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Nothing’s worse than something going wrong and realizing you’ll have to call a company that you absolutely hate to talk to. These companies have no clue how to treat customers, you think to yourself. Do these people hate their jobs? Why is it my fault? How the heck are they in business!
Time and time again, it seems like the same companies appear on review websites for their shoddy customer service. How they get away with it, we don’t know. But here are five companies known for dreadful call center customer service. Our sympathies if you’re a customer.
1. Comcast
No call center horror stories are more frequent than those involving Comcast. The cable provider has already won the title being one of the most hated companies in America, and a lot has to do with how it treats customers.
The company was caught red-handed in 2014 with its heavy-handed retention tactics when a phone operator essentially interrogated journalist Ryan Block, who recorded the call. It’s also allegedly managed to get a former customer fired, and even told a widow that her dead husband needed to cancel service. Really.
Comcast claims that it is working on improving customer service, telling the New York Post that it believes recent investments in improving the call center experience are helping it to stem the loss of subscribers to online streaming services.
We’ll see: A thread on Reddit for shoddy Comcast experiences still seems way too active.
2. Time Warner Cable
If you don’t have Comcast, you probably have Time Warner: After all, it is the nation’s second largest cable provider. While Time Warner doesn’t seem to have exactly the same level of crazy bad experience as Comcast, it has gotten a reputation for being deceptive, AlterNet writes.
It’s gotten so bad that consumers are likely calling in with regularity over suspicious charges. New Networks filed a complaint asking the FCC to investigate what it called a pattern of bogus fees on consumer’s bills. In one case uncovered by the group, a customer in New York City was charged more than double the advertised rate for Triple Play service. It also noted in that same area that charges had increased by 306% since 1992.
3. AT&T
While all wireless providers appear somewhere on Ranker’s list of the worst customer service, AT&T ranks No. 1 — among all companies. The company has repeatedly misrepresented the terms of its “unlimited data” plans, prompting the FCC to fine it $100 million dollars.
In my own experience with AT&T, I can say that it’s always been hit or miss on whether I get good customer service, or feel like a bother to the representative. I’ve since moved on and am glad I did.
4. Wells Fargo
If you want an exercise in banking futility, call Wells Fargo. While the company says it prides itself on customer service, Money Crashers’ David Bakke begs to differ. Bakke was a customer of Wachovia — the bank Wells Fargo merged with several years ago to create one of the nation’s biggest banks.
Ask for some leniency on bank policies, and you’ll get nowhere. Many other banks will waive charges for you in the event a mistake happens, but Wells Fargo won’t.
5. Dish Network
Don’t think that cable companies have a monopoly on bad customer service. Dish Network also ranks high on dissatisfaction surveys, says 24/7 Wall Street. What’s interesting here is the bad experience you have on the phone might be a direct result of how Dish itself treats its employees.
Glassdoor rates the company poorly — giving it a 2.6 out of 5. According to 24/7 Wall Street, this is one of the poorest ratings among any publicly traded company. Ouch.
But we’ve also heard of deceptive practices surrounding the company’s promotional rates. As a satellite customer myself, I can tell you that it’s hard to know just how much rates jump after that promotional period. So maybe, just maybe, Dish and others bring it on themselves.
Follow Ed on Twitter @edoswald
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