Audible customer service

[jfreda]

How do you rate customer service at Audible?
Has anyone tried to contact them by email lately?
No response.
Or cancel an account?
The web link for that one is now a phone number buried I dont remember where in the web page. I called the phone number but got either no reply or an inept, surly operator (after a very long wait) and dead signal when transferred to another extension. I emailed customer service to cancel weeks ago, but got no reply.
I love the books, but dont we deserve a simpler, more convenient way to cancel automatic biliing than a hidden phone number with no one to answer either it or email?

[Podunk]

The TOLL FREE customer support numbers are listed

a) at the bottom of the home page under the link that says

"Contact US"

or

b) Click on the "Help Center" link.

The numbers are right there on the left side of the page.

c) Go to the FAQ section and type "Cancel"

That will also give you the number.

They also have "live chat" support and the hours are clearly listed on link to it.

[arsolot]

My experience with the customer service wasn't a good one. I don't think very highly of Audible's customer service, while I do enjoy the books.

[jfreda]

That is a very lucid and well thought out reply. It matches my experience exactly, with the exception that I have on a number of occasions never even gotten a reply to an email query to customer service.

[AndrewProudlove]

Perhaps Ive been lucky so far then, but on the two occasions that I have had to use their customer support, Ive found them to be very helpful.

The first time was after reinstalling windows on my PC, audible manager informed me that the ipod component needed updating, so I allowed it to update and it installed successfully, but afterwards kept crashing.
I tried lots of things (I wont bore you with the details), but in the end I had to speak to one of their technicians. I used the Live Chat option from the help section of their site, about 2 minutes after requesting a chat I got a response from a technician.
He listened to what I had to say, then gave me a number to dial, where he said they would tell me how to fix my problem, unfortunately the number was a US number, and as I live in Europe not he cheapest place to call. I told him this and then he asked for my email address, and within 15 mins I had an email with the steps I needed for the problem (though why he couldnt send that in the first place I dont know?)

The second time was again via live chat, and although this technician seemed a little distracted - I assume with answering other replies besides my own, I eventually after about 15 minutes got the help I needed.

Perhaps if I had gone the phone route it would have been worse? So far though although the service wasnt top notch, it was decent, at least for me.

[kampy1971]

I used the online chat-based help and after 3 unsuccesful attempts to connect, I was able to tell the person on the other end about my problem (forgot to use my 2 book credit before the end of the month, and wanted them re-applied) and she took care of me right away. So, as of right now, I'd rate them a solid "8" but we'll see if that holds up over time...

[cdelaf32]

Maybe it is my luk but both times I have called customer service I spoke with the same agent, Victor and he was most helpful. Ask for Victor.

[SouthsideIrish]

I had to deal with the online chat based customer service yesterday afternoon, and it worked perfectly. I was lucky, I quess, that I was the only one in the gueue, but she talked me through my problem.

Thumbs up from me.

Bill McNair

[speck]

I recently joined Audible and have had the worst customer support experience of my life. Hold times exceed 30 minutes and I have had to call five times this week to try to resolve a billing issue. I am on the lookout for a replacement service and as soon as I hear of one, I will definitely jump ship.

[arsolot]

I also have had less than desirable experiences with Audible's customer service. None of my experiences sound as bad as speck's.

But, the other aspects of Audible's service, for me, clearly outweigh the lack of good customer service.

speck: I know of no replacement service that will compare to what Audible has. Suggestion: use "Live Assistance" or email next time you've got issues to resolve.

[speck]

Trust me, I know. I love the service itself. Sadly, I have sent countless emails but have never received a reply and am on hold for online chat even as I write this post.

[arsolot]

I've rec'd replies to all of my email messages to Audible. The replies have, many times, taken approx 48 hours from when I sent my email. And, on at least one occasion, the reply totally missed the issue I had clearly raised in my original message. This was quite frustrating. But, in the end, my issue was resolved, and I recall getting one book credit for my trouble.

I'm sorry that you've had such trouble with this aspect of Audible. I certainly can sympathize.

[BillClinton]

So far, I've had excellent service - I cancelled a periodical subscription and started a new one - it took one email, and it was handled within a very acceptable time frame.

[speck]

Sorry, I amend my post. I have received replies, but they were all automated. Hopefully things will improve. I am now 3 in the queue for online chat so at least I am getting closer!

[Podunk]

Tips for using Audible customer service.

I've been an Audible customer for over three years and have a few tips that will save you time and help you get your problems resolved quickly and painlessly.

a) try LIVE CHAT first. Its easy and you can multi-task if you are cued up. You can even visit the iPodlounge forum while you wait :)

b) If you have to call, NEVER call on Monday. Monday is the busiesst day of the week, (Tuesday is second) Call later in the week to minimize on-hold time.

c) Avoid E-mail support in general. 1) The other options are just better so use them first. 2) Email takes longer than most people care to wait. 3) Often, information necessary to solve a problem is left out of the original message or misunderstood by the recipient, resulting in a series of back and forth messages, with wait times between each, while the problem drags on. (This is not peculiar to Audible but is true of many customer issues).

[david1951]

Live Chat is hopeless for me (living in Australia). I would have to stay up after midnight, or get up and have the time to do it before 8 am (hopeless with my getting-to-work schedule).

I've used the "Ask us a question" system several times recently, with major problems, and never any answer. This is what happened to my complaint about the skipping audio in "The Fifth Elephant", parannoya.

In fact, there seems to be a major bug in their "Ask question" system. It shows me as logged on with my correct identity, but after I post the question it takes me to a screen to create a new account. If I don't do this, the question never gets posted. If I create a new fake identity (which I've done), I still never get a reply.

Because of financial constraints (my business is on the edge of going bust), I now need to cancel my Premium Subscription, or at least put it on hold. Given that I need to phone from Australia (after midnight, before 8am, etc), I'm horrified to hear of the long holding times reported here. I may just have to change my billing address/card number to something non-existent so that the automatic billing fails.

So - bad experiences with customer service recently. It was much better in the past.

[kevy]

I am on the verge of joining up with Audible but still have doubts about their customer service and ease of cancellation.

My problem lies in the fact that if I sign up with their current offer, they store my credit card details and debit it automatically - meaning they can do so forever until I cancel a subscription.

However, I cannot find an option to cancel my listening plans online - which I find incredibly short-sighted.

It is simply impractical to cancel using live-chat or phone support due to the time differences and cost of a phone call.

[Podunk]

I've used Audible for four or five years and have started and stopped my subscription several times with no problem. And I've never been charged for anything I didn't buy.

I agree in principal about being able to cancel online, especially for customers outside the USA. Butt they tell you up front, thats the deal, Just don't call on a Monday, or during a sale. Best to call Wed thru Fridays and you can get thru pretty quick.

Otherwise, if you don't feel comfortable subscribing, you can always buy ala carte, but you're gonna pay more that way.

Best of all though, is they're really nice folks. And if they do make a mistake, they're really good about taking care of customers.

For example, I purchased an unabridged version of a book, then two weeks later, they added the full length version, which I preferred. I called them up and they swapped it out for me.

[gretchen]

I've had to call customer support once, and the experience was good. I had reached an activation limit due to some computer crashes, and the tool on the website that was supposed to fix it wasn't working. I wasn't on hold very long and the rep I spoke to was very helpful. I do agree being able to cancel online would be great, but right now I don't ever see cancelling because I like their service so much.

[kay.eye.emm]

I recently had to contact customer support because I signed up for a second subscription by accident. First I used the email support, but the answer wasn't satisfactory. Then I called them directly and the experience was MUCH better. I spoke to two people and both were very helpful and friendly and my problem was resolved in 48 hours. I suggest trying email or live chat for simple questions, but if you want quick action or your problem involves subscription services, call them directly.

[sechannell]

I was surprised to see a lot of negativity on this thread, I guess I must have been lucky in my recent experience. I received prompt email replies to my requests and when I contacted them by phone I experienced some of the best customer service ever. The person who helped me was friendly and called me back several times to sort everything out. I have absolutely no complaints about customer service through Audible.