This is the real live response I got from Direct TV. Please note they are STILL after my account number. Good Grief!

Response (Nerissa Ba. – 100192831) – 11/03/2009 06:40 PM
Dear Ms. Ingram-Sewell,

Thanks for writing.

Difficult service experiences like the one you had are rare and we certainly do not take them lightly. I apologize for the trouble you’ve had. In addition, I have forwarded your comments on to DIRECTV Management for review.

Moving forward, were you able to get an answer to your question? If not, I’d like to resolve the issue for you; please write back and let us know how we can help. Don’t forget to include your account number in your reply, so we can help you quickly.

Again, I apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused you.

Sincerely,

Nerissa B.
Employee ID 100192831
DIRECTV Customer ServiceDear Nerissa,

Thank you so much for your prompt and respectful response. However, I
cannot include my account number…I DON’T HAVE ONE. That was kind of
the whole point. The good news is that my son received no phone calls
today. So I do believe that my issue has been resolved (HALLELUJAH)
but I have to tell you that I wouldn’t get involved with your company
if you guys were paying me. I HATE my cable company, their service
sucks, but this experience has proved to me what I suspected to be
true…companies like yours just collect cash and don’t respect the
people who work so hard to earn that cash.

I thank you personally for your time and consideration. I seriously
doubt that “management” will care about any inconvenience to my
family. After all, they don’t pay particularly good attention to the
consumers who write them checks.

God Bless you and continue to encourage you in the no win job that you
have. Tough job justifying a company like that. I salute YOU but
respectfully maintain…

DIRECT TV SUCKS.
Anita Ingram-Sewell

Dear Direct TV,

Well, congratulations. I am a 41-year-old mother of nine. I deal with ex spouses, utility companies, doctors, dentists, grocery stores, super stores, banks, cell phone companies, and even my own cable company. Your company without question gets the award for WORST customer service on the planet. Since I am not even a customer I guess the award is for the WORST people skills on the planet.

Six weeks ago my 16-year-old son got a cell phone. He worked hard at his part-time job to earn the money and my respect for this privilege. The phone number he was assigned used to belong to a deadbeat. I know this because he was inundated with collection calls. I called the creditors involved and explained the situation. They all and without exception apologized and corrected the issue. Enter Direct TV. I called once, was on hold for about 2 minutes, apologized to and assured the problem would be corrected. I didn’t get that representative’s name, I didn’t think it was a big deal.

You kept calling. Now since we have no dealings with each other and you certainly didn’t have any dealings with my son, you are not in his network. Your phone calls are costing me money. Not a lot, and that’s not my gripe, but wouldn’t you be ticked at me if I was costing YOU money? I bet you might even call me. So I called you again.

This time I spoke to Shawn. I didn’t hold long and was informed my call would be monitored for quality assurance. Shawn didn’t understand what the problem was but he did assure me that when his Supervisor finished their current task the issue it would be resolved.

This morning, my son’s phone rang in Chemistry class. He had it on vibrate, I asked him to do that in case of emergency. Too bad the teacher was next to him and heard it. He explained it must be a disaster of biblical proportion or I wouldn’t be calling. It was YOU. AGAIN!

So one more evening of my life I got to be on hold with a company I have no dealings with but won’t leave my son alone. I dialed about 5:20. At 5:35 I was still on hold, all the while being assured my business was important to you. No one feels valued, appreciated or assured no matter what your inane recording says. Do you like being lied to?

Katarina took my number and told me I wasn’t a customer, I told her that was exactly the problem. She put me on hold under the guise of waiting for a supervisor. Another 10 minutes of being assured I was important and then she and hung up on me. So mad I could hardly see straight and seriously considering what good spitting would do me I dialed again.

This time I just insisted on a supervisor. I got Porche. She told me I wasn’t a customer, I said that’s the problem and tried to explain. She hung up on me mid-sentence and without regret. I could not have been abusive to her if I wanted to…I didn’t have time.

Wishing I did have an account with you so I could cancel it, I dialed again. Thankfully this time Trisha answered the phone and LISTENED, SYMPATHISED and RESPONDED. Why did it take so long to find an employee at your company who does her job?

Shame on you. What ever happened to companies who respect and appreciate their customers? Not to mention the innocent folks that just get drawn into your shoddy practices on accident. It’s time to hold up your end of the bargain. That $99.99 a month comes with a human being who believes their hard-earned money is worth something. They should. Most folks work hard for their money. What have you done for yours lately?

An apology from someone who has the authority to fix things would be priceless. In the meantime, you owe me $1.12 for cell minutes, two hours of my time and $9.00 for the roast I burned because Katarina promised me a supervisor. I’ll give you a call.