Held Hostage
I hate signing up for monthly recurring services that are automatically billed to my credit card. They’re like the old Roach Motel – once you check in, you can’t check out.
One person recorded his call to cancel his AOL service, stubbornly resisted by the AOL rep. (Full transcript here, originally seen on Slashdot).
Key Excerpts:
VINCENT: I don’t know how to make this any clearer, so I’m just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: : Well explain to me what’s, why…
VINCENT: I’m not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, what’s the matter man? We’re just, I’m just trying to help here.
VINCENT: You’re not helping me. You’re helping me…
AOL: I am trying to help.
VINCENT: Helping… listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.
AOL: No, it wouldn’t actually…
VINCENT: Cancel my account…
AOL: : Turning off your account…
VINCENT: …cancel the account…
AOL: : …would be the worst thing that…
VINCENT: …cancel the account.
[It goes on further…]
I’m normally a pretty calm guy. I think the last time I lost my temper to a salesman was a few years back when I was trying to buy a video camera at BestBuy, and the salesman WOULD NOT SHUT UP about the extended service agreement.
Over the course of the conversation, his tone shifted significantly from the initial sale (“This is a great camera…”) to his push for the extended service agreement (“This camera is junk and will almost certainly break on you one month after the basic warranty is up”).
I was about as clear as the guy in the above conversation, probably 8 or 10 times, then lost my temper with the salesguy and started peppering my refusals with words that would make my mother blush.
I should have just walked out, but the camera was ~$50 cheaper there than down the street, and really, how hard should it be for a salesperson to leave a customer who’s buying a $900 camera alone?
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:32 am
Yeah, that is certainly making the rounds. The only obvious thing here is that the guy is incented for “Saves”. So CSR’s do everything in their power to stem churn. People often get lesser rates or different AOL packages based on how the conversations go. I think that is what’s frustrating. People call in usually overheated to cancel, and they are put into a negotiation. That’s not expected. I wonder if that approach would work in games?
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
I was told by a Best Buy sales rep that they get no commission incentive to sell merchandise but they do get a commission on extended warranties. (this was in the PC department) I believe he was telling the truth. They are particularly agressive in that way. For that reason, and the fact that you can’t buy anything there that doesn’t include a “mail-in rebate” I don’t shop there. I’d truly rather pay more and not hassle with such crapola.
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I was at OfficeMax a week or two ago, and the sales clerk pitched the person in front of me an extended warranty on a $15 product! True, the warranty was only $2, but if you can’t afford to rebuy a $15 part, then you probably shouldn’t be buying electronic gizmos at all.
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
The employee got fired.
http://news.beta.netscape.com/story/2006/06/15/mp3-recording-trying-to-cancel-aol/
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Yeah, but I suspect that’s just AOL covering itself. The employee wouldn’t be that nasty unless he was trained to be or financially or otherwise incentivized to be.
July 10th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
You get what you pay for.
In the case of BestBuy, you pay the salesman if you buy the extended warranty, you don’t if you don’t. Therefore, he’s indifferent to the sale, except that each gives a shot at the warranty, and he cares deeply about that.
July 12th, 2006 at 4:34 am
wow impressive. luckily here in europe I never met such salesmen. I guess is more popular in USA than anywhere else.