ExAOLrep
@cable.rogers
|  The AOL side of things
Hey. I'm an ex-AOL retention agent. Yes, I'm one of the people that everyone here hates... I actually quit that job because it was too stressful constantly trying to convince ppl who wanted to quit into staying. I've read all the comments so far, and have a few of my own in response. Don't get me wrong, I have no love for AOL, but as an ex-employee, I have an understanding of their side of things, even a certain respect for certain things about them, but most importantly, some pent up frustration towards some of the attitudes and outright stupid and wrongful opinions of some of the members I've had to cancel (and read in this thread).
I, at least, was one of the honest ones. AOL has a specific 'process' called member connect, which we absolutly have to follow, or else we get in trouble, and possible canned if we don't. We are also monitored on our retention rate, and we're expected to meet 55% or else (on the other hand, we receive bonus for getting higher as an incentive).
So yeah, we were pressured to really try our damnest not to make it easy to quit, but there was one policy we also had to follow: if the AOL member properly verifys the account, states they want to cancel, and does not clearly accept to our retention effort (which involves us having to read a legal full disclosure which states the account is being saved, and the terms of the retention), then we have to cancel the account.
Oh, and FYI, one of the things that members commonly mistake as AOL not properly cancelling an account is when the member does not verify the account properly when calling. When you call and cancel, they need to know they are talking to the right person, and not some angry neighbor or ex-gf/bf calling to cause havoc. If you don't properly verify the account, then it won't get cancelled!
Now, after explaining all that, I would like to list off a few of my AOL member pet peeves. It's easy for everyone to point the finger at us, but at the same time you have to realize that you guys make our lives hell sometimes and take advantage of a few things:
1. AOL is a paid service. Even though they offer free trials, that doesn't make them a free ISP. Signing up for them while going away on vacation, or otherwise having no intention on paying a single bill is ridiculous. I probably disliked the freeloaders the most. Don't be a mooch!
2. Having an AOL membership is like having a gym membership, or renting a home. They don't charge based on usage, they charge based on having the membership. In other words, if you legitimately signed up, and forgot to cancel, then tough luck, your $ is rightfully theirs. It says clearly in the TOS you accepted to (you all read that when you signed up, RIGHT? No, I didn't think so...) that valid charges are non-refundable. If you went on vacation for a month, you wouldn't expect to not have to pay your rent, would you?
3. Asking for a supervisor (especially immediately without even trying to speak to the representative). This is a pain in the @ss for several reasons. The supervisors do not have any more authority than the representatives. They are there to make sure that the reps are doing their job, and to help out on technical problems (which is why they are called *supervisors*). The reps are the highest authority you can speak to. When you bother to speak to a supervisor, you're wasting your, their, and everyone elses time by holding up the line. If you don't like the policy or decision: tough! Deal with it. You shouldn't have signed up OR read the TOS in the first place.
4. Being IGNORANT! That job sucked @ss big time enough as is, but it's ppl who just say "I WANT TO CANCEL" or "None of your business" repeatedly who really piss us off, and make us want to screw ya over (although I never did, I was so tempted to on many accounts) and b) frustrated with other members and occasionally have bad attitudes from the get go.
5. Calling back to confirm cancellation. Now I understand that with how bad of a rep AOL has for cancelling accounts that you'd like reassurance, but when you call back to confirm cancellations, you're screwing up the AOL reps retention percentages. Then they are forced to go through the entire cancellation process, and try to get you to reactivate the account, and again, you're wasting everyone's time. Get your cancellation # the first time you cancel, and you'll get a confirmation letter in the mail... be content with that.
I'm sure there are several more annoyances I had, but I'll stop at that. Now, I will leave with a parting gift for future AOL cancellee's:
Here's the EASIEST way to cancel an AOL account!
Simply call the AOL cancellation dept. After properly verifying the account, just say you want to cancel, and then hang up! Seriously! Policy dictates that if a member calls, and verifys the account, and the call is terminated, if the last intent of the member was to cancel, they MUST immediately cancel the account.
Anyhoo... just wanted to shed some light, and vent some of my previous frustrations of the position with everyone. Just remember there's 2 sides of things, and AOL really isn't as evil as everyone thinks. Some ppl are just plain stupid, and don't read/follow instructions properly, and they have to deal with the consequences. Of course, we're living in a day and age where everythings backwards. No one wants to take responsibility for their own mistakes, and you can get sued just for speaking your own honest opinion or doing what *should* be right... you put two and two together, and you get the morals and ethics of society. Lucky us. I feel bad for what future generations will have to go through if things have gotten this bad already. Ciao4now. |
