Got an email reminding me that my subscription was set to be automatically renewed next month, which I don’t want. So I followed the link provided to update my preferences and it took me to a simplistic webpage with the applicable forms and options. However, where it asked me if I wanted to be set up for auto renew or not, the buttons for “Update Cart” and “Cancel Changes”(or something to that effect) were not clickable. Only the text was shown. So I called the number at the bottom of the page instead and was connected with a very glum-sounding man named Ken who immediately asked for my name and the Order number, as children’s voices shrieked playfully in the background. I gave him the number that was listed next to “order Id” on the simple webpage and he then asked for me email so I gave that to him as well. I then told him what I was calling about and what I wanted to accomplish with the call. I expected to hear a “I understand, I’d be happy to help you with that” or a “Sorry about that, we’ll have the technical team look into why the website isn’t working” or even just an “OK.” Instead, he didn’t say anything. It was total silence on the line for 5-7 seconds before I asked if he was still there. He confirmed that he was still there, then asked me what I was calling about(…? really??) A few more minutes of me explaining about how the website’s button wasn’t working and this is regarding a current subscription not a new purchase and blah blah blah. Ken then asked me for a different email address that might be listed on the account. I asked why, and he said the order number isn’t bringing up any account, and so what’s my other email. I told him I don’t have another one. He then asked for my mailing address, which I questioned and said the Order ID number should work, and he said okay let’s try that" despite the fact I had already given it to him. So I repeat it again and of course nothing comes up. We go back and forth like that for a minute until I go back to my email and see that there’s another Order ID number listed in the email so I give him that Then he asks for me email yet again. I give him that and he fires off with an attitude about how he asked me what other emails I used and there now he has it and if I could just give him the answers to the questions he asks for and blah blah blah. I informed him that I had already given him my email address and that it is the only email address I have yada yada yada. He asks for my mailing address again so reluctantly I give it to him. I asked him if the second order ID I gave him worked and he said yes and finally we get on the same page and get my auto renewal cancelled.
Now, while Ken wasn’t the most enjoyable person to talk to, and while the background noises made it sound like he was at home watching the kids with a headset on conducting business from a laptop rather than a call center, that is not my gripe here. My gripe is with the fact that Avast–which is supposed to be a large reputable company with the latest technology standards and security safeguards and all that, and yet the company that it puts in charge of handling it’s orders and transactions sounds like a guy back in India or China handling calls from his living room as he sits in his underwear playing solitaire. More than that though, the website that was supposed to make this an easy change didn’t even have it’s javascript functioning so I could do this. The wording in the email was also very casual and blase blase. Everything about the experience just screamed “UNPROFESSIONAL” and “SHADY!”
What should’ve been a 1 minute preferences update turned into a 20 minute phone call with a grumpy guy who didn’t listen and a 20 minute rant on this forum due to the absurdity of the situation. It has changed my perception of Avast, and now, instead of manually renewing my subscription later when I’m ready to, I will no longer be using Avast products–not even the free versions–until Avast can step up it’s game and streamline the procedures on the subscription dashboards, make its affiliations with outside companies more apparent, ensure that the people hired to assist customers are able to do so without attitude or frustration or utter indifference, and have some pride in the quality of their website. I’ve questioned the quality of Avast’s products before but always gave them the benefit of the doubt and have heard good things before. But that was a long time ago and this recent experience just now has left me with a bad taste and solidified my decision to find another company to support–one who stands by their promises to ‘make it easy to manage your account’ and ‘be transparent’ with everything they do and all that other hollow, meaningless jargon. Needless to say, I’m disappointed. I hope this post will set the wheels of change in motion, but I won’t hold my breath.
Sincerely,
A once-loyal paying customer
