Complaint: Why are 99.999% of all companys' customer service departments broken?

[tinjaw]

I cringe every time I have to deal with any form of customer service. They almost always *appear* or *act* like total idiots. I'm sure this ain't true, but experience seems to show they are.

Today's latest...

MySpace

1. Yesterday I delete/close my account.
2. Today I get the MySpace Newsletter.
3. I send them an email complaining that I don't want the newsletter.

Yesterday I closed my account and today I am getting the news letter. I don't want to get the newsletter because I no longer have an account. However the fine print at the bottom of the newsletter says that I need to login and change my preferences to stop getting the newsletter. How am I supposed to log in to change my preferences when I just closed my account. Please remove my email address from any newsletters or other promotional email from your company.

thank you,
chaim

4. They reply...

Hello,

Thank you for contacting MySpace Support.  Located below is information on how to upload, remove and subscribe/unsubscribe to videos.
 
Uploading Videos
 
To upload a video follow the instructions below:
 
1. Log in to your MySpace profile.
2. From your MySpace homepage, click on the Upload link next to the Videos located under your profile default picture.
3.  Select a title, tag, description and category for your selected video.
4.  Please ensure that the video is the proper format and is under 100 MB.  The acceptable formats available include the following:
.avi, .asf, .dv, .wmv, .mov, .qt, .3g2, .3gp, .3gp2, .3gpp, .gsm, .mpg, .mpeg,
.mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, .cmp, .divx, .xvid, .264, .rm, .rmvb, .flv, .mkv, .ogm
 
5. Accept our Terms and Conditions by checking the box I agree to the MySpace Terms of Service. Please note, if the uploaded video violates the MySpace Terms of Service, the profile/account will be deleted. Click here to view the Terms.
6. The next screen will prompt you to locate your video.  Click on the Browse button to locate and choose the video file that you would like to add. Once the video has been located, click on the Upload button.
7. The system will now upload your video. Please be patient as the size of the video will determine how long it will take to upload to your profile.
 
 
Deleting/Removing Videos
 
To delete/remove a video follow the instructions below:
 
1. Log in to your MySpace profile.
2. From your MySpace homepage, click on the Edit link next to the Videos located under your profile default picture.
2. A list of videos that you have uploaded will be displayed. Click on the Delete Video link for the video you would like to remove.
3. A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm your deletion request. Click the OK button to delete the video.
 
It is also recommended that you check to see if you have any HTML codes for a video embedded in your About Me section of your profile.
 
 
Removing a Video added from MySpaceTV
 
1. After logging in, go to your MySpace home page then click the Edit Profile link located at the top of the page.
2. After you hit the Edit Profile link click on the Song & Video link.
3. After clicking on that link you will see the video you want removed displayed along with a button giving you the option to remove it.
 
Due to some recent changes with the site, you may have noticed the Remove from Profile button is no longer available on your profile?s video player. To remove the video you must:
?        First Login to your Account and go to the MySpaceTV link located on the top of you home page
?        Choose any video or a video that you would like to replace the original one on your profile.
?        Select the link under the video that says Add to Profile.
?        Check your profile to see if the new video is being displayed; you should now see the Remove from Profile button.

 
Subscribe to a Video
 
In order to subscribe to a video simply go to a favorite video and click on Subscribe.  Please note, if you are subscribed to a user's videos and do not wish to receive profile update you can turn this feature on/off.
 
 
Unsubscribe from a Video
 
In order to unsubscribe to a video you must first be logged in to your MySpace account. After logging in click on the MySpace TV which can be found in the navigation tabs. Once on the MySpace TV site click on the link titled My Subscriptions. This will bring you to a page which displays videos from all the users you are subscribed to with a list of these user located on the left hand side of the page. To unsubscribe from a users videos click on the name of the MySpace user you wish to unsubscribe from and then click the Unsubscribe link near the user's profile picture.
 
We hope you found this information helpful. If this does not address your issue completely, please reply to this email, keeping the subject line intact. Be sure to provide any additional information you feel is relevant.   

4. WTF!!!

[jgpaiva]

 
Send them an email saying:

Hi,
Did you actually read the email I sent you?

chaim

To which they'll reply:

Hi,
Thank you for contacting myspace.  Located below is information on how to add friends to your network.

BLABLABLA
BLABLABLA
BLABLABLA

[cranioscopical]

Why are 99.999% of all companys' customer service departments broken?

Because .001% of their employees sneaked a modicum of intelligence through the recruiting process.

[Grorgy]

Because .001% of their employees sneaked a modicum of intelligence through the recruiting process.

-cranioscopical (September 30, 2008, 05:01 PM)

But rest assured, they WILL be hunted out and FIRED as quickly as possible!

[housetier]

The crapspace mystery comes from the fact that Tom is not a good programmer, he is also not my friend.

[Merida]

I also do technical support and I can tell you: All too often the idiots are the users. Sometimes in such utterly ignorant matter that it hurts. ;-)

Idiots can be everywhere on either side ;-)

Merida

[Deozaan]

Idiots can be everywhere on either side ;-)

-Merida (November 16, 2008, 09:58 AM)

It's too bad we can't make it so that the idiot customers get the idiot customer support reps, and all the non-idiot customers get the non-idiot customer service reps. That would be bliss. 

[tomos]

Idiots can be everywhere on either side ;-)

-Merida (November 16, 2008, 09:58 AM)

I'm sure that's the case - one hears stories 
My problem lately was trying to buy a printer with roll-paper printing facilities - it was difficult from specifications to figure out which printers could & which not. So I thought "contact"

Canon I couldnt contact - could not figure out via their website how to contact them - this seems to be their master plan

HP I contacted once, automatic reply saying I'd get a response within 24 hrs, then nothing ... second attempt I eventually got a mail to say email support broken. Even though I sent the mail from Ireland they sent me an English number that is unreachable from Ireland I contacted them again and they said that was the only number they had

In fairness the people in support were helpful, it was the whole structure that was screwed up ...

EDIT/ I forgot to say - to add insult to "unreachableness". I got a mail from some company doing a survey about HP support. I thought great, a chance to let them know the problem. Turned out it didnt include pre-sales support so they chucked me out of survey