AOL Says Internet Users Have Taken The Training Wheels Off

from the customer-service-so-good-you-don't-even-need-it dept

Tue, May 9th 2006 11:18am — Carlo Longino

Talk about spin: AOL is letting go 1,300 customer-service reps, but instead of calling them what they are -- layoffs -- the company is painting them as something to be proud of. AOL says its call-center volume has dropped in half since 2004, not because of all the users it's losing (some 25% of its total since September 2002), but rather because its users have become better at solving their own problems. An AOL spokesman labels it a "remarkable success in terms of customer care", but somehow we imagine those CSRs getting laid off would probably disagree. But maybe the company just wants to be able to label something with its business a success, given its long-running struggle to recapture its previous glory as the prime ISP for the low end of the internet.

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24 Comments

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Don Gray, 9 May 2006 @ 11:50am

Can't Quit...
A buddy of mine has been trying to quit AOL for three months now.

Yesterday he got his second "On ... you agreed to continue your service with AOL" letter.

He can't get rid of them...
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- A Dark One, 9 May 2006 @ 12:00pm
  
  Re: Can't Quit...
  Tell him all he needs to do is call in and talk to one of the customer-service reps, oh wait, I forgot...hah!
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- m0rd3r, 9 May 2006 @ 12:22pm
  
  Re: Can't Quit...
  "He can't get rid of them..."
  
  Just tell him to stop paying his bill. Then he wont have AOL anymore.
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SmackFu-Master, 9 May 2006 @ 11:52am

I wish I could quit you.
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stone, 9 May 2006 @ 12:03pm

AOL
AOL sucks!

They'll just come out with some stupid product again in the future; then they'll just have to rehire those 1300 employees.
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Josh, 9 May 2006 @ 12:05pm

You can quit AOL
You can quit AOL check out this link: http://www.livingonawhim.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry060320-042351
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Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2006 @ 12:15pm

Well, AOL is partially right. Their users have gotten more savvy over the years. That's why many of them stopped using their service, because we realize what a piece of junk their software is. If they really wanted to recalim their glory days they should (just for starters):

1) Stop supporting/requiring the use of IE in their software (going back to IE was a dumb move)

2) Stop using realplayer - immediately. The only reason Realnetworks is even still is business is because it has companies like AOL and Comcast hoodwinked into using their crappy tech.

3) Offer services people really want/use (example: compare the utility of AOL's groups/message boards to Yahoo's or MSN's and it's not hard to figure out why nobody uses them).

The only real advatage AOL offered was their chat rooms, which are now nothing more than Jerry Springer inspired battlezone and not worth the time.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2006 @ 12:20pm

AOL SUCKS!
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Jon-Paul, 9 May 2006 @ 12:24pm

HA! Users Solving Issues...lol What A Spin!
I'm computer service/consultant here in Los Angeles.. I had a customer this morning with an AOL problem. He said that he couldn't even get through to them at first and then when he did, they were no help. He gave up! He didn't solve his frickin' problem! So he called me! I fixed his AOL issue, not AOL, not himself...I did. And he gladly paid forit because he realized AOL was good for nothing at that point.

In addition. Have you ever tried to get a customer off of AOL!! You have to go through about 6 levels of customer service, each one giving you a different reason why you shouldn't cancel the account. At the 7th level I think I reached God and he just said, "let my people go" and finally, they did.
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Jon-Paul, 9 May 2006 @ 12:25pm

HA! Users Solving Issues...lol What A Spin!
I'm computer service/consultant here in Los Angeles.. I had a customer this morning with an AOL problem. He said that he couldn't even get through to them at first and then when he did, they were no help. He gave up! He didn't solve his frickin' problem! So he called me! I fixed his AOL issue, not AOL, not himself...I did. And he gladly paid forit because he realized AOL was good for nothing at that point.

In addition. Have you ever tried to get a customer off of AOL!! You have to go through about 6 levels of customer service, each one giving you a different reason why you shouldn't cancel the account. At the 7th level I think I reached God and he just said, "let my people go" and finally, they did.
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billy bones, 9 May 2006 @ 12:28pm

AOL should dry up and blow away
What madness has driven AOL to stay in business this long? At the very least, redo all your paperwork under a different name, change your logo, and try to re-develop some sort of brand loyalty. As it is, no computer geek alive today will promote their filth. Are they freakin blind or what?
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QA guy, 9 May 2006 @ 12:44pm

I love AOL
I Love AOL = I Love 'All Outdated Logic"
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Neal, 9 May 2006 @ 1:15pm

Virus
Not to mention that AOL software is a virus. If it is preinstalled on your computer you will never find all the little files neatly hidden and tucked on your system. If you put it on yourself then you deserve the punishment. Too bad those people got the boot. I hear India is hiring customer service reps.
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- Mike, 9 May 2006 @ 1:45pm
  
  Re: Virus
  Mda...and to think that I had to install AOL 9 on my workstation to check out our developed site.
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  - markbnj, 9 May 2006 @ 6:18pm
    
    Re: Re: Virus via AOL
    Oh Mike.
    YOU NEED to FLOG (with whips and chains) your developers if they are STILL writing to the IE. browser exclusively/
    
    A business case can easily be made for ditching it asasp!
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    - Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2006 @ 1:33am
      
      Re: Virus via AOL
      There are a few programs out there (I got a couple off of MajorGeeks.com) that will clean up a lot of AOl's crappy add-on malware. As for customer service, don't call customer service. Call to cancel. All the people who know the aol software well all work in the "cancelation" department. Of the few times I've had serious problems I just called and canceled and the rep fixed my problems and I got free months to boot. And that explains why aol is so expensive, because it's a known trick that if you call to cancel they almost always give you free months. Oh, sure, aol has X million customers, but probably only 60-75% are paying for it at any given time. They just pass the cost on to the ones who "play by the rules" and pay every month. I mostly stopped using aol when I got cable internet.
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- OldFashioned, 9 May 2006 @ 1:45pm
  
  AOL
  Reason AOL users are making less customer service calls is because the fustration of calling and the flowchart answeres you get dont help your problem. They were forced to learn how to solve them on their own!
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Josh, 9 May 2006 @ 2:06pm

AOL = good
black = white
up = down
1 = 0
This post is all true.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2006 @ 2:43pm

AOL Blows
Uh, are they freaking stupid? AOL is what, 20 or 25 bucks per month for DIAL-UP?? You can get basic DSL through Verizon for less than that! Or, if you still for some unknown reason want Dial up, you can usually get it through a local ISP for about 10 bucks per month. Who in their right mind would pay for AOL with their s***ty software, lousy Customer Service (or lack thereof) and the hassle??
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Bryan Price, 10 May 2006 @ 9:44am

Didn't I read about this a month ago?
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SailorAlphaCentauri, 10 May 2006 @ 10:15am

So, AOL's laying off people...
and they believe it's because their customers have "taken the training wheels off". Yeah. Whatever lets you sleep better at night. I've got to get my uncle off of AOL.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 11:17am

i do not have A O L , i have ROAD RUNNER SO HOW DO I GET IT OFF of my compuer
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Deidre Paulson, 15 Apr 2007 @ 1:02am

AOL has it's Head Too Far Up IT's ASS!!!!
They don't even know what customer service is and the one's that answer the phone are living in Pakistan or India! They hire people working chearoer in another country so they only have to pay 50 cents an hour!!!! AOL DOES NOT KNOW WHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS!!!!!! I AM LOOKING FOR THE NEXT ISP SERVICE THAT HIRES PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY! IF YOU CAN FIND ONE, LET ME KNOW! AOL'S HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!! THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BASED IN INDIA!!!!
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Deidre Paulson, 15 Apr 2007 @ 1:06am

AOL soon to be Ex customer
Everyone is right. AOL is the LOW END ISP Provider. Someone PLEASE bail me out. I'd pay twice for half the service AOL provides!!!!!
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