“You Couldn’t Make This Up” Department, or
How to Make Misspelling Into a Profit Center

[Editor’s Note:  The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.]

Based on my less-than-satisfactory first three months as a new CenturyLink customer (to say the least), I have a proposed nickname for the company:  “Weak Link.”

Traps for the UnWary

Glitch #1 was the $75 “reserved number charge” on our first bill.

CenturyUnh-unh.

Phone companies are supposed to port over customers’ numbers for free.

After three phone calls — and 45 minutes “on hold” — I finally got through to a company rep who reversed the charge.

Strike #2:  Spring-loaded Fees

Six weeks later, I spotted a $10 bump in our monthly bill (Glitch #2).

It turns out the item was for something called “CenturyLink @Ease,” that was bundled in our original package (without our consent), but was hidden by an offsetting “promotional credit.”

Temporarily.

When the promotional credit ended, the full charge was added to our bill.

trapI’ve got a hunch many CenturyLink customers never catch this, or, if they do, despair of investing the necessary time to correct it.

Which is presumably why the company does it.

Is That Spelled “C-A-P-L-I-N??”

Glitch #3 actually dated to when our account was first opened, and the sales rep misspelled our name.

Again, more calls to customer service, followed by more wait time, until I finally succeeded in getting through to a company rep who made the correction.

A couple weeks later, guess what was buried in our most recent monthly bill?

A fee titled, “Listing Change Charge.”

Unfortunately (and infuriatingly), I’m not kidding . . .

P.S.:  Good thing I know how to productively use downtime waiting on hold.   🙂

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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