Customer Unservice

Everyone at Earthlink feels really bad about being such monumental fuck ups. Really, from Bombay to Georgia everyone totally feels bad that I still don't have a router.

Monday I got a call that told me the reason I didn't have a router was that somewhere in the mists of time I was not charged for a month of service. I believe that this was about the time I told them where to stick their $24.95 a month for dial up fee and get real with me, a customer since 1999. They got the picture and dropped my rate to $9.95.

Apparently, taking care of their long term clients  pissed them off and so they created a mystery balance on my account that not one of the many operators I spoke with could see on their monitors. I asked the operator "A Balance?! You don't have my credit card number? no one thought to just charge it or even better, forgive it because of your mistake?" I allowed them to charge to just get this train moving. But, we're going to talk about this, because at this point, its not about what I owe them its about what they owe me.

I spoke with Rasheesh or "Jason" about this and he didn't seem to understand what I was talking about, which is a shock because I thought their schools were better than that. In addition to all the phone calls, I also emailed the company with my issue, and in due course I got a reply and they are very apologetic and promise my router in two business days - On Monday "Jason" promised me Wednesday, email guy says Thursday.

I wrote back.

Thank you for your reply, I spoke with a representative Monday evening and he told me that the reason that my router was not delivered was that here was a balance on my account, an old balance that was never mentioned by any of the many, many representatives I spoke with over the last month and for some reason never showed up on my monthly invoice and was never billed despite the fact that my credit card has been on file there for years! I allowed him to charge this to my card to get this arduous process moving.

 I also spoke with the representative about some sort of upgrade to my account because this interminable wait, the representative seemed to agree with me on this point but suddenly developed an acute problem with English and we were not able to speak about this at any length, I feared a stroke. He put me on hold (again), perhaps to seek medical attention. I've been a customer for thirteen years and I think this request for an upgrade to my service is not out of line given the circumstances.

I have been  a very loyal Earthlink client for years and would very much like to continue our relationship into the future, reguardless of the outcome, I will be writing about my experience on my blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Sincerely,
Diana


Doing what I said I would.


Edited to add:

In responce to my email I recieved this from Earthlink this morning.

Thank you for your prompt reply. As per your request the account has been upgraded from Dial up to Cable service and we also see a one-time payment of $24.95 on your account. Please be rest assure that the router will reach you in two business days. Please contact me directly if you have any issues with regards to the shipment of the router.



I answered with:



I upgraded my account myself when I upgraded from dial up to cable and am now paying for that upgrade. I want something from Earthlink in response to my having to wait and wait and wait for service. For example, I am paying for the lowest speed cable service and after all this time and patience on my part and the fact I am staying with Earthlink despite its increasingly shameful customer service, I think an upgrade to the speed of cable I am receiving - at no extra charge would be acceptable. I also now feel as though I was charged for being kept waiting.