A bad encounter with a brand’s customer service can be anywhere from flabbergasting to rage-inducing - and we’ve all had one that stands out in our mind. We asked our team and friends about their experiences and rounded up the worst customer service experiences. Here, we're sharing the stories that are so bad, all you can do is laugh:
The not-so-custom cabinets
“We decided to go all out for our kitchen remodel — premium cabinets, customized to our every need. We splurged on the design service, made sure the details were perfect, and most importantly, we wanted them in this gorgeous blue. Fast forward to delivery day, and what do we find? A raw, unfinished wood cabinet sitting among our sea of blue perfection.
Naturally, I called the company, expecting them to jump into action. And they did! They promptly sent us… a sheet of
cardstock. They suggested we cover the raw wood with the panel of cardstock ourselves — with craft glue. Because nothing says 'premium' like a DIY arts and crafts project with your kitchen cabinets.
Needless to say, the customer service was not as 'custom' as the cabinets."
-DeAnna Frantzis, CX Operations Manager, Kustomer
Thank goodness for screenshots
“I asked the agent about some information listed on the website and they told me it didn’t exist.”
- Cati
Pishal, CX Manager, Glossier
The outlet’s in the Twilight Zone
"I heard a radio ad for a grand opening of a new outlet but didn't get the address as I was driving. Checked their website - nothing. Called and emailed customer support - nothing. Nobody knew about this new warehouse outlet except apparently whomever signed the check to run radio ads. I found some folks from the company on LinkedIn and emailed. The president wrote back personally and admitted they dropped the ball- their franchise team somehow had forgotten to let the web and support teams know about a new outlet!"
- Jason Hoffman, Customer Support Manager, Merlin
The over-hyped restaurant
“Went to a high-end restaurant opening -- this place was very hyped up in the neighborhood and was supposed to be fantastic. Found a bug in our food. The waitress said, ‘Wow, you have such a good eye,’ took the food away and never came back."
- Lindsay Bayer Ray, Product Manager, Kustomer
Who needs an agent when you have FAQs
“I used chat to follow up seven days after placing an order to check on a shipping ETA. The agent replied two days later and said, ‘You can see our FAQs for more information on shipping timelines.’”
- Leanna
Nazzisi Olson, Director of CX, Victoria Beckham Beauty
You’ll keep these dresses whether you like them or not
“I ordered a few guest-of-wedding dresses, chose one to keep, and returned the others. Some of the dresses I hadn't even tried on. A few weeks later I got an email saying that the brand couldn't accept my returns because of missing tags and that I wouldn't receive a refund. After several escalations, nothing was resolved. They sent the dresses back and then blocked my account.”
- Adena Merabi, Director of Partner Relations, Okendo
Someone’s got to pay
“My phone carrier began charging me for an iPhone that I never bought. Several payments went by before I realized that I was being charged for a phone I didn't own, resulting in hundreds of dollars worth of charges. When I called the carrier to complain and resolve the issue, I went through a lengthy process with them where I confirmed that I had not purchased the phone, and did not possess the phone, and I was still paying for the phone. At this point they informed me that they were powerless to do anything about it: the phone had to be paid for in some way, as it did belong to someone (not me), and they had no way of stopping the payments or refunding them.”
-Hank Mason, Software Engineer, Kustomer
Are you sure you want to cancel?
“I called to cancel my subscription and, rather than genuinely understand why, I had to spend 20 minutes saying no to endless
upsell and cross-sell offers.”
- Michael Blair, Senior Vice President of
CX, Figs
Travel nightmares
What’s a recurring theme in the stories we heard? It shouldn’t shock you: travel disruptions. Travel can bring about the highest highs and the lowest lows, especially when you’re stranded and at the mercy of an agent to help get you back on your way to your destination. Here are some travel stories that will have you reconsidering your next vacation destination:
“On a flight home, we pulled away from the gate on time, but then sat on the tarmac for a while. We returned to the gate and pulled away from the gate multiple times. The flight attendants advised that we had the option to get off of the plane and work with gate agents to book a different flight, but we could not get back on the plane if we opted to do that. None of the flight attendants could give us any information about other flight options, but they assured us we could work with a gate agent to work that out.
We made several attempts to call their customer service phone line and use their customer service chat line, but we waited on hold for an eternity, getting absolutely no response. While waiting for someone to give us any answers, I watched the entirety of Killers of a Flower Moon - a 3.5 hour film - while stuck on the airplane on the ground.
Finally fed up with the lack of response from the customer service lines and the lack of information from the flight attendants, we got off of the plane - only to find that the entire airport was a ghost town! There were no gate agents anywhere. When we finally got someone on the phone, they advised us that it looked like there was no issue with the flight we just got off of, that everything was fine with it, and that we shouldn't have gotten off of the flight!”
-
Nick Johnson, Technical Support Engineer,
Kustomer
“Arrived at the airport and had a flight canceled 30 minutes prior to departure due to crew availability issues. Spent the next 36 hours navigating a series of rebookings (and several more canceled flights) before making it to my destination. For the entire trip, I couldn't get in direct contact with an airline representative and consistently ran into wait times of two to three hours (only to have the queue stall out and lose my place in line).”
- Spencer
Swensrud, Head of Product, birddogs
“I rented a car and returned it on time, giving the keys to an agent. When I got home I noticed I had an extra $100 charge because the company claimed I returned the car 12 hours late. I called to sort it out and the whole company's phone customer service was totally disabled - for weeks! It took weeks going back and forth over email and I had to provide my flight information like an alibi to get my money back.”
-Hope Dorman, Content Marketing Manager, Kustomer
#EndBadService
Fed up with bad service? We are too, and we’re doing something about it.
We’re harnessing the power of AI to break the cycle of bad service. Tune in to our virtual event where we unveil new product releases that will revolutionize the customer service industry.
You won’t want to miss it. Join us on October 30, 2024.
Register now!
