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This story doesn't surprise me.

An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.

It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.

And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes:

CLOCK READOUT - 00:00

AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?

VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.

AOL: : Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?

VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.

CLOCK READOUT - 00:30

AOL: : You've had this account for a long time.

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: : Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?

VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.

AOL: : Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: : How long have you had that...

VINCENT: Years...

AOL: : ...the high speed?

VINCENT: ...years.

AOL: : Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.

VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...

CLOCK READOUT - 01:47

AOL: : Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?

VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.

AOL: : Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?

VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?

CLOCK READOUT - 02:21

*****

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.

Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.

AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.

Yes the AOL really asked to talk to Ferrari's dad. Go here and you'll hear the whole conversation.

Now go read what I wrote here in April.

*- I'm through with AOL. After 11 years I'm leaving for Bell South and one of its DSL plans. 50 times faster than dial up and only $10-12 more a month. My AOL email is still good even when my service ends on April 22nd. So those of you who know it can still contact me there.

*- AOL's billing dept is such a clusterfuck I'm glad to be leaving. A few months ago they were charging my credit card for AOL Traveller's advantage and no one knew how or why I was being billed. I had to dispute the charge to end the service.

Then to cancel AOL they wouldn't talk to me, even though I'm the account holder and my wife's name is on the credit card. Three idiots giving me the run around before I called AOL corporate in Dulles VA. Five minutes with someone there got my service cancelled. April 22nd is my last day.

Adios AOL. I was with you 11 years but you treated me like garbage just too often. You forgot rule number #1 of customer service- The customer is always right even if the computer says not. That's when you get your butt and investigate instead of telling the customer you can't do anything for them.

See I had a similiar experience. Except I lost my temper, got no apology letter and had to call VA non-toll free to get results.

America Online acts and thinks like the mafia. The only way people can quit is if they die.

Hat tip- Don Singleton who has had his own experiences trying to cancel AOL.
Open Post- Adam's Blog, Cao's Blog,