Had several encounters with companies today, and I think it's important that they companies be held accountable for how they treat their customers.
First I called Geico. Even though I have a clean driving record and am no longer some young aggressive driver (by their rules), my rates still go up every 6 months, with the excuse that it's because of NY State medical coverage costs. I called today and they offered me two ways to lower my bill. One was to take a 6-hour online defensive driving course for $24 and save $100 a year for 3 years, and the other was to pay via checking account debit instead of automatic credit card payment, which would save $3 a month. It wasn't much but the lady was friendly and I felt fairly pleased. I still want to get rid of my car altogether though. I still don't believe that there's not a manager there that can't just make a decision to lower my rates for once out of fairness and the general desire to keep me business. I don't feel incredibly valued by them and will jump ship at first chance of a lower rate.
Next was TMobile. I called them mostly to learn about how I can get a new cell phone (dump my nearly broken Blackberry and get the new Samsung Galaxy). I was told a couple weeks back that I didn't qualify for an upgrade, this and that, and I wasn't too excited with that. I learned I could get a better deal with Verizon, and I called TMobile for one last crack at it. The woman not only helpful, but she was friendly and wasn't reading from some script, so she sounded genuinely interested. Not only did she help me with a deal to get the phone for $400 off, but she lowered my monthly payments as well. This woman went out of her way to make sure she kept my business, and I was upset when I learned that she doesn't get commission on that. She deserves something. The thign was that I didn't even get the phone...but she put the deal in my account and I can take advantage of it at anytime (maybe within the next month). This is why I will stay with them for another 8 years.
After this I went to Subway for a sandwich on Steinway St in Astoria. I thought Subway had gone out of their way to show that they aren't skimping on the items that make up a sandwich, but I was wrong. On a foot0long, he put 5 slices of turkey and 4 slices of cheese....leaving big gaps where my bites would consist of just bread and a thin slice of turkey. I asked for just one more slice of cheese to close the gap and he said he'd have to charge me extra. I shared my disapproval and when he was done making it, he asked "Would you like anything else?" and I said "No, you'll probably charge me up the @$$ for that too." I actually had a Subway gift card to use, otherwise I'd have told him to go screw and just left the store. Really annoyed me.
On top of that, I gave the guy the gift card after he told me the balance of $7.50. I gave him the gift card, which I thought only had $5, and then I gave him a credit card for the remainder. After getting home, I realized he never applied any of the gift card (which actually had a $15 balance) and he put it all on the card. I'm pretty furious. $7.50 for a crap, nearly empty sandwich that wasn't supposed to cost me a dime.
You folks have any experiences with any companies? I'd love to hear some stories, and in turn, base who I give my business to on who is being treated like your business is wanted.
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