calls, our old number still working even after we were theoretically switched to a new number, untold hours on hold, and a few weeks later, and we were finally on a landline with our old phone number.

After that I switched all our services to Comcast. They've been so much better to deal with!

[o_gal]

Actually, both Qwest and DTV were great

Qwest was actually one of the worst offenders with slamming - they paid a $1.5 million fine to the FCC and another big one to one of the states.

They slammed our second phone line, which we only used for dial-up service back in the 90's. It took us months to figure out, since the way that AT&T wrote our bill, it looked like it was on the main line and every time they checked, everything was fine and they'd cancel out the Qwest charges. Until one day when we needed to test the second line, made a voice call on it, and that showed up on the bill as coming from Qwest. Who then adamantly denied that they had slammed us. We switched it back to AT&T and put a change hold block on it.

[LadyClaire]

My Laurel made a salmon pink houppelande for a knight once. She asked if he was sure he wanted pink, and he pointed out it wasn't candy cotton pink, it was a manly pink.
And yes, whenever I hear parents worrying about their sons wanting to have Disney Princess stuff, I always think, 'Make him a PRINCE costume, for pity's sake! He wants the shiny, slippery, plushy fabrics, he doesn't REALLY want to be Belle.' 

My 1 year old nephew is obsessed with lush fabric. He was over at my house one day and got his hands on a beaded, sequined silk chiffon half-jacket I have that has black satin ribbon ties. He wrapped it around himself and was petting the fabric and cooing over the ribbon. He also goes nuts for a silk velvet jacket I have, and a particularly plush fleece pullover that my husband has. The little guy will just sit by soft, silky fabrics and stroke them and babble to himself.

[ladyknight1]

Get that boy a velvet waistcoat, stat!

[Lorelei_Evil]

Agreed.  Velvet Prince costume for Halloween, stat!