Steamed at Bean Bounceback

I have been a devoted L.L. Bean catalog shopper for more than 30 years. This year, as always, I placed two orders for Christmas. In the second order, I received a promotional CD for Internet service provider (ISP) Earthlink in the package with the merchandise.

Earthlink was the worst possible choice to send me. My son, who just got his first computer in August, had Earthlink as his ISP. As he got started, my son relied heavily on Earthlink’s tech support, which was accessible and helpful. But when he called them about a problem in which he was getting bounced off the Internet, they walked him through a series of settings changes, one of which involved a costly change to the dial-up phone number. My son subsequently had a very rude conversation with an Earthlink manager.

I am so offended by receiving this unsolicited CD from L.L. Bean that I find myself unable to place another order with them. I simply cannot reconcile the treatment we have received at the hands of Earthlink with the wonderful service I have received during the years from L.L. Bean.

I do hope other catalog companies will not do the same. If Harry and David ever do, there goes Christmas in Springfield, IL!