The Internet Not for Old People 607
Alien54 writes to tell us the Daily Mail is reporting that if you want an internet connection and you are over 70 you may be in for a surprise. From the article: "After walking the Great Wall of China and making plans for a trip to Russia, Shirley Greening-Jackson thought signing up for a new internet service would be a doddle. But the young man behind the counter had other ideas. He said she was barred - because she was too old."
The store is slightly better than Radio Shack (Score:3, Informative)
They most likely created the policy after too many complaints of pressuring older people into buying a fancy but complicated phone or expensive cell/mobile phone contract.
Re:Done b/c of complaints (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Another idea (Score:3, Informative)
* this wasn't worth digging up a standard normal table; but the OP got all statistical on our asses, so let's at least remember some of the basics
Re:why would HE be reprimanded? (Score:5, Informative)
It most certainly is his problem. From TFA:
So the entire thing was at the agent's discretion, and he decided to deny this woman service based on her age. My sentiments are the same as the GP's: I hope this guy was reprimanded.
Re:A trip?! (Score:5, Informative)
This comment does seem a bit disrespectful.
The lady said she completed a VISA application to go to Russia, and went to China last year.
She was legitimately comparing the complexity of Passport/VISA requests to a common subscriptions service contract.
Now, I don't know if either country has particularly complex VISA application processes, but even if they are not the accumulation of absurdities, redundancies and mistranslations that government forms often are, they should be definitely comparable.
Perhaps it wasn't the most interesting quote ever, but there is no reason to be condescending.
Re:why would HE be reprimanded? (Score:3, Informative)
Are you selectively reading the article? That's almost as bad as not reading it. The same article, a mere two sentences later, says it's up to the discretion of the agent.
Re:why would HE be reprimanded? (Score:4, Informative)
The idea that the corporation is an entity unto itself controlled only by people in central offices where the front-line workers have no POWER is what's accurate. The front line workers might have some responsibility, but which is the larger? Their responsibility to try to change corporate policy or their responsibility to their families, who will go hungry if they get fired? Because I can promise you that in 99% of the cases, if a customer service rep tries to change corporate policy, they will be informed that they are not authorized to do so at BEST, and fired for ruffling the wrong feathers at worst.
Customer service reps are there to make the company look like it gives a flying shit about its customers. They're not there to improve the quality of the product or help the customer beyond a very rigidly proscribed set of circumstances. Management doesn't want to hear what customers want or need, they want to know about how much money they're making. The only time customer service enters into their consciousness is when someone's bitching about how much they're paying their reps or when they make such a massive cock-up that it starts actually biting into the profits. (Which then is typically handled by firing all the reps and hiring new ones... which is usually still cheaper than actually fixing the cock-up.)
Re:Daily Mail (Score:2, Informative)
Funnily enough, "the Mail's founder, Lord Northcliffe, said his winning formula was to give his readers 'a daily hate'" (ref: Polly Toynbee in the Grauniad).
Re:why would HE be reprimanded? (Score:3, Informative)
It's not that I'm so weak I can't pick up 44 pounds, or so clumsy I can't walk with a very wide awkward box in my arms. It's that I shouldn't have to! Besides the huge liability risk, it's just plain rude.
And it's not that he was swamped with customers, because there were only five customers in the store at the time. He just didn't give a shit. And so I no longer give a shit about Best Buy. He was my first and last encounter with a Best Buy "representative". First impressions count.
And don't try to lay the blame on me! If they want me to fill out forms they can damned well pay me for it! If they can't figure out who their bad employees are without my help, then they've got no business being in business.
Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't (Score:3, Informative)
This would require more paper, which would cost more money.
2) make the fine print easier to understand, say, newspaper-reading-level.
You'd run the risk of people actually understanding what they're agreeing to before they agree to it, which could be devastating to business.
3) go over the fine print with every customer to make sure they understand it.
This would take a lot of time, and time costs money (while one employee is busy explaining to one customer, they can't help another customer, so you have to hire another person, which is expensive).
And yeah, going back to that understanding thing... do the companies really want everyone to completely understand these agreements?