More problems with Columbia House

[bluestateguy]

Their customer "service" phone numbers seem designed to avoid allowing people to talk to an actual person. Every prompt directs you either to more advertising or more prompt choices. I've been around all options frontways and backways and there seems to be no way I can talk to a live human being. Is their some kind of underground phone number I can call that will let me talk to a person rather than a machine? Believe it or not, I tried to solve the problem through the machines, but the machines did not help (imagine that).

[Soloflecks]

1. I'm pissed off at them!

Since I heard about a group of ladies who worked there for a long time and have been laid off. They work in the returns dept which is being outsourced. I'd like to express my ire but doubt a letter would get to the right place.

[FlaGranny]

2. Sometimes hitting "zero" will do it.

If that doesn't work, just call and don't hit any numbers at all, just wait. Sometimes that will trigger a transfer to a live operator. Many phone systems, I believe, still allow for the odd (very odd) phone without touch tone dialing.

[bluestateguy]

3. No that doesn't work

"For all other options press the star key": I do, and then it tells me to visit the website or write to them. I press "0" and I get "I did not understand..."

This will likely cost them a customer once I fulfill my purchase obligations.

[radwriter0555]

4. And you're shocked because......

???

;)

[TrogL]

5. send them email

seemed to work for me, at least after I threatened legal action.

[catmandu57]

6. They've moved customer service offshore

so, in the event you did get a real live breathing person on the phone you probably wouldn't understand them. Don't pay the bill they'll come looking for you.

[bluestateguy]

7. update

I sent them an e-mail last night. Well this afternoon I received a computer generated e-mail informing me that my e-mail was recieved and that it would take 2 business days to answer it, and maybe as many as 4!

And then the RIAA and MPAA wonder why people download music and movies.

[jiacinto]

8. I am so glad I never signed up for their programs

A friend of mine signed up and told me that getting off and stopping their music shipments was a pain in the ass of the highest order.

[anti_shrub]

9. A tale of two Columbia House customers

Mom and I both belong to the DVD club.

I reply to my director selections online, and have it set up to bill my debit card as soon as I make a purchase, to avoid colliding bills from orders shipped at different times.

Mom fills her card out every month, and got a legbreaker notice for a "past due" amount that was past due because the bill came with the order she got 2 days prior. There was a backorder or something so it took 3 weeks to fill her order, and in the meantime she ordered something else and everything crossed in the mail so she was getting collection notices on bills she just got.


There's little chance of her getting set up on line since she's a technophobe, but it made it clear to me that if you aren't online with them its a huge pain in the ass to deal with.

[aquaman]

10. I have been with Columbia House for years

And I've never had a problem, guess I'm lucky. I am a member of the Classical genre within the club and get the cd's much cheaper than I would if were to buy them in a store. Many classical cds are brutally high in price in stores. So, I am in it purely for the savings.