[PLUG] Customer Service from Hell

Rich Shepard rshepard at appl-ecosys.com
Wed Jun 30 14:17:02 UTC 2004


  The bottom line: don't buy Linksys!

  Over a 3-day period I've spoken with five different drones at Linksys
Customer Service. The first two promised to e-mail the authorization form
for me to pay the difference in product prices (from the BEFW11S4 to the
WAP54G). Nothing arrived.

  This morning I call again (I think their so-called customer service is
outsourced overseas) and voice #3 tells me she'll send it right out. I tail
the mail log and sure enough, in a couple of minutes the authorization
message is in my inbox. So, I fill it in according to the directions and
send it back to the reply address, "customerservice at linksys.com".

  Only a few seconds later I get a MAILER-DAEMON bounce message in my inbox:
from the mail server at cisco.com: "550 We ain't got no user named
'customerservice'". Nice, eh? So, I call again and get drone #4. Her name,
she tells me, is Jan. After giving her both RMA numbers, the case number, my
phone number and e-mail address (all this for the fourth time, of course), I
finally manage -- by speaking very slowly and clearly -- that I cannot
return their authorization because the username does not exist. There is no
'customerservice at linksys.com'. I think she understands. She asks me to wait
while she checks this out. After 20 minutes on hold listening to very poor
quality Muzak(R) or whatever they use, I hang up and have lunch.

  After lunch I call back and speak with 'Dale' (four female voices and one
mail voice). I ask to speak with a supervisor, manager or Vice President,
whichever is available Right Now. Wait on hold. Dale comes back on the line
and asks, "Why do you want to speak with a supervisor?"

  "Because I cannot return the authorization you sent me. There is no user
named 'customerservice' at linksys.com. The mail server at cisco.com bounced
your message to me."

  "Oh. Please wait." Some time later Dale's back on the line. "Yes. That is
not a valid username. You need to send the authorization to
rma at linksys.com."

  "Why wasn't this the return address on the authorization message you sent?
Hold on ... I'm forwarding the reply I sent to customer service. OK. I'm
tailing the mail log and it tells me that the server at cisco.com replied
with the 250 code, accepting the message for delivery. Do you have it yet?"

  Finally, he has the message and we've passed this hurdle.

  If this is what customer service is in the modern computer company, look
out! Will I ever buy another Linksys product? Not me. What a PITA!

Rich

-- 
Dr. Richard B. Shepard, President
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc. (TM)
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>




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