topic BTOR Appointment times in Plusnet Feedback

BTOR Appointment times

pwatson — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 23:11:37 GMT

BTOR appointment times are generally either 8AM-1PM or 1PM-6PM slots i.e. a customer should be available during those times for a visit and can make arrangements to get on with their life outside those times.
What do these slots actually mean in practice though? When customers contact PN towards the end of the slot to report a no show they told that nothing can be done to chase it until after the slot end time, yet an engineer turning up at 12:59 or 17:59 to start a job that's going to take more than 1 minute is outside the agreed slot...
I know that BTOR have 'a process' but PN don't appear, at least publicly, to apply any pressure to hold them to account. There seems to be tacit acceptance that a morning slot means that the engineer will arrive any time between 8 & 1 and then stay for as long as necessary to complete the job. This isn't the same as saying that the visit will be complete between 8 & 1 so a customer with a morning slot should not assume that they can arrange to do something after 1.
Doesn't seem an acceptable state of affairs to me
Comments from PN?

Re: BTOR Appointment times

PeterLoftus — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 07:35:14 GMT

I recently had fibre and a shiny new mk3 socket fitted
The engineer came around nine but said he had another seven jobs to do.. So somebody has got to be first and last!

Re: BTOR Appointment times

AlexD — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:31:47 GMT

Hi pwatson.
Thanks for your comments.
The appointment time scales that are provided are for the engineer to attend within that allocated time slot, not for all works to be completed within that appointment slot.
Even if the engineer attends well before the appointment slot is due to end, he/she could experience issues which may take them out of that appointment time frame.
Sometimes if an engineer has had a complex job within the morning slot, he/she may be able to attend in the afternoon (As he/she will be given set jobs for that day) and normally calls ahead however it's not always possible if he/she runs out of time.
Please let me know if you have any further queries about this.
Alex

Re: BTOR Appointment times

gswindale — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 13:52:35 GMT

And to a certain extent; this is where the whole system falls down.
I'm considering switching; but note that to stay with PN I will need an engineer - this therefore means a day off work. Now based on Alex's comments below; I'm certainly looking at booking the 8-1 slot; however:

Quote
normally calls ahead however it's not always possible if he/she runs out of time.

IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
If I have booked an engineer's appointment; I am not concerned with how long any of their other jobs have taken place - I expect somebody to turn up in the slot I have booked and to certainly let me know if they will be a little bit late. If they're looking like not being able to make all their appointments; then maybe, just maybe, BTOR need to employ more engineers.
I note that as the customer I am charged should I not be around for the appointment - what happens if BTOR fail to show - do I get my daily salary paid by BTOR in lieu of the extra time off that I would need to take for them to actually show up?
The system needs to be changed, and I know PN can't do this directly; but they could put pressure on, so that the engineers are not given a schedule for the day. They simply set off in the morning and look to see which appointments are booked and are in their area. Click to say they're attending one and then the team work through the list. That way we don't end up with 1 engineer only completing 1 job and leaving 20 missed appointments whilst the other 5 engineers all do their alloted jobs and book off 2 hours early.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

AndyH — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:23:03 GMT

So if an engineer is in the middle of job at someone else's house and it's taking longer than expected, you expect him to leave that job before it's completed in order to come to you and meet your slot?

Quote from: geofftswin
That way we don't end up with 1 engineer only completing 1 job and leaving 20 missed appointments whilst the other 5 engineers all do their alloted jobs and book off 2 hours early.

If an engineer finishes his allocated jobs early, he is given new jobs (faults/installs) to attend to in the local area.
I've had an engineer turn up 2 hours after reporting a fault because he had been sent to me after finishing his all allocated jobs that day.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

HPsauce — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:30:28 GMT

What we expect, and this has been stated so many times it's getting ridiculously boring, is proper proactive MANAGEMENT and COMMUNICATION by BTOR and PN.
I was responsible for IT in a service company (engineers on the road) about 25 years ago and even then we knew exactly where they all were, how well each job was progressing and kept customers informed and rescheduled staff as required.
This is not rocket science, it's not a new skill to get it right, and the failings are blatant.
Why do ISP's let BTOR get away with it? Why don't PN do anything about it?
(Senior management ambitions inside BT corporate maybe? )

Re: BTOR Appointment times

gswindale — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:38:25 GMT

Quote from: AndyH
So if an engineer is in the middle of job at someone else's house and it's taking longer than expected, you expect him to leave that job before it's completed in order to come to you and meet your slot?

Don't think I said that did I?
All I expect is that if I've booked an appointment between 8am & 1pm; that I get an engineer between 8am & 1pm.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

AndyH — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:49:24 GMT

Quote from: HPsauce
Why do ISP's let BTOR get away with it? Why don't PN do anything about it?
(Senior management ambitions inside BT corporate maybe? )

I think there are two issues:
1) Orders are cancelled/delayed and this is not communicated by Plusnet to the end user. This is Plusnet's fault as they do receive the information, but do not pass it on as they should.
2) An Openreach engineer overruns/is unable to finish his allocated jobs and this does not get passed on to the end user who is waiting for his/her visit. There are various improvements that are being introduced - ringing ahead is one and another is where Plusnet will be able to see who the allocated engineer is/where he is during the day/when he's left for the job etc.
In an ideal world, there wouldn't be any missed appointments, but this is just not practical.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

hillyfields123 — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 20:33:59 GMT

Just to add another idea into the mix,
Anyone ever realised that BTOR don't actually have any incentives to do a good job or turn up? They've got no risk of losing any contracts because they're the sole company legally allowed to maintain the (copper) telephone network in the UK.
Perhaps if network maintenance was contracted out based on geographic areas then there might be more competition and _possibily_ better service.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

Strat — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 20:46:12 GMT

Quote from: hillyfields123
Anyone ever realised that BTOR don't actually have any incentives to do a good job or turn up? They've got no risk of losing any contracts because they're the sole company legally allowed to maintain the (copper) telephone network in the UK.

It's a recurring theme on here probably since the forum's creation.

Re: BTOR Appointment times

hillyfields123 — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 20:48:16 GMT

Quote from: Strat
It's a recurring theme on here probably since the forum's creation.

I can imagine you get a bit sick of posts hating on BTOR, however much they deserve it!