Wednesday, April 01, 2009
And now, a new entry into the Bad Customer Relations Hall of Fame
Our winner: Waco's own Hillcrest Hospital.
They called my home to do some pestering about paying a bill. Here's the rub: The bill wasn't due yet. They knew that, too, at the time they called. They just wanted to do some pre-due-date nagging.
Something about that makes me really mad. Obviously, no one likes to get calls from a bill collector, and it takes real gall to make those calls BEFORE the pay-by date on the bill. Urgh. We only have two hospitals here in Waco, and this nonsense is making the other one look pretty good for the next time I have emergency medical needs.
Feel free to jump in with your own hall of fame nominations...
They called my home to do some pestering about paying a bill. Here's the rub: The bill wasn't due yet. They knew that, too, at the time they called. They just wanted to do some pre-due-date nagging.
Something about that makes me really mad. Obviously, no one likes to get calls from a bill collector, and it takes real gall to make those calls BEFORE the pay-by date on the bill. Urgh. We only have two hospitals here in Waco, and this nonsense is making the other one look pretty good for the next time I have emergency medical needs.
Feel free to jump in with your own hall of fame nominations...
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A Doctor's office in Abilene did the same to me once. At that point, I hadn't even RECEIVED a bill yet, and they wanted to know when to expect my first payment. I couldn't believe it.
# posted by 
: 2:03 AM
: 2:03 AM 
US Airways has terminated its contract with its (foreign) telephone customer service provider. In its place, US Airways has hired... nobody. Aparently, if you have a complaint, your ONLY option is to tell it to their phone-answering computer.
I guess the silver lining in this cloud is that they've dropped the pretense of caring: "Um, we've got your money. Shut the *&$# up and get on the plane."
I guess the silver lining in this cloud is that they've dropped the pretense of caring: "Um, we've got your money. Shut the *&$# up and get on the plane."
# posted by : 7:26 AM
: 7:26 AM
The Waco Tribune-Herald's circulation / home delivery department. I started a home delivery subscription about 5 weeks ago and have had to call at least once per week to get a paper.
In a time when newspapers are folding (no pun intended) left and right, one would think that newspapers would pay extra attention to customer service. None such luck.
In a time when newspapers are folding (no pun intended) left and right, one would think that newspapers would pay extra attention to customer service. None such luck.
# posted by : 8:54 AM
: 8:54 AM
I have to go with Hillcrest and it's bill collectors as my #1 too. A couple years back my wife started getting calls from the collector demaning payment for a bill that occurred after we moved away from waco and couldn't possibly be accurate.
After talking with multiple people over the course of 2 weeks and being told that "since hillcrest said it was due, it must be due", I finally found someone who checked and called back to say "oops, sorry."
Basically their response was "that if you are our client and you tell us someone one owes you money we will go and collect" no matter what.
Doubtful that anything will come of my yelling at their stupidity or me having to use the "I'm a lawyer Damnit!" phrase
After talking with multiple people over the course of 2 weeks and being told that "since hillcrest said it was due, it must be due", I finally found someone who checked and called back to say "oops, sorry."
Basically their response was "that if you are our client and you tell us someone one owes you money we will go and collect" no matter what.
Doubtful that anything will come of my yelling at their stupidity or me having to use the "I'm a lawyer Damnit!" phrase
# posted by : 8:58 AM
: 8:58 AM
I am pretty sure DIRECT TV is in the bad Customer Service Hall of Fame.
They signed us up for something called NFL Sunday Ticket and Billed us $45 extra a month for like 8 months before we noticed. That makes us look bad I guess but we were all in the middle of goat farm storage unit hell.
We called to tell them that we never ordered it, to please take it off and refund out money. It took four loooonnnnng calls to get it all straightened out over three months and then it was cool for a bit and THEN it started up AGAIN!! Again they said that their Customer Service Reps cannot take it off once it has started for the season.... and we should have canceled it at the end of that last season because if you don't it starts again automatically.
One Rep actually told us that since we signed up for it we must watch it, like we are lying about our love of the NFL or whatever it is... We told them: "Look We don't know what channel it is on, what it is, who is playing in it- we have no idea and we don't care!!! We have never ONCE watched it. We do not watch football in this house!!!
My husband watches NO SPORTS. Spencer only watches NOGGIN and THE SCIENCE CHANNEL, I only watch Figure Skating and Winter Olympics. And Bravo. And the Food Network.
They signed us up for something called NFL Sunday Ticket and Billed us $45 extra a month for like 8 months before we noticed. That makes us look bad I guess but we were all in the middle of goat farm storage unit hell.
We called to tell them that we never ordered it, to please take it off and refund out money. It took four loooonnnnng calls to get it all straightened out over three months and then it was cool for a bit and THEN it started up AGAIN!! Again they said that their Customer Service Reps cannot take it off once it has started for the season.... and we should have canceled it at the end of that last season because if you don't it starts again automatically.
One Rep actually told us that since we signed up for it we must watch it, like we are lying about our love of the NFL or whatever it is... We told them: "Look We don't know what channel it is on, what it is, who is playing in it- we have no idea and we don't care!!! We have never ONCE watched it. We do not watch football in this house!!!
My husband watches NO SPORTS. Spencer only watches NOGGIN and THE SCIENCE CHANNEL, I only watch Figure Skating and Winter Olympics. And Bravo. And the Food Network.
Forest City Management. They manage apartment complexes, and they have two properties in downtown Dallas, Mercantile Place on Main and the Wilson Building. I live in the Wilson building. They are the worst management company I've ever dealt with - and believe me, when I was in college and law school, I lived in some real slums.
Well this is about the saddest thing I've ever heard:
"We do not watch football in this house!!!
My husband watches NO SPORTS."
"We do not watch football in this house!!!
My husband watches NO SPORTS."
# posted by : 7:59 PM
: 7:59 PM
Prof. Osler,
My wife is an RN at Providence. She would certainly take care of your emergency medical needs...of course, since she works in Labor & Delivery, you would need to be pregnant.
Actually, we have been to the minor care ER at Providence and were very pleased.
My wife is an RN at Providence. She would certainly take care of your emergency medical needs...of course, since she works in Labor & Delivery, you would need to be pregnant.
Actually, we have been to the minor care ER at Providence and were very pleased.
As a lifelong resident of McLennan County, I can neither confirm nor deny the quality of Hillcrest's customer service division. But I can say that Providence has a much better reputation generally. But even they are second to Scott & White.
Helllooo? I WORK AT PROV!!! ICU, and we can usually fix you right up!
Mrs. CL, RN
Mrs. CL, RN
# posted by : 7:03 AM
: 7:03 AM
tydwbleach's Direct TV story sounds a lot like my Time Wart-ner one. TWC billed me for on-demand TV I never watched, refused to send me a corrected bill, and then sent me to collections when I wouldn't pay a tab that wasn't mine. I cancelled my service, and then they tried billing me for equipment I'd turned in. When I didn't pay that (because I turned it in, duh), they added late fees...for equipment that was already turned in and in their possession. Oh, and don't ever expect to get a person if you call and ask for a new, corrected statement. (I won't pay something if I don't have it in writing as "this is what I owe.") You won't get a person, and if you do, 99.9% of the time, that person doesn't know their butt from their face (even the managers--who won't transfer you to any higher-ups at TWC because TWC apparently contracts out their phone centers to someone else--the know-nothing manager is the highest up you'll get and they knew nothing about how to fix the issue on my bill). I'd wait an hour to be connected to a line that hung up in my ear, or rarely, I'd get an answering machine that nobody ever answered. All over a snafu that THEY refused to correct. Finally, after begging for a physical address to go visit and chew out in person, they directed me to their Waco office, which cleared everything up (despite the fact that the phone people said they didn't handle billing snafus there). WTF?
Currently TWC is the only cable provider to my apartment building, so I do without. I will never, ever, ever do business with that inept company again. If they don't care enough about their customers to get something as simple as a billing issue corrected, they don't deserve to have customers.
To contrast this with something else, a glitch in the system made Atmos accidentally turn off my gas, and instead of ignoring the issue like TWC, I got a call from one of the manger guys at the company apologizing profusely for the snafu. They took care of the disconnect/reconnect fees and everything. Night and day compared to Time Warner there.
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Currently TWC is the only cable provider to my apartment building, so I do without. I will never, ever, ever do business with that inept company again. If they don't care enough about their customers to get something as simple as a billing issue corrected, they don't deserve to have customers.
To contrast this with something else, a glitch in the system made Atmos accidentally turn off my gas, and instead of ignoring the issue like TWC, I got a call from one of the manger guys at the company apologizing profusely for the snafu. They took care of the disconnect/reconnect fees and everything. Night and day compared to Time Warner there.
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