No Intuition

Another rant about companies where databases are separate so the customer has to do extra work. I am business manager of a non-profit arts agency. We keep our book on QuickBooks. Every year they charge us an annual fee for their updated version coupled with their payroll function updates. Every year they ask us for proof of our tax-exempt status. Since we have already sent them a state tax exempt certificate that covers several years, I always call and ask why they need another one. Well, they do. On some occasions, they can find what we’ve already sent them. On most others, I have to send it again. So, I did this a couple of months ago with them.

This month, I ordered W-2 and 1099 forms online from Intuit. I checked on their order form that we were a tax-exempt organization. Of course, I got an email from them telling me we had to provide proof. I called the 800 number and discussed this with an agent. Seems as if THIS division had a copy of our exemption letter from the state that expired in 2010. The fact that another division had the current letter meant nothing. You see, they keep their data separately.

They keep their data separately. Got that? Here’s a company that sells database accounting software to lots and lots of folks, does payroll, sells supplies for its products, etc. and they don’t have an integrated database. Causes one to wonder.

Do You Have a Modem of Decency?

For several weeks, our Uverse modem for our Internet connection has been acting funny causing me to have to unplug it about every day and reboot it. The problem is on its wireless side where all of a sudden we cannot connect any wireless device to the Internet.

On 11/25, I went online to look for how to contact customer support. The wait time on their 800 number was way too long, so I did an online chat with an agent named “Peter” whose English made me believe it was not his first language. We had a good online chat wherein I explained the problem, he listened well (which is an exception to the rule, in my opinion). I told him I thought I had a defective modem. Upon testing the system from his end, he agreed. Pretty quickly he gave me a order number and told me I’d have the replacement modem in my hand in 2-3 business days. I wrote down Peter’s AT&T ID number from chat session.

I got a call from another Uverse agent/salesperson a couple of days later welcoming me to Uverse. I told him that I had been a customer for well over a year and had only contacted them to fix the problem with my modem. He thanked me and gave me an 866 number to call if there were any problems.
Time passed. Nothing arrived at our house from AT&T. On 12/1, I went online to my Uverse account, saw the order number I had been given, but it looked like it was either in limbo or had somehow been finished. So, I called the 866 number I had been given. I spent about 10 minutes talking to a customer service representative who looked up my account and said he could see the order number, but could not see any action being taken on it. He contacted Peter (since I had his ID number) and said he would check into all this and call me back the next day. I gave him my number to call. He didn’t call back.

On 12/5, I called the 866 number again. I went through the story with Andre (got his ID number). Again, he couldn’t find anything in their system that showed I was going to be sent a modem, even though there was an order number there. He said he would look into it and call me back. He did. He cancelled the old order since it seemed hung in their system and put me in touch with an agent named Nicole (I got her ATT ID number).

Nicole and I had a conversation that lasted almost 30 minutes including long times I was on hold listening to odd music. I asked her why it was taking so long. I mean all they needed to do was to mail me a replacement modem. Is that so tough? Guess so. Nicole told me it was all a matter of dealing with several different AT&T departments and it takes a long time. In fact, she said her next part of the process was going to take so long that she’d call me back. And about 30 minutes later, she did call me back with a new order number … and that the modem would be shipped on DECEMBER 19 to arrive 3-5 business days later.

So, to summarize, they placed an order for a replacement modem on 11/25. It was supposed to be here a few days later. I called the on 12/1 and they couldn’t find the order or what was happening. I called again on 12/5 and, after a lengthy set of telephone conversations, was told I would have a new modem by Christmas. Well, that’s only 30 days after my first call to them. For what we pay them a month for TV, land line, mobile phones, and Internet service, you’d think they’d be just a tad bit more prompt, wouldn’t you?

ADDENDUM 12/23/11: As reported earlier, I was to get a modem sent to me so that it would arrive about now. I looked online this morning and saw that nothing had been shipped. So, again, I called customer service. The nice woman I spoke with told me that hundreds of people were having the same problem since the warehouse was two months behind in back orders for modems. I asked, innocently, why switching out a modem was such a problem since their local technicians carry them on their trucks. Why had I had to have mine shipped UPS? She said it was the norm to ship them out since it was the norm that it only took 2-5 days to get the modem. That’s cheaper for them than sending a technician to the house on a free service call. However, she checked with her supervisor and, supposedly, a technician will be here between 12 and 4 with a replacement modem. We shall see. Oh, I asked why there was nothing in the system that would send me an email to inform me that there was a problem (i.e., two-month backlog). She really didn’t know. Again, I think it’s a matter of too many departments, some of which are AT&T and some contractors, not really being linked on databases or procedures. 

ADDENDUM II 12/23/11: The technician came around 1:00. It seems that swapping out the modem is tougher than just unplugging one and plugging in the replacement. The whole Uverse system needs to be powered down. The power source to the system needs to be turned off. The whole thing needs to be rebooted in a particular order. Even the technician didn’t know how hard it would be and how many times he’d have to try different things to get the Internet up and running again and the Wi-Fi working. And they were going to UPS me one to do myself? Right Hand, let me introduce you to Left Hand. It took the trained technician over an hour to get things working right again. And he had to call a senior technician several times for advice! Yikes.