Describe in detail 1 experience you have had that you would consider bad customer service?

I was working on my Masters thesis and decided it would be cool to have an iPod to listen to while I worked. I needed more memory on my DELL, so sent for and received a new memory stick. I'm not particularly computer savvy, so I called DELL directly just so I'd have someone on the line to help be sure I'd put the memory in the right port. After being on hold for what seemed like forever, I got a guy with what seemed like a snotty attitude. I did as he told me, and almost immediately smelled something burning. He yelped Pull it out! and I did - at which time saw a melted spot on the stick, and my computer was dead. He pretty much said Tough luck. My entire thesis was on that PC! I had not sufficiently backed it up, foolishly thinking I'd do so when the new memory came in.

I tend to be patient and thought somehow I could salvage the loss. Unfortunately a couple of days later (and through several computer-smart friends), I wound up calling DELL again. I got someone in India. That's fine and her English was clear, but her answers were not. She told me they could reimburse me the cost of the memory stick, but nothing else. I told her I didn't care about the money, I needed someone to help me salvage my thesis. She said, once again, basically Tough luck, lady. At that point, I started to cry in frustration (I can get awfully girly sometimes) and she said, like I was crazy, "Are you allright, Ms. ____?" That was the one and only time I've yelled at a customer rep anywhere.

In the end, I had to buy a new computer and typed my entire thesis from scratch on school and work computers until it arrived; the outcome is a conglomeration of first drafts and memory. Yes, it was my fault for not backing-up properly, but I'll never forget the experience I had with DELL. The runaround between operators, the indifference, and the massive expense of replacing my PC in the end were a lesson of a lifetime.

Second place for lousy service: Earthlink. Another story entirely.

First for Best Service: some of the used sellers on Amazon.