Recently, our 1-year promo package from service-provider-who-shall-remain-unnamed (as I'm not going to endorse anyone at this point) expired (free TV plus discounted internet... awesome deal!). We renewed our internet package, but not the TV package. Unfortunately they mistakenly turned off our internet as well. Grr.
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| This kid says it all! |
Going to the service's online chat, we kindly informed the customer service rep that we had a hearing loss and asked if he could turn our internet back on. Repeatedly 'Rod' said that we had to go to a 1-800 number. He said he was sorry for the inconvenience, but that a request of this nature could and would only be made over the phone (seriously???).
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| Talking on the phone is one of our biggest challenges |
Whatever happened to creativity and exemplary customer service? This guy definitely didn't get it. Did he not acknowledge that people with a hearing loss can't understand the speaker on the other end? We can hear sound, but comprehension is another thing. Where was his common sense? (At this point, I'm starting to feel sorry for Rod as he probably did not receive any sensitivity training for clients with a hearing loss). We even told Rod that we'd consider going to a different service provider simply because in the past we had no problems activating or cancelling home services with them. Despite repeated efforts to get Rod to do the job for us, we gave up and my husband finally called the 1-800 number. We'd have gladly changed service providers if it were not for the unbeatable price this company was giving us (guess it all boils down to cost!).
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| Haha! For some, this is very true! |
Fortunately for hubby, he got a female customer service representative who was easy to understand and was empathetic to our plight. We lucked out. Literally! After nearly 45 minutes (that's a record for my husband, as we normally don't spend more than a few minutes on the phone) of going back and forth, our situation was resolved. I wish we didn't waste an hour and a half of our time feeling frustrated. I wish we had more customer service representatives (specifically online) who are able to handle and resolve cases online, rather than referring us to a phone number because it's "out of their capacity". I wish we could educate service providers of all sorts to make media more accessible to all - including those who are blind. So many wishes... ha! FYI: I'm not grumbling, just saying it as it is.
This whole experience also makes me wonder if we'll ever have to rely on Rachel in the future to help us with anything phone-related. Sweet Rachel, if you're reading this some 15 odd years from now, hopefully you don't mind helping out your mom and dad. :D Unless, by some miracle we get real time captioning on our phones (innocaption.com and rogervoice.com). It's a real shame we don't have it available here in Canada yet - it would definitely make our lives easier, especially since many jobs require the use of phones, internet service providers like the one I've discussed, and more. Like air, we should at least have the phone be completely accessible. Heck, the phone has been around since 1876! Time to get the ball rolling.
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