“Hello. Thank you for calling customer service, website support,” says the woman’s voice, with a pronounced foreign accent. “How may I help you today?”
“Yeah, hi, I have an issue with my website. It’s not working.”
The sound of a keyboard tapping. “What seems to be the issue, sir?”
“My website. Like I said. It’s not working.”
“I see. And are you having a problem with your website, sir?”
“Yes, I just told you.”
“Describe this problem to me, please, in great detail?”
“Okay. None of my blog subscribers are receiving my blog post via email when I send the post out. Ergo, my website isn’t working.”
“Ergo?”
“That’s right. I think it’s a Latin word.”
“I don’t know this word, ‘ergo,’ sir. How do you spell it?”
“Does it really matter?”
“Will you hold please?”
“No, I will not hold. I was just on hold, waiting for forty-one minutes to talk to you, I don’t want to hold agai—”
Hold music.
Ten minutes pass.
“Hello,” says the foreign voice, “and thank you for your patience, sir, we are experiencing an unusually high call volume, but your call is important to us. What seems to be the problem today?”
“I already told you what the problem was, remember? My blog post? It’s not going out via email?”
“I do not remember you, sir.”
“I was the one who used the Latin word.”
“Ah, yes. How can I help you?”
“I just told you, my blog isn’t working. None of my subscribers are receiving my blog post?”
Keyboard tapping. “Let me see what I can find out on my end, sir. Thank you for your patience.” More keyboard tapping. “Are you having a nice day?”
“Don’t make small talk with me. Please.”
“I’m sorry, sir? ‘Small talk?’”
“That’s right. I know you couldn’t care less how my day is going, so don’t pretend by making small talk.”
“What is this ‘small talk’?”
“It’s an English expression. It means talk that is meaningless. It’s like asking someone how their day is going, or asking, ‘Hey, how’s the weather?’”
“Oh, the weather is fine here in Mumbai, sir. Very, very beautiful. We’ve had temperatures in the high seventies.”
“No, I wasn’t asking how your weather was, I was just saying that…”
“I am wearing shorts right now. In fact, I am not wearing any shoes. My feet are bare, and I am sweating. That is how warm it is.”
“I wasn’t asking how warm it is in Mumbai, I was only telling you that…”
“I wish they would let us have fans in here, because I am sweating like a, how you say, a cat.”
“It’s ‘sweating like a dog.’ Not cat.”
“They are the same thing, no?”
“No, they are not.”
“They aren’t?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. Are you going to help me with my website or not?”
“Would you be so kind as to describe to me what your website problem is, sir?”
“I’ve already told you. Twice now. None of my blog subscribers are receiving my blog posts.”
“Hmmmm. Very disconcerting. Would you hold, please?”
“No, for the love of Saban, I will NOT hold, I have been on hold for almost half an—”
Hold music.
Fifteen minutes pass.
“Hello,” says the foreign voice, “thank you for your patience, your call is paramountly important to us, how may I assist you today?”
“Are you serious? I’ve described my website problem to you, like, three times now.”
“Please, sir. Tell me how I may aid in your troubles.”
“My website. Something’s wrong. Whenever I make a blog post, none of my blog subscribers are receiving it. Therefore, my website is not working. This is ridiculous.”
“What is this ‘therefore,’ sir?”
“What?”
“I do not recognize this word, ‘therefore.’”
“It means: ‘so.’ Which means: ‘for this reason.’ Or: ‘to such extent.’”
“Interesting, I have never heard this word, ‘therefore.’”
“Well, now you can’t say that anymore. Are you going to help me with my website issues?”
“Website? What seems to be the trouble today, sir?”
“I just told you. None of my subscribers to my blog are receiving my posts via email, and I don’t know what to do. You people host my website. You people are in control. I was calling you, because back in the olden days, when America still gave a crap about each other, whenever a product didn’t work, you called customer support, and they actually helped you out, and they spoke actual English. And that’s what I was hoping for. I was hoping for actual customer service. I need help right now. I don’t want small talk. I don’t want to give English lessons. I want you to do your job and help me.”
“Hmmmm. I see. Can you hold, please, sir?”
“Do NOT put me on hold, or I swear to God, I will—”
Hold music.
142 comments
AKW - January 31, 2023 4:25 am
This just came in my email!! Congrats on outwaiting customer service! Or did you have to fix it yourself?
Melanie - January 31, 2023 4:25 am
Please tell me you made this one up…😳
James e inman - January 31, 2023 4:28 am
Oh the pain!
Ron Mahn - January 31, 2023 4:28 am
Hmmm. Are you going to resend the ones I didn’t get … 😏
Stephanie - January 31, 2023 4:29 am
Good news, the column came today.
jadw21 - January 31, 2023 4:32 am
Oh how many times have we all experienced this? Untrained reps, the small talk, hired by US companies to save $$$ and eliminate positions for US workers.
Cathey Collinsworth - January 31, 2023 4:40 am
Every. Freakin. Time!!!!
MAM - January 31, 2023 4:40 am
Been there, done that. Nearly always miserable, but what I hate the most are the “bots” that answer the phone or the chat and you tell them the problem, and they don’t understand. So you (at least I do) yell that i want a human representative. Often I get one, and they usually can help me, if I can understand them. EEEEEK!
Dennis Self - January 31, 2023 4:41 am
Sean: Believe my experience may top you. Trying to resolve an order with a company that sells gift baskets. I was connected with someone I think was in China, Taiwan, or similar. I believe she had a “spoken English for dummies” book in front of her, but what got me was there was a rooster constantly crowing in the background. Her poor English made it difficult to understand, as it was, but that rooster was so distracting I hung up and called again, managing to get an American in their main office. Took about 10 minutes and the problem was solved.
Dennis Self
Christopher Spencer - January 31, 2023 4:41 am
My experience in situations like this have been that I ask for their Supervisor or a Customer Support person in America. And I have been successful in getting to speak with someone who actually knows what they are doing and can help me.
Daisy H Parvin - January 31, 2023 4:42 am
Well now I know why I didn’t get my Sean fix yesterday.
Jenny - January 31, 2023 4:45 am
I’m so glad to know you are back! I’ve missed you the last few days. Sorry about your customer service experience.
Marsha S Hinnen - January 31, 2023 4:59 am
Just reading through this post made my blood pressure go up. I hope you went to lie down after this experience!
Martha Black - January 31, 2023 5:01 am
Lord, I feel your pain. I’m having problems with my phone & tablet. The tablet “is” old & worn out and I can emphathize but this @%#&*? phone is practically new and it performs such gyrations as I’ve never seen before. It’s a cold world experience with “customer service”. Mercy, I miss my old typewriter, real paper & envelopes with stamps on ’em & my wall mounted telephone. Back when you went you walked out to the mail box and collected the contents, we truly knew we’d “got mail”!
Phyllis McBride - January 31, 2023 5:03 am
This tale pales in comparison with my experience with Netgear customer support. Customer service, like restaurants open on Mondays, is a thing of the past,
Pat Thomason - January 31, 2023 5:07 am
I knew I missed you. I thought I messed up something. I’m always messing up something technology-wise. Glad you managed to straighten out the problem. Welcome back.
Deborah Blount - January 31, 2023 5:10 am
I’m laughing so hard it hurts, but only because it seems like all the companies are out sourcing their customer service to countries that English is not their first language. I’m sorry you are having difficulties, but join the club. At least most of the customer service reps are very friendly, even if they don’t always understand us.
Randall Kemp - January 31, 2023 5:13 am
The small talk, grrrr, it happens at the Starbucks drive through window too, as their taking lots of time to make a cup of coffee, the window person asks “ what are you doing today…?”
Cindy - January 31, 2023 5:13 am
So very true!!! I cannot fathom how these major companies who make millions of dollars on our patronage can, in their right minds and in all fairness, continue to direct us to these “customer service representatives” who can’t even pronounce out names correctly let alone understand what we are trying to tell them!! Heck, my name is Cynthia! They consistently call me Sin-Cha… and that’s just the beginning!!!…..
David Britnell - January 31, 2023 5:13 am
Thank you Sean! Happy as a pig in slop!
Peggy C - January 31, 2023 5:19 am
Glad you got it working again!
Gwen Hughes - January 31, 2023 5:21 am
You certainly hit home with this blog and why my computer is sitting in pieces on the floor. Life is much easier now that I don’t dealwithcustomer service. Enjoy all your stories. Xoxoxoxo
Linda Moon - January 31, 2023 5:22 am
Thank you for your service to all us subscribers, Sean Dietrich. I’m happy as a cool cat for your success and I appreciate all the trouble you went through!
Jenny T Brannan - January 31, 2023 5:29 am
Relieved to know it wasn’t just me! Missed Saturday and Sunday and was afraid I had been dropped.
Karen Snyder - January 31, 2023 5:30 am
Chuckled all the way through this read, but I understand all too well. In the not too distant past I actually put off complaining about some horrible internet service ‘cause coping with the problem was less stressful than trying to find a solution through customer service. Pitiful, I know, but eventually there must have been sufficient complaining to effect the needed repairs, and my BP didn’t get elevated in the process.
Susan - January 31, 2023 5:50 am
Oh I feel the pain…so much
Judie Perye - January 31, 2023 5:51 am
Oh, yeah! This is how it must feel falling down a rabbit hole.
Patsy - January 31, 2023 6:07 am
Glad you’re back! I tried unsubscribing and then subscribing again! Plus, your blogs always come to my junk mail instead of regular mail and I don’t know how to fix that😔. I definitely won’t be calling customer service, though. It’s all so frustrating!!!
Barbara Svenson - January 31, 2023 7:51 am
If it wasn’t so accurate, Sean, I would laugh out loud but instead it is just painful to relive so many similar experiences with “customer service”. How or when the system can improve is difficult to comprehend. I’m personally trying to not to be a customer.
nance - January 31, 2023 8:28 am
It’s a plot.
Laura W - January 31, 2023 9:16 am
I wondered where my morning read had been. You were stuck in customer service hell figuring it out. Good to have it back for an early morning laugh.
Donna Wageman - January 31, 2023 9:49 am
now i know why i havent received me email from you for 3 days. goid luck with customer service. been tgere, did that, still on hold…
Marie - January 31, 2023 10:15 am
Oh, the pain!!! I hope you had a cold one after that horrible experience! It’s working now!! I just went to your website to get the posts but so much nicer to get them in an email!!
Susan Jordan - January 31, 2023 10:34 am
Well, I was wondering what happened and why I wasn’t getting your emails, as usual!! I got this one, though! …and now my life is back on track! 🤣🥰❤️
Cathie Fowler - January 31, 2023 10:34 am
We’ve all been there..ugh! But happy to have your blog today. Hope they keep coming.🤞
Diane - January 31, 2023 11:14 am
I missed you! Glad you’re back!
Sandy Nicholson - January 31, 2023 11:23 am
I have missed you so much for a couple of days. Now I completely understand. Glad to have you back.
Dolores - January 31, 2023 11:24 am
Isn’t it awful? It’s like chasing your tail with most customer service calls. To be continually read a script that has nothing to do with your question or problem is equally frustrating.
My state income tax return was flagged last year. I was told it was random in an effort to reduce fraud. Good, I understand the precautions.
I had to send additional documents to verify my identity. And I waited. Nothing. It got so I was documenting every phone call and what was said because I got a different story every time. And I waited some more. Nothing. In the end I finally had to request a supervisor and relay every past conversation and promise to him.
I filed the first week in February and finally received my refund in August. Seven months of multiple frustrating calls. I can feel my blood pressure rising just recalling the drawn out episode of ineptitude.
About all you can do is brag up good customer support and resolution when you’re lucky enough get it. And try to find the humor in the other. Which you do so well.
Naomi - January 31, 2023 11:30 am
I spent two months on the telephone with Amazon and FedEX about an order. Before that, I spent a month on the telephone with PayPal until the lady who I was talking to said, “You re not talking to me goodly.” I finally gave up.
Te - January 31, 2023 11:39 am
Ain’t it the truth!!!!! We are all candidates for sainthood for dealing with this trend in int’l ignorance. Hang in there, Sean!
Liz - January 31, 2023 11:47 am
Glad I don’t rely on your emails and just go straight to the blog site. Good story! 🙂
Janice Whittle Dye - January 31, 2023 11:52 am
I too am sooooo glad to see this column in my inbox this morning. It’s just not the same eating my morning cereal without your column to read!! Welcome back!!
Joy Jacobs - January 31, 2023 11:54 am
We feel your pain. a few years ago my 73 year old neighbor across the street needed help downloading 5000 pictures from her phone, I (being 70 at the time) said I’d be happy to help her. After days of work setting up her computer etc. and getting pictures loaded on it, she lost the slip of paper with all her passwords and wondered if I remembered her Google passwords…. Me?,a 70 year old grandma. 🤪 I told her she needed a grandchild to help her not a grandma. I guess she took my advice!,
Alan Martin - January 31, 2023 11:55 am
Been there. Done that. Didn’t buy the tee shirt. I have your blog! Take your small victory and party hardy.
Jean Sherrill - January 31, 2023 11:57 am
I had wondered where you were. Ahh the joys of talking to another country who has no idea what you are talking about. Lots of big companies use them now and I always ask where are you? I got Columbia SA. I feel your pain.
Kathy Croft - January 31, 2023 12:06 pm
I feel your pain. It is ridiculous that all of our customer service has gone to foreign counties and the companies obviously don’t train the reps to know what they are doing. It is the same with medical billing. If I have a question about an insurance remit we receive, when I call, same scenario and the lady repeats what I am reading to her from the remit. Sooo frustrating!
I’m glad your blog was in my email this morning though! Have missed them.
Katrina Butler - January 31, 2023 12:11 pm
Sean, all that holding must have done some good because for the first time in days, your column was in my email box this morning. I had even resubscribed thinking the problem was on my end. I went to your archives to read your posts from the missing days. I can’t do a day without starting it with your words. Glad you got it fixed! Therefore, ergo have a nice day.😊
NO - January 31, 2023 12:13 pm
Amen Yes, holy smokes, let’s have more AI in our websites and online stores. We wouldn’t want the customer to think we didn’t have help for them out there. Just delete online chat, telephone numbers for the company and any and all reference to assistance. If you don’t find your problem in our blog (which they all have the same problems I do), then oops….sorry we have a problem. DAH. Thanks Sean. I always think I’m the only one who pulls their hair out over this customer service “which isn’t to be found” these days. Chocolate helps. 🙂
ALISON W BREWER - January 31, 2023 12:17 pm
I feel your pain! Ergo, I understand…
Oliver Rhett Talbert - January 31, 2023 12:19 pm
Get a hands-free headset for your phone. For your next “Hold, please” adventure, play the banjo for your appreciative blind hound dog. Maybe write a perky tune about the delights of time wasted on “Hold,” or a ballad to the semi-clothed, minimally-literate, underpaid and unhelpful Tropical Zone shmuck(ee) who pretends – for hours every day – to actually “serve” human “customers” in an alternate universe. This way, at least SOMEbody (dog) will experience peace.
Margaret H Jackson - January 31, 2023 12:23 pm
I laughed so hard at this!!!
I feel your pain.
A few months ago, we were forced to upgrade our DirecTV service because so many channels were going to High Definition.
I called to set up the upgrade.
I kept getting passed around from person to person until I was back to the original.
I was SO mad!
I hung up, then tried again the next day. The third person I talked to was a very nice Matt from Montana. He finally solved the problem.
I was not an authorized user on the account! Arrrrggghh!
The next day when Mike, my husband, was at home, we got that corrected.
Steve - January 31, 2023 12:24 pm
Sean I feel your pain. I worked over 25 years for a well known government agency. All of our IT staff were fresh out of whatever training they receive, very chipper young folks with sympathetic smiles I, from the manual typewriter days, didn’t really understand “simple” computer stuff like “Did you try control, alt, delete?” My “Did you reboot?” was not the same action they were anticipating. One morning, after long minutes of trying to “log on” without success, I overhead paged the following..”If someone from IT does not come and fix this #$%@ computer, I’m going to throw it out the #@%@ window.” I quickly received a visit from a slightly out of breath youngster who performed some sort of exorcism over the device. All of us over the age of 30 feel your pain.
Elizabeth Wong - January 31, 2023 12:27 pm
Sean, this is the first time that I have not enjoyed your posts………because it is TOO TRUE!
Richard - January 31, 2023 12:30 pm
This is so true and so frustrating . Half the time I am unable to even understand what they are saying . I am dealing with it right now .I am disable and have a lift chair that has quit working after 9 months. It has a one year warranty which they won’t honor and I just wish I could talk to someone who speaks English .
Fran Willard - January 31, 2023 12:31 pm
😂😂😂
Jo Anne Young - January 31, 2023 12:33 pm
So glad you are back this morning! I had gone through all the possibilities in my mind why there were no posts—you were sick, Jamie was sick, you were on vacation, etc. Finally, I decided it must be my fault & that I’d unintentionally deleted my subscription. I even lamented all this to my husband last night!🤣
Diana - January 31, 2023 12:44 pm
So frustrating and oh how I feel your pain. I’m glad your back though. I missed you.
pdjpop - January 31, 2023 12:52 pm
🎶🎶Mamma told there’d be days like this, days like this…. Mamma told me🎶🎶🎶
What she didn’t tell me that people half way around the world would be controlling internet issues and making my life near unbearable as I waste time on the phone.
Lord help us.
PJ
pdjpop - January 31, 2023 12:55 pm
Reading the other posts….. I see we’re addicted to Sean of the South.
Sean, you’re a drug. 😜 a good one.
PJ
Judy - January 31, 2023 12:56 pm
Whew…you are back! I have been sweating like a cat…..
Barb Stratton - January 31, 2023 12:58 pm
So that explains it. I thought you didn’t like me anymore.
Linda Lewis - January 31, 2023 1:09 pm
Oh, I’m so glad you are back. I prayed that you were not ill. It’s maddening trying to get help these days, especially if that help is from another country. Anyway, welcome back.
CATE - January 31, 2023 1:17 pm
Sean I am really confused. Right now it is 8:08 AM EST on Tuesday January 31, 2023. I am reading the comments to your January 31 post and the time on the comments runs anywhere from 1 something AM on the 31st to 12:58 PM on the 31st. Unless those that are commenting after 8:00 AM live in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean I don’t understand how they can be commenting 5 hours after me and I am seeing it at 8:08 AM. Please help explain this to me. BTW I completely understand your blog today. Some would call me intolerant, but when I call customer service I REALLY would like to be speaking with someone who not only speaks clear English, but also understands what I am saying. Once I was told that if you ask to speak to someone in the United States, they are legally bound to transfer you to the US. No sure this is still true.
JonDragonfly - January 31, 2023 9:32 pm
CATE,
Sean’s webhost records the time of your comment in UTC (Universal Time Coordinated, that which we used to call Greenwich Mean Time or Prime Meridian or Zulu Time). It is marked in England which is five hours ahead of the US Central Time.
Regards,
Jon
Kevin Conklin - January 31, 2023 1:18 pm
I’m sure most of us have been here. But the best part is that you’ve been missed. Because you and your gift are something we look forward to and then it doesn’t come, absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Wait, fonder, what does that mean? We don’t have that expression in Mombasa”
Jan - January 31, 2023 1:24 pm
So sorry for your troubles in reaching us and so very thankful for your persistence!!!
Pilgrim Jax FL - January 31, 2023 1:25 pm
I’m with all the other comments.
Including checking to see if I accidentally deleted you
Welcome back @
Suellen - January 31, 2023 1:29 pm
At the stage of life I’m in I kept thinking to myself last night “Did I read it and just not remember it?” It’s not out of the question. I was thinking about relating some of our customer service horror stories but we’ve all been there. Glad you’re back to normal operations.
crowsfeetchronicles - January 31, 2023 1:35 pm
We all feel your pain. Trust me, my tombstone will read, “Died of a stroke while on hold.”
Ruth - January 31, 2023 1:45 pm
So thankful to have your post now🤗 but in the meanwhile I discovered I can get your show podcasts!
Dicki - January 31, 2023 1:46 pm
I’m so glad you are back I missed you. Sorry to hear about your encounter with your phone encounter. I can certainly identify with that!
Melissa Brown - January 31, 2023 1:47 pm
I wondered why l did not receive your column. I missed it and signed up again thinking maybe my subscription had run out. Your blog today is so true – how many times have l been in your situation. So happy you got it fixed and you are back !!!
Sallie D Snyder - January 31, 2023 1:57 pm
And I thought it was something I’d done. Ah well…. I bet all your readers will say, “Been there done that” about some glitch in their computer/phone/tv lives. You have our sympathy and understanding!
Melody Wright - January 31, 2023 2:04 pm
I actually tried signing up again on your website, just to be told I was already subscribed. I hadn’t received any emails in a few days. Glad to know it was a glitch on your end. What’s a glitch? You know. A problem of some sort. Hold? No, I will not h–. Click.
Peggy Howell - January 31, 2023 2:09 pm
Bless you child. I feel your pain😞
Deacon Nick - January 31, 2023 2:10 pm
Had same problem. Went to manage my subscription and it was showing I was to receive my email only on Fridays vice weekly, but would not allow me to change to weekly. Had to UNSUBSCRIBE. Instead of subscribing again, made your website a favorite on my browser.
Nell Thomas - January 31, 2023 2:20 pm
All sounds so familiar.
Jan Linden - January 31, 2023 2:35 pm
You certainly hit a common nerve with this one! Mine included. Now we all know we are all in this mess together. Funny how I thought it was just me who preferred having my teeth drilled upon than needing to make a phone call for assistance with things I pay well for!
So of course I thought it was me because a younger friend had recently showed me how to block emails that I tried unsubscribing to with no luck. I was afraid I had inadvertently blocked you!
Pubert Earle Bozemann - January 31, 2023 2:36 pm
Pone, like Bill Clinton used to say, “I feel your pain!” But since these folks like to talk so much, you can respond in their native tongue ” mere yuva gadhe ko choomo!” Pone try to cool down and be a little more neighborly. Just sayin’. Don’t want you to have blood pressure problems.
Your friend,
Pubert
Stacey Wallace - January 31, 2023 2:39 pm
Sean, I am sorry for your frustration, but thanks so much for getting your website working again. I was so upset that I couldn’t start my morning with you. My sweet husband Mike, who is very tech savvy, tried resubscribing to WordPress to get you back. That didn’t work, so he joined your Facebook website. Welcome back; you were sorely missed. Love to you, Jamie, Marigold, Otis Campbell, and Thelma Lou.
Yvonne Bradeen - January 31, 2023 2:42 pm
I had been in Egypt for a bit and thought you thought you had given up on me.
GARY - January 31, 2023 2:42 pm
I hate to have to make that call ! Be prepared for at least 4 hours of bull ! 🥵
gwen - January 31, 2023 2:56 pm
Just to let you know, I received your daily post, today and yesterday. However my friend didn’t. I follow you on Facebook, so I’ve usually read your posts before they arrive in my inbox. I was happy to be able to forward the Adopted Old Dog post to my non-Facebook friend, which I often do to other non-Facebeook friends.
Susan Marler - January 31, 2023 3:06 pm
Can not tell you how frustrating customer non-service is anymore. One solution I found is put me through to someone in America. Sometimes it works, and then again you’re on hold!
Michele - January 31, 2023 3:11 pm
1,000 times agree with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING ALL OF OUR FRUSTRATIONS!!!!
virginia westlake - January 31, 2023 3:13 pm
We’ve all been there! Classic!
suebruins - January 31, 2023 3:19 pm
Sean I am so sorry you had to go through what you described in todays post😱.
But thank you for doing it… I missed your words! Hopefully you won’t have to do that again soon 🤞🏻🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼bless you.
Phyllis Forrest - January 31, 2023 3:24 pm
So relieved to know someone else gets so frustrated when trying to reach customer service! Makes my blood pressure shoot thru the roof.
Cindy Carrington - January 31, 2023 3:35 pm
So glad you got that fixed. I missed your blog?
Lynn - January 31, 2023 3:36 pm
Arrrgh!!! We’ve all been there. Thank you for finding the humor in it. And congratulations on getting your WiFi issue sorted.
Gina Ireland - January 31, 2023 3:37 pm
My aggravation meter rose while reading this!
Rene' Marie - January 31, 2023 3:45 pm
Whew!!!!!! Glad it wasn’t me this time! When I kept complaining out loud to my adult kids that my Sean of the South emails
had disappeared everyone all said,”Mom what button did you accidentally press on the computer?!”
Christina Renee Nations - January 31, 2023 3:55 pm
Classic!!!!! Every single time!
Billy Moore - January 31, 2023 3:55 pm
You hit a common sore nerve with this one! If such a call lasts more than a minute or two, I usually ask to speak to someone in the U.S. More often than not, they seem to have a provision to do so. If possible, I no longer do business with them, but that, of course, is not always possible. Your applying your sense of humor to the situation is comforting. At least you got a good column out of it!
Mary Miller - January 31, 2023 3:57 pm
Been there done that!
Elaine Gregg - January 31, 2023 4:11 pm
You must have the same internet supplier I do!!
Ann - January 31, 2023 4:12 pm
My health care provider does that!!!! ARGHHH! (Not sure if that’s English!)
mccutchen52 - January 31, 2023 4:14 pm
Mine says you sent the blog at 11:22pm last night but I only received it around 11am today. Ain’t technology great and the customer service….well you know…..Let me put you on hold for a minute……….
Marsha Ieronimo - January 31, 2023 4:21 pm
I am so relieved to see this post as I have been trying to figure out why I have not been receiving your posts…I am a restless sleeper and have found reading your blog soothing and then Boom! No blog..I am crossing my fingers that you are restored..😁
Janet - January 31, 2023 4:27 pm
I second Marsha’s comment! Glad you are back and hope you will stay back!!
Duane - January 31, 2023 4:33 pm
Sean, you didn’t mention the virtual customer service representative you have to spend an hour with before they put you on hold while they connect you to a live representative.
Ann Davis - January 31, 2023 4:46 pm
Yes, Yes, and Yes – those virtual customer service people are so insane to deal with!!!
Ann Davis - January 31, 2023 4:41 pm
OMG – I just went through this yesterday with Comcast/Xfinity!! It’s so insane – and I hate those “chat” responses that you first have to go through before you get a live person – who does exactly what you said – they give you constant compliments while speaking with an accent that you can’t understand. I laughed and laughed when I read this – helped me to get over my anger of just going through this myself!! Thank you- you always know what everyday people go through and express it perfectly!!
Judy - January 31, 2023 4:43 pm
Yep
Pamela Davis - January 31, 2023 4:47 pm
Exactly right! Even AT&T has overseas operators! No thank you, I want someone who speaks English!
Ben Womack - January 31, 2023 5:05 pm
Really?
Wadena Sieler-Colbert - January 31, 2023 5:18 pm
I am soooo familiar with this frustration😱
Sonya Tuttle - January 31, 2023 5:21 pm
BINGO! You got it !!
Martha Young - January 31, 2023 5:55 pm
Sean, you cannot win over customer service so figure it out for your self and give it up on C.S. by the way, I did rceive your email, would have been funny except I have had that same experience many a time and it never gets better!
Stephanie - January 31, 2023 6:48 pm
So, frustrating!!!
The convenience stores are being taken over by the same customer support services 👎🏼
They can’t understand English either.
Teresa Blankenship - January 31, 2023 7:27 pm
Enough to make your red hair turn white 😂 I feel your pain.
pattymack43 - January 31, 2023 8:01 pm
I can soooooooooooooooo relate to today’s blog entry!! I am praying for you, Sean. Also, that I might continue to receive your blog each day. I cannot imagine my day going well without my first reading my favorite writer’s blog for the day. May it never happen! Prayers and blessings for your day!!
Angie Williams - January 31, 2023 8:22 pm
I go into a rage every time I get on the phone for so-called customer service. I understand your pain. Customer service, my foot.
Alice Jordan - January 31, 2023 8:32 pm
You are correct! Customer Service is lost somewhere over ocean.
Celia Mcelhany - January 31, 2023 8:38 pm
I have been there. Is there a problem assigning people who speak English?
Lisa R - January 31, 2023 8:45 pm
Just a hint i learned awhile ago: Ask for level 2 support. That is almost always in the US>
Johnny C - January 31, 2023 9:08 pm
The struggle is real!
Becky Souders - January 31, 2023 9:48 pm
Condolences.
Deborah Boswell - January 31, 2023 10:08 pm
I totally get it. Been there myself. Pure torture. There are no alternatives. Aaaaarrrggghhh.
Peggy M. Windham - January 31, 2023 10:23 pm
I can totally relate!🤬🤬 Murder comes to mind!😢😩😢
Sean of the South: Customer Service | The Trussville Tribune - January 31, 2023 10:34 pm
[…] By Sean Dietrich, Sean of the South […]
catladymac - January 31, 2023 11:29 pm
Electricity goes off…no storm, not even very windy. I call Ohio Edison and report it, and that there appear to be no downed power lines and yes, the whole neighborhood is dark, not just my faulty establishment. Once the complaint is entered in the system they say “Thank you for calling Ohio Edison.” One of these days I am going to yell “Well who the %^&* ELSE would I call with the power out ? The gas company ? Spectrum cable ? Verizon ?”
Laura D. Adams - February 1, 2023 12:15 am
Hmm, sounds familiar! I dealt with a similar issue and was on the phone for over 5 hours and that is not an exaggeration!
Cindy Gallop - February 1, 2023 12:23 am
Absence makes the heart grow fonder…..you better believe you have been missed!!! Thank you for the “fight”……worth every word you write for us, your loyal readers! Rock on Sean!!!
Barbara Parker - February 1, 2023 12:50 am
I’ve missed several days. I think since last Friday this is the first post I’ve received. Thanks for going to bat for us with customer service.
Jeanne - February 1, 2023 2:13 am
I feel your pain!! I used to have a Dell computer and used AOL for email. I had trouble with my Dell laptop and AOL and more than once, the SAME MAN (in India) answered my call for help!! He even asked if I would be his sponsor so he could immigrate to the US! I bought a MAC Book Pro and switched email servers so now have no problems with either!!
Don Rutledge - February 1, 2023 2:28 am
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Mary - February 1, 2023 3:13 am
This was me today with AT&T. I had to tell the rep at least a dozen times I didn’t understand what he was saying. Then reading through his manual had me repeat all the steps I had already tried before calling customer service and actually had me do it four times. Really? If it didn’t solve the issue the first three times it certainly won’t solve it the fourth time. Ugh!
Chip Weimar - February 1, 2023 4:24 am
That sounds a lot like my experience a couple times a week. It’s absolutely maddening and it’s virtually impossible to exit that circular process.
B A Beckett - February 1, 2023 5:13 am
This is so true to life. Just try to reach AT&T. Never a person who doesn’t know the words you are speaking, only a recorded voice. But at least it is someone who speaks English while recording.
Gigi - February 1, 2023 7:05 am
I wondered what had happened to you ! Bless your heart, welcome back from “Customer Service H-ll”. Been there, done that, several times just this past month. It’s so frustrating !! I swear, “Marvin” (whom of course spoke VERY broken English) that helped me with a new phone, was “Frank” a two days later when I had to call back due to another issue with the new phone. I honestly believe they change names every day, and I can understand why !
lesliehanson411hotmailcom - February 1, 2023 12:36 pm
Once again you hit the nail on the head! (They probably wouldn’t understand that adage either!)
Denise M Hendricks - February 1, 2023 4:10 pm
If you order a pizza now, you are giving your order to someone in the Philippines. Yikes!
Gloria Staats - February 1, 2023 7:33 pm
This is absolutely so true! We have all experienced this frustration. We now ask for an onshore assistant. Usually, we get great response!
Harold - February 1, 2023 10:41 pm
Ain’t that the truth!!
dmgtomlin - February 2, 2023 5:19 pm
It’s absolutely maddening! “What’s maddening, ma’am?” A synonym for,,,,,,,,
Judi - February 2, 2023 6:47 pm
I feel your pain
Anita - February 3, 2023 5:54 pm
On an opposite spectrum, I received incredible service when I called SmartPak yesterday to order horse supplies! I spoke to Dedi, a live, English-speaking lady, non-scripted who spent almost 30 minutes on the phone helping me with exactly what I needed.
Beth Nicol - February 3, 2023 10:05 pm
What a rabbit hole I fell into on this one! I did an Inspect on the page, verified your software, looked at the Subscribe form, verified the service I think you use to send the emails. Couldn’t determine who hosts your site, but I’ve had fits with the service that sends the emails at times. Anyway, I feel your pain and I’m glad it’s working again. Jetpack can be a finicky thing at times.
denise - February 5, 2023 1:55 am
I’m sending this to my daughter who is on hold with an internet service at this moment. My sympathy Sean.
Bob E - February 7, 2023 4:10 am
Sounds like my day today with Dish TV.
Just ordered an indoor antenna.
Bye bye Dish!
Renee Welton - April 11, 2024 1:22 pm
And that’s the truth…..!