On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.

It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.

And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes

http://www.nbc10.com/news/9406462/detail.html

I just hate corporations. Hate 'em, hate 'em hate 'em.

Sometimes when you call in to their customer service, you're All Outta Luck.

I had to recall AOL and what a run around and the phone co. has never giving me my money back for the months I did not have AOL but AOL said I was on line. Even proof that I had a local service does not help. Why would I have two servers for one PC right? I had over looked the AOL would be a toll call every time I went on line.

When I tried to get my parents off of their service it was like pulling teeth, not very pleasant.

Overzealous, not company policy, yadda, yadda...

My office is located across the street from an AOL call center. One of our employees once worked there. He narrates as events unfold.

At least once per week, no exaggeration, an ambulance shows up. Inevitably an employee is either wheeled out on a stretcher and taken to the hospital, or the ambulance leaves without anyone and soon after an employee leaves in his or her caroutside a shift change. The stress level in these places is so high that people freak out, have major gastric meltdowns in one form or another, pass out from lack of sleep, or have actual heart attacks. The turnover is incredibly high.

One reason for this is that the employees in customer service, the real, live person you end up talking to, has a performance evaluation based almost entirely on customer retention. These aren't salespeople, IOW. They're the people who field complaints, disconnect requests, etc., and if their call results in a lost customer, they get dinged. Too many dings, they lose their job. And it's not like a stereotypical warning, improve or not, 2nd warning, etc. cycle. It's "fail to retain X customers during a pay period" and, goodbye. The atmosphere is one of constantly fighting to keep your job.

I'd bet my next paycheck this rep was either one or two "saves" away from losing a job or was among those who were open to the manipulation of superiors and conducted themselves in an unethical manner, with company blessing, and thus was consider a stellar employee.

That won't be the story we here. I am certain it is what took place.

They get paid on a commission basis and make next to nothing if they don't "save" a certain % of their callers.

It took over four months to quit AOL. Each time it was a pleasant phone conversation, but then we get the bank statement and the money was taken out.

The last time I got pissed, yelled at the guy on the other end and hung up. Called our bank. They were very happy to take our complaint. The girl said that it happens a lot and assured me every dime, since we first attempted to cancel our account, would be returned. We got all our money back.

It seems like since this is such a common occurance it would become a headache for AOL...oh, I forgot...my bad. Corporate media.

One of the easiest ways to cancel AOL, believe it or not, is to close your bank account and open another one. (Assuming, of course, that you've used a bank account for it rather than a credit card).

I was a customer for 2 months in the early 90's and they were just as bad then.

You'd think they would have learned something since the 90s.

you have to argue with them just to cancel. I don't hate the reps but I sure hatethe way they have to do their jobs.

when I tried to cancel Direct TV.

zalinda