Sprint's Treo 600 is due for some bashing by customers.

Howard Rheingold writes about his encounter with customer care when his Treo 600 microphone stopped working...

So I took it to the Spring store. They asked if I had the $4/month insurance. I said "no." I am only now realizing what a good deal it is. Why didn't you INSIST that I get it, Justin? Anyway, the indifferent young man I talked to at the Sprint store in the Bonair shopping center in San Rafael, California then said that they didn't do repairs or diagnostics and didn't know who did. He actually SURFED THE WEB to give me the phone number of Palm. So I called Palm, who told me they could deal with everyone's Treo 600 except Sprint's. They directed me to a third party repair service whose voicemail sends you to the web.

Then I read the comments on his article and came across this torrent of bitterness by a "Former ATTWS Employee":

I am not surprised to read the comments on poor customer service, I think everyone should know that customer service is nothing more and nothing less than a barrier between a company and it's customers. It has nothing to do with providing 'customer service' and everything to do with lying to a customer and deceiving them enough to the point they will either regain trust or, having lost it, just go away.

It used to be that when you called customer service, you were reaching someone who knew what they were talking about and willing to make the right decisions for the customer and the company. Not anymore. The sooner consumers/citizens realize that and stop holding some false hope that companys actually *care* about you, the better for all, and the sooner customers and employees will stop being infantalized. Treat them like a child, give them a lollypop and send them on their way. Nowadays customer service reps are just former fast food employees who found something slightly better.

So instead of imagining someone in business casual, clean shaven, listening and empathizing, imagine more accuratly, someone in baggy workout clothing slobbering into the headset while wondering when you will get off the phone and let them get back to being harassed at work by their ineffectual, butt-kissing management. Sad but true.

Hm, now this is yet another example of 'conversations' about companies that are happening online. I wonder when those companies will get a clue.

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