On my cable service, as I change TV channels, the name of the channel, the name of the program and the times of the program appear at the bottom of the screen. If you click on INFO, it will give you a description of the show.
Every so often, this service goes down. For the past 24 hours, I've had blank boxes with "loading" in it rather than program info. I know it's a simple solution, but I couldn't remember how to do it. I thought Time Warner Cable might have a FAQ with the solution so I went to the website. No such info, but you could chat live, and I (wrongly) thought "Oh, this will be easy."
My first clue should have been when I had to download software to do the chat. I did that. I typed in my name, phone, email, etc. I typed in a "detailed description of the problem."
Then I get Rolando who needs to start at square one. He asks me to describe the problem. This is a pet peeve of mine. I just said to Mary the other day about another call like this, "why can't that data go with you?"
Anyway, this is about halfway through the discussion:
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:15:06 EDT 2011)>Could you please provide me with your account number?
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:15:15 EDT 2011)>i don't have that handy
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:15:41 EDT 2011)>Could you please provide me with the last bill amount in order to authenticate that you are the account holder?
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:16:15 EDT 2011)>then I have to go to citibank as I pay electronically. stand by. I thought this was supposed to be easy. So far, it hasn't been.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:16:53 EDT 2011)>I understand you very well.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:17:02 EDT 2011)>Please let me apologize if it has caused you any inconvenience.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:17:10 EDT 2011)>Could you please provide me with the last bill amount in order to authenticate that you are the account holder?
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:18:48 EDT 2011)>5/31 for $97.20
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:19:07 EDT 2011)>Thank you.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:19:38 EDT 2011)>Could you please provide me with the serial number of the box with the issue? This number is in the back side of the box, and it begins like"SA.."
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:19:45 EDT 2011)>you've got to be kidding
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:20:27 EDT 2011)>At the end of the chat I would like to create you a security PIN on your account, it would make faster and easier your account verification at any moment you need information of your account, or at any moment you want to make a change to your account services.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:20:51 EDT 2011)>That is why I ask these two questions.
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:21:03 EDT 2011)>I just want the darn TV guide. I don't want a PIN. I don't want anything but to know the name of the show. CAN'T THIS JUST BE SIMPLE??
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:21:28 EDT 2011)>Sure.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:21:37 EDT 2011)>May be in other time.
Rolando(Sat Jun 4 19:22:11 EDT 2011)>Could you please follow some Instructions with me?
patricia_(Sat Jun 4 19:22:16 EDT 2011)>yes
[he then gives the instructions which is basically unplug everything and plug it back in]
I did it, and it worked and I have my TV guide back, but man, what you have to go through to have that happen. I get so sick of individual PINs, passwords, 15-digit account numbers (followed by the pound or hash sign...)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I could feel my blood pressure rising with that whole conversation. Why do you need a pin to get an answer? Are they afraid lots of non-customers will call with questions about their service? I could see if you ended up asking him to do something to your system but otherwise it's just for them to keep statistics. I'm surprised he didn't claim this was all for your convenience....
I was given a form at the end to fill out how well I think the conversation went and I gave it low marks. I pointed out the same thing Mary pointed out -- I said what I was asking would not compromise anyone's account. I can see if I were canceling or adding a service, but I wasn't.
I've read this conversation a few times -- it's a verbatim cut and paste and you can see that the guy's language skills are poor... why put him in an area where written communication is important?
Post a Comment