I believe I may have discussed before how I don't like to call customer service lines and ask for, well, customer service because I hate talking to people I don't know on the phone. I have gotten better at this since entering the working world, as I have often had to answer phones without knowing who was on the other end, but I still don't like it much. When I was in middle and high school, I didn't even like to call and order Domino's Pizza...this is how bad my discomfort with talking to strangers on the phone was.
Today, I had to call two different customer service lines. And I survived it...I am so brave!
The first call was to our cable provider. We have two cable boxes in our house, and one of them has a DVR. We also have two remotes for these cable boxes. The first remote stopped working a couple of years ago, but the second still worked, so Bill did nothing about it (this was before I lived here). The second finally crapped out last night. We are now in the midst of a cable television emergency. We can get up and change channels by hand, but we can't surf the guide to find what we want to watch, we can't on-demand any movies or television shows, and worst of all, we can't use the DVR. This has to stop! I called customer service today and inquired about getting some new remotes. And as soon as I finish blogging and take a shower, I am heading up to their office to pick up some new remotes...the kind that work.
The second call was to my auto insurance company...well, I should say my former auto insurance company. Being the slacker and procrastinator that I am, I never combined my auto insurance with Bill's auto insurance. As a result, we have been overpaying for this service for the last 21 months. He finally got a quote from the company that holds our homeowner's insurance policy for us to have a combined plan, and the prices were, obviously, much better. We stand to save about $90 per month on our auto insurance from what we were paying for our two plans combined, and we will save $120 per year on our homeowner's plan since we now get a multiple policy discount. However, I knew this would be a tricky call to make, as they are not going to let a customer go without a fight.
I stood strong. I refused any offers to give me a quote on a combined plan with Bill or a homeowner's plan. I thanked them for their years of good service, remained firm that I wanted to cancel, and sealed the deal. And because I had already paid for this month, I will even get a refund. And I will use that refund to buy myself something pretty.
After all, I deserve it as a reward for my bravery.
2 comments:
I am so glad to hear that I am not the only person afraid to call "the pizza man" and other such people!!!! Michael thinks it's just silly, but I'm with you in that I don't like to call and talk to strangers on the phone. It's scary!
Good for you that you did it twice today!
Interesting 'phobia' you have about not wanting to talk to strangers on the phone. I can't imagine having that problem, I guess I think of it in the way that I will most likely never talk to these people again and they're only there to help me.
Now, when someone calls ME and want something or try to get me to buy something, subscribe, etc. then I get sketchy--or angry, depending on what they're trying to sell me.
And I feel you on the DVR remote. Mine hasn't crapped out, but I understand how you can't do anything. Very, very sucky indeed.
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