UNITED STATES—I know it’s happened to you, as it’s happened to me. Getting good customer service is not something that is easy to come by.  It seems many companies can care less about the customer service they provide to their customers. Well this past week proved to me that utility companies are the worse. Let’s just say I won’t acknowledge the name of the company, but they received an earful from me, and some of my colleagues and I have made a formal complaint.

I know someone who is Deaf, who operates like a superstar compared to so many other people I know. While it’s difficult to do things that they once did in the past without struggle, having an impairment hurts sometimes. I don’t like to use the word disability because it presents a negative connotation in my opinion. All I would say is that a gas company was contacted to ensure service was taken care. They were SPECIFICALLY informed of the situation and that they needed to accommodate this individual because of their inability to hear.  Come to find out, they performed a job that was beyond despicable.

Not only did they not ensure service was completed, they acted as if it was no big deal. So what do I do, I get on that phone and demand to speak to someone. The first woman I spoke to was a bit standoffish. I explained the situation and wanted to know why, this person I knew was getting such pathetic treatment from this company. I mean they had no trouble collecting payment, so why is it when its time for a service to be performed these damn utility companies act as if the consumer doesn’t matter.

So I go back and forth with this woman, explaining the situation and the fact that someone KNEW of the situation, yet no accommodations were made to ease the process. She pretty told me otherwise, so I said get a supervisor on the phone now, I want to speak with someone, it’s ridiculous. By this time my blood is boiling. The supervisor knew I was pissed by the tone in my voice. If its two things I dislike most in this world its: disrespect and bad service.

He too, was very close-minded at first, but I explained the situation and told him I expect someone to come out ASAP to resolve the matter and accommodate my friend. I mean you guys are providing some of the worse service to date.  Come to find out they pull the same crap a day later, and another colleague of mine is forced to call them and blow a casket because of their bad customer service. I think they lost their cool a bit more than I did. It worked cause they sent someone back out to remedy the situation.

My point in this little rant is that rather a person has an impairment or not, accommodations should be made to ensure the customer is getting the top-notch quality service they are paying for. I am so ashamed of this company I will be writing a personal letter informing them of the shameful, pathetic and downright sickening service that was provided not only to me, but a person I truly respect.

Businesses will never learn until we choose to send a message to them. How about we strike and have no internet, light, gas, security, water, insurance, I mean the list can go on and on? Once we let them know we’re fed up, they’ll get in gear. If the service isn’t what it should be, it’s important to complain to get it resolved. Don’t allow the company to continue to take your hard-earned money without thinking they shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. Many companies are slowly discovering if someone is not happy with their service, they have no problem jumping ship and going to a competitor who will provide top-notch service to keep you.