I hear you about consumers’ ending the misery of AOL. This is a case of an organization reaping what it has sown. It’s no fun to lose a job, but it’s hard to imagine the next job not being MUCH better than the job of being a retention consultant — a job that shouldn’t even exist, if you ask me — at AOL.

It’s too bad that so many people have had to suffer … or be enraged … or have their time wasted … or have money more or less stolen from them … or be treated with gross insensitivity when a loved one has died. Some of the parts of what is now AOL may survive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets re-branded. That is, whatever becomes of it may not be called America Online or AOL. (It might be like trying to keep “Enron” as a brand name.)

About six weeks ago I heard on the Clark Howard Show that AOL was going to offer an internet-based international long distance telephoning system, with a phone handset that can be plugged into a USB port… (In fact, the product is apparently available already, but AOL hasn’t launched publicity for it.) Clark — who’s been a strong AOL critic for a long time — was keen on the product. Maybe that will be the phoenix that rises from the ashes of the former AOL.

I must apologize for a mistake in my post just before yours: The phrase from Deming is actually “unknown and unknowable” — although “unmeasurable” (what I wrote) is very close in meaning to “unknowable.” “unknowable” means that you can’t find out definitely. For example, you can measure a save rate and your quarterly earnings (on paper), but you can’t measure the rage a “save” mindset engenders in customers, or the damage it does to a company’s reputation. But what is more important to the success of a company, especially over the long term?

You also cannot put any figures on the damage to one’s quality of life, and health, and soul, by having to dry heave and vomit most mornings because of the pressure on you at your job. I am sorry to hear that you went through that.

(By the way, I would like to see Nicholas Graham spend just one day in your former shoes. What if Nicholas could understand, just for a moment, the pressure John was under — the bugspray on a boll weevil? Answering the revelation about poor customer service by summarily firing John evinced an extraordinary lack of leadership, but apparently Nicholas doesn’t realize that. Forgive the tautology, but if he had known better, he wouldn’t have done what he did. Deming stressed the importance of acquiring knowledge — otherwise you are stuck with your ignorance.)

I’m sure there are some truly wonderful human beings (in addition to Bonejob) at AOL. But they are caught up in an extraordinarily dysfunctional system that ends up gutting people’s humanity.

Indeed, that’s the irony and the tragedy. You build up powerful equity in treating customers with respect, even if, short term, the customer suspends their business with you.

W. Edwards Deming encouraged managers to recognize that the most important figures for running a company are “unknown and unmeasurable” — that is, things that cannot be measured. Things like reputation. Things like the value of someone cancelling the account immediately when a customer asks to cancel the account. Things like whether someone will, or will not, recommend your company to others. Things like the value of not pestering the customer with endless advertising. Things like using a large chunk of the company’s human capital to torture customers who want to cancel, instead of allowing these employees to use their brains to fundamentally and creatively improve the company and what it sells. None of these things is measurable. But they can be make or break a company, particularly if you dare to look beyond the current quarter.

I wonder if AOL customers are able to access your blog through the AOL browser.

It’s easy enough to develop the culture, train the employees and reward the ones who perform the action you want them to perform. What IS sad is that the size of a company like AOL doesn’t have enough of the fish higher up in the food chain who recognize that their bottom line might go up if they treated people with respect all along.

My parents, years ago, were foolish enough to sign up with AOL and continued to be charged after they cancelled. This infuriated them and now that AOL broadband is available, do you think they would have ANY inclination to do business with AOL again? What about every person who moves or experiences a down time, without internet access? You going to run back to AOL after they treated you that way when you simply wanted to cancel an account?

Jon certainly doesn’t sound like he’s polished in being polite and obviously can’t take a point blank “hint”, but he may also have grown up, so to speak, in a culture that rewarded his tactics.

Great job Vincent, I only wish I knew of others having the same problem, then I would have recorded my phone call.

It didn’t take holy government regulation for Vinny to decide to record the conversation. (Some may even argue – and have, in fact – that he had to actually do more work to cover his butt from regulation).

What we are witnessing is the epitome of consumers’ taking control and educating themselves about the products and services they consume in order to make decisions on their own regarding which business offers the best. Consumer action without unnecessary government intervention is at the core of capitalism.

Thank goodness there are consumer messaiahs like Vinny out there to help us make decisions for ourselves too.

It goes to show that companies such as AOL are an example of capitalism run amok. The consumer simply does not possess the leverage, through practical and reasonable channels, to conduct fair business transactions.

Thank goodness the banks are required by federal regulation to help their customers resolve the fraudulent charges, but nominal charges are often absorbed by banks because the dispute process is often more costly than simply refunding the charge. But ultimately the banks pass these costs to their customers in the form of higher fees and interest rates.

Recording that call and posting it online was stroke of absolute brilliance in its simplicity: let the audience of the Internet draw their own conclusion about AOL. Beautifully executed!

I sure hope this is a major turning point for the massive scam juggernaut that AOL is.

It just goes to show how unfortunate and necessary strong arm tactics are required to deal with corrupt companies like AOL that stonewall their customers.

When regular channels don’t work, the consumer is limited to litigation or public humiliation.

It goes to show that companies such as AOL are an example of capitalism run amok. The consumer simply does not possess the leverage, through practical and reasonable channels, to conduct fair business transactions.

Thank goodness the banks are required by federal regulation to help their customers resolve the fraudulent charges, but nominal charges are often absorbed by banks because the dispute process is often more costly than simply refunding the charge. But ultimately the banks pass these costs to their customers in the form of higher fees and interest rates.

Recording that call and posting it online was stroke of absolute brilliance in its simplicity: let the audience of the Internet draw their own conclusion about AOL. Beautifully executed!

I sure hope this is a major turning point for the massive scam juggernaut that AOL is.

It just goes to show how unfortunate and necessary strong arm tactics are required to deal with corrupt companies like AOL that stonewall their customers.

When regular channels don’t work, the consumer is limited to litigation or public humiliation.

It didn’t take holy government regulation for Vinny to decide to record the conversation. (Some may even argue – and have, in fact – that he had to actually do more work to cover his butt from regulation).

What we are witnessing is the epitome of consumers’ taking control and educating themselves about the products and services they consume in order to make decisions on their own regarding which business offers the best. Consumer action without unnecessary government intervention is at the core of capitalism.

Thank goodness there are consumer messaiahs like Vinny out there to help us make decisions for ourselves too.