Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Obtuseness (or is it Obtusity?) of AOL



Yesterday I visited the Genius Bar at the Apple Store. The genius guy got me all straightened out, reconciling my screen names and passwords, and updating my i-tunes software.

He answered all my questions, but there was one that stumped even him. The unsolvable problem was... AOL. He said I would have to contact someone at AOL, which is easier said than done. I talked about that yesterday, so I won't go over it again. This morning I googled AOL customer service and came upon a website where problems are reported. There are comments from a long list of people, each describing the same problem I am having. Individuals who have been using AOL email for years have suddenly found themselves locked out of their accounts. They are not able to access any of their mail or contacts. They try to establish a new password and are foiled at every turn by AOL's security system. And no one can figure out how to talk to a real person at any of their phone numbers.

I have had AOL for ten years. At first, there was a monthly fee. Then they announced it was free. Now they want a credit card account number to reactivate my access. Others on the site said the same thing... accounts are being frozen and access is being denied. What is going on? I, for one, am giving up on them. I don't need this in my life.



If anyone reading this is trying to reach me on aol, I won't be able to get your message. You can find me on Gmail now.

11 comments:

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Ooof... what a pain.
I should try a visit at the iStore. I know there is a lot more I could learn about my computer, the bells and whistles.

judy in ky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
judy in ky said...

I know, Natalie, I'm sure there are bells and whisltles I haven't even discovered yet!

judy in ky said...

By the way, Pink Cowboy, I see on your profile that "Local Hero" is one of your favorite movies. I should have included that in mine... it is one of my favorites, don't know why I didn't think of it.

Susan said...

Ahhhh...the Genius Bar, none here in this little village or for miles and miles but I have my own mac genius, my sweet nephew Michael, thankfully on speed dial. So happy that you've got everything fixed and sorted out. I'm very happy with gmail - I love how it handles mail and it seems to have a fantastic junk/spam filter. Happy Weekend Judy !!
Love from les Gang in Nova Scotia

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Judy, just came by for a little visit to find you all bothered by that AOL communication monster. I'm glad you made a decision and now can move forward to reconnect. Imagine a Genius Bar..do the servers have the genius...or do they pass it out at the bar? I'm just asking because I could use a bit of a brain-boost! Wishing you smooth computer sailing in the future.

Bearette said...

Wow...too much hassle. I've always had good luck with Hotmail, and gmail does seem popular too.

judy in ky said...

Hi Cynthia,
You walk up to the bar and talk to a Genius. I wish they would have it available to take home. I have to drive an hour and a half to see them.

anya said...

Oh my goodness, I wish I lived near an Apple "Genius Bar". I have a genius but he is at an apple store in Sedona, Arizona. I have to call him often. He turns the clock on like a lawyer and it can cost me but of course it's always worth it. When my sweet little Apple needs more attention though, I have to FedX it to them then they FedX it back and it kills me to part with it when that happens.

You're going to love, love, love getting up to speed on i-tunes. Next time you write, tell me what kind of music you like and I'll make you a cd.

judy in ky said...

Wow Anya, you have your own genius that you can call on the phone? Here, they won't even let you call on the phone. You have to go online and make an appointment and show up at your assigned time. (If you are unable to get online you are out of luck. Then you have to drive to the store to make an appointment which will probably be at a future date.) And you don't have a choice about which genius you see, it's just whoever is there at that time slot.
That is so kind of you to offer to make me a CD. No one has ever done that for me before. I will make a list of music and send it to you. I can't use AOL anymore though, so I will have to reach you on G-mail. (Not sure how that works, but I will figure it out.) Thanks!

Unknown said...

It's the democrat's fault.