How NOT to run a customer service chat: case study with Sirius XM

Justin: Hi, my name is Justin, Thank you for contacting SiriusXM. How may I help you?
Justin: Hello Alan. How are you doing?
Alan Cordle: Hi Justin — my radio no longer works. I’d like to keep
Alan Cordle: my Internet only plan
Alan Cordle: but deactivate my radio and that plan: UW7LTxxx
Justin: I am sorry to hear that. Please give me a moment to access your account.
Justin: Can you please verify two of the following items to ensure I have accessed the correct account?
Account number:
Phone number:
Radio ID/ESN:
Email Address:
Alan Cordle: radio: UW7LTxxx
Alan Cordle:
Account Number:
1-1xx0626xxx
Justin: Thank you.
Alan Cordle: phone 503.249.xxxx
Justin: What is the issue with the radio?
Justin: Is it having any technical issue?
Alan Cordle: it no longer works at all. it is the 2nd one that has burned out
Justin: I am sorry to hear that.
Alan Cordle: Me too. I think they are poorly made. But I like the service, so if you would remove the radio and keep my Internet listening, I would appreciate it.
Justin: Alan, to cancel the account you need to call our listener care representative at 1-866-635-2349 .
Justin: I will make a note on the account about the our conversation.
Alan Cordle: Why did you not tell me that at the beginning?
Justin: I have to make a note on the account so that you do not have to go through the same process. They will check the notes and will understand the issue and assist you with cancellation and provide you all the other options.
Justin: Thank you for understanding.
Justin: Is there anything else I can do for you?
Alan Cordle: I don’t need other options. I would like my radio deactivated and to keep Internet only, as I said more than once. Why have a chat service if you’re going to make customers duplicate their effort and time?
Justin: Alan, I understand your concern and value your time. Once you contact the phone support it will not take much time as I have made a detail notes on the account.
Justin: This minimizes the time when you call, so without verification I could even make a note on your account.
Alan Cordle: As I am going to put this conversation on my blog, perhaps you could tell people what kinds of things the chat service can do for customers.
Justin: Sorry for the typo, I mean I could not even make notes on your account without verification.
Justin: I will surely provide your feedback to our next level department.
Justin: Is there anything else I can do for you?
Alan Cordle: Yes. I am still curious about the purpose of siriusxm chat.
Justin: Alan, customers feedback is always counted and I will definitely provide your valuable feedback to our next level department and they will surely think about your concern as well.
Alan Cordle: Um. Thanks?
Justin: You are welcome.
Alan Cordle: Goodbye.
Justin: Bye and take care.
Justin: I hope that I have answered all of your questions. Thank you for contacting SiriusXM and have a nice day.
Alan Cordle: You have not. You too.
Justin has disconnected.

Posted in consumer, money, tech, waste | 1 Comment

Van Stone, King of Maya Glyphs

Dr. Mark Van Stone, one of my fellow Fellows on the Re-visioning the Maya World Institute should have actually been one of the faculty. He co-wrote the book, Reading the Maya Glyphs, with Michael Coe. His newest book is a scholarly look at the significance of 2012.

He’s also a talented artist. When he lived here in Portland (I never knew him until this summer), he was partly responsible for sculpting the California Raisins during his time at Will Vinton Studios. His “Pirates Code Book” can be seen in the third entry of Pirates of the Caribbean. Another Fellow at our Institute is a talented illustrator and has written more about Mark.

But he still has time for the little people. While waiting for a friend to get a haircut in Belize, Mark gave a few of us Sharpie tattoos.
DSC08355
At the end of the Institute, he presented each of us with our full names in Maya glyphs. I love mine and just hope that it’s right-side up here:
glyph

Posted in belize, mexico | 2 Comments

Health Insurance Woes with ODS

My life changed when I finally started getting treated for A.D.D. two years ago. With medication and therapy, I can now focus my attention on one task at a time. The first 40 years of my life were all over the place. I’ve written and am revising a book, something which would have been impossible before then.

When I went to pick up my monthly prescription this week, the Rx assistant rang it up as $51.05.

“That can’t be right,” I contested.

She double-checked and it was; ODS has upped the price. I last got the prescription in June and needed a two-month supply since I was going to be out of the country. Two month’s worth cost me $16. One month is now $51.05. That’s a 638% increase in price. My prescription is a generic.

When I spoke with the ODS employee on the phone, it seemed as though she wanted to apologize, but probably has been trained not to. “There are some generics that the company now considers to be preferred. Your drug is one of them.”

On October 1, the cost of my monthly insurance increases to $866.86 for me and my partner. Luckily, my employer subsidizes that. The plan does not include dental nor vision. That’s extra, of course.

So the cost of insurance increases, drugs are reclassed, and if I examine my plan closely, I bet I’ve lost some benefits too. What a world!

Luckily, I can afford the $600 per year for medicine to increase my productivity. Not everyone is as lucky. And you can bet the insurance execs don’t give a shit.

Posted in crime, ethics, health, money | 3 Comments

Maya World

Greetings from Belize. In April I learned I was one of 24 Fellows chosen to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities Institute about the Maya.

I’m finding little motivation and time to blog here. Feel free to look at my photos in lieu of written content. Some of my colleagues and new friends are keeping blogs. I can’t believe how incredibly fortunate I am to be here with them.

We have a few days left here and then it’s back to Mexico, where we started. I have an invitation to visit a new friend’s mother-in-law, who lives in Juchitán de Zaragoza when the Institute ends. Seems like an incredible opportunity.

Posted in belize, geography, library, mexico, place, teaching, travel | 1 Comment

Beautiful & Pointless

Today’s NYT Books section reviews David Orr’s Beautiful & Pointless, the only book I know of in which I’m thanked in the acknowledgements. Recently Orr generously had a copy sent to me by his publisher, HarperCollins. I must admit, I haven’t had a second to read the book yet, but I did skip ahead to the chapter which includes a characterization of a few poets from the website I founded, Foetry.com. He kindly spared their names. Looking forward to the rest of the book.


Browse Inside this book
Get this for your site
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Crooked Self-Publisher at it Again: King on the Datura Highway

This comes from a librarian on the same listserv that exposed Daniel King last year.

Daniel King became a brief topic of conversation on the list last fall. He is an Australian author who solicited a number of English faculty, claiming to have previously been a student of theirs’ (in most cases, this claim seems to have been false), and encouraging them to contact their librarian to request a copy of his collection _Memento Mori_.

It appears he has a new novel out, _Datura Highway_ (http://www.amazon.com/Datura-Highway-Daniel-King/dp/1456499645), and is once again soliciting “former” faculty. One of my English faculty suggested he contact me and he is now soliciting me directly.

Posted in crime, ethics, fiction, library | Leave a comment

Keeping the Blog Alive

One of my goals for spring is depth. I’ll keep tweeting a little and following your tweets, but I want to get back to reading blogs.

My real-life friend and frequent ski-buddy, Laurie, recently soft-launched her new blog, Venture Out. I’m so proud! I imagine writing/photographing this is very different from her day job, managing the catalogs for Rejuvenation. Or is it?

Laurie’s a great storyteller and I’ve been privileged to hear about many of her adventures first-hand. But reading them in blog format adds a new layer, plus there are cool photos I’ve never seen. Now I don’t know whether to be more scared of the Lady in Blue or just sad for her, trapped.

Help keep blogs alive; subscribe to mine and subscribe to Laurie’s. Enjoy a life worth more than 140 characters!

Posted in bloglines, place, travel | 1 Comment

Makeover

If you are a regular visitor to this blog [cough], then you’ve noticed I’m sprucing up around here. Not sure why, exactly, other than to update, try out new widgets, see if I can still crop a photo.

One feature I’m excited about in WordPress 3.1 is the ability to run multi-site blogs. If you register here, you should have access to three other blog projects I’ve launched in the last decade. None is active, but I cleaned them up too.

So go ahead, would ya please? Register (at the top on the menu bar or on the right sidebar).

Thanks!

Posted in design, tech | Leave a comment

Michael Coe

I have tickets to Michael Coe on Thursday. Saw Saturno a few years ago. Visited Tikal in between.

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On Some Day in History

We Put a Bird on our Roof!

Posted in birds, place | Leave a comment