youtube.com— Vincent Ferrari appeared on NBC today to talk about his notorious experience with a rude and persistent AOL rep who tried to convince him not to cancel his account.
Jun 21, 2006View in Crawl 4
They don't need to pay. My theory:1) Sign up for an AOL account trial!2) Cancel the trial.3) Endure the excruciatingly miserable customer "service".4) If they offer free connection, accept.5) Repeat until they finally catch on... Which may be never.6) Forget the whole idea because AOL stinks anyway.
the EXACT thing happened to me when I tried to cancel my account. Even when I said, "there is nothing you can say that will change my mind from cancelling my account" the guy still went on. The things that the customer rep said were very similar to what the guy I spoke to said. I'm really sure that they're all told to act that way and say those things. I will never deal with that company every again.
this guy shouldn't have any fame. His name sounded familiar so I looked up some records. He has a history of pissing csr's off, problably on purpose because he usually whines enough to get some sort of 'compensation'He's just another idiot and karma's a bitch
This is certainly not just AOL -- and it's not just for cancelling accounts. I fought with a guy when I was trying to activate my credit card over the phone and he kept trying to sell me "Credit Protection." Like Mr. Ferrari, I just kept telling him, "Just activate my card." -- unlike Mr. Ferrari, I lost my temper and yelled at the guy... I think it was something like.. "NO! NO! NO! NO! at the top of my lungs." He hung up, but my card was activated. I don't understand why companies think that badgering their customers (even those who are leaving them) is good for business. In fact, I might be likely to repatronize a business if I felt like cancelling was easy... Some websites like emusic and Yourmusic make cancelling a breeze and I've actually gone back to them again and then cancelled again (etc.). But if it took me 21 minutes to cancel my account with either of them, you can be sure I'd never use them again.
i SO TOTALLY went through the exact same experience. actually mine was way worse. i wound up on hold for an hour and a half, had to deal with a rep from Delhi India who suspiciously called herself "Melissa" and later admitted that was not her real name, and had to contort with her through a pointless call script which took at least another half hour. i am astounded by the coincidence in seeing this story break as it seriously JUST HAPPENED TO ME TOO. I hope to see the dawn of a new perestroika to combat the screw-the-customer attitude that AOL and many of the other faceless corporations that ding our bank accounts monthly have adopted. "THEY BILL YOU 'TIL THEY KILL YOU." peace
I believe the overlooked victim here is "John".As outrageous and absurd as this conversation may be, it is straight from the training manual. I was an AOL call center employee several years ago. I also was a reluctant member of the "retention" or "saves" queue. This call sounds like something we might have been played during our training as an example for us to model. While there I questioned my own integrity as I participated in following the script we were required to use. Fortunately, I was eventually moved to a different department, most likely because of my less than enthusiastic performance as a "saves consultant". AOL does not only support this sort of dialogue, it is required of the successful consultant. Therefore, I find it upsetting and unconscionable that ultimately AOL did not support this employee. After the MSNBC interview this was their response:"At AOL, we have zero-tolerance for customer care incidents like this - which is deeply regrettable and also absolutely inexcusable. The employee in question violated our customer service guidelines and practices, and everything that AOL believes to be important in customer care - chief among them being respect for the member, and swiftly honoring their requests. This matter was dealt with immediately and appropriately, and the employee cited here is no longer with the Company."This could not be further from the truth. Shame on you AOL.My contempt for AOL is not for their sleazy or desperate sales tactics. It is for their blatant disregard of the truth and an obvious willingness to dispose of an employee to cover their ass.
mac2492Jun 22, 2006
They don't need to pay. My theory:1) Sign up for an AOL account trial!2) Cancel the trial.3) Endure the excruciatingly miserable customer "service".4) If they offer free connection, accept.5) Repeat until they finally catch on... Which may be never.6) Forget the whole idea because AOL stinks anyway.
damnyooneekJun 22, 2006
the EXACT thing happened to me when I tried to cancel my account. Even when I said, "there is nothing you can say that will change my mind from cancelling my account" the guy still went on. The things that the customer rep said were very similar to what the guy I spoke to said. I'm really sure that they're all told to act that way and say those things. I will never deal with that company every again.
gregdJun 22, 2006
AOL keyword: pwn3d!
bitbytebitJun 22, 2006
this guy shouldn't have any fame. His name sounded familiar so I looked up some records. He has a history of pissing csr's off, problably on purpose because he usually whines enough to get some sort of 'compensation'He's just another idiot and karma's a bitch
edtoJun 22, 2006
I have to admit this, i have a crush on that guys name.Vincent Ferrari, how manly and cool is that..
dodgingcarsJun 22, 2006
This is certainly not just AOL -- and it's not just for cancelling accounts. I fought with a guy when I was trying to activate my credit card over the phone and he kept trying to sell me "Credit Protection." Like Mr. Ferrari, I just kept telling him, "Just activate my card." -- unlike Mr. Ferrari, I lost my temper and yelled at the guy... I think it was something like.. "NO! NO! NO! NO! at the top of my lungs." He hung up, but my card was activated. I don't understand why companies think that badgering their customers (even those who are leaving them) is good for business. In fact, I might be likely to repatronize a business if I felt like cancelling was easy... Some websites like emusic and Yourmusic make cancelling a breeze and I've actually gone back to them again and then cancelled again (etc.). But if it took me 21 minutes to cancel my account with either of them, you can be sure I'd never use them again.
ogletreeJun 23, 2006
That guy got fired for following company policy. That is how every phone call to cancel aol goes down.
spineofgodJul 2, 2006
i SO TOTALLY went through the exact same experience. actually mine was way worse. i wound up on hold for an hour and a half, had to deal with a rep from Delhi India who suspiciously called herself "Melissa" and later admitted that was not her real name, and had to contort with her through a pointless call script which took at least another half hour. i am astounded by the coincidence in seeing this story break as it seriously JUST HAPPENED TO ME TOO. I hope to see the dawn of a new perestroika to combat the screw-the-customer attitude that AOL and many of the other faceless corporations that ding our bank accounts monthly have adopted. "THEY BILL YOU 'TIL THEY KILL YOU." peace
mintwaxedflossJul 2, 2006
Not that I ever wanted to sign up with AOL anyway, but this article just guarantees that I WILL NEVER SIGN UP WITH AOL.Take that, suckas!!!
vaguecottonJul 26, 2006
I believe the overlooked victim here is "John".As outrageous and absurd as this conversation may be, it is straight from the training manual. I was an AOL call center employee several years ago. I also was a reluctant member of the "retention" or "saves" queue. This call sounds like something we might have been played during our training as an example for us to model. While there I questioned my own integrity as I participated in following the script we were required to use. Fortunately, I was eventually moved to a different department, most likely because of my less than enthusiastic performance as a "saves consultant". AOL does not only support this sort of dialogue, it is required of the successful consultant. Therefore, I find it upsetting and unconscionable that ultimately AOL did not support this employee. After the MSNBC interview this was their response:"At AOL, we have zero-tolerance for customer care incidents like this - which is deeply regrettable and also absolutely inexcusable. The employee in question violated our customer service guidelines and practices, and everything that AOL believes to be important in customer care - chief among them being respect for the member, and swiftly honoring their requests. This matter was dealt with immediately and appropriately, and the employee cited here is no longer with the Company."This could not be further from the truth. Shame on you AOL.My contempt for AOL is not for their sleazy or desperate sales tactics. It is for their blatant disregard of the truth and an obvious willingness to dispose of an employee to cover their ass.
utubevideosSep 24, 2006
Check these cool utube videos <a class="user" href="http://www.jacksonville-florida-home-builder.com/go.php?URL=http://utube-videos.blogspot.com">http://www.jacksonville-florida-home-builder.com/go.php?URL=http://utube-videos.blogspot.com</a> .
dragonhillJan 30, 2007
woohoo!
hmmburgerFeb 25, 2008
I wonder if Vincent owns a ferrari with nice wheels lol. <a class="user" href="http://autocrazy.info">http://autocrazy.info</a>