New Years Top Ten Worst!

Products, service, retail environment, price… a lot goes into a positive shopping experience. In the spirit of the New Year Celebration, here are our top 10 lists of the best and worst for 2010. Additionally, here are two organizations (best and worst) who skip the list and go straight to the Hall of Fame. Enjoy.

Trendiego’s 10 Worst Consumer Experiences of 2010

        10) UPS - On a recent trip back east, we shipped items across country from a Massachusetts UPS store to our home in California. When it became apparent that the items would not arrive in California prior to leaving for another business trip, we called UPS to have them hold the items. We were informed that the UPS store is not affiliated with UPS and we could not track or re-route our items. What? Not interested in the long-winded “we are technically different companies” explanation from the customer service representative either.  
In another case, UPS delivered a legal-document, important-looking package to our door. Problem was, the package was for a prior occupant of the home. When I called UPS to tell them the package should be returned to the sender, I got the 3^rd degree. Finally, after refusing to give the customer service representative all of my personal information, I told him that the package would be at my door if they cared to get it back. 10 days later it was gone. Your welcome UPS. Beware of brown.

        9) Sears – Where do I start? Pushy appliance sales people, crappy merchandise, dismal customer service… unless I REALLY need a Craftsman tool, I try to run out of that store as quickly as possible when I park in the Sears parking lot at the mall. The Sears in Laguna Hills even has a funky stench. Blech.

        8) Time Warner Cable – Oh TV Gods… why have you forsaken me? While renting in a planned community, we were forced into buying cable. I’m not sure what was worse- frozen screens, dropped DVR recordings, numerous resets or my favorite, “please wait” screens-of-death. When you called for technical service, the technician’s next appointment was always several days later with a 5 hour arrival window. I even tried their online, on-demand IM customer service. (A particularly wicked ploy to make you THINK they are going to resolve your issues). Did you know that if you have a TV/phone bundle, your account is not eligible for IM customer service. Well, let me save you 45 minutes- it’s not.
 The kicker? I know Time Warner is aware of how painfully terrible their products and services are… I tried to leave input on their blog- it is ONLY open to Time Warner postings. It even has a big disclaimer that the blog is not an appropriate area for “customer service feedback”.  Nice transparency. I am now comfortably back with my satellite.

        7) Amazon.com – Can we all agree that pedophiles are bad? In a stunning act of stupidity, Amazon decided to sell, and then defend selling “The Pedophiles Guide to Love and Pleasure”. At what point does profit outweigh common sense? Who made the call on that one Amazon? I am dying to know what other titles were listed under “People who enjoyed this book also liked reading….”

        6) TSA – Let’s face it… even before the advent of the body scanners and full pat-downs, the TSA was not winning any awards for dealing with the public. Notoriously rude, slow and short on common sense, these folks should not have chosen a career that puts them in contact with other human beings. Put me in the full body scan line if it means I can go through security without running into a TSA agent.

        5) Bank of America – Did you know that if you open a BOA account in one state that it is on a different “system” than another state? Bank of America has figured out a way to diminish one of the few advantages of having a large, behemoth-sized bank. What you think you are gaining in convenience by having a nationally focused bank is quickly diminished when you learn that due to legacy issues, the accounts are not necessarily seamless across state lines. I wish I had a dime for every time someone at California BOA says “oh, that’s a MASSACHUSETTS account! Then 45 minutes of shuffling ensues so I can complete a transaction. One BOA representative actually said- “well (the hassle) is only when you want to do something with your account.” Huh?

        4)  Microsoft - Microsoft popup messages are slowly driving me crazy. "You have unused icons." "A Network connection has been established"...  I am sending Bill Gates my psychiatric bill.

        3) Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California – Technically, with the hours I have spent on the phone with this company, I should be considered a part-time employee. Blue Cross Blue Shield customer service (in the Midwest) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of California have the communication skills of John and Kate Gosslin. Good luck shuffling through the mounds of paperwork, jumping through the bureaucratic hoops and recovering from the cauliflower ear you will no doubt suffer from after hours on the phone. By the way, cauliflower ear is not covered by your BCBS plan.

        2) Nissan Finance – For some strange reason (which is still unknown) Nissan Finance paid taxes to a car I did not own in a state I did not live in and forwarded the charges to me via my lease invoice. No problem right? I’ll just call and get it straightened out... or not. It took one entire year of weekly phone calls to correct the charges. The customer service representatives had to send the claim into another department, that department needed to file a claim with another department, that department had to call the Pope, and so on. No one should have to wait a year for a resolution to a billing error. I now drive a Toyota.

        1) Tie: American Airlines / Delta Airlines – I dislike ties but when you have two companies whose service is so chronically broken it is really unfair to name one or the other for the top (dis)honor. My top beef? The money-making scam of charging for checked luggage. Fees aside, this scheme creates the unpleasant side affect of every passenger trying to cram as much carry-on luggage into the overhead as possible. This causes delays AND if you are in a boarding group higher than Group 3, you will inevitably be forced to check your bags due to lack of available overhead space. This has happened to me twice in the last month and a half and… drum roll please… in both experiences, my bags did not arrive at my destination.
In both cases, I needed some supplies to hold me over. On the red-eye from CA to MA, I was handed a small bag with men’s deodorant, a men’s razor, a straight plastic comb and shaving cream. Attention American Airlines- women travel too.
Delivering your lost bags (once located) is also an adventure. Delta and American give you a FIVE hour window for your bag to be delivered or else it is left at the door of your address. Delta wanted to deliver my bag between midnight and 5 am. (Wrong).
Forced baggage check, cramped seats, no food (or over-priced, inedible food-options), dirty planes, unavailable attendants, lost luggage, dismal “emergency” kits, inconvenient lost bag delivery… am I missing anything fellow frequent flyers?

Hall of Fame Inductee – The Worst
1)        The DMV – Dante was wrong- the first circle of hell is the DMV. No explanation needed.