@$#**&@#)%!!!!!!!!!

[bluejeangirl76]

Is that how they do in Australia? All nice and calm and polite? That sounds kind of nice...

But this is America, and in particular, Chicago. Screaming and yelling is the only way to get what you want because the customer rep gets so annoyed/flustered/upset/mad that all they want you to do is go away and let them get back to playing Bejeweled Blitz, so they will pretty much give you whatever you want.

[Rip Rokken]

From the point of view of someone who used to work in a call centre dealing with similar sorts of stuff, before you get on the phone, have something to eat, grab a cup of coffee, tea or non-alcoholic poison of choice and a book or something else to do while on hold. The idea is that when you get through to someone, you're calm and *not* liable to blow your top or get irritated. The objective is to get out of the fine if you can. You explain to them that you didn't understand the toll system properly and assumed your rental car had the I-pass, a Chicago native explained the situation to you *on the day* and you *immediately* called your rental company to ask what you needed to do to fix the problem straight away; the rental company told you **insert details of bullshit here** and you believed that they would sort it. Be polite, and if the call operative says they can't fix it for you, it means that person cannot personally fix it; explain you understand they don't personally have the authority to change it, and ask if there is a customer relations department or ombudsman you can speak to. If they give you the 'they will tell you the same thing' routine, thank them and explain that you would like to discuss the impracticality of the situation, and would like to speak to someone who is authorised to make changes to give them feedback on the system.

There is always someone who can remove the charge. The trick is to nicey-nice your way into getting to them, and then being so reasonable in the face of an arseholish situation that they accomodate you. Works a damn sight better than yelling (although it doesn't make you feel as relieved afterwards ) The other thing to do is to email the rental company's office, cc'ing their head office, the I-pass people, the Chicago tourism people, whoever booked your flights if you didn't do it yourself, and the customer relations department of the airline you flew in on. People in tourism get MUCH more accomodating when the people they rely on for forwarded trade are seeing them at their dickyest.

Good luck with it. For you, I waive my advisor's commission

Actually, all my teasing aside, that's exactly how I stuff like this. No matter how ticked I get, I'm always extremely nice and polite when I call, and I'll always ask to speak to the next person up if I'm not having good luck. I'd pay the check before I'd ever yell at anyone on the phone, hahahaha. I definitely will be assertive if I need to, but never raise my voice. It's the worst thing people do and well-trained employees won't respond to bullying.

[Voyager]

Toll Violation Notice Payment Timeline

First Notice (21 days to pay)

•Original Unpaid Toll charges
•$20 fine per violation
•Option to request a hearing

Second Notice (14 days to pay)

•Confirms that you have missed the 1st Notice deadline
•No longer have option to request hearing
•Warns of additional $50 fine per toll if 2nd Notice deadline is not paid in full

Third Notice (21 days to pay)

•Additional $50 fine per violation is added
•Warns of additional penalties should this deadline be ignored
•Potential penalties after deadline include:
•License plate and Driver’s License suspension
•Referral to a collection agency
•Reported to credit rating bureau

[Everett]

Is that how they do in Australia? All nice and calm and polite? That sounds kind of nice...

But this is America, and in particular, Chicago. Screaming and yelling is the only way to get what you want because the customer rep gets so annoyed/flustered/upset/mad that all they want you to do is go away and let them get back to playing Bejeweled Blitz, so they will pretty much give you whatever you want.

That's what you do pretty much everyday

[The Sushi Hunter]

Toll Violation Notice Payment Timeline

First Notice (21 days to pay)

•Original Unpaid Toll charges
•$20 fine per violation
•Option to request a hearing

Second Notice (14 days to pay)

•Confirms that you have missed the 1st Notice deadline
•No longer have option to request hearing
•Warns of additional $50 fine per toll if 2nd Notice deadline is not paid in full

Third Notice (21 days to pay)

•Additional $50 fine per violation is added
•Warns of additional penalties should this deadline be ignored
•Potential penalties after deadline include:
•License plate and Driver’s License suspension
•Referral to a collection agency
•Reported to credit rating bureau

I wouldn't want to be on the business end of that deal!

[bluejeangirl76]

Actually, all my teasing aside, that's exactly how I stuff like this. No matter how ticked I get, I'm always extremely nice and polite when I call, and I'll always ask to speak to the next person up if I'm not having good luck. I'd pay the check before I'd ever yell at anyone on the phone, hahahaha. I definitely will be assertive if I need to, but never raise my voice. It's the worst thing people do and well-trained employees won't respond to bullying.

I promise you that most car rental company employees are not all that well trained. They will usually bend on whatever it is. My ex used to manage a rental car location. And he became manager after about a month - the only way to to achieve such a position faster is to win it in a cracker jack box, and I'm quite sure that happens too. These are not rocket scientists, nor do they particularly care about solving your issue. They just want to be rid of you. Voice raising isn't even necessary, because they will eventually give up SOMEthing. Don't start with the minion when you get one on the phone. Immediately ask for someone higher up without even explaining it, it's a waste of time - and having just been through wanting to kill 5 different Verizon reps, this safely goes for other industries also. Never tell your issue to the first person that picks up the phone.

[Arianddu]

Is that how they do in Australia? All nice and calm and polite? That sounds kind of nice...

But this is America, and in particular, Chicago. Screaming and yelling is the only way to get what you want because the customer rep gets so annoyed/flustered/upset/mad that all they want you to do is go away and let them get back to playing Bejeweled Blitz, so they will pretty much give you whatever you want.

No, that's based on being on the receiving end of those $!#%#@% calls because the call's been escalated up to me to deal with. Taking 10-20 minutes to get someone to calm down and quit swearing enough to find out what the problem was never particularly encouraged me to fix problems caused 90% of the time by their own stupidity. Working the call centre system is a bitch, especially when the front line staff have next to no powers to fix anything, frequently don't have the number to refer something on even when it's warrented, and are usually under huge KPI pressure to get through calls quickly; the worst mind set to see in a call centre is 'it takes too long to fix a problem; tell them no and disconnect'. That's a great sign a call centre is in trouble, and it's horrendously common. The place I worked had some common sense; it built a team of the staff with the best customer handling skills, gave them a shit load of extra training and resources, took them off the timed/number of calls KPIS and made them the trouble shooting team. Any problems got booted straight to us, and we actually had the resources to fix things, take complaints, etc. Probably 80% of our calls were down to miscommunication and not any actual fuck up; because we could take 15 minutes to thoroughly explain the situation and what needed to happen, people were generally fine after we finished with them, even though they were in a screaming fury about it to start with.

Sadly, quite often the fastest way to deal with a screaming arsehole is to give them what they want. I hate time length KPIs for problem solving.

[bluejeangirl76]

Sadly, quite often the fastest way to deal with a screaming arsehole is to give them what they want. I hate time length KPIs for problem solving.

That was my point. Scream and be an arsehole and you'll get what you want.

[Arianddu]

Sadly, quite often the fastest way to deal with a screaming arsehole is to give them what they want. I hate time length KPIs for problem solving.

That was my point. Scream and be an arsehole and you'll get what you want.

Or you get disconnected If you're on LiveJournal, you need to check out cutomers_suck - just full of complaints about loud, abusive customers making outrageous demands. I like it - introduced me to the term Entitled Bitch, or EB for short.

EB? Moi?

[Melissa]

Oh the car Lynn and I had came with one of those too, encased in some metal box attached to the windshield, lol. We did use it a couple times I remember, but then realized the change was better than trying to figure out how the rental company would just charge us more anyway, lol. I'm the driver and Lynn's the navigator, lol, so she got the change ready when we needed it, and my coin tossing skills were still good, lol. We have something here called E-Pass, and I've loved having it the last few years instead of stopping at tolls now. I have 3 tolls one way on my way to work, so 6 a day, and with how bad traffic has gotten here if I didn't have that now it would take me an eternity to get to and from work.

[Rip Rokken]

Sadly, quite often the fastest way to deal with a screaming arsehole is to give them what they want. I hate time length KPIs for problem solving.

That was my point. Scream and be an arsehole and you'll get what you want.

Or you get disconnected If you're on LiveJournal, you need to check out cutomers_suck - just full of complaints about loud, abusive customers making outrageous demands. I like it - introduced me to the term Entitled Bitch, or EB for short.

EB? Moi?

LOL -- sounds like both of you have a point. Me, I can't scream or curse at anyone, and nothing annoys me more than being behind a belligerent a-hole in a customer service line.

Anyway, here's the progress report. I called Illinois Tollway this morning and was very nice, explained the situation, and she verified that without a hearing (which can be done by mail), nothing could be done about the fines. I asked if there were a manager that may be able to help and she said no (whether true or not, I didn't press it). I was cool and went ahead and paid the $164.20 by credit card to get it done with. Might as well ear frequent flyer miles while I'm at it, right?

One interesting thing -- I pay close attention to communication and when I called, she had me give my full address and phone number before pulling up my records. Sometimes this is for ID verification or callback, but in this case nothing in their letter at least indicated they had my phone number and I bet they are trained to get additional information that can be used later in any collections process. Either way, I did what I could and paying the fine was much easier than trying to dispute it further and carrying this around in my brain any longer.

I'm still calling Alamo, though to see if they will do anything for me, even if it's just to refund their $10 administration fee. It irritates me that I was so clear with him that I wanted to make sure I did what I needed to avoid excessive fines, but ultimately it's really my fault for taking anyone's word for something like that instead of making the time to check further. I know I get on my wife's nerves sometimes for being so cautious and triple-checking everything, but it's situations like this that have made me that kinda OCD over time. I think I've just developed a natural distrust that most people care enough to do a decent and thorough job if it's anything that concerns customer service.

[Behshad]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

[StevePerryHair]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

[Behshad]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

Yep you get the discounted price,,,, as an example if I get on the Ohio turnpike from here and go to Toledo, if I pay cash its $3.50 , with izoom(or ipass) they will charge me $2.25!
The reason I bought Indiana's Izoom (vs ohio ipass) is Indiana doesnt charge a $.75 a month fee. not much money buy why pay that when I can use the izoom without a monthly charge and get the same discount

[S2M]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

Absolutely. In RI we have EZ Pass....it costs $4 one way to cross the Newport Bridge with cash. But only .83 if you have the pass.

[bluejeangirl76]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

In IL (with I-Pass) they do... and I pass is supposed to work with I-Zoom and whatever one is in OH... but I don't think it actually does... I haven't tried, but a friend of mine had problems with it if I remember right. But yeah, I take I-90 every day (the one that goes to Elgin) - it's .80 without the pass and only .40 with it. On I-294, it's 1.00 without it, .50 with it. Thanks again, Blago. (open road tolling was his big project when he took over as governor).

[Rockindeano]

It's a very objective system. Your license plate comes up on their screen, you're billed, and you either pay or are sent to collections. There's no fighting and winning.

LOL, you all should have taken Andrew's sled and went through the tolls about 56 times...he would fuckin freak the shit out would he not? Sorry Rokken, but this is hilarious to read. I know you aren't exactly thrilled, but it makes for a nice laugh..those goddamned communistic Illini.

[Deb]

You guys actually have to pay to drive on your own roads??

[bluejeangirl76]

You guys actually have to pay to drive on your own roads??

It's a bitch, ain't it? Not all states have that. it's mostly the north/northeastern ones, where you have winter, snow, ice... road damage = upkeep = make us pay for it.

That's why out west they have freeways, and here we have tollways

[Rockindeano]

You guys actually have to pay to drive on your own roads??

Oh trust me Dear, you pay the Government of Canada plenty to use Canada 1, as well as plenty of other roads.

[Behshad]

You guys actually have to pay to drive on your own roads??

Just cause you have expired old plates on them and run through the toll booths at 60mph , doesnt make it legal !
http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/407/

[Deb]

That's why out west they have freeways, and here we have tollways

Just like in Canada too. I love the west.

[Melissa]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

Actually I think there is a discount now for having E-Pass here. I'm not sure since I've had it a few years now so the light just turns green while I drive through and doesn't display an amount paid like they used to, but I remember hearing that the ones on the 408 here that were going to go up to $1.00 would stay $.75 for those of us with E-Pass. I'm not sure if that's happened for sure though!

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This is why i am thankful i live in wisconsin

So are the rest of us.

Not all of us

[Rip Rokken]

It's a very objective system. Your license plate comes up on their screen, you're billed, and you either pay or are sent to collections. There's no fighting and winning.

LOL, you all should have taken Andrew's sled and went through the tolls about 56 times...he would fuckin freak the shit out would he not? Sorry Rokken, but this is hilarious to read. I know you aren't exactly thrilled, but it makes for a nice laugh..those goddamned communistic Illini.

Nah, I try to find the humor in everything.

[MBPL]

I'm so ticked off right now I can't see straight... We don't have toll roads where I live, and they are still pretty foreign to me. The last few rentals I had in Chicago had I-Passes, and at first I thought the one I drove during MR Fest II had one too, but I didn't see a sticker. I ended up blowing thru some of the tolls as a result, probably 7 or 8. No problem I thought, I called the rental company when I got back because I forgot to mention it when I turned the car in. They told me that I would be liable for the tolls, so I mentioned having seen a sign on the freeway that said if you missed tolls, you had 10 days to pay. They said not to worry about that, that the bill would be sent to Alamo anyway and they would just charge me back for it. I asked if there would be fines and how much, and he said $10. I asked if that was per missed toll because I specifically wanted to make sure it was taken care of before anything bad happened, and he said no -- just a fixed $10. So I said ok, fair enough - just send me a bill, and I did nothing else.

A few weeks later I get that letter from Alamo letting me know about the missed tolls and the $10 "administration charge" -- BUT, also letting me know they'd given my contact information over to Illinois to pursue collection directly from me. So the $10 was not to cover the tolls at all! It was just Alamo's fee to pass the buck and let me get shanked afterwards. I've tried to call Alamo's "Violations" dept. about 15 times and all I get is a voicemail saying that I need to leave a message. Also tried to call the Illinois Tollway directly and got them right after hours of something. I'm too busy for that crap.

So today, I get a nice letter from the Illinois Tollway telling me I owe them $164.20 ($20 fine per missed toll), and that if I don't pay or request a hearing within 21 days (from June 4th), that they'll add ANOTHER $50 per freaking violation! You're talking about close to $500 for less than $5.00 in missed tolls! I'm about ready to strangle someone right now, and I just don't have time to deal with this B.S.

To add insult to injury, I placed an order with the Queensryche Store last month and ended up getting double-charged for it -- second charge came 3 weeks later. I left them a voicemail days ago and haven't heard back. If they'd put out a decent album in the last 8 or so, I might cut 'em some slack, but I'm getting pissed off and Geoff Tate does not want to see me when I'm angry!

Anyway, do any of the Chicago folks here have any advice about how to deal with the tolls, or am I screwed and need to cut them a check before it gets worse? The letter seems worded in a way that makes it sound like there aren't any excuses, loopholes, or acts of mercy on this. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Oh my goodness, Rip! Well, I am sorry you and others have to endure this. All I can do is say you gotta find the humor in life rather than let life get you down.

I don't drive, but I do get very angry when the bus passes me by or when it is late or when my bus pass gets de-magnetized in the subway and I have to make an extra stop downtown to get a new one, but first the station agent has to stamp it or they won't exchange it and when they do exchange it THAT ticket also demagnetizes and I end up spending my whole day running back and forth from subway to ticket Kiosk trying to get a bus pass that works. Or, I get angry when I ride a bus on a hot day with no air conditioning and everyone riding with me hadn't showered or brushed their teeth in 3 days...Just breathe my brotha.

[S2M]

It's a very objective system. Your license plate comes up on their screen, you're billed, and you either pay or are sent to collections. There's no fighting and winning.

LOL, you all should have taken Andrew's sled and went through the tolls about 56 times...he would fuckin freak the shit out would he not? Sorry Rokken, but this is hilarious to read. I know you aren't exactly thrilled, but it makes for a nice laugh..those goddamned communistic Illini.

Nah, I try to find the humor in everything.

Well I'm going to stump you.....try and find the humor in EVE.

[StevePerryHair]

The Izoom is the best to get (Indiana) which is good in IN,IL,OH and PA. and it does save you money vs paying cash. I bought one right before MRFII and it was very smooth and hassle free and much cheaper than paying cash for each section.

How is it cheaper? The way the tolls work here, the same amount you pay in the toll booths is what you are charged on your credit card the Epass is connected to. Its just a convenience thing here, not a savings. Do they actually dicount the tolls there?

Actually I think there is a discount now for having E-Pass here. I'm not sure since I've had it a few years now so the light just turns green while I drive through and doesn't display an amount paid like they used to, but I remember hearing that the ones on the 408 here that were going to go up to $1.00 would stay $.75 for those of us with E-Pass. I'm not sure if that's happened for sure though!

Oh! I think I never noticed I don't use the toll roads when I can avoid them. Though it save me 10 minutes just getting on it for 2 exits for the pediatrians and the dentist! 10 minutes can be precious time the way I run late

[MBPL]

It's a very objective system. Your license plate comes up on their screen, you're billed, and you either pay or are sent to collections. There's no fighting and winning.

LOL, you all should have taken Andrew's sled and went through the tolls about 56 times...he would fuckin freak the shit out would he not? Sorry Rokken, but this is hilarious to read. I know you aren't exactly thrilled, but it makes for a nice laugh..those goddamned communistic Illini.

Nah, I try to find the humor in everything.

SEE? THAT'S WHY IT PAYS TO READ ALL THE POSTS! *snort*!

[Everett]

This is why i am thankful i live in wisconsin

So are the rest of us.

Not all of us

I'm a nice guy once you get to know me