The Lord gave me another song as I woke this morning... So here I am, writing, first thing this morning... The computer and light was already on as I walked into my little home office--I had been so upset that I went to bed to read and settle down... Finally, after 5 years, I was rid of ADT. You know, that company that may be voted the best...but that has, for the most part, lousy customer service!
When i was young, as a new Christian, living the life into which I was born, I sometimes would think...You know, I'd rather have peace on earth than rest in heaven some day farrrr in the future... Well, the future came really fast, didn't it? And still, there is no peace here on earth.
It came to me as I was singing "There will be peace...in the valley...for me...some day..." that it really would not be much of a life if we were singing and happy all the day long. Geesh! But did sometimes it could get so very bad?
When I was working, I had coined the phrase which still comes to mind. America has Mindless Bureaucracy! A symptom of, from what I can tell, those companies that have come to be successful, because of people's needs, but then do little, really, to improve the lives of their customers along through their days.
Yesterday, ADT...finally...after 5 years is cancelling my account! I was so happy just to be rid of the issues I've had through those 5 years. First, let me tell you that it was through the efforts of first, the initial responder and, second, the account manager, that I was able to be...free... They were both empathetic and willingly listened to me as I spoke...sometimes with frustration and anger... That type of response from employees are rare in the supposed corporate service areas these days. In fact, at one point I was told that the employees are trained NOT to allow termination when requested...
Yes, truly... I had finally got somebody on the line and told her I wanted to cancel. She immediately started talking about trying to help me with additionally information on what was available NOW... since I was a long-term customer... I hung up on her, thinking why I didn't have that new equipment which she was now wanting me to buy. Later, my niece even called for me and the record showed that we were disconnected. I said, "no, I wasn't disconnected, I hung up because SHE wouldn't listen to me..." The employee explained that, yes, they are taught to try to sell...blah, blah, blah...
You know, what gets me most is that there was so much NEW equipment available. But I was a present customer...so I was never offered an upgrade!!! You got it...the equipment by this time was out of date...but that didn't matter, why bother to upgrade for customers who already are paying monthly?!
Five year ago, I was talked into getting a security system by my family. Two young employees came to my house and set it all up...per what they wanted, not what I wanted...For instance, a motion detector was installed. I had explained that I didn't want it because I had cats. As I was going around the cabin pinpointing places for window "gadgets," the other man installed the detector. He went on to install where he wanted, the main box, which was NOT inside the door...and he also put a "temporary" code in for security...NOT telling me about that action.
So it was functional, I guess...after all, I got a monthly email that said the system was ok...and that continued up until this month when I got the same email (5 years old) claiming that the system was connected. Actually, the system had not functioned for over 2 months and ADT knew it...or somebody with whom a discussion had occurred knew it...but, heaven forbid, that the company take the initiative to try to discover more!
Well, actually, I went to chat and, again, got a nice customer service person, we had gone as far as setting up a time for someone to come...Within the time of being put on hold for confirmation, the woman sheepishly came back and explained that that time had been taken, that nobody could come until after the new year. Calmly, I said "Do you really want to do this?" You want to leave me, a disabled person, without service...blah, blah, blah. She was upset and apologized...but the system was still not functioning...
You know, I had been getting it seemed hundreds of post cards telling me that some generation nonsense was occurring and that I was responsible to ensure my equipment was to be "fixed." Well, as some of you may know, having brain surgery, and getting ready for hip replacement surgery seemed to me to be higher priorities...so I tossed most of them into the garbage...
Finally, they sent some box that I had to add myself. OK, that would normally be no problem, except that I was now walking totally with a walker and could no longer easily get to outlets...Nevertheless, tried...it didn't do what it was supposed to do...So I called...They told me to relocate it... I did that...It wouldn't work...and still doesn't...
Somewhere along the line I was told by still another employee, that I should have been able to get somebody here...and that she would contact "My team." I wrote, "so I have a team? DUH...Then why wasn't an appointment scheduled... Well, she would contact "my team..." At that point, since I was online with these special chat ladies, who, when it comes down to it, never has the power to do anything themselves... I said, "You talk to your supervisor and get somebody here..." and signed off... You guessed it, I heard nothing! NEVER expect action unless you are forced to DEMAND IT...
Thinking back to when the system first came on, I remember being out for groceries or something and the motion detector apparently came on... Calls were made to my family...and they panicked, of course. My niece was waiting for me when I came home. The motion detector had been arbitrarily placed in a location set by the technician, that fell in line with my chair where I watched television, and my cat sat on the top of the back of the chair...
It happened several times. Finally, I called and said that this was ridiculous and I wanted the detector out. Instead I was told when I go out, that I should click that I was "inside." and that would take care of not dealing with the motion detector...
Saved the company a service call...But, of course, if the cabin was on fire while I was outside, the poor fireman would be feverishly hunting for the body of a woman who was supposed to be inside, according to the ADT code... Yeah, who cares that doing what I was told to do, actually cancelled out the value of the codes established by that company for how to deal with emergencies...
Then there were the alarms... I have two doors relatively close to each other and in a small cabin, at that time, I was in and out all of the time... You guessed it, when I opened a door, a chime occurred...Every time...ALL THE TIME! It was driving me crazy...but worse, like Pavlov's dogs, my outside cats all would come running, wanting to be fed, or trying to get in the house, which they did... In desperation I called and got another woman (did you ever notice that the majority of true "helpful" employees are women?) I explained the issue and said I needed the chimes...gone... "No problem" she replied... I told her she had just saved my cancelling the system right then. Later, I wondered, WHY didn't somebody go over the details of the system and allow me to choose what options the system provided! After all, the customer wouldn't have know what would actually be happening with this new system... Another Duh...
When I called several times, and couldn't get through because I didn't know my account password, I really was getting upset... I got online and opened an account... I found that password, that the technician had put in himself when he installed the system, but forgot to tell me I had to...and how to...change that password... Yeah... the lousy customer service items continued to grow...
So, to sum up, I got a small box like the lock key openers for your car, which I wore around my neck. I only used it when I left the cabin. At that time, I had to choose the wrong code, rather than that I was leaving, and instead, choose the code I was home, because the motion detector which I did not want and told the technician that, was installed anyway...apparently placed to work, and resulted in my relatives being called...falsely...because apparently there was an emergency. Even the local police came one day...
I had had enough... But being so frustrated, each time I called, I got angry because THEY WOULD NOT LISTEN TO ME! Instead they would try to sell me something more and just went on blah, blah, blah... You know what I mean... Or they transferred me to somebody else, who had to be totally updated since nothing of the issue was explained to the new caller...Why waste employee effort--just ask the customer to repeat everything again...and then say they were sorry, but this needed to be handled by another department or supervisor... Circular transfers sometimes ends up with the customer hanging up... Done on purpose I had to wonder...
The ironic thing is that, I had got online myself and researched their equipment, and saw that they now had a medical alert. I thought that might be good, since I already have one with another company... Of course, that led to the chat which was to schedule somebody to come last year, Within 5 seconds, she had to explain that the "ONE" time available had been snatched up by somebody faster than her...and I would have to wait until after the beginning of the year...
Mindless Bureaucracy, Thy Name is ADT...super spreader of the lack of efficient and effective customer service... Super corporation that has forgotten that the customer comes first... Super creator of mindless bureaucracy by which a customer is forced to deal with more and more employees, in more and more departments, in order to try to get some type of minimal support. Super greedy corporation who chooses not to upgrade present customers system but forces customers to demand service, only to be bombarded by new system capability! NOT for me anymore... There is NOW peace in my valley...today...
Sooo, anybody out there, willing and able to come take out all of these pieces of a security system that the company doesn't deal with any more..."not worth anything..." 'Til then, I sit, looking at that motion detector right in front of me and wondering, why, why, do I listen to my relatives when I don't want to do something... Actually, I did admit that I felt safer...That was, maybe a week after the installation, before, all the crappy events you've now learned about happened... Five long and frustrating years of dealing with a system that does not do what it should do...Alert that fireman that I'm really NOT inside the burning home that the ADT system reports that I am... Mindless Bureaucracy surely is at work at ADT...
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