Has anyone had any experience with customer service live chats? Whatcha think? I’ve been testing a few recently and can’t decide whether I find them to be more or less satisfying than a good ol’ fashion phone call to…wherever. I do think that the silly scripts are too, well, scripted and become painfully obvious online. It can actually be very frustrating. Recently while chatting with Overstock.com, my rep replied “Thank you for submitting those details” every time I said something about my order. You’re welcome, Overstock.com rep. But when things escalated and he was giving me canned lines about why my order hasn’t arrived (two weeks later) I had to keep myself from emphasizing my words using italics or worse… ALL CAPS. I’ve included a bit of the chat (I don’t exactly come off like Princess Grace…) for your enjoyment:

Derrick: The item is currently in transit to you.

you: okay

you: and there have been no updates since the 9th

you: that’s nine days ago

Derrick: The U.S. Postal Service does not provide detailed tracking information for their deliveries. The number listed is only a delivery confirmation number, and only shows information after your order is delivered. I apologize for this inconvenience.

you: at what point can i assumed it’s not coming?

you: i cant exactly wait another week when christmas is in a week…

Derrick: The item will be delivered to you with in 24th December.

Derrick: Is there anything else that I can help you with today?

you: no, derrick.

you: and im only typing this because its going to make me feel better, even though i know you couldnt give two shits… but someone doesnt order something 17 days before christmas so that it can arrived one day before the big day. that’s fucking insane.

Derrick: Thank you for visiting Overstock.com. Have a great day.

you: you too…

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