topic Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ?? in Plusnet Feedback

Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

TORPC — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 00:17:09 GMT

It is relation to Engineers appointments to which the end user has full interaction with
See http://help2.talktalk.co.uk/guided-assist/engineer-appointment
where one can check that status of the Engineers appointment in their Account

& Announcments on the website itself

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

AndyH — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 06:53:03 GMT

http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1412952697.htm

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

TORPC — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:20:47 GMT

Not all customers will know about Usertools like us seasoned members do
& they would not necessarily search for usertools or Archive to lookup the latest information
Then again, why should they have to search, in the 1^st instance
Iv'e not long come from a client that refuses point blank to have a landline when the did they had no end of telemarketers calling @ all hours & despite advising them to have a spare one for testing & they have mobiles but not free to call the 0800 number etc to find out that a MSO or similar is affecting them, prior to making calls that cost to support, for what could be affecting most as opposed to one single connection,
Thankfully it was their ageing router that had gone faulty in this instance & they are now back up & running
& they are not alone when not wanting to use a landline

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

AndyH — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:49:05 GMT

Regional Engineering & Repair Delays - http://www.plus.net/supportpages.html?a=2&support_action=messages&ispservice_id=adsldial

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

TORPC — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:31:16 GMT

You seem to be missing the point entirely
Us seasoned customers of PN know where to look
New customers DO NOT know where to look as not everything is as transparent & easy to find / locate as it should be
Example: The Service Status Message Line (0800 917 6714), has been reported as being only on one page found to date (apart from the recent visibility being made within the forum thread(s) / post(s))
If the likes of a MSO that we have encountered 3 times in recent Month(s) is shown as an Announcement banner on the website aswell as all the other avenue(s), then that would help & most likely reduce, inbound calls to support & the CR, plus can help the call times to start getting back down to a normal a timeframe as is possible.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

Oldjim — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:34:11 GMT

A question
Given that the first stage of an engineer callout with Talk Talk is a Talk Talk Engineer not a BT Openreach one could the opening screen shots be in reference to a Talk Talk Engineer

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

TORPC — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:46:54 GMT

It looks like that will depend on what they find after completeing checks

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

AndyH — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:22:06 GMT

Quote from: TORPC
You seem to be missing the point entirely
Us seasoned customers of PN know where to look
New customers DO NOT know where to look as not everything is as transparent & easy to find / locate as it should be

New customers will know the delays because the engineer appointments will be booked up further in advance than usual.
I think most people with common sense will realise that severe weather leads to utility repair delays.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

TORPC — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:26:28 GMT

Andy you have completely missed my point, as such i'll now leave this for PN's input

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

dvorak — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 18:26:36 GMT

not sure what your point is.. there are reasonably accessible pages to indicate MBORC delays etc.
as Jim pointed out it could be a TT engineer and if it's not then we all know BT OR engineers are a law unto themselves so could be utterly pointless...
also if PN allow you to directly book engineers without going through all the fault checks with them you're more likely to be liable for the engineers fee if no fault fount.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

Cruise85 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:46:12 GMT

Hi All
In regards to the appointment booking online, as practical as this seems, and easy to use, I honestly don't believe that this would be the best option.
From my experience in tech support, you actually find that most customers who call in automatically expect an engineers visit to fix any issue that they may have. In support we obviously diagnose the problems to ensure that anything that isn't an actual Openreach fault can be resolved.
However, if we were to give customers the ability to book engineers themselves, there is no way in which we could filter these out. This would then lead to more engineers being booked, leading to delayed appointments for those in need of an engineer.
The issue regards to the charges for an engineer may also cause a major issue, as currently we state that if the issue is found to be with your own equipment, then you may be liable for a charge of £99. Now as a member of the customer relations team, I can already predict the number of complaint we would receive in regards to these charges because the tests were not completed for example.
As such, as practical as it may seem, the repercussions of having such an option could be problematic
Regards
Matt

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

AndyH — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:52:31 GMT

Some faults though are quite clear cut - particularly those not at an end user's property.
BT Retail's fault system shows the following:

I imagine Plusnet have access to the same fault tools which can detect which part of the network a fault lies.
Obviously if the fault is showing at an end user's property, then they can be warned that the fault might be chargeable.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

SharonBrown — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:53:11 GMT

Hi AndyH
Many thanks for your feedback and for bringing that to my attention. I confess it's the first time I've seen it so I have passed that on to my team leader to make sure that it is brought to the attention of the right people.
Warm regards
Sharon

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

Jaggies — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 20:05:21 GMT

@ Matt Cruise
Surely the on-line booking of an engineer appointment would only be practical after the initial diagnostics had failed to find a definite fault, so engineer is the only option to progress the user's issue, or indeed when a definite fault has been found that requires site attendance by an engineer.
An on-line appointment should only be offered at that stage in the diagnostics process where there is no other option other than cancelling the fault.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

jelv — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 07:52:07 GMT

What might work is if at the point of Plusnet asking for availability times for an engineer's appointment the user was given access to book a single appointment.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

Jaggies — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 22:42:20 GMT

Exactly my point.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

Anotherone — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 00:56:35 GMT

If responses to tickets were done in a timely manner, and tickets had different priority queues then I don't see why these questions would arise. Availability for appointments and bookings should be in a high priority queue or pool, dealt with in a matter of a couple of hours.
Or have Plusnet abandoned the different ticket pools that used to exist?

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

MattyC — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:11:00 GMT

Quote from: Anotherone
...and tickets had different priority queues then I don't see why these questions would arise. Availability for appointments and bookings should be in a high priority queue or pool,

This is what we actually do. But resource unfortunately hits all ticket pools from 4 hours to 72. Ideally, more resource would nip this issue in the bud.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

jelv — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:23:16 GMT

The trouble is that CSC say an engineer is needed during the day when the user is at work. The user doesn't respond until late evening with three possible dates. That doesn't get picked up until the next day by which time the possible slots are not available and round the loop you go again.

Re: Would PN please consider something like this in the future ??

AndyH — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:23:48 GMT

It's a much better system when an end user can run an online fault diagnosis (that can check and identify a fault) and then enable the end user to have access to the appointment book.
The current Plusnet system just does not work - we've seen examples where clear faults have taken a week for Plusnet to pick up the ticket, ask availability for an engineer, end user comes back etc. This means the end user has an unnecessary delay in getting an engineer visit.
With an online system (like BT Retail's), it takes about 10 mins to check for a fault and then book an engineer based on the time you want.