AOL won't cancel account

[Schizophrenic]

Holy shit, I was in hysterics. Best thing since aiminvader

[Chaos Daro]

I'm pretty sure this was on the news somewhere. The AOL guy, Jon, was fired. He kinda deserved it IMO.

[Melonhead1]

lmfao... that was so funny

[stinger4life]

ya vince ferrari was on the today show or something...its on the link to his blog

[Norgol]

this was posted in the video section its pretty funny...

[The Town Fool]

Here's a news report: MSNBC-On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13466053/)

[theblackpint]

i lost it when he finally was like "what difference does it make, cancel the account"
great stuff.

[I SNAKED YOU]

Once you get into AOL- theres no turning back

[yureeka47]

LOL really funny

[dudeinanigloo]

Breaking news: AOL Customer Service Rep Fired From Company! (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g110/dudeinanigloo/AOLCustomerSupport.jpg)

:bigwink:

[JayFlipz489]

People still use AOL?

[Epiphony]

I don't think it was right that the employee was fired because it is obvious that this is the companies policy to treat customers like this. AOL should be and probably is boycotted.

[Mustang GT]

I couldn't stop laughing

[vincentnb2005]

Once you get into AOL- theres no turning back

like jehova witnesses

[armst012]

isn't that kinda odd that he just happened to have recorded the conversation? I mean do you know anyone who records their phone conversations. Its almost as if he knew this was gonna happen.

[Slid3r]

isn't that kinda odd that he just happened to have recorded the conversation? I mean do you know anyone who records their phone conversations. Its almost as if he knew this was gonna happen.

customer service reps are known from giving people a hard time, AOL especially. This guys probaly just recorded the phone call incase something came up, like he was charged another month for service. Its obvious this wasnt planned.

[Peaches1111_00]

isn't that kinda odd that he just happened to have recorded the conversation? I mean do you know anyone who records their phone conversations. Its almost as if he knew this was gonna happen.

I think when you 1st get on the phone with some companies, it says this call will be recorded for quality control purposes or something like that. Maybe it was AOL's recording...but I don't know why they would let this out. Or...maybe it was leaked! :ahhh:

This just goes to show that it sucks to deal with AOL...and avoid them if at all possible, or you'll get sucked into their black hole of credit card charges.

[FonsecaWalls]

I now fear AOL services

[old man]

i had aol once..i called them to cancel the account and they said it was taken care of.. a month later they put me in the negetives on my checking account..i called them back and they say they had no record of me canceling...long story short. i paid 55 bucks to get outa the negatives and didnt get my money back...fuckin aol nazis!!!!!!!!!!!

[LegendaryLink]

I don't know how everyone else is having probs canceling with them. I signed up and canceled my subscription in the same day.

[JerkyMyTurky]

isn't that kinda odd that he just happened to have recorded the conversation? I mean do you know anyone who records their phone conversations. Its almost as if he knew this was gonna happen.

In his interview on nbc, he states he had heard many stories of AOL doing this, so he wanted to see firsthand for himself and record it in case it happened the way everyone had complained about. It actually turned out the way he had thought it would. Here is the nbc video and cnn video of the caller...

http://webuploads.com/media.php?f=tryingtocancelanaolaccount.wmv
http://webuploads.com/media.php?f=tryingtocancelaolaccountcnnreport.wmv

[A550RGY]

Great audio.

One could say the rep was "just doing his job", that is, up until the part where he essentially said the customer was "annoying the shit out of him" too and said he "didn't care anymore" about the customer and just wanted to read his paragraph.

But here's the deal... you know that rep isn't the only one that does this. AOL is known for this, so as much as I hate Jon's guts, it's really an institutional problem. These are the ugly death throws of the once great corporation.

[JerkyMyTurky]

But here's the deal... you know that rep isn't the only one that does this. AOL is known for this, so as much as I hate Jon's guts, it's really an institutional problem. These are the ugly death throws of the once great corporation.

It's pretty obvious this wasn't just one bad apple at AOL. All of these operators are trained to handle callers trying to cancel an account in the same fashion. They try to get you off the topic of trying to cancel and try to convince you to stay on with the service longer. It's just a sad reality, that it takes an actual (vivid) audio recording of a call to get the point accross. There have been many upon many complaints about operators dragging their feet, when it comes to following through on a cancellation request. This is the main reason they guy recorded the call, as he said he heard of so many complaints that he had to find out for himself (and others).

It would have been ideal to have a few (maybe 3 - 5) calls of similar outcomes and that would remove any and all doubt such practice was encouraged by AOL. The thing is, I'm sure AOL has sent out a memo to all operators to cancel all accounts immediately upon caller requests, just to prove that this "Jon" character was just a bad apple. This call ended up hurting AOL in two ways, by ruining their image and by taking away their technique of not cancelling accounts immediately upon request.

[mcyberey]

I always use aol for those free ipod type sites. Canceling is a bitch by phone, the clip is about accurate, except the support guy would be indian.

[OldRootbeer]

"I dont know what anyones done to you Vincent hehe..."

"You're annoying the SHIT out of me, now cancel the account!"

lol! That made me laugh so hard.

[armst012]

In his interview on nbc, he states he had heard many stories of AOL doing this, so he wanted to see firsthand for himself and record it in case it happened the way everyone had complained about. It actually turned out the way he had thought it would. Here is the nbc video and cnn video of the caller...

http://webuploads.com/media.php?f=tryingtocancelanaolaccount.wmv
http://webuploads.com/media.php?f=tryingtocancelaolaccountcnnreport.wmv


So my premonition was correct. But I understand now why he (vincent) did what he had to. THe guy was trying to keep a customer but like vince said u gotta know when to quit.

[mike0006]

Is it just me or does this guy have the perfect porn name? Too bad he doesn't have the porn body...

[grecofabulous]

Is it just me or does this guy have the perfect porn name? Too bad he doesn't have the porn body...

Eh you never know... does Ron Jeremy scream PORN STAR when you see him? You gotta look a little closer....

Anyways yeah AOL is terrible. When I first moved to Colorado from Boston I used their free service just to have some internet access and what started out as a one month solution ended up being 3-4 months. They kept asking me what I used it for and tried to mention new features that might interest me and they kept offering me free months of service. So does that mean if I kept calling every month to cancel that they would keep offering it for free? Doesn't make sense, maybe they hope that people will one day forget to cancel on time or something.

[CaptInsano]

I once signed up to AOL Canada for just a couple weeks when my DSL went down for service. I forgot to cancel for a few months, and when I did, he cancelled no questions asked, and even refunded me the money for the months that showed 0 usage without me even asking!

[GhostDog]

I have to say, I know someone who works for Adelphia is his job is literary to stop people from canceling thier subscriptions... (he's even aloud to offer 10 1-month free usage rights a day and he can lower customers rates)

so this isn't just a AOL thing, cause he gets bonus's for stoping customers from leaving

[old man]

So does that mean if I kept calling every month to cancel that they would keep offering it for free? Doesn't make sense, maybe they hope that people will one day forget to cancel on time or something.

a friend of mine did that for a year before they finaly caught on.

[Ultimate Weapon]

^ The same thing happened to me but for 8 months xD. Luckily it finally got canceled. AOL is the suck.

[jerky18]

I once signed up for aol for one of those free ipod thingys also. I called 3 days later to cancel and had pretty much the same experience as this guy. First they asked me what was wrong with the service.

Me: theres nothing on aol that I couldn't get elsewhere on the web for free.
AOL: thats completely untrue, how could you say that?! AOL offers unmatched services available nowhere else!
Me: Yeah, like what?
AOL: Email with AOL SpamBlocker!
Me: gMail
AOL: ultra high speed loading of webpages
Me: my broadband provides that, not aol
AOL: Sir, if you drop your aol service, your web surfing will not be nearly as fast
Me: I think my "surfing experience" actually slows down with AOL b/c of all the system resources your idiotic program takes up. Not to mention the virus like qualities of it where even if I delete it, its not really gone. Cancel My Account
AOL: Bus sir..
Me: Cancel the account now.
AOL: Can you at least tell me what you don't like about AOL?
Me: This conversation is being recorded, My wife is an attorney, and if you value your job you will cancel my account immediately
AOL: Your account cancellation is being processed................etc etc etc

fuck aol.

[J.T.]

Credit card companies are the worst when it comes to this. I tried to cancel a card one time and she wouldn't take no for an answer.

This type of business practice should be banned.

Personally, I would have just asked for a supervisor straight off.

[Bizzy-inDMP]

I find they always ask if I upgraded my internet to something faster or whatnot. I said yes and they normally treat me politley and say "yea I got the same thing, its great". AOL really doesnt wanna lose you. If you dont have a secondary internet source, GG. AOL wont let you go.

[Dayve]

The fat guys tone was immediately aggressive. As soon as Jon answered the phone he immediately said 'I wanna cancel my account' in an obnoxious tone... He wasn't polite in the slightest bit right from the begginning. If i was working for AOL and was on the phone to that guy i would immediately have been able to tell he was being an obnoxious dickwad.

On the other hand, the AOL guy pushed it a bit too far with the trying to convince him to keep the account...

[Systemofa Noun]

An easy way to get an AOL account cancelled is to go into a chatroom or post on a message board. Say things that are a TOS violation. Get reported 5 times, get put on probation. The next time you are reported, you get your account terminated.

[Electrify]

I don't think it was right that the employee was fired because it is obvious that this is the companies policy to treat customers like this. AOL should be and probably is boycotted.
Agreed, he was only doing the job AOL paid him to do. Like he gets paid by the hour or salery right, so what difference does it make to him if this guy cancels or not??? That is of course, unless he gets a bonus/keep his job if he keeps him from canceling. I sincerly doubt he loves AOL so much he would go out of his way to try to make sure customers don't cancel, unless there was some motive behind it.

He was fired for PR reasons only. If there was any justice, the FTC would investigate AOL's "customer service" practices and fine their asses a few million for being such dicks. If AOL REALLY wants to have success when keeping accounts, offer them a lower rate if they want to cancel. You might not bring in as much profit from the person, but it is better than nothing and leaves you with a very satisfied and loyal customer.

I hope this guy gets a new (and better) job soon.

[Systemofa Noun]

I don't think he was fired at all. I think AOL lied about that. I can't prove it, but that's my hunch.

[MutantCircus]

Yeah, I've found telling guys like that that you're recording the call and will sue if they don't do their job works 98% of the time.

[A550RGY]

The fat guys tone was immediately aggressive. As soon as Jon answered the phone he immediately said 'I wanna cancel my account' in an obnoxious tone... He wasn't polite in the slightest bit right from the begginning.

Jon asked him "How can I help you today?" and Vincent answered with "I want to cancel my account." Seems pretty straight forward. I didn't hear an obnoxious tone in his voice, but even if I did it would be excusable after having to hold for 15 minutes.

[Spock]

Many years ago I had an AOL account and had to cancel my credit card to cancel the account. The reps all told me they would cancel the account every time I talked to them but I kept getting billed. I finally contacted my credit card company, explained what was happening, and they not only issued a new card but reimbursed me for the two months I'd been trying to cancel the account.

AOL is good in that it holds a new users hand but once the user grows up and wants to leave the nest, AOL tries to lock the door.

[Dionne]

I had the same kind of problem cancelling Sky.

I was prepared before the call and made up a story that they couldn't argue with.

I simply said i was moving house, i was moving in with my boyfiend and he already has Sky. They have no rights to ask questions about it and couldn't offer my anything to stay, even free subscription because i told them i was moving house.

Easy, try it yourself, it works!!

[Remission]

I had the same kind of problem cancelling Sky.

I was prepared before the call and made up a story that they couldn't argue with.

I simply said i was moving house, i was moving in with my boyfiend and he already has Sky. They have no rights to ask questions about it and couldn't offer my anything to stay, even free subscription because i told them i was moving house.

Easy, try it yourself, it works!!

Hmm.. good idea :)

[grecofabulous]

I find they always ask if I upgraded my internet to something faster or whatnot. I said yes and they normally treat me politley and say "yea I got the same thing, its great". AOL really doesnt wanna lose you. If you dont have a secondary internet source, GG. AOL wont let you go.

The rep I dealt with asked the same thing, but instead he tried to convince me that AOL would run faster and better than ever with Cable so I should keep both. Who the hell needs two ISPs ?

[davido]

AOL is a Virus, I installed the free crap on CD and joined for free, I had a almost new computer and got loaded with viruses and fried my comp. Never Ever use AOL....

[jec571]

I once signed up for aol for one of those free ipod thingys also. I called 3 days later to cancel and had pretty much the same experience as this guy. First they asked me what was wrong with the service.

Me: theres nothing on aol that I couldn't get elsewhere on the web for free.
AOL: thats completely untrue, how could you say that?! AOL offers unmatched services available nowhere else!
Me: Yeah, like what?
AOL: Email with AOL SpamBlocker!
Me: gMail
AOL: ultra high speed loading of webpages
Me: my broadband provides that, not aol
AOL: Sir, if you drop your aol service, your web surfing will not be nearly as fast
Me: I think my "surfing experience" actually slows down with AOL b/c of all the system resources your idiotic program takes up. Not to mention the virus like qualities of it where even if I delete it, its not really gone. Cancel My Account
AOL: Bus sir..
Me: Cancel the account now.
AOL: Can you at least tell me what you don't like about AOL?
Me: This conversation is being recorded, My wife is an attorney, and if you value your job you will cancel my account immediately
AOL: Your account cancellation is being processed................etc etc etc

fuck aol.


for some reason, i don't bealive one word of that. I bealive you called to cancel your account, but i don't bealive you talked to him like that. MY Wife is a lawyer, :(, she can get you! but i can't do shit!:(!

[diddley]

like jehova witnesses

ROFL - I know what you mean.

[Daikun]

I know the MP3 is old news, but now actual scans of the retention manual instructions have been leaked onto the Internet.

http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/exclusive/aol-retention-manual-uploaded-in-full-188310.php

Download the PDF file (it's 7MB).