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Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Loombucket
Grafter
Posts: 314
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

I hate to sound like an old git (I am one, I just hate sounding like it) but back in the mists of time I could report an ADSL problem for one of my customers and have it pass the initial checks and escalated to BT within two or three hours - not any more....
A business customer (who has already been with Plusnet for many years) ordered a second ADSL service on a new line which was supposedly activated last Saturday (July 14th).  I rocked up on the customer's site yesterday (16th) AM to connect up their hardware and get it running, only to find no response.  Checked with PN who confirmed no activity at all on the Radius logs.  A complete change of hardware later, still nothing - the service doesn't appear to have been activated at all.
By now it's midday and I reported the problem to PN for action.  Now, previous experience has led me to see an escalation to BT appear on the customer's ticket log within a few hours, but no - at 09:40 the following morning we're still waiting for something to happen.
A further call to PN gets no further - "We're still waiting for the tests to complete - this can take up to 24 hours, so someone should get back to you sometime this afternoon."
(What tests do you need to run that take 24 hours fer krissakes when your own staff acknowledge that the service ain't running?)
Er, excuse me - why does it take 24 hours before someone gets on to BT and points out that they don't appear to have done their job?  In the past this used to be done within a couple of hours of the problem being raised, and was often sorted - or at least attended to - the same day.
My customer has already asked me if I was wise to persist in recommending Plusnet and frankly I'm beginning to wonder myself...
Any information PN staff could provide me with that might placate my customer wouldn't half be appreciated.
EDIT:  Sorry, thoughtless of me - ticket no. 57703977 refers.
9 REPLIES 9
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Presumably this is a business account? If so I suggest you ask for this post to be moved to that forum as it may then get picked up by the right person. (Report my post to moderator will be the quickest way to get that done)
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
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adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Hi there,
I'm sorry to read about this, as you might be aware we're working hard to restore access to our internal systems and the portal at present but I will be picking this up for you as soon as that's been fixed: http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,106286.0.html
Adam
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
Fixes: 221
Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

I'm sorry that you weren't given a response against this fault any sooner. We'll always aim to pick these up quickly but I would advise calling in if a case is urgent, we realise that's not always practical but do recommend it.
I've spoken with a colleague on the business support team who has raised the fault with our suppliers for you so we'll keep you updated.
I'm sorry for any hassle this has caused you by the way.
Adam
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
Loombucket
Grafter
Posts: 314
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Hi Adam, thanks for your response.
I did in fact phone this in sooner than raise a ticket, hence my frustration at the length of time (and number of follow-up calls) it has taken to get it sorted.
From what I can gather, due to the problems you had last week (and possibly staff shortages, I guess) and the resultant surge in calls, people seem to have been pulled off the Faults desk onto the phones, thus creating delays in faults being actioned.
The two agents I spoke to this morning seem to have simply ensured that the ticket was in the relevant queue (again I'm guessing here) but the chap I spoke to around 2PM picked it up and ran with it (thanks mate), resulting in a call I've just received offering an engineer appointment for Thursday 19th AM.
Whilst the fault obviously originated from BT not sticking the right plug in the right 'ole in the first place (figuratively speaking), by the time the fault is fixed it'll be only one day short of  week overdue.  Hopefully this does not reflect the current norm.
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
Fixes: 221
Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

No problem,
Quote
I did in fact phone this in sooner than raise a ticke

Thanks for putting me in the picture re that. I will go back to your account again to try and ascertain why action wasn't taken when you did call in.
Quote
From what I can gather, due to the problems you had last week (and possibly staff shortages, I guess) and the resultant surge in calls, people seem to have been pulled off the Faults desk onto the phones, thus creating delays in faults being actioned.

Not precisely and we definitely don't have a staff shortage but the problems experienced last week did obvisouly have an undesirable knock-on effect and I'm confident that didn't have a bearing on the issue you reported yesterday.
Quote
The two agents I spoke to this morning seem to have simply ensured that the ticket was in the relevant queue

This isn't what I'd expect from business support so I will be checking that it was themselves who you spoke to and I will make sure feedback is given where it's needed.
Quote
Hopefully this does not reflect the current norm.

I genuinely doubt it and sincerely hope not, but thanks for taking the time to draw this to our attention.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Loombucket: Which number did you call when you rang in?
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Mark
Grafter
Posts: 1,852
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Hi loombucket
I've reviewed the situation with your clients fault and can advise the following:
Standard Care Fault raised Monday at 1220 with diagnostics and remote checks carried out by us and BTW commencing at 1224. We advised that these could take 24 hours to complete.
Remote diagnostic results reviewed at 1406 today and moved to BTW to arrange an engineer at 1412.
1643 today we received confirmation from BTW that the next available slot was 19th July AM and this has now been booked.
We'll await the outcome of that engineer visit and hopefully bring this to a close following that.
The element of your perception that the agent(s) you spoke to today were merely checking that the fault was in the relevant queue is not the case. The agents were checking for the correct responses/updates from BTW and until those appeared they couldn't progress. As soon as that information became available this fault was progressed. If they failed to set correct expectations we'll address internally.
I'm not sure where the info regarding staff shortage came from, however I can confirm that the dedicated business team is fully staffed and resourced and that there are no resourcing issues in this area.
I've asked the business team managers to review the calls made in relation to this account and they will deal with any team member who gave incorrect or misleading information.
Mark
Loombucket
Grafter
Posts: 314
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Quote from: jelv
Loombucket: Which number did you call when you rang in?

Hi Jelv: the business support number - 01142965182.
Loombucket
Grafter
Posts: 314
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Long delay addressing ADSL problem - is this normal now?

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your input.  Those are indeed the facts of the case, but what is puzzling me is why supposed improvements in the fault reporting system have in fact increased the time taken to escalate a fault to BT from 2-4 hours to 24 hours, especially in this type of case where the ADSL connection has not failed, it has never worked at all.  It is horribly frustrating for the customer to have to endure this delay in addressing what is obviously a BT implementation cock-up, resulting in a total delay in activation (assuming the BT engineer sorts it out on Thursday) of six days.
Regarding my comments about possible short-staffages, this was simply an impression I gained from one of the phone conversations on being told that fault response times were suffering due to staff on the faults team being redeployed to the phones following your problems last week.  My observation was meant to be sympathetic, not critical, and I apologise if this impression was not made clear.