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Polar bear with carrot

Monday, March 8, 2010

Customer Service

One thing that is quickly going down the old shitter is the concept of customer service and accountability in the sparkling new digital age. Try to speak to a live person at Google if you have a problem with any of their vaunted services that now apparently rule the world. Good luck. Billion dollar companies now route you through confusing forums, faqs and labryinths, and you are never any closer to figuring it all out. God forbid that you aren't some child cyber prodigy. Never a live body to, horrors, ask a real question. What, are you stupid?

I am flying to San Francisco tomorrow to look at a painting. I made my Priceline reservations last week (hiss), getting confirmation on the plane flights and a rental car. Today I went to gather up my itinerary and they regret to inform me that the car has vanished, they can't honor the reservation and tough shit. Available cars are now $150.00 a day. When I called Gabby, the talking head at customer service, she apologized in her own particular cold and insincere way and said that there was nothing that could be done.

My question, now getting quite warm under my collar tips, was why not email me days ago when they figured out they were having these performance issues? Many humans suffer from performance issues, mostly men I am afraid, supposedly it helps to talk about them. Now I am peddling real fast to secure affordable transportation.

This is the way it is in the Brave New World. Talk to the machine, talk to the computer, talk to the hand but heavens no, no accountable human being. You should see the lack of information that comes from Motorola on the Droid, you are now expected to just sink or swim into the technological morass, but don't worry or study too hard, because the product is designed to break within a year so you can then buy a new one anyway and it will be different by then.

Bank of America successfully dinged me for a mistaken 19 cent error for over $100.00.

I just told Sirius Radio to cancel my service after the third Starmate equipment failure and they quickly sent me a freebee, after sensing my displeasure and adamance. Human beings deserve better.

2 comments:

Emergefit said...

Perhaps their is a new Facebook fan or group page in the making here. Or perhaps a class action law suit against the vermin who invented the voice menu, and in doing so has clearly robbed humanity of countless opportunities to get things done.

As for me, my rule is that after hitting the 4th redirecting button on a voice menu, I simply hang up, take a shot of vitamin T, and assume my problem will never be resolved.

Anonymous said...

why not just drive up there? for you SF is like a trip to the corner store; i jest, good luck...g