Wednesday, February 06, 2013

I really really really hate T-W cable and here's why...


I asked Boris outright if he was a BOT, and he swore he wasn't, but you read the transcript and see what you think. My observations, which I did NOT make to Boris, are in blue.

Boris>
Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable. At the end of our chat you will be given the option of taking a brief survey. My name is Boris. Please give me a moment while I access your account.
 

Boris>
Thank you for waiting.

Boris>
Hello!

Judi>

OK, thanks Boris. I've chatted and requested this before.

Boris>
You are welcome.

Boris>
I will be glad to help you. (He's not using contractions; I'm thinking BOT).

Judi>
It's January, and the last Account Alert I received via email from TW Cable was in October.


Boris>
Okay.

Judi>
I'm not receiving paper statements, so this means I have to just remember when my bill is due. I don't think that's really reasonable, do you?

Boris>
Do you want paper statements at your mailing address? [Duh! No!]

Boris>
I don't think. [RIGHT! Is that a BOT statement or what?]

Judi>
No, Boris, I don't want paper statements, because aside from the waste, then every time I sign in, I'll be urged to sign up for a paperless account.

Judi>
Why am I no longer receiving Account Alerts in my email? My email address is on file and correct.

Boris>
Are you registered with MyServices?

Judi>
Yes, but My Services has done nothing but mess up my account insofar as I can tell.


Boris>
Please login to MyServices.

Judi>
I'm logged in right now! [Sheesh!]

Boris>
Okay.

Boris>
Now I will help you to register for paperless.

Judi>
Good luck. I tried that and it says I'm already paperless, which is correct.

Judi>
I did this last month too.

Boris>
Okay.

Boris>
May I have your email address please.

Judi>
I know it's not your fault, Boris, but someone's head should roll for this nonsense.

Boris>
Thank you. [?????]

Boris>
Let me check that for you.

Judi>
No problem.

Judi>
Thanks.

Boris>
You are welcome. [As opposed to "you're welcome" - definitely a frigging BOT!]

Judi>
The guy who checked it last month said everything in my account looked fine.

Judi>
But once again, I was left to pay my bill via vibe.

Boris>
Thank you for waiting. I appreciate your patience.

Boris>
My apologies for the delay.

Boris>
I have checked your account details can see that your email ID is not registered, hence you are not receiving email notification.

Judi>
What do I need to do to register it?


Boris>
Please do not worry.

Boris>
I will update it on system.[As opposed to updating it on THE system - no articles, either - BOT alert!]

Judi>
I'm not worried, I'm irritated.

Judi>
Thanks, Boris.

Boris>
May I have the PIN on the account? The PIN is a 4-digit number that was selected by you and it allows me to authenticate that you are an authorized account user.  The PIN is required before we can share any account information. 

Boris>
I understand your concern.

Boris>
You are welcome.

Boris>
Thank you for positive verification.

Boris>
Please give me a couple of minutes.

Judi>
Sure

Boris>
While I update your email ID.

Boris>
Thank you.

Boris>
Thank you for your patience.

Boris>
I am glad to inform you that I have successfully updated your email address as (my correct email addy)

Judi>
Uh, Boris, that's not an update; that's always been my email address for this account.

Boris>
You will receive email notification from the next month onwards.

Judi>
I hope so. I don't see the point in having a website where the customer can't do this themselves. Am I just missing it?

Judi>
I haven't had problems on any of my other account websites.

Boris>
Be rest assured you will receive email notification from next month onwards on your email address.["Be rest assured", I'm not assured..]


Judi>
OK, thanks for your help.


Now it's February and guess what? Tonight, I suddenly remembered that my Time Warner bill is due soon...and it's a good thing I remembered, because it's due Thursday, and ONCE AGAIN, despite Boris's assurances, I haven't received an Account Alert. Tonight I chatted with another BOT calling himself Analyst Henry, who told me he may have to take this "to the next level". 

Uh-huh. 

I'm not holding my breath.
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4 comments:

Wiggle's mom said...

I too have asked a customer service chat whether it was a bot. The answer I got was "no. the reason the answers are coming so quickly is that I am a fast typer." Oddly, the reason I had asked was because the answers both seemed to deal with key words, but not my actual questions, and the answers seemed unusually slow. I still think it was a bot. They should be required to tell us. I'm actually fine talking with a bot, but it would change how I asked questions. Like I might say "paperless billing, not allowing log-in, reset" for your problem, instead of bothering to try to make a politely worded question. Crazy modern world.

Wiggle's mom said...

The other possibility is that customer service reps are like over-reaching chess players and have like twelve conversations going at once, so all they can do is pay attention to the keywords. "Oh, they are using the famous Vladikov opening! I'll counter with the Ruskie triangle." But in fact you used the rarer reverse-Vladikov instead, and he totally missed it.

emmapeelDallas said...

I'm pretty sure they use a bot, & I'm even angrier with them because I specifically provided my cellphone number as my contact number for follow up; instead, T-W chose to ignore that and to call my home phone, which of course doesn't reach me because I'm at work. But T-W is really the only game in town, so I'm stuck with them for now.

Veronica Wald said...

This made me laugh out loud, but just be happy you're not dealing with AT&T is all I can say.

(And also are you sure the bills aren't going in your spam box?)