Christopher Cashell (topher) wrote,
Christopher Cashell

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Customer Service done wrong.

So, after having finally purchased a house, I went to get cable and Internet setup. Like most of the country, I live in an unfortunate area where there is nearly a monopoly on cable and high speed Internet, so my choices were severely limited. Eventually I ended up going with Cox. The installation came with a worthless $19.95 "fast connect kit", but I was told that there was a certificate in the box for a $19.95 credit towards your bill, so I agreed to take it anyway.

I got my Internet connection setup, and as directed on the credit certificate, I went to, and got the following message: "We're sorry. This online feature is currently unavailable. Please call us to complete this transaction."


So, of course I call Cox. I then end up in automated voice system hell. No matter what options I choose, it seems impossible to get to someone live. Worse yet, when I go to an option like "billing", it automatically reads off a bunch of information about my account, such as current amount due and last payment details, that I couldn't care less about. Don't waste my time and make me listen to crap I didn't ask for. When I do finally get the right option to talk to a customer service rep, it spends another minute telling me they're going to charge me a $6 service charge if I talk to someone to pay my bill instead of using the automated stuff. I've now spent almost 5 minutes trying to navigate this crappy system and my opinion of Cox is not increasing.

When I finally get a get through the automated system, I get to wait another 10 minutes on hold. Eventually, I finally get to talk to someone, so I explain why I'm calling, and they ask me to hold for a moment while they look into it. A few seconds later, I hear it ringing, then I'm getting a message about all reps being busy right now, and that my call will be answered in the order it was received. Another 5 minutes on hold and when I get someone again, and explain the situation again, they tell me I need to talk to the billing department, and transfer me again. Another 5+ minutes on hold and I finally get to someone who says he thinks he can help me. . . but he has never heard of the self-install credit certificate I'm talking about, so he needs almost 10 minutes of research before he's able to verify it.

Finally, after all that hassle, I get my account credited. What a pain in the ass. Cox, you should really get your act together, because this is the kind of thing that makes me want to investigate alternatives, and if someone else comparable comes along, I'm done with you.

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