sashinka | observation orientated, with a twist of lime | a blog

AOL.CO.UK have clearly outsourced their call centre to somewhere in the Indian sub-continent.

I took out a free two-month trial dial-up account when someone inadvertantly cut by broadband cable and I was accessless for three days. Three. Very. Long. Days.

So it was in my diary to cancel the AOL account, and I have just spent eight minutes on the phone to the call centre, where some poor woman had to read from the most atrocious script:" hello, thank you for calling AOL, my name is Mary, how can I enhance your online experience today?"

She could have enhanced it by just giving me my cancellation code and letting us both get on with our lives, but she had to take me through a survey of why I didn't want the service. I answered with brevity. Then, when I thought I was about to get the code, she said "thank you Sasha, for sharing that information with me, so let me share some information with you about how great AOL is." I asked her not to, but she insisted, with the added sop that "Sasha is a beautiful name". "May I call you by your first name, Sasha?" (now, there's a question).

So Mary prattled on about how great keywords are, and how you can go to a friends house and still email your buddies, while I sent some email on my broadband, which is supplied by people who want to talk to me as little as I want to talk to them (telewest), and believe me, that's the way I like it.

I asked for my cancellation code again. She reminded me that I still had another free month. I said I could live without it. F-i-n-a-l-l-y she gave me the code, and encouraged me to have a very nice day.

If AOL were the last company in the world, and owned all the banks and mutliple food retailers I wouldn't ever want to do business with them again.

Have a nice day now, y'all.