MCI Continues Screwing my Neighborhood
Posted October 10th, 2003 @ 10:23am by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm on the phone with MCI again. This is the 48th time I've had to call about my $158.89. The 48th Fucking Time. Why the fuck MCI can't get their act together and just fix this is beyond me. Today alone I've been transferred to four different departments. I spoke with a supervisor who said "I've been here five years and handled stuff bigger than this, and there's nothing we can do." One woman asked me to fax something - a thing I've faxed three times now - because "it was lost or you sent it to the wrong department." This, of course, after being promised a refund check twice (the link above dates the second as August 20).
Part of my jobs (yes, all of them) is to make the customer happy. To do what I can, even if it's not done often - to make them happy. MCI has had 48 opportunities to make me happy by saying "I apologize sincerely, and even though it's not something we can normally do, I think you've presented enough evidence that I'm simply going to issue you a refund." I've given away free copies of my software to customers, issued refunds against our stated "no refunds" policy, and more. Customer "service" is a complete misnomer these days.
I love my TiVo. I love my kayak. I love certain other products (I'm typing on one now). These products are made by companies that mold me into a loyal customer. They'll bend the rules to cut me some slack now and then, because they realize that long-term profitability means making customers happy. I've got a fairly strong loyalty to each of these companies. I dislike MCI more strongly than I am loyal to the makers of the products I've mentioned combined.
MCI simply does not understand the power of word of mouth advertising, or they simply consider themselves too big to care. MCI does not empower its employees - at any level of the command chain - to simply "service" a customer. MCI, in a word, "sucks." This is a company that - as soon as this can be resolved - will never ever see my business again. They're lumped in with Verizon as the only two companies that have compelled me to speak against them whenever I hear their name. As soon as I can cancel my service (and as much as I like the "Neighborhood" package I have now), I will do so.
5 months this has taken. 3 faxes. 48 calls! 2 promised checks. I will never use MCI again.
Posted 10 Oct 2003 at 1:22pm #
You definitely need to set up one of those mcisucks.com sites.
Sadly, most people wouldn't call 48 times. they would have just given up and chalked up the $160 as a loss. Cingular tried something similar with my family (triple billing us) and it took about five phone calls and nagging for them to finally fix it. God only knows how many people they pulled that trick on, and then got away with it...
Posted 10 Oct 2003 at 2:07pm #
Small-claims court time?
Posted 10 Oct 2003 at 6:18pm #
Dude, they understand the line: "I'm Calling the Public Utilities Comission", at least they did in Colorado (of course that was US Worst.)
Posted 10 Oct 2003 at 8:16pm #
I couldn't agree more. The only good things about MCI and it's parent company Worldcom were shorting their stock (when it was still publicly traded) and the interest rates you could get on their debt. That would be taking a huge risk though, because they are trying to restructure their debt.
Basically, all telecoms suck now, but Worldcom is easily the worst all around.
Posted 11 Oct 2003 at 5:31pm #
My only beef with MCI, currently, is that they keep calling my home to sell me some other service, like being my local service provider. My wife, for some reason, would rather stay with MCI (until they piss her off too, i guess).
Posted 31 Oct 2003 at 12:28am #
Here are 2 inside phone numbers to get to internal MCI support groups. The support group is called Trouble Triage, the phone numbers are 319-375-6764 and 319-375-6725. The building location is: MCI Trouble Triage, 6400 C Street SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
Posted 14 Apr 2004 at 3:27pm #
MCI has screwed me out of a promised FreeFlix deal with Blockbuster. Their "customer representative" department is apparently centered out of Bangladesh and I haven't been able to speak with anyone with an intelligible accent since trying to get my "free flix" out of these scumbags. Fuck MCI! Do business with a company that doesn't send it's jobs overseas.
Posted 29 Apr 2004 at 4:41am #
you ppl all need help. the fact that you come on these sites and post about MCI and other phone companies is rediculous. Dont you ppl have lives, ANYTHING better to do than complain about stuff that is out of your control. quit complaining already, get jobs.
Posted 19 Aug 2004 at 6:57pm #
Two months ago I switched to MCI Neighborhood for my long distance/local groundline phone service because it was a great deal that offered free minutes of long distance, free features, etc. BUT, it turns out that it wasn't really such a good deal after all. Last week we started getting bouts of loud interference on our phone. We figured it was a problem with an outside line. We called MCI and one of their "technicians" came out, tested the line and proclaimed, "everything appears to be normal. The problem must be with your inside lines, your phone jacks, or your phones." Well, we checked all of that, and nothing seemed to be wrong. The problem with the phone gradually worsened over the next few days until we could no longer use the phone because we couldn't get a dial tone. No one was able to call us either, saying all they could get was a busy signal. Another very odd thing that started happening during the time that the phone service was deteriorating was that suddenly, the cops started showing up at our door, asking about 911 hang up calls. Of course, we didn't dial 911 and hang up. We couldn't even call them if we wanted to! The cops came to our house over the course of four days, knocking on the door at all hours of the night--2am, 5am, etc.--and finally, after the third cop came, we got smart and unplugged the two phones in the house. Apparantly we weren't smarter than our poltergeist phone, though, because sure enough, three days after we unplugged our phones and thought our cop problem was over, there was a knock, knock, knock at 3am and voila, another cop inquiring about a 911 hang up call. I told him the situation, and invited him in the house to see that the phone really was unplugged and that we weren't playing pranks (all of the cops who came to our house eyed us suspiciously as we tried to explain our possessed phone). I then decided to switch back to Qwest today, and as of today, the phone works. Go figure.....
Posted 19 Dec 2004 at 12:26pm #
Hey,
Get your friends together, I started http://www.mcisucks.net for customer's and past/current/future employee's to bitch about MCI. Free signup.
Posted 14 Feb 2005 at 9:32pm #
As an MCI Employee (please hold your boo's and hisses) until after reading this. I have been employed as a " Priority Customer Service Rep" with MCI for just over 2 years, snd sad to say I have to agree, in most part with the comments I am reading here. Although I would like to say there are some good representatives who like myself will do whatever they can to resolve a customers concern and follow up on the account.
But what customter's have to understand is that Customer Service Rep's are paid a low hourly wage with the opportunity to make bonus's if certain criteria are met. Such things as... number of calls handled in a 2 week cycle, Average Handling Time (the dreaded AHT). Not only bonus's but also the security of your job. Each rep. is goaled for many different factors, Average Handling Time being the most critical, and at the end of each cycle you are supposed to be within a certain percentage of your goal. I swear MCI keeps better stats than the NFL, If you are over the goaled rate too many times you're out of a job. This has been an on going problem for me since I started, in my opionion we are not given enough time to properly research an account and figure out exactly what is causing a problem and what needs to be done to fix it, also because Customer Service is in-bound it is difficult for a rep. to follow-up and call customers back. We have to try and research an account between calls, which most of the time is very difficult because there is "no between calls" it's constant call after call for 8 hours. So yes alot of representatives do "pass the buck" because they are worried about their job, but not all. So please before you start screaming at the next MCI rep. you have to deal with remember some of us do care, some of us totally agree with what your saying and your opinions of MCI, but we also have families to feed and our hands are tied. i could go on and on with many other things that as a Rep I feel need to be changed to improve customer service, but "UNFORTUNATELY" (I'm sure you've all heard that word a time or two)the powers that be don't listen to a lowly employee such as myself.
AND WHY DOES IT TAKE MCI "30 DAYS TO HOOK UP A NEW PHONE SERVICE ANYWAY??" because they rent the lines from the main carrier in the state and all orders for service of any type are done by the main carrier, who obviously takes care of their customers first and MCI's last. Also MCI contracts out work to the main carriers Technicians, who there again service they're own customers first.
Thank you for letting a Customer Service Rep. Vent.
Posted 10 Apr 2005 at 8:59am #
Mci sucks big time.I ordered transfer of service,because i was moving.it was on a tuesday.Mci gave me new numbers and all.The first line was suppose to be on and working.but 2nd line a tech had to come out that monday.So we moved over weekend.Go to new house and no phone service.So waited till monday for tech.There was a no show.So we called.They told us to call back wednesday.Then told us it would take up to 3wks for transfer.So they lied.And they hadnt turned off old phone like instructed.So we switching to SBC.Which said will be out monday.Its 4/11/05.We been in new house over a week.
Posted 07 Oct 2005 at 4:14pm #
i have a few problems with this shit it tok at lease a month to get my damn service. and when i did they gave me a voice service that i cant get rid of .the damn thing wel i can call out but every time someone calls me it goes straightnto that damn service how can i get that shit gone for good.send mail if you know
Posted 21 Nov 2005 at 6:03pm #
MCI is the most disorganized business I have ever had
misfortune to encounter.
I revieved a call from an MCI representive, who
promised that MCI could offer everthing that I was now
recieving from QWEST, at a much cheaper rate, I thought
I would try it. After I recieved the first bill, which
was considerably more than I had been paying, I swithed
back to QWEST. This all happened the first week of Sept.
On 15 Sept., I recieved a bill from MCI for $78.96
I called the customer service number listed on the bill,
and after being ping ponged from one person to another,
I was informed that I actually owed $44.98. I was assured
that that would close out my dealings with MCI.
On the 15 of october, I recieved another bill from MCI
for $70.45. I got he same old person to person, office to
office until I found someone who told me that what I owed
was $25.84. I promptly mailed off a check for that
amount,thinking it would be well worth it just to be rid
of MCI.
I have just recieved another from MCI for the sum of
$51.05.
I have been back with QWEST since 19 Sept., and are
recieving bils, so I know everything is alright on that
front.
The constant changes, of the amounts that MCI tells
me I owe, sounds just a little like they are going get
every cent they can out of you.
During the last 2 1/2 months I have dealt with MCI offices
in Iowa, Arizona and a few others. The various offices
all operate independantly from one another and the left
hand doesn't know what the right is doing.
Can anyone tell me how to stop being billed by MCI?
Can anyone tell me how to get
Posted 09 Jun 2006 at 11:08am #
Hi, guys. I´ve been working at MCI for 2 years now (over 1 year as Customer Service, currently at Repairs.. and yes OUTSOURCED somewhere in SouthAmerica) so let me tell you what you need to do (no excuses, just solutions).
1) Bills after discontinued services:
If you are still getting MCI bill after switching your services away, call 1-888-MCI-LOCAL (1-888-624-5622), and explain to the rep that you have a CONTINUOUS LOCAL BILLING issue. He will transfer you to specific department that will be able to stop this billing, and credit your account for the amount of money you have been wrongly charged.
2) Incoming calls straight to your VoiceMail
90% of the times, this is a technical problem that is solved in 48 hs (please call 1-888-MCI-LOCAL (1-888-624-5622)) and select REPAIRS in the options menu. If you want to remove the Voicemail from your account, instead of selecting REPAIRS, go to CUSTOMER SERVICE, any rep will be able to remove the VM from your account (it takes up to 5 Business Days to be removed).
3) Technical issues after switching
If your phone is experiencing problems after switching, besides the obvious "solution" of switching back, (please call 1-888-MCI-LOCAL (1-888-624-5622)) and select REPAIRS in the options menu. Busy signal for incoming calls usually indicate a problem in the switch (the huge computer where you phone line is connected to, at the Central Office of your area).
4) Intelligible accent
All american companies outsource some (or all) of his call centers. If you think about it, it makes sense to have a guy working at the other side of the world. You ask for something during the afternoon, gets processed thru the night, and is ready in the morning. And of course, it helps the company to save money and give you a more competitive fee. Depending on the time of the day and what your call is about, you call may land anywhere in the world, Asia, Europe, South and North America.
Don't like MCI because of the outsourcing ? Call Sprint, Vonage, Comcast, AT&T and many others (they will answer the call a few blocks away from where I am right now). The fact is that if you want an american to handle your call, your monthly phone bill for local service would be over $ 200 + taxes and surcharges (not including LongDistance calls).
Sad, but true.
Posted 03 Aug 2006 at 8:36pm #
As I am writing this, I am on hold with ATT to receive a new service because they placed me in permanent no-service condition. Yes, I was broke and couldn't pay in time. However, I got the money in, on time and in full, to prevent permanent cancellation. They sat on my check for 24 hours, past the due date. I am now on the phone with a representative, and he is assuring me that this is not punitive, but he does not know who he is working for. I never ordered ATT. I was trying to avoid them by trying SBC...and we all know how that went.:-[