I'm Naming Names

On Thursday I got a mysterious call from CapitalOne (R) urging me to call an 800-number about my credit card. This was strange since they didn't elaborate on why or which card (I have two CapitalOne cards) this was about. I was really hoping for the scene from Friends where Rachel's credit card company calls her about some "unusual activity", i.e. she had stopped using her card, which would have applied since there is nothing to buy here in Medora and I can go weeks without making a purchase. However, I wasn't so lucky. It turns out that my CapitalOne (R) Visa (R) credit card was part of a mass compromise. I had to close the card immediately.

They claim that the only information leaked was the card number and no purchases were made, so I guess it could be worse. This would have been almost painless EXCEPT for the fact that the hackers happened to get the number for the card I use for all of my automatic bill payments. Go figure. I'm sure CapitalOne(R) did its best to clean-up the mess, but what they don't understand is that I pay my Qwest Telephone Company(R) bill using that card.

Now, Qwest(R) has absolutely the worst customer service on the planet. When we moved into our house last May, we had arranged to have our phone, internet, and TV service set-up on the day of closing. Only after we moved in did we find out that there is a three-day waiting period from the day the last person ends their service to the day when new service can be set-up. In a world of automated, you-don't-even-need-someone-to-come-out-to-the-house-anymore-to-set-up-your-phone/internet service, I find it hard to believe that the technology isn't there to get this done faster. Without really knowing what has to happen, I have to assume that there is a very convoluted Qwest service set-up process, which, in their defense, may be hindered slightly by they ultimate bureaucracy, the United States government. Whatever the reason is, I ended up on the phone with a manager who was yelling at me for trying to make sure the first week of my service (which I wasn't getting) was not going to be added to my bill.

My experience trying to get my automated payments stopped yesterday was no different. I talked to no less than five individuals from different departments and was routed to the automated system - twice. First I got someone in customer service, who routed me to automated payments, who said she would route me to billing. "Billing", my fellow Qwest customers, apparently means "return to Go, do not collect $200" - it's the automated system you first started with (better compared to "jail" and forget the get out free card). Finally, I got back to customer service, who sent me to the credit department, where I finally got a hold of someone competent - Rochelle. Thank god, because by now it had been about 30 minutes (not bad, you might say, but the threat of being stuck in customer service hell and being bounced back and forth between the nine circles -er departments was enough to make me truly abandon all hope of ever getting out). However, I wasn't done because my bill had suddenly jumped over $25 this month and so I need to talk to yet another person from billing to find out that DirectTv had changed my billing cycle and I would therefore be charged an extra half-month this month. Wonderful.

Anyway, after all that I had lost my faith in good old-fashioned customer service. Perhaps I am being spoiled by all of the personal attention in North Dakota or maybe I am just too self-absorbed to realize that companies really don't care about my business. That's when I called Rochester Public Utility. I chose one option, got a person, told her the situation and that I didn't have my account number, and she punched in my address and took care of everything. All, with what sounded like a smile and in under two minutes. There might be a customer service god after all.