01-22-2006, 09:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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No Matter How Much I Like Audible Content, They Just Keep Making It Easier To Hate Them!
I have been an Audible.com user since 1999, listening mostly to their daily Wall Street Journal subscription, but I have occasionally purchased books as well. Every year it seems their software gets worse, and it is so bad now on the Windows Mobile side of things I don't even use my Pocket PC for Audible content but a dedicated MP3 player that has Audible software burned in the ROM. Their desktop software is still the pits, written by someone that clearly does not use Windows and has no clue how the UI works. And, it crashed again yesterday. :roll:
:soapbox: Their most recent attempt to twerk me off to no end involves calling my phone, letting it ring two times and then hanging up! I had no idea who/what 1-800-258-0261 belonged to. So, today, I hit redial and talked to Juan, who was very excited to offer me a deal before I cut him off and asked him to remove my phone number for all of their marketing databases. And since doing that, they have called me no less than three more times!
What is wrong with people? What in the world, besides hitting the bong a little early in the day, would possess some marketing genius at Audible to sit around in a meeting and go "Ok, let's cull the phone numbers from our users, which we require them to enter in the system because they use credit cards, set up an automatic dialer so ring their phones 2-3 times and hang up at random hours. (They have nailed me personally at 2pm, 7pm, 9pm and various other random times during the day.) Then, they will call us back, excited to hear our new special!"
Audible, you just made up my mind about a trip I have coming up in a few weeks. Instead of my normal routine of perusing your site and buying something both my wife and I will be interested in, I'll be perusing podcast directories. I would sooner listen to AM radio that was 50% static. I would rather listen to my tires for four hours (I actually have nice sounding tires) than buy another book from you if the reward is being pestered as I have been this month on Jan 5th, 6th, 18th, 19th 20th, and 21st. Talk about that in your next marketing meeting.
And for those of you thinking about buying from Audible, be on the look out for that mysterious call from 1-800-258-0261. They will have a sweet deal for you! :?
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01-22-2006, 09:09 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 72
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Ed,
We can definitely feel your pain caused by Audible.
If you are called again (their nickel), you should begin to interrogate the person with detailed questions such as what is your name, your badge number, your location, etc and then at the end of the longest call that you can tolerate, tell them that you are gathering info for the report you are preparing pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission and your state Attorney General's guidelines for telemarketers who violate federal guidelines (the No-Call List provisions).
Tell him that his company and he is potentially liable for the $10,000 per call that is made since you requested them to remove your phone from all databases on ----- 2005.
Then ask to speak to his supervisor and run the routine again.
This should get their attention but they really are a stupid lot so it might take one more bump up to that person's supervisor.
Best of luck.
:!:
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01-22-2006, 09:22 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 218
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Well, I'll be derned! I don't have caller ID, but I'll bet anything that's the dadblasted call I get three or four times every day at about the same time. Just a hangup from the answering machine. And I was blaming my evil sister-in-law! :devilboy:
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01-22-2006, 09:23 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 270
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Perhaps if everyone on PPCT called the 800 number every day for a week, complaining about their customer calling, they might hear us.
On a similar subject, I have been getting unsolicited fax, advertising everything from trips to mortgages. There is a federal law against sending unsolicited faxes. The last one included a form that I had the option to fax back to them at an 800 number. I have been faxing them from my PC a text file of The Art of War everyday. I hope they enjoy reading it.
__________________
Thanks!
Peace,
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01-22-2006, 09:27 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 177
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Quote:
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Perhaps if everyone on PPCT called the 800 number every day for a week, complaining about their customer calling, they might hear us.
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I feel so validated to read that I'm not the only one disgusted with Audible's behavior, but I don't think that calling their number to complain will help much as one of my chief complaints about them is that no one there ever seems to answer their phones.
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01-22-2006, 09:36 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 38
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If you want to be happy with Audible, u gotta use iTunes and an iPod and forget using their crappy software...
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01-22-2006, 09:40 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 270
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Quote:
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I feel so validated to read that I'm not the only one disgusted with Audible's behavior, but I don't think that calling their number to complain will help much as one of my chief complaints about them is that no one there ever seems to answer their phones.
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Somebody will ALWAYS answer the inbound sales 800 number.
__________________
Thanks!
Peace,
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01-22-2006, 09:43 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 270
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I've changed books...they may be tired of the Art of War. I've moved on to a wonderful html rendition of Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace.
__________________
Thanks!
Peace,
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01-22-2006, 09:57 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 11
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bystander
Ed,
We can definitely feel your pain caused by Audible.
If you are called again (their nickel), you should begin to interrogate the person with detailed questions such as what is your name, your badge number, your location, etc and then at the end of the longest call that you can tolerate, tell them that you are gathering info for the report you are preparing pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission and your state Attorney General's guidelines for telemarketers who violate federal guidelines (the No-Call List provisions).
Tell him that his company and he is potentially liable for the $10,000 per call that is made since you requested them to remove your phone from all databases on ----- 2005.
Then ask to speak to his supervisor and run the routine again.
This should get their attention but they really are a stupid lot so it might take one more bump up to that person's supervisor.
Best of luck.
:!:
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I don't know that this would work. If I understand correctly, the No-Call List does not prevent telemarketing calls from companies with whom you have a business relationship with so having a membership with Audible may not be covered by this. Especially if their membership agreement includes such calls.
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01-22-2006, 10:17 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 93
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Isaac
If you want to be happy with Audible, u gotta use iTunes and an iPod and forget using their crappy software...
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you are right, but is it really worth buying an ipod and carrying an extra device just to listen to audible.com when your pocket-pc "should" support their .aa files in the first place?
i don't like their WM5 player. its heavy on the processor and i can't play games while listening...but i have no choice.
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