topic Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones in Plusnet Feedback

@CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 20:58:39 GMT

"Give us some time....... and we`ll get there"....... remember those famous words...
Well, I have given you time, and you still haven`t lived up to the promise made way back then..... ..I have just spent the last 40 minutes with an amplified phone stuck to my best ear, which is not any better now, thank you,... after hearing the tinny sound of some unrecognisable music, and some bloke telling me to have my user name and password ready , ...every 30 seconds or whatever..... .
When I phoned up, the auto response said the wait was 15 minutes.... that was at 20:55..... I checked the graph and the number of calls waiting was 21 with a wait time average 17 minutes.....
at 21:20 it was refreshed and the number of calls waiting had reduced to 17.37 where on earth do you have .37 of a call waiting ? but the response time had lengthened to 28 minutes..... ok.. so I hang on a bit longer,... my arm is aching from holding the phone...and my ears are in pain from the noise emnating from the ear piece.... until
at 21:35 it is updated again.. the number of calls waiting was down again.... to 13.08 aha I thought... could be soon.... but then i looked a the response time... and it had lengthened again to 35minutes .50sec.
since starting this gripe, I have been back to check the stats again....
21:50 updated the number of calls waiting was down again.... to 5.93 but look at the waiting time.... 40 minutes and 32 seconds...
it also states in the writing underneath, that

Quote

We actively monitor our peak times to ensure we always have enough people on the phones to answer your queries, without keeping you waiting too long in a queue.

please tell the person who is "actively monitoring" ..... that they are not doing their job properly.....

It really isn`t good enough...... is it ?

I am going to have to wait up until about 01:00 to be able to get a quick answer... if anyone is still awake at that time....

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

rongtw — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 21:25:14 GMT

Unfortunately i believe PN will get WORSE !! before it gets better

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 22:00:04 GMT

You are so RIGHT....
checked the times at 22:56 and it show 3.84 calls waiting, with 0 seconds delay..... so I thought..... ah good... I`ll give them a call.....

Quote

"Due to the high volume of calls, we have a waiting time of 1 hour.........................................."

Guess I shall be up late tonight......

EDIT EDIT EDIT...... due to the high volume of calls? ? ? 3 .01 calls waiting at 23:05 waiting time to answer 1 hour 3 minutes 8 seconds......
HIGH VOLUME ? ? ? WHAT ???? oh yeah.... and don`t forget .... someone is monitoring at "peak periods" to ensure we aren`t kept waiting too long......

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:08:02 GMT

Quote

we`re sorry for making you wait, but all our advisors are currently busy, please have your
username and password ready, and we`ll answer as soon as possible...

So... here you have the classic LIE... "all our advisors ar currently busy".... doing what ? with 0.67 of a phone call waiting.... and expected time to wait 50 minutes & 19 seconds. they must be busy playing darts... or chess, or playing games on line....
What else would they "all" be doing at 23;50 ? certainly not answering MY phone call,...which incidentally, was not added to the 0.67 other calls waiting when the stats updated...

So, I hang on again.... hearing this tinny racket. and the dude repeating himself.... then suddenly.... all hell is let loose on the phone.... I can hear a ringing tone.... and ... could it be... a voice saying "how can I help"....
I was stunned.... It took a further 10 minutes to complete the call... I did ask the guy how many people were answering the phones.... " I don`t know"... he said....... well.... there`s a surprise...

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Anotherone — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:59:26 GMT

Ah, so it was your fault that the longest wait time went to ......Average answer time today 53 minutes and 11 seconds... just before midnight

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

chrcoluk — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 04:08:28 GMT

now plusnet is no longer 24/7 or very soon to be, what happens to those in the call queue when the shift ends?

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Luzern — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 06:35:46 GMT

Employing more people may not be the solution, if cost cutting included removing the phones.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

rongtw — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 06:38:28 GMT

When they start losing customers because of rubbish support maybe then they will realize they made a bo bo

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

PeterLoftus — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 07:07:30 GMT

As I've said on another thread. Modern marketing is based on mirroring your competition, don't stand out and try to do something different just follow the industry norms. So the model PN are now following is TalkTalk.
So they have staffed up middle management with industry clones following the industry norms. PN has lost its soul and the call waiting times are just a symptom

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Anotherone — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 08:44:43 GMT

I's lost more than it's soul Peter, when you read about some of the issues that now repeatedly crop up not just on this forum but elsewhere, it's apparent Plusnet has lost a lot of its technical competence. and it is only the opinion of the bean counters that's important.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:12:47 GMT

I wonder how the number of referrals has been over the past year..... compared with (say) 5 years ago... pro-rata the number of customer base......
Can`t imagine many people recommending now.... I would have done a couple of weeks ago.... but now,....
after the past couple of days.......NO WAY......

My personal reputation is worth more than a bad recommend....

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Anotherone — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:43:07 GMT

Whilst I agree totally with your last comment, I think that the number of referrals now is very small beer in comparison to the total customer base and Plusnet will not be the slightest bit concerned as long as their advertising, ridiculous offers and related factors continue to bring in new customers from the likes of TalkTalk. However Plusnet's reputation for good customer support has gone down the drain and is unlikely to recover in the near future and will never recover to the levels it once was. They won't get the awards in future years as they have in the past. It will only be then that shareholders at BT may start to question the path that Plusnet has gone down.
Plusnet could have expanded it's customer base in a slightly different way without this significant drop in Service Standards, yet they have chosen to completely ignore most of the sensible advise they have been given in the last couple of years from highly experinced Qualified Engineers and IT people. But as long as they have sufficient customers tied to contracts, the bean counters won't be the slightest bit concerned.
Employing more CSC staff is only dealing with a symptom of the problem, they need to deal with the disease itself - the cause of the majority of reasons people need CSC support, issues well covered in this forum.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Dx7 — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:54:43 GMT

I agree that Plusnet is on a bit of a slide when it comes to support wait times and prices, but out of the biggies it’s still the best, and still by some ways. I spend a lot of time on the phone trying to get my customers broadband problems sorted, and yes the wait time for Plusnet phone support is by far the longest out of BT and Tallktallk (most of my customers that I deal with are with one of these two) but when you finally get it, I find that the quality of Plusnets support (is still for now) far superior. Regarding the pricing – no one is ever happy about price rises, but savvy customers can still haggle and get good deals out of Plusnet. In short – Plusnet still have a way to fall before they lose my recommendation, but they are not as good as they once were, and I hope that the powers that be stop the slide and even reverse direction upwards a little.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:09:50 GMT

@Dx7..... this thread is not about the quality of customer service, vis a vis other providers... it is about Chris, promising that things would get better , if he was given a bit more time.... that was way back in 2009, when I started this thread...
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,80676.0.html
several times in that thread, which had been revived again in 2012.... i.e. 3 years later... and Chris`s final post was

Quote

Chris
Plusnet Staff
*
Posts: 11984

Quote
« Reply #128 on 08/02/2012, 21:41 »
Gerry,
A one of snapshot of stats doesn't suddenly mean we're understaffed! The proof is in the reduction of complaints on here about the call wait times (I'm not saying we don't still get complaints but EVERY call centre has spikes of calls that means long waits happen sometimes.

so things have not improved as he said they would.... and my posting is a reminder to him, that he did say that it would get better... given time...
3 years after the last post... and the situation is worse than it has ever been......
I have provided several snapshots, taken when the "perceived" customer base would be in bed, and therefore less number of calls to be waiting....but the waiting time INCREASED as the NUMBER OF CALLS WAITING DECREASED... between 2230 and 2359 last night.... even with only 2/3rds of a phone call registered, the waiting time increased during one period of update...close to midnight, when it would be expected to show a NIL waiting time, or at worst 5 minutes. with onlyu 2/3rds of a phone call being in process....
Check out the "snapshots" for proof of my information.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

gleneagles — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:10:05 GMT

Fully agree with all the points made in the above posts, years ago Plusnet actually phoned me about issues I had raised in tickets, guess those days are long gone.
What is happening now is short term thinking, get the numbers of customers as high as possible by almost any means and when it nears the point when everything is going to the wall get out and take another job as you have built up a reputation of increasing profits in your last post, this works for those at the top but it's the poor b****** at the coal face who will be first to go or stay on under even worse terms.
How many times have we seen this in other firms such as the Banks etc.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

Kremmen — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:25:44 GMT

Why is there so much demand for phoning in would be my question?
I 've only needed to phone in twice in the years I've been here. First was because LLU didn't care but 21CN DLM was problematic and it was detected I had a dodgy phone line. One call and fixed within 2 weeks.
Second time was to confirm my slow fibre speed compared to the initial estimate was correct. Line tested and all OK so speed down to ally telewag wiring.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:34:47 GMT

The reason for my phone call, was because I wanted a new router, and there is no provision for Paying for it via on line transaction.... it HAS to be done over the phone... even though they already have my bank details, because of the direct debit.... they still need the details from my card...
Surely with this modern tech we have now, where we can pay for just about anything with PayPal, Plusnet should get it`s act together and accept PayPal payment... no need to be hanging around on a phone for hours..... My arm and my ears were aching from the wait, ...
But... There again...it`s not happening to Chris... or any of the PN staff, so it`s not important any more....

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

adamwalker — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:56:50 GMT

I'm not sure why you're singling Chris out but I'm really sorry about the waits all the same.
I know you'll want to communicate with us in your own preferred way but don't forget we have web chat agents available and I'm happy to help out via here if there's anything in particular.
We're putting what focus we can on improving this situation and I'm sorry that things haven't improved as quickly as we may have liked.

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

shutter — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:24:03 GMT

@Adan..... Oh come on... now... Why Am I having a go at Chris?
It`s written all over the present thread..... he promised SIX YEARS AGO.... that .>>GIVEN TIME... WE WILL GET THERE....
and he has failed... if not him personally,... then PlusNet, who he was representing when he gave those assurances... ...
It is not too much to ask. that when a phone call is requested, by Customer Service staff...that Phone call,.... and indeed, all the other phone calls, SHOULD BE ANSWERED WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME>.. bearing in mind the time of day, and possible "busy periods"....
So ... For example.... between the hours of (say) 0900 and 1300 .... 30 mins MAXIMUM
1300 to 1800 .... again. 30 mins MAX
1800 to 2200..........45 mins MAX
However.... a much better system would be to give the opportunity to the caller to be called back, when their turn comes.... to save "hanging on.... doing nothing, but listen to scratch sounds and getting ear ache.... as well as stiff limbs... The pathetic message underneath the graphs stating that peak times are being monitored to ensure waiting is kept to a minimum is a load of......... (enter your own words )....
after 2200 there should be a max wait of 5 minutes... due to the lower number of calls after 2200.... and that is taken from your own graphs on the status pages....
You should take time to read this whole thread..... and also the one I started 6 years ago,.... and then,....perhaps you will understand why I, in particular, and many other faithful customers, are angry that we have a SHODDY customer service, and one that NONE OF US WILL RECOMMEND, given the chance....
Chris, took the responsiblity of stating that the service would improve, given some time....... so he is the one that gets the brickbats......AND RIGHTLY SO... If his only "improvement" has been to watch the telephone customer service disintegrate into a farce of the word "SERVICE", in SIX YEARS... then how much more time does he need....

And this statement by you .... really is the pure genious.....

Quote

We're putting what focus we can on improving this situation and I'm sorry that things haven't improved as quickly as we may have liked.

You should stand for parliament...... because nobody will believe what you have just said... and that makes for perfect politicians.... They spout off the first trite thing that they can think of, and nobody ever believes any thing they say either....
Being "sorry about the wait"... doesn`t cut it with me..... I have been waiting for SIX YEARS to see the "situation impove"...
Your mention of the "web chat" agents.... did you not read my other post about that ? Took me almost 2 days to get that chat service working.... and when I did manage it.... it was no thanks to PLUSNET ... it was another customer, who pointed out what could have caused it...
Plusnet should revise the webchat scripts.... so that NON computer nerds can use it......
Further to that thread.... and the reason for this thread.... is The guy on the chat said I had to phone up to pay for my router,... as it could not be done over chat.... yet you have my bank details and the charge could well have been added to that..... OR... you should make available an ONLINE payment system using PAYPAL... in this the 21st century.... even small retailers use on line payments system... why can`t Plusnet.... ?
So, Adam... I hope you are now CLEAR why CHRIS is getting the flak........ I just hope that he is so ashamed, and you too, for not reading posts properly, to actually get on and do something about it...

SOONER rather than "......in time... we`ll get there"

Re: @CHRIS.... Employ MORE people to answer the phones

adamwalker — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:32:29 GMT

No I'm not ashamed and have no reason to be at all.
As said I'm sorry that you've had to endure some long waits and I'll be around here and happy to help for the foreseeable future and so will Chris.