Howard Schaffer was having such an awful time with his phone company that he alerted the local media — who ran a column about the debacle. That happens all the time, but what makes this case interesting is that Howard was keeping a record of the time he spent dealing with the phone company (One Communications of Rochester, NY) as well as the expenses that he was racking up while the phone company apologized over and over, but didn't fix the problem.
“I’ve received nine apologies,” Schaffer, whose phone bill is usually around $500 a month, told the Times-Union. As time dragged on, he was forced to have employees use cellphones and to borrow a phone from his landlord. The phone company promised at least $2,000 in credits, but no phone service.
After the column ran and his problem was resolved — Howard tallied up the expenses and sent One Communications a bill. For $5,481.16. And the company agreed to pay it.
You can learn a few things from Mr. Shaffer, who is a PR professional by trade. Follow his example by taking detailed notes of all the time and money you spend dealing with an issue. You might not be able to get a check for your expenses, (unless, perhaps, your story gets published in the newspaper like Mr. Shaffer's did) but it certainly can't hurt.
Hold My Calls. All of them. [Times-Union]
$5,481 check is in the mail after phone snarl [Times-Union] (Thanks, Laura!)
(Photo: nfarley )
They kept stuffing up my name's spelling (it is not that hard) and birthdate; got bounced between branch, phone and internet several times each. Billed them for 'data integrity improvements', sent them an 'overdue invoice notice' and got paid. and bonus points. and a written and phone apology. it took some time, but it was totally worth it!
]]>I understand your point completely but let's face it, dentists offices are not brimming with business in the past year.
]]>Little Guy: 0
Corporate America: +1 - 1 = 0
Good to see these types of stories
THEY WORK FOR US
]]>Little guy:1
Corporate America:infinity
This story is more like a miracle than reasonable advice.
]]>Their Service sucks! Their commitment to the customer is laughable, and it is a nightmare to get anything done through their "customer service"
I work with many providers and it is safe to say:THEY ARE THE WORST!!!
I do have to thank One Communications though:
I have gotten many new customers whom I have saved from their clutches
Tim Hunter
Sensible Telecom
www.sensibletelecom.com
I sent the mail order company a letter detailing what had happened and demanding that they not only refund the unauthorized charges, but that they reimburse me the $60 in fees their charges had caused.
They DID! I got a check for the full amount plus $60 a few weeks later.
]]>Sh!t happens in a dental office, and a tooth that they scheduled only 30 minutes for a filling, cracked when being drilled, and now needs a crown - well - guess what? That takes more time to do, and needs more time from the dentist and assistant - and therefor pushes the schedule back.
OR in some cases, people are late, yet they still try to see them and work them in, because of the severity of their dental treatment needed, for example - i know it sux to sit there and wait, and wait... but please know that there are reasons. :)
]]>Kiss,Kiss
Xoticbrandi
]]>The value of one party's lost time may be recovered in certain limited instances, but anguish and suffering from breach of contract will generally not lead to any legal redress, absent an intention on one party to intentionally inflict emotional distress on another, which would require much more than "placing someone on hold," "shockingly bad service," or otherwise not substantialy performing the promised services.
Of course, all of this assumes that a contract was validly formed initially, and that is another question entirely.
Take it easy!
{Submitted by a 3rd year law student/Not intended to be legal adivce/No more than a lay-man's opinion on modern economic transactions}
Bad service from Verizon?
I've spent ten years with them after 13 with their chief competitor; I would find anything less that superb service from Verizon difficult to swallow.
I've never seen any large company respond so well in my close to 60 years.
Verizon's customer service is top notch.
(No I don't work for them nor do any close friends or family members - none of that.)
Wow! This was front page on Yahoo! Awesome job guys!
]]>This almost sounds like a great victory. However, if everyone did this it would be an economic disaster. These companies would end up passing on the costs to the consumer or shut down. People would be out of jobs(granted some of them should lose their job) and consumers can kiss there iphone, blackberries, internet, etc, etc goodbye. In this gentleman's case it sounds like a business and ultimately cost him a significant amount. Certainly companies need to improve their practices. Consumers do have rights but a line does need to be drawn between what is reasonable and unreasonable. Be careful what you ask for because if the telecommunications companies are paying out more than they're bringing in, then they will shut down and then the government can take over. Now that's something I definitely don't want to see.
]]>There are many reasons that a dentist may have an appointment delayed, to say you "shouldn't" put up with it just to me sounds like a lack of appreciation for not only your Dentist, but real life. Real things happen that just aren't so easy, if it was some dream world I should re-tax the city for making me have a traffic jam on the roads I pay for so that I can get my money back for wasted gas and time. It's just Illogical to oversimplify such a complicated matter. I'm sure if you ran a Dentist's office you would have people waiting just the same.
]]>@tbax929: wow....you put up with that crap?
that just doesnt make sense...you should bill him for all your time wasted since he does it to you.
I would love to bill my dentist, who charges me if I'm late for an appointment and then makes me wait for a half hour once I get there. I hate that shit.
]]>I asked as it was starting to get very annoying and that i work at night so these calls would come in when i was sleeping.
]]>This was getting ridiculous, each time listening to interminable voice menus, put on hold, etc.
Finally called back the first number,as they had done this for my large pick-ups in the past with no problem at all. This time a man answered, asked for my ZIP code, and said they do indeed service my area. Put the box out for pick-up this am, and by 1 pm it was gone.
Each time one iis told the call may be monitored for quality control. I don't believe it. They just put this in for PR purposes. It is not worth my time to bill them for the totally false information I was given and for the run-around I got.
Similar to calls I have made for tech support, many of which are sheer torture. We live in tech support hell.
Good for the fellow who collected for his time. The rest of us civilians apparently will just have to suffer.
]]>several precious hours were wasted trying to get a good explanation regarding the service and the billing problem
i received several apologies via email and through their hotline
how i wish somebody would sue also smart so they will learn their lessons
]]>Good for him! I recently got a bill from a company called NCO saying I owed a company called 7th avenue (never heard of them). Maybe I'll send NCO a bill for attempt to defraud!
]]>Not to mention the fact that his bill is $500 a month; they tend to accommodate business customers much more so than personal customers.
]]>I went for a job interview where I was the only person scheduled because I was the finalist. May I add it was my 3rd interview. I received an employment offer package then 3 days later my offer was rescended. Finally figured out, this company didn't even have a legitimate HR Mangement. The offer was reasonable.
]]>I just got my Comcast bill reduced $20 a month and free HBO for a year by asking. And somehow someone at AT&T clicked the wrong button sometime and I'm considered a business customer, so my calls are all sent to their business customer service line. Never waited for longer than 15 seconds and never not had a problem solved on the first try.
]]>Most bloggers labor away in quiet obscurity. ANd then there's Meghann...
]]>lmao..in the 80's I billed my OB-GYN for a three hour wait, my time, plus babysitters time, wrote it up just as a business would and sent it off...I got a phone call a few days later, and was ALWAYS seen at once, or called way in advance if he had an emergency!
]]>When you stick it to the man, you always end up sticking it to yourself. Someone will have to pay for this. And it won't be the company.
]]>Agreed to pay it is not the same as paid it.
They will wait for the publicity to die down then refuse to pay. It would be cheaper for them to lose him as a customer than pay.
]]>I am not a Lawyer but I think their something on
the law Books.
_Big John
]]>@TheGuinnessTooth:
I'd be afraid he'd go extra light on the novacaine the next time I needed a filling.
It's the same logic behind a credit card company sending you a bill for 25 cents: it might cost them more than that just to mail the envelope, but it discourages other people from attempting to game the system.
In other words, what might seem like the smart economic decision in one instance might actually be the wrong business decision because of the precedent it sets.
]]>So yes, using a cell phone might be cheaper but if you want to be professional then a PBX is the way to get it done.
]]>@mariospants: At the same time, it requires a lot of effort on the customer's part (taking detailed notes, recording times and so on and so forth). Most people won't bother.
]]>...er my point being that they lost a of of money with the phones being down. I used to work IT support at a small call center where we would often lose our phone service.
]]>This guy had a contract. 20 bucks says he was running a call center.
]]>As of last year I also charge a $5.00 fee to pay the bill or the fee they charge me to bill me. I get it each time, I do have to fight with them at the start but each time in the end they take off their fee or just send me a check a week after getting my money.
I use their own rules on them.
]]>Total? They have millions.
]]>Well it also seems like this was a business account, as the poster refers to having his employees have to use cell phones etc.
You are far more likely to see something done on an account like this rather then on a residential
]]>...at least that's my experience living in this geographic area.
]]>I didn't get anything that large, but I once went back to Burger King after one screwed up my takeout order. The receipt listed the right order, but the items in the bag were wrong.
I got the money back first, ordered the same again, then before paying told the manager I wanted him to cover my taxi fare for having to return to fix their mistake. It wasn't far (about $3), but their screwup cost me time on my lunch hour.
If he hadn't agreed to cover it, I would have been out the taxi fare and had no food, but he would have had a $5 order unsold going to waste and I had already gotten my original money back. If he did cover it, he would lose about 2/3rds of the revenue, while I gained nothing more than I was originally willing to pay.
He chose the smarter option and ate the loss.
]]>@opsomath: Isn't that the only way to get restitution from small claims court? I don't think small claims court will do "suffering and anguish", only a listed sum.
]]>So good for him, but I'm not getting my hopes up that I can pull the same thing the next time my cable goes out.
]]>While sending a bill and getting paid for it is certainly stimulating, you don't have to act like a collections department to get whats owed to you.
]]>I'd think he'd have some grounds to walk away from the contract after his debacle. I would, and not continue to do business with a company that had to be forced into "doing the right thing" by bad publicity.
[Original Article:] "It included $158.85 to reimburse his employees for cell phone use, and another $115.92 to pay Glennpeter Jewelers for use of its phone line."
So using cell phones was cheaper than his phone bill would have been anyhow?
]]>Incredistory, just awesome win-ness. However, it's an isolated case and I doubt we'll see more of the same any time soon. Also, advertising that this process can work might start an innundation of similar requests, which could also kill this process cold.
]]>