On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

 

NBC | June 22 2006

 

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:

 

WATCH/LISTEN TO CLIP HERE

 

LISTEN TO THE CALL HERE

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

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.

:lol:

 

To be fair to the rep, he'd probably been told to do his best to persuade customers to stay...he just went about it the wrong way.

 

Thanks for that :D

Yeah, yeah....probably....still.....it's a bit too much. I like this bit....

 

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.

 

lol.

this is so funny.

wow

what do you expect from someone who holds a position as a customer service rep? intelligence, regard for others?

Haha :laugh:

 

Yeah, it make me wanna sign up with the free trial just so I have fun cancelling it.

 

Although in the UK I don't think the customer services guys are THAT bad.

AOL = Any Old Line??:rolleyes:

The worse company is vodafone.

 

Took me half-an-hour to get the code I needed to take my mobile number over to my new network, because they didn't want me to leave, and offered to put me on a cheaper rate.

 

But if you find out your ISP is doing cheaper deals for new customers, phone up and ask for your MAS code, when they say why, say you can get it cheaper and if you bargin hard enough they will put you onto the new lower price plan

I don't think I've laughed that hard in awhile.

Hahaha pretty good man :lol:

AOL=shit.

 

seriously, everyone i know who has it HATES it. ugh what a crap company

AOL is one of the best ISP's, better than some other companies who give you usage limits and cut you off for no reason

Hmm, I have to disagree there.

AOL have been pretty bad in my experience. I have never used them for long periods as they were terrible......too expensive, horrid software and bad customer services.

I have heard this same conclusion from friends who have used the service too.

 

There are loads of other companies which offer No Limits (other than the fair use one which you have to watch out for) and for alot cheaper......plus in the UK you really have to go with other companies [like UK Online for example] who offer faster upload speeds than the normal 30kbps.

Upload speeds for me is 512 kbps :)

yeah, AOL UPLOAD really?

 

512 kilo Bit per second that's about 55.6kbps then...which is better than 30kbps.

 

My upload speed is about 75-80kbps or 768 Kilo Bits per second. Our country needs faster Internet.

Indeed, but what do you expect for a country which the internet is based mainly along copper telephone lines.

 

South Korea for instant has 100 mbps broadband everywhere because they put new high-speed lines in everywhere.

Yeah, I know.

 

It's crazy to think we have dropped SO far behind in this respect.

 

But it's part of the bigger picture perhaps. The switch over to a more filtered and monitored Internet will be easier for alot of people to go along with when they DO eventually put news lines in.

Indeed, but what do you expect for a country which the internet is based mainly along copper telephone lines.

 

South Korea for instant has 100 mbps broadband everywhere because they put new high-speed lines in everywhere.

Then again, they have Starcraft as a national sport.

Fine country, I'll say.