With the uphill battle that companies facing in getting people to sign up (I've received AOL installer discs when buying groceries) for their various services, they are often reluctant to let customers go. Of course, this is ultimately up to the customer - if they don't want the service, they shouldn't have to have it. AOL doesn't seem to think so, and in an embarrassing conversation with an AOL rep, one customer found out just how difficult it could be.

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said 30-year-old Ferrari.
Not only would just about anyone be enraged by that level of treatment, you'd think a company the size of AOL would be better equipped to deal with something as simple as saying "Goodbye." Though AOL claims otherwise, this is apparently not an isolated incident, with people sharing stories of the exact same scenario spelling itself out over

Ultimately, this resulted in the rep responsible being fired. But will that change anything? A show of force in one sector probably won't change what appears to be a long-standing business practice. Do you see this or face this in other IT areas?