topic Re: Service Status updates in Plusnet Feedback

Service Status updates

nozzer — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 19:00:45 GMT

In view of the fact that quite a few people have commented on the lack of announcements of the recent problems with email server routings, I am prompted to ask if PN has made a conscious decision to only include "routine" work in the Service Status section of the forum. Scanning through it there seems precious little other than routine stuff there. In the past it served a very useful function to keep everyone up to speed with anything that was causing problems, but that seems to have changed.

Anyone from PN care to comment?

Re: Service Status updates

rongtw — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 21:16:36 GMT

Sorry no PN reply ,, too busy with phone calls

Re: Service Status updates

nozzer — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 15:28:18 GMT

Hmmmm. A simple thing like keeping the Service Status updated with relevant information is obviously not important enough to warrant a reply.

Shame really.

Re: Service Status updates

nozzer — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 16:33:56 GMT

@rongtw wrote:

Sorry no PN reply ,, too busy with phone calls

When I joined PN in 2002, the company prided itself in being "totally open and honest" with its customers. Is was a regular thing that the Service Status was updated with faults that affected customers in general. To enhance this all you had to do was to register an external email address and you received emails as soon as general faults were known about. I am sure this saved many frustrating phone calls to the helpline because at least people knew that summat was up! It's simple common sense to do this and it adds value. Customers feel that they are being kept in the loop. The email notification still works, but it's no good if all it does is tell me that BT is doing backhaul work somewhere next week and I might be affected.

Nowadays it seems to be the case that postings to the forum are the main way that the likes of me and many others find out that there is a general problem, and only then if, and only if, a technician picks up comments and acts on them. The recent email server routing problem is a case in point. There were several threads covering this, all from people who didn't realize that they were all being affected by the same problem. Some of those people resorted to phoning the helpline, only to be given the standard reply of "if you can get webmail to work, it must be your kit!" In this case this advice wasn't correct either, webmail was working but not POP access. Thank goodness Bob Pullen managed to diagnose it and effect a cure. But what if he was on holiday?

Just think of the workload that the helpline might be relieved of if PN communicated more effectively! Where is the Customer Service Manager when s/he's really needed?

Re: Service Status updates

Townman — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 23:27:54 GMT

@LouisaMartin - one for you?