Comments on: Pay By Phone For Your Inconvenience

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:01:57 +0000

I just went online to search for Pier 1 c.c. payment online and read your comments. Recently I received a letter from Pier 1 and a merger co. well a brief look at the message that I think said we could now pay online through this company or bank I don’t remember—anyway I through the letter out thinking great next bill I’ll just log on to Pier 1 and pay online well this month rolled around and I did that to no avail–letters in trash–pier one is no help–guess I’ll have to drive out of my way 20 minutes with my check of course thanks for the story and pay my bill–this is the first time I’ve ever written about anything

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 12:49:28 +0000

Well, certainly something is not better simply because it is automated or computerized (voting for instance). But I think maybe what Zach is trying to focus his career on is improving things that are computerized so that you and I don’t have so much frustration with them.

I, on the other hand, will continue to make computers as confusing and difficult to use as possible so that I’m the only one who knows how to use them. This will make me feel smart and ensure I remain gainfully employed.

Nice to hear from you too Chaia.

By: Chaia

Chaia — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:13:18 +0000

So, Eric, Zach…does that mean you finally have to around to my way of thinking? Computers are NOT that great and we rely on automated stuff too much? Yeah, that’s right, good ol’ paper is best. ; )

Geez, I miss you BOTH so much. It’s all kinds of exciting to read comments from both of you at the same time, I almost can’t take it. = )

By: zsz

zsz — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 21:42:45 +0000

Ouch, that’s one of those situations where I would flat out refuse to pay the fee. I’d tell them they’d get their fee (and the rest of their money) as soon as I got a bill for it that I could verify. That’s sad.

I’ve been unhappy with both Comcast and Verizon. My Verizon bill pay woes are here; as for my Comcast story, I’m saving that for a slow week. Or, perhaps, when I’m moving out of Pittsburgh and cancelling Comcast for good. Then I’ll be scathing.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 21:21:12 +0000

Ah yes, I have a rant as well. It’s a good one for you HCIers too. I paid my student bill this summer using UNL’s online system. Everything seems to go fine, I get a confirmation page with a confirmation number and all that (and I saved it). So it sounds like everything went alright right? Nope. Your payment doesn’t actually go through unless you also get a pop-up window that says “payment successful.” I of course, living in 2005, have a pop-up blocker, so I got no such pop up. Faced with a late fee the next month, I show them my confirmation page, they look up the confirmation number and tell me that the transaction wasn’t completed. Now, I refused to pay the late fee, which they grudgingly gave in to. Now, I’m not an HCI expert, but shouldn’t a confirmation page/number indicate success rather than a pop-up window that you don’t know exists if you’re not successful?

By: Samantha K.

Samantha K. — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 20:36:15 +0000

How about this… I was signed up for Comcast e-bill (now I just do this through my bank). I would get an email saying to go to my account to view and pay the bill. Here’s the problem. For the past three months when I have tried to log in, I get a system maintenance error. I’ve tried several machines, OSes, browsers, bleh. So I would call and PAY a fee to pay the stupid bill because I don’t even have a statement. (meaning of course I can’t verify the charges) I am back to paper bill review. I hate Comcast. I was so proud when they finally went to e-bill this spring. I guess they lied.

By: Chaia

Chaia — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 04:43:15 +0000

This post was so well-written and witty that I’m still laughing. Thanks for that. = )