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

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:

CLOCK READOUT - 00:00

AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?

VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.

AOL: Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?

VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.

CLOCK READOUT - 00:30

AOL: You've had this account for a long time.

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?

VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.

AOL: Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: How long have you had that...

VINCENT: Years...

AOL: ...the high speed?

VINCENT: ...years.

AOL: Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.

VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...

CLOCK READOUT - 01:47

AOL: Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?

VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.

AOL: Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?

VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?

CLOCK READOUT - 02:21

AOL: Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...

VINCENT: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well explain to me what's, why...

VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.

VINCENT: You're not helping me. You're helping me...

AOL: I am trying to help.

VINCENT: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.

AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...

VINCENT: Cancel my account...

AOL: Turning off your account...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account...

AOL: ...would be the worst thing that...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:02

AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out..

VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.

AOL: Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you Vincent because all I'm...

VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:32

AOL: Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.

VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:39

"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.

He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.

Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.

AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.

Wow... that sucks. I also don't understand why call reps ask why people want to cancel things. A basic question is all that's needed, but I believe it's optional of details of our reason.

I had to call in and cancel one of the phones on my T-Mobile family plan in late May. *cringes* If you know me, I really hate dealing with phone customer service, but I had no other choice. That was the only way I had to cancel the third phone line. Believe me, I tried to walk into a T-Mobile store, and they just dialed the T-Mobile number for me. I sat there grinding my teeth while calling because I really hate it. Well, they asked me the reason why my mom wanted to cancel her line, and I kept it to the minimum by saying, "She found another service she's happy with." I remember the woman asked me questions about the other service trying to be nosy, and I just told her, "I don't know." Luckily, she just dropped it after that. Besides, I wasn't going to sit and chit-chat in details because that's irrelevant. I just called to cancel the line and NOT BS about my mom's decision to move. They don't need to know THAT much info.

i'd be pissed too, that's ridiculous

AOL reps get a bonus every time they talk someone out of quitting - even when they offer a month or two free service, their goal is to KEEP YOU HOOKED.

Funny thing is, you know AOL trained them to do that.

Maybe not to the extent of which this guy went- which shows he is beyond common sense- but I'm sure his badgering wasn't because he felt a personal responsiblitly to provide AOL to the world.

Nothing worse than calling to cancel something and getting 20 questions. I WANT TO CANCEL should be enough. I remember when I called to cancel a Citibank Credit Card, they asked me why and offered me more credit (which was one reason I wanted to ditch the card...they only gave me $600 credit after several years). So at that time I said okay. Well, then it turns out they couldn't increase my limit due to inactivity....because I never used the card....because it sucked. :wallbang So I called back real stern and said I didn't want their card and don't even bother trying to bribe me. Thankfully he cooperated.

I've cancelled a few isp's too and got a few questions, but nothing like that. Basically you just lie or get snotty with them and they shut up.

I wouldn't work that job for anything.

Just yesterday I had to call my phone company to ask a question..."What do I dial to get call block?" for the life of me i couldn't remember the two numbers. The rep asked for my name and number. gave it to her. she said what did i want again. I told her what is the two numbers to dial to use call block. she said they don't offer that service anymore. Oh ok, well thanks. Nooooooooo, "Ma'am, do you have a cell phone?" Irene: "no, don't need one" phone rep: "well we can offer you a great deal." Irene: "No thank you, don't need a cell phone, I have a car phone, that's all I need." phone rep: "Oh, ok. Do you have a computer?" Irene: "All i called for was abt the call blocking, you told me its no longer a service, thank you. phone rep: "We offer DSL and broadband services." Irene: "No thank you, I am happy with my company." phone rep: "Oh, which company is that?"


ok it went on and on like that all the way down to direct tv. etc. etc. etc.

PEOPLE!!!! I DON'T NEED ANYTHING....GOT IT!!!!

Although I knew very well what she was doing. I worked for Verizon for over a year and they had us try to SELL SELL SELL...OFFER OFFER OFFER. TO EVERYONE!!!! regardless of the reason for their call. When you sold something or got a customer to sign up for something we achieved point value for whatever services they ordered. We had a quota. Sometimes, i get irritated and i will tell the phone rep to look on page 3 of my account (personal info of the customer) they are always shocked to see that I was a former billing rep at the company. They will immediately apologize and say "Well, you know the routine, we have to ask." YEAH YEAH YEAH...geez.

That was a hysterical transcript. I could just picture this going on. I tried to cancel AOL once and got the same kind of problems. It doesn't make you want to keep AOL, just to hate it more.

there is one thing abt AOL that I am so thankful for...they finally got me connected to people who SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!!! I had issues in the past where I was connected to some guy in INDIA. Man, trying to decipher what was being told to me gave me a bigger headache than the issue itself.

Two times in the past three months I had to call for help and each time I reached a rep HERE IN THE GOOD OL' USA!!!!!!!!!

What I posted was a partial transcript. Here's the audio, in full. Hilarious.

http://www.break.com/index/aolhell.html



Irene: Call block is #67 around here.

What I posted was a partial transcript. Here's the audio, in full. Hilarious.

http://www.break.com/index/aolhell.html



Irene: Call block is #67 around here.
apparently Verizon doesn't offer that service here anymore. Damn...i want to block some calls.

That was a hysterical transcript. I could just picture this going on. I tried to cancel AOL once and got the same kind of problems. It doesn't make you want to keep AOL, just to hate it more.

How did this guy not curse is a miracle.

I would have asked for a supervisor immediately after he gave me a quarter of his appeal.

Makes you wonder if he did this as a test, or heard someone else had a hard time.

Otherwise, why record a simple cancellation?

How did this guy not curse is a miracle.

I would have asked for a supervisor immediately after he gave me a quarter of his appeal.

Makes you wonder if he did this as a test, or heard someone else had a hard time.

Otherwise, why record a simple cancellation?
He ends up cursing. It's on the audio I just posted. I read that the guy had heard that cancelling AOL was living hell, and that's the reason he taped it.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. It was about two years, and 50 calls, before they would let me discontinue my services with them. I'm still getting crap in the mail from them to this day, atleast once or twice a week, trying to get me to sign back up. Iv'e even made various threads here over the years, complaining about my bad experiences trying to discontinue service with them. That conversation you posted, is all too familiar to me. AOL is like a credit card company. Once you have them in your life, they're there until the day you die!!!

How did this guy not curse is a miracle.


That's what I thought. I'd have spewed plenty way before he did.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. It was about two years, and 50 calls, before they would let me discontinue my services with them. I'm still getting crap in the mail from them to this day, atleast once or twice a week, trying to get me to sign back up.

No wonder everyone hates AOHell.

Hahahahaaaa.

You're annoying the **** outta me.
That goes both ways.

Yeah, just like a lot of you have been saying - it's true about AOL trying to get you to keep your AOL service. I mentioned this thread to a co-worker friend today, and she said she went through the same ordeal. It took her a while to actually get her account cancelled, and there were times when she was still being billed months after she told them she wanted to cancel. Wow! How annoying!

When my sister and I were sharing an apartment with an old childhood friend 3-4 years ago, I was paying $20/month for dial-up internet service through a local company. They were fine and everything, and I was happy with the service at the time. That childhood friend, Crystal, kept insisting to use the free hours from AOL every couple of months so I wouldn't be paying any money for internet access. I kept refusing saying I heard "bad things" about AOL's service and the whole like. In the end, I just stuck to my local service up until last September 2005 when I switched over to cable internet service.

I can just say that I am sooooooooo glad I stuck to my guns. I am a very stubborn person who is quite persistent in something she believes/is interested in. So, I bet Crystal was thinking, "Damn.... she is sooooo hard to convince!" :lol: Well, that's a good thing; otherwise, I would've been pulling out more of my head hair trying to deal with those nightmarish AOL people. And I really do hate calling customer service and talking with people. *cringes* Who cares if I am a snob! It pays off in the end! :snob:

doesnt suprise me at all
i was on hold with TECH SUPPORT last week

for... NO exaggeration
1 hour and 20 minutes before i got a REAL person to talk to me!:eek:

I never have to wait more than four minutes for tech support.

:rofl::brent

The transcript doesn't do it justice either. :lol:

I know I would have been like-"DID YOU HEAR WHAT THE F*CK I JUST SAID? CANCEL THE F*CKNG ACCOUNT!!!!!!


LOL-No way I would have talked that long when trying to cancel something

I've heard that TJ acts just like that AOL Rep if you try to cancel your Sitcoms Online account.

I never have to wait more than four minutes for tech support.
I had to wait 30-45 mins once for Gateway.

Trying to cancel the account with AOL is like pulling teeth.

My mother was on the phone with a representive, and it took them 30mins to finally cancel our account.

Now every month or so, we get those free AOL CD's in the mail, wanting us to come back.

that kind of reminds me of the time that my computer moddem was acting up and so i made an appointment to have someone come over to check on it well over that weekend the moddem stopped acting up so i called my isp and told them to cancel the service call well they hit the roof and insisted that they needed to come over and that i should not have canncelled on them so to shut them up i let the guy come over and he not only said my moddem was out of wack when i had the thing on and it was working 100 percent while he was telling methis but he also said that they were going to have to come out and dig a hole in the front yard of the apartment building that i live in bacause he said the underground cable might be loose well i had my landlord talk to this moron and my landlord told him that ther was no underground cable and he should know because he has owned the building for 25 years and the internet guy says to my landlord are you sure about the underground cable and so just to get rid of this idiot my landlord says he will check and have me call him back . needlesss to say i switched to another isp right away and have had no problems at all

I've heard that TJ acts just like that AOL Rep if you try to cancel your Sitcoms Online account.

:lol: I just listened to the audio and I've been laughing. Kinda reminds me of what's been going on at my house this past week.

My middle sister has not lived here in over 10 years. Monday I got a phone call around 8 in the morning (I was actually sleeping in THAT day). I answer the phone and this guy says *"Jill?" I said No she's not here. He said, "Well this is **Randall. Can I leave a message for her?"

Now I know most of my sister's friends. Number 1 they would not call MY house looking for her they would call her. Number 2 the only Randall I know are some family, and that was not either of them.

So I asked what it was about and he said it was a private personal matter. I told him yeah whatever and pretended to take the phone number down.

So Tuesday comes and again I'm sleeping in (woo hoo twice in 1 week) once again idiot calls. I answer the phone. Jill said the idiot. lol So I told him No, I told you yesterday she's not here. He said Oh, well do you know whene she will be back? I rolled my eyes and said Nope, she's out of town on business. (It's true, she lives out of town and works there too) But she will probably be back in August (Again true, I graduate in August and she is coming home for it.) So then the idiot says "Do you have her cell phone number or something I can reach her at?" I woke up a little bit at that. Who are you I asked the idiot. "Randall, I need to talk to Jill." So I asked what this was about. He informed me once again that it was a private personal matter to which I informed him that that was not good enough I did not know him and would not give her number out to just anybody because they SAY they have something to discuss with her. I also told him that if he really knew her he would know her number and then I hung up.

Wednesday my mom answers the phone. Now I had told my mom about the phone calls and I was laughing about it. So my mom answers the phone and the idiot says "JIll?" My mom said no who's this. Idiot said "It's Randall is Jill around?" My mom said I"m sorry she doesn't live here. SO the idiot has the gall to ask if she knows a number my sister can reached at. My mom looked at the phone and said Are you trying to sell something? The guy laughed and said no of course not do you have the number? So my mom asks the idiot again WHO this is? Idiot said (again) it's Randall. My mom asked him what this was concerning. The idiot said I'm sorry ma'am but that is a private matter. (Not the best thing to say to my mom :lol: ) So now, I can picture my mom with her hands on her hips as she said this next bit...Now listen here sonny, I am her mother, if you don't tell me what this is about NO message is getting to her ever! Now ma'am the idiot started :lol: Mom jumped in again and said and another thing, you have been told the past 2 days that she was not here, will not be here until August but you insist on Harrassing my family. I'm telling you RIGHT now you had better take THIS phone number off of your list and NEVER call here again. The guy kept trying to interrupt and my mom finally hung up on the idiot.

:rotflmao: Mom hung up and we started laughing. Strange thing though...no phone calls since then.


*Name changed to protect the semi innocent.
**Name NOT changed for the idiot

D