How to obliterate customer service in five easy steps

(1) Overcharge the customer on a bill, say you’ll correct it when they call the day the bill arrives…then don’t fix it;

(2) Compound the problem by repeating the same mistake on the next month’s bill (in addition to including the original overcharge, now shown as a balance due);

(3) Force the customer to work through seven (yes, seven) different “press one, press two” menus;

(4) Have three different employees tell the customer three completely different “total due” amounts…none of which match the online version -or- the PDF download of the current bill (yes, five versions, total);

(5) Then tell the customer they’ll have to wait until next month’s bill to see if the corrections appear.

Three months out on a bill? What are the odds my account will be cut off by then, with the collections department involved?

Color me crazy, but shouldn’t it be easier to hand a vendor money?

Are you making it hard for customers to hand you money? Think about it next time there’s a question on an invoice. Might not be as bad as what A Certain Cable Company Who Shall Remain Nameless is doing, but even hitting step one (above) is pushing things too far.

Sorry for two vendor rants in one week, but truth be told, each was time sensitive and necessary. With a little effort, we can all go into fourth quarter on the same page, instead of tugging at opposite ends.