joseph@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Seymour Joseph) (12/12/89)
My biggest complaint about Quantum, and America Online is just what Mark is complaining about. They seem to have no idea how, or desire to, properly and politely service their customers. The "Welcome to America Online" package I received had the following two sentences in the first paragraph of the first page: : The contract between quantum and you is available online. Using our : service implies agreement with this contract. I was flagergasted, they had done "shrink wrap" licensing one better. You can't see the agreement without using the service and if you use the service to read it, you have agreed to it. Period. I called their customer service toll free number to request that a printed copy of this agreement be sent via mail to my home. They said, "no problem." I had to call three more times in the next month and a half to finally get a printed copy of the contract. The last "customer service" person I spoke with spent twenty minutes telling me that no one could have possibly promised to send it to me, (others had, three times) and that it was impossible to do, and continued trying to tell me why I shouldn't want to see the contract until I asked to speak to his manager. His manager sent me the agreement. One section of the agreement tells you how to cancel your service. It states that to cancel your service you can send online mail to one of their administrative addresses. It goes on to enumerate an entire list of required items that MUST be included in your electronic mail asking for a cancellation of service. The last item on the list is: 5) Your signature. Hmm. didn't anyone ever READ these things they send to customers? How can you possibly include your written signature in America Online electronic mail? Is this a feature I missed somewhere? To sum up, the actual online service is okay, but the attitudes and practices of the company that provides these services is dismal and does not bode well for the long term success of America Online. Seymour Joseph