Disassociative Service Breakage 

This term speaks of any issue where a customer can't get help because no one in customer service knows how to fix the problem because they never talk to the people who solve technical problems; the customer keeps getting bounced between providers for what appears to them to be the same service to them; or both of those issues.

The problem is that the customer can't get help. No one they can talk to knows who owns the problem, or has any information about it. The people who know how to fix the problem are so far seperated from the customer service team who provide support for the customer that the customer's issue will never be resolved. So they continually insist that the problem lies not with them, but with the other provider.

This also happens with DSL customers who have a problem with their service. They'll call their Internet Service Provider, who will perform basic troubleshooting, then tell them to call their line service provider. The line service provider will perform basic troubleshooting, then send the customer back to their ISP.

I'm experienceing disassociative service breakage with my Ineternet service because Earthlink says the problem is with Qwest but Qwest says the problem is with Earthlink.

A customer has copied their favorite soap opera to DVD and played it on their portable DVD player for a long time. Then recently Comcast upgraded their cable box, and since then everything they record on their Tivo DVR is copy protected, so they can no longer use the service in the way they are used to using it.

Disassociative Service Breakage by Spirit Bear August 12, 2006