Cancel your account? We don't allow that...
NEW YORK -- All Vincent Ferrari wanted to do was cancel his $14.95 per month account with America Online (AOL).
The 30-year-old Bronx resident recently forced to cut down on home expenses, and decided one of the services that had to go was his AOL internet account.
But Ferrari had heard horror stories of how difficult it was to cancel with the internet giant, so he decided to record his telephone call.
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See the Global News video
The following is a transcript of his call with an AOL representative:
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AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?
VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.
AOL: Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?
VF: VF Ferrari.
CLOCK READOUT - 00:30
AOL: You've had this account for a long time.
VF: Yup.
AOL: Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?
VF: I just don't use it anymore.
AOL: Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?
VF: Yup.
AOL: How long have you had that...
VF: Years...
AOL: ...the high speed?
VF: ...years.
AOL: Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.
VF: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...
CLOCK READOUT - 01:47
AOL: Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?
VF: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.
AOL: Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?
VF: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?
CLOCK READOUT - 02:21
AOL: Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...
VF: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well explain to me what's, why...
VF: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.
VF: You're not helping me. You're helping me...
AOL: I am trying to help.
VF: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.
AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...
VF: Cancel my account...
AOL: Turning off your account...
VF: ...cancel the account...
AOL: ...would be the worst thing that...
VF: ...cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:02
AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...
VF: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.
AOL: Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you VF because all I'm...
VF: Will you please cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:32
AOL: Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.
VF: Wonderful, Okay.
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According to a posting on his blog site, insignificantthoughts.com, Ferrari says the highlight of the call came when the customer service representative asked to speak to his father.
So like any good blogger, Ferrari posted a copy of the telephone call recording on internet.
The rest is...well, internet history.
Ferrari has since been approached by CNBC, NBC, CBS and several other radio stations from around the U.S. to talk about his AOL experience.
He even received a letter from an AOL executive apologizing for the incident -- which Ferrari of course posted on his site as well:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter from Nicholas Graham, Executive Vice President of AOL Corporate Communications:
Vincent, thank you for returning my phone call. I appreciate hearing from you and being able to talk to you - and to personally apologize for your experience. At AOL, we have zero-tolerance for customer care incidents like this - which is deeply regrettable and also absolutely inexcusable. The employee in question violated our customer service guidelines and practices, and everything that AOL believes to be important in customer care - chief among them being respect for the member, and swiftly honoring their requests. This matter was dealt with immediately and appropriately, and the employee cited here is no longer with the Company.
Vincent - please get in touch with me again in the future I can be of help at all. And good luck to you and to “Insignificant Thoughts”.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for Ferrari, the newfound publicity has prevented him from posting many blogs since the whole experience became public.
"As you can see, blogging has been light. I think the explanation is pretty self-explanatory, though, don’t you? :-)," writes Ferrari.
NEW YORK -- All Vincent Ferrari wanted to do was cancel his $14.95 per month account with America Online (AOL).
The 30-year-old Bronx resident recently forced to cut down on home expenses, and decided one of the services that had to go was his AOL internet account.
But Ferrari had heard horror stories of how difficult it was to cancel with the internet giant, so he decided to record his telephone call.
Back to Technology
See the Global News video
The following is a transcript of his call with an AOL representative:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?
VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.
AOL: Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?
VF: VF Ferrari.
CLOCK READOUT - 00:30
AOL: You've had this account for a long time.
VF: Yup.
AOL: Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?
VF: I just don't use it anymore.
AOL: Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?
VF: Yup.
AOL: How long have you had that...
VF: Years...
AOL: ...the high speed?
VF: ...years.
AOL: Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.
VF: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...
CLOCK READOUT - 01:47
AOL: Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?
VF: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.
AOL: Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?
VF: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?
CLOCK READOUT - 02:21
AOL: Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...
VF: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well explain to me what's, why...
VF: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.
VF: You're not helping me. You're helping me...
AOL: I am trying to help.
VF: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.
AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...
VF: Cancel my account...
AOL: Turning off your account...
VF: ...cancel the account...
AOL: ...would be the worst thing that...
VF: ...cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:02
AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...
VF: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.
AOL: Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you VF because all I'm...
VF: Will you please cancel the account.
CLOCK READOUT - 03:32
AOL: Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.
VF: Wonderful, Okay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to a posting on his blog site, insignificantthoughts.com, Ferrari says the highlight of the call came when the customer service representative asked to speak to his father.
So like any good blogger, Ferrari posted a copy of the telephone call recording on internet.
The rest is...well, internet history.
Ferrari has since been approached by CNBC, NBC, CBS and several other radio stations from around the U.S. to talk about his AOL experience.
He even received a letter from an AOL executive apologizing for the incident -- which Ferrari of course posted on his site as well:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter from Nicholas Graham, Executive Vice President of AOL Corporate Communications:
Vincent, thank you for returning my phone call. I appreciate hearing from you and being able to talk to you - and to personally apologize for your experience. At AOL, we have zero-tolerance for customer care incidents like this - which is deeply regrettable and also absolutely inexcusable. The employee in question violated our customer service guidelines and practices, and everything that AOL believes to be important in customer care - chief among them being respect for the member, and swiftly honoring their requests. This matter was dealt with immediately and appropriately, and the employee cited here is no longer with the Company.
Vincent - please get in touch with me again in the future I can be of help at all. And good luck to you and to “Insignificant Thoughts”.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for Ferrari, the newfound publicity has prevented him from posting many blogs since the whole experience became public.
"As you can see, blogging has been light. I think the explanation is pretty self-explanatory, though, don’t you? :-)," writes Ferrari.