An example of crappy customer service

A little backstory: I have domain names with both register.com and godaddy. Most of them are at godaddy, because Godaddy is really cheap. Sometimes I get nutty business ideas at 3am, and think “what the hell, lemme buy the domain”. To me, $10 isn’t that much to spend on this.

But I used to use Register.com way back when (before godaddy was advertising naked chicks during the superbowl). And I still have a few domains there. I keep them there more or less because it’s not worth the trouble to move them over.

But today I got a renewal for one of my domains. So I go to Register.com to renew, and the renewal is about $40 a year. Ouch. Godaddy renews domains for about $10. That’s a big difference.

So I hop on the “live chat” to see if I – as a decade-long customer – can get it a little cheaper. Here we go…

<Begin Chat>

You are now chatting with ‘Gina P’ Register.com. Can I
please have your name and phone number in case we are disconnected?

you: dan furman, 845.340.9090

Gina P: Hi Dan,

Gina P: How may I help you today?

you: hi – question – why is your renewal so expensive as
compared to godaddy?

you: it’s like three times the price.

Gina P: The pricing for domain names will vary depending on
the registrar, but this often depends on what services and support are offered.

Gina P: This is not the case with all providers, but budget
registrars sometimes need to charge additional fees or lack customer support to
make up for their low prices.

you: well, in the time I’ve had this domain (10+ years), I
have not needed support or services.

you: it just seems very wasteful to me

Gina P: The domains are included free of charge with most
website and marketing packages. Have you ever considered hosting the sites here
with us?

you: no, I’m good there

you: I’m just renewing the domain, and am very strongly
considering leaving register.com because the price is so high. Is there a
“let’s keep this guy” coupon code you can give me?

Gina P: You have reached a dedicated team for our website
and marketing services. For further assistance with your domains, we can be
contacted directly 24/7 at (877) 381-2449 or 1 (902) 749-5310.

you: huh????

you: is anyone there? Or was the solution to throw a phone
number at me?

Gina P: You’ve reached a dedicated chat team for our website
and marketing services. You’ll want to speak with customer support at the
number above regarding your domain renewals.

you: I know. You just said that – but I thought *you* were
helping me

<a minute goes by>

you: HELLO????

you: wtf???

Gina P: Customer support is available 24/7 for assistance
with the domain names. Feel free to contact Register.com at anytime.

 Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.

And that, folks, is super crappy “we don’t give a @#$%” customer service. Why even have the live chat? Bye bye, register.com. Now I will go through the trouble of moving my domains.