Customer Service Blues

I'm not sure how many of you check reviews on services or items (like on Amazon) but I think since you might often come here for my reviews on make up that you might like to be warned about something that I experienced with a company I was a long time customer of and am no longer willing to do business with.

I don't know how many of you have ever worked in Customer Service but it really is a thankless, shitty job. You get maybe one or two really nice people but those are never the ones that stick with you. You can be the happiest, bubbliest person in the best mood ever and one grumpy cat is sure to send you to your lunch break crying in your oatmeal. When I worked in retail if someone came up to me and said "I need to speak to your manager," I always smiled, asked what it was in regards to and then happily turned them over. Even if it was my fault and I knew this person was going to tear my manager a new one because of me I never hesitated.

I used 1and1.com for the last, I don't even know, 3 or 4 years? I've never had an issue until now.  I discovered yesterday that my domain was not working. It kept continually saying that it could not reach the server. I knew blogger was working so I tried to log into my account to check what was wrong with my domain or see if 1&1 was having problems. I had to e-mail tech support because I also could not log into my account.


I am first informed that my account has been deleted, due to non-payment. My billing and my contact information has not changed since my renewal last year. I never received notification that my renewal date was near. That is mostly my fault because I am supposed to keep track of that shit even though I never do I rely heavily on e-mails to remind me. I never received a renewal e-mail.  No big deal I'll just pay the renewal now and in an hour or two everything will be golden. Right?

Wrongo! I'm going to quote the rest of the e-mail now:

"Regarding your domain, if you wish to activate it, transferring the domain from inactive account to an active account is no longer an option because of the status of your account. However, you can transfer your domain from 1&1 to other registrar. We have sent you the authorization code of your domain to be able to transfer it away."

RUDE!

So let me get this straight; you'd rather me take my business elsewhere than just renew my domain and get it working? I immediately respond to this bullshit e-mail asking for the authorization code and definitely point out that you should never as a business tell your customer to go elsewhere (most businesses like to retain their customers) no matter how nicely you put it that is still insulting, not to mention a bad business practice. They reply with instructions to contact billing support.

So I call billing, try to explain the situation and am immediately cut off and transferred to tech support, who then try to connect me back to billing. I finally land back at tech support somehow and explain to the rep if I get transferred one more time I'm going to flip out. I get e-mails telling me to contact this department and that department and then I get transferred like a ping pong ball back and forth on the phone I was just over it.  I don't know why, I blame it on my horrid morning but this whole ordeal stressed me out so bad I cried. I'm trying to keep it together on the phone but I'm sniffling and know I sound all nasal so after a bit the guy was just like I just e-mailed you the authorization code and I think I waited like 20-30 minutes and I still didn't get it so then I ask if I can speak to a supervisor.

He gives me the run-around. I worked in retail dude, I know the supervisors are busy and they don't have time for this but they have to make time; it's part of their job and if everyone else had done their correctly I wouldn't be bothering them. He kept stalling and stalling and then told me I had to e-mail someone but I was firm and polite as I could be and kept insisting that I speak to someone.

NEVER ONCE DID I YELL. 

I DID NOT THROW A FIT LIKE I AM FIVE YEARS OLD.

I want to stress that those are not how you get someone to help you. Ever. You don't stomp your foot, or yell and cause a big scene (we were on the phone so they only ones amused would be my cats but I've seen this countless times in the stores I've worked at) because that gets you nowhere but barred from the store (yes they can do that).

Finally I got to talk to a supervisor, after about 20 minutes on hold and I tried to calmly explain the whole ordeal from yesterday to what I experienced today and let him know that it wasn't ok and that someone who in charge of the structure of their company needs to review their policy.

FYI: I was told by the supervisor that my case would be escalated as an apology and it has now been 2 hours and I still haven't received that e-mail with my authorization code so I can transfer my domain.

Five points to your house if you know where this is from.

This isn't the first time I have come a crossed this. I had a similar issue with AT&T but theirs was more a money issue. They wanted to charge me $500 to turn my cellphone back on after I lost my job and had it as a suspended line instead of the $300 it was to cancel my contract. I took the cheaper route obviously. I wasn't going to pay more to be a customer, I didn't like them that much.

Moral of the story; if a company treats you like you are a dime a dozen take your business elsewhere!

Have you had a similar bad customer service experience? 

Where was it? What happened?