They didn’t care for this customer

Sir — On reading both Katy Harrington’s article (Living, Sunday Independent, November 26) and her ‘aneurysm’-inducing experience with a mobile phone call centre which specialises in zero customer care, and Alan O’Neill’s article (Business, Sunday Independent, November 26) on how to handle customers’ complaints positively, I must tell my story — for therapy, if nothing else.

On October 5, I ordered a mobile phone online from Eir. On October 9, I received two phones and my account was debited twice. I immediately got on to their ‘chat line’ and was told to contact ‘Customer Care’ (the torture begins). After being put through to numerous sections, I was eventually told to put my problem in writing immediately to their email address. I did this and on October 13, I received a reply from Eir requesting me to contact ‘Customer Care’ (see where this is going?). I wrote back to Eir again and explained that ‘Customer Care’ told me to write to them. On November 1, Eir wrote back and told me to ring ‘Customer Care’ who would arrange a “jiffy bag team” (no jesting) to collect my phone.

OK, to try to keep this brief, hours were spent ringing Eir’s so-called ‘Customer Care’, being sent from one section and person to another, giving my name and details till I was blue in the face. Incidentally, they have all my personal details, including credit card information, but will only give me their first name.

I didn’t quite have an aneurysm, but after speaking with a lot of poor ‘Customer Care’ staff, I had to do some very serious deep breathing and meditation to prevent said aneurysm occurring.

On three separate occasions, I was told someone would call me back but I’m still waiting for that elusive call. Nearly two months on from receiving the two phones, I’m about to throw them both into the Irish Sea and revert to using my old friend the “landline”.

Eir’s new advertisement ‘Let’s Make Possible’ is a joke and should read: “Let’s do everything we possibly can to make any problem you may have with us totally impossible to solve”.

Tony O’Neill, Wicklow Town