By Mandy Feder
I did it. I was able to slay the proverbial dragon.
It all started after Ryan, our tech guy, removed Spyware from my computer.
“You better change your e-mail passwords, just in case,” he told me.
On Wednesday afternoon, I did just that. When I got to the last account, the password didn”t change correctly and I couldn”t get into my account. I was presented with questions to answer. I scratched my head. I was puzzled.
I had never seen these questions.
I attempted to answer them anyway. My answers were incorrect. I was blocked from my account.
I called the toll-free number and told “Jesse” of my dilemma. He said I would have to figure out the “right answers” or I would not be able to access my account.
The next three hours were dedicated to attempting to speak with a supervisor or retrieve another number, where someone could help me, to no avail.
I asked where the office was located and the operator told me it was in the same city where my daughter was born.
“Oh,” I said, “Which street are you on?” An “umm,” was followed by a long pause.
“Are you in the United States?” I asked. The operator admitted he was not in that city or the U.S. after all. Out of curiosity I asked where he was. He said he could not tell me “for security purposes.”
When I realized there was nothing that could be done from overseas, I thanked the operator and hung up.
After about five minutes of holding my head in my hands, I did an advanced Internet search on the CEO of the corporation.
I was able to locate her home telephone number. I”m not sure who was more surprised when she answered, her or me.
I explained my dilemma and that my press releases for the newspaper were in my e-mail.
She gave me a number I could call in the morning. Before 8 a.m. there was an apology on my voice mail. I do appreciate that.
Seems they gave me someone else”s security questions, oops.
Once the matter was resolved and the representative from the concierge service made sure I was able to access my account, she asked if I would take a customer service survey.
I most certainly obliged. You see, that poor sucker on the line overseas may be sitting in a room with a dirt floor, making $2 a day. They may even be grateful for it; I don”t know.
Those people take the brunt of the complaints and really, to be fair, their hands are tied. Each person seemed to be reading from the same script, so to speak. When I asked questions that deviated from the known content, there was silence or “I do not understand.” I told the operators I realized we were working with a difficult language barrier and I needed to speak with someone who could help me resolve this. The function of that person is limited and he/she really doesn”t have anything to lose. They are just doing their jobs.
You know who has something to lose?
A person with a reputation as an American success story, an entrepreneur.
What was born of my frustration was a revelation. Call these people out instead of the faceless, fake-named people who are probably being exploited.
Tell the people at the top of the heap that you want to do business with a human being who is accountable in the United States. Force them to bring jobs back here. Demand real customer service and don”t stop until you get it.
Another valuable lesson: backup all e-mail accounts and contacts by forwarding to another account or keeping contacts on a zip drive.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee managing editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
