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Plusnet wins ISPA award for Best Consumer Customer Service

Plusnet wins ISPA award for Best Consumer Customer Service

Plusnet wins ISPA award for Best Consumer Customer Service

Best Consumer Customer Service  ISP WINNER 2010 Well, the results are in, and we’re very pleased to say that Plusnet has won this year's ISPA award for ‘Best Consumer Customer Service’ 2010. We’re incredibly proud of everyone who has worked so very hard to achieve this over the last year. It’s no small feat – the ISPAs are the broadband industry’s most prestigious awards, and Customer Service is always one of the most fiercely contested categories. Among other things, ISPA were impressed with the efforts we make to ensure you can get in touch with us whenever you want - by integrating calls, online support, twitter and forums into our overall customer support.  They also praised our effectiveness when it comes handling any issues raised by our customers. We know that customer support is a huge part of broadband and have put an enormous amount of effort into getting it right. We've listened to feedback and taken on more staff this year to support you.  So for our everyone in our call centre and those supporting them, this is some extremely well deserved recognition. But we won't rest on our laurels, we're determined to keep finding new ways to make our service even better for you.

   

 

0 Thanks
66 Comments
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66 Comments
pcoventry
Grafter
Every day I feel dead proud of the contribution we all make. And this is just the Cherry. Well done everyone! Smiley
Not applicable
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Plusnet PLC. Plusnet PLC said: Plusnet wins ISPA award for Best Consumer Customer Service http://bit.ly/a7fg9c [...]
Kevin_Bromfield
Not applicable
Congratulations - but hope I see the benefits. The last 2 times I've had to contact you have been awful in terms of follow up and just trying to contact you raising a web ticket. Look forward to seeing the improvement.
Mick_Finlay
Not applicable
Well pleased for the Pnet team after my short experience with TkTk I'm happy to be back with a proper IP well done and could you answer my questions in full please, well done again.
glloyd
Rising Star
Well done folks, well deserved
MinusNet2112
Dabbler
This is a wind up, right?
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@gm2112, it's not a wind up, why are you having problems that one of us might be able to help you with?
idlewis
Grafter
Well done on your award. Plusnet have helped me a lot during the problem that I had recently wirh my broadband by email and phone. Keep up the good work.
Geomorphologist
Not applicable
I did post this as a guest, but decided to register incase i actually got somewhere... Well that award must show how bad the others are. I switched from AOL after being with them for 12 years. Never had a connection problem and felt like the internet was on my hard drive. Cost forced my hand so i moved broadband and phone to plusnet which moved over last week. I'm currently 'enjoying' a connection the likes of which i haven't experienced since the first days of dial-up. As nothing has changed apart from my provider and a new router, i think it's crap that after going through all the reporting channels it's not been fixed yet. Last night i was downloading at between 10 and 15 kbps. That's 'K' not 'M'. As a new customer, i am unimpressed. Very.
Russell_James
Not applicable
We are a professional sales and appointment setting company, with many global blue chip clients. Unfortunately, our internal email server is considered 'poor reputation' by the plus.net mail server mx-ironport.core.plus.net. despite that our email activity is entirely normal, legitimate, above board - we do not spam or bulk email - our IP is not separately blacklisted except in error by plus.net. Plus.net SA are reluctant to undertake necessary corrective amendments to our domain IP (return it to a white-list status) despite we have provided evidence of isolating the problem to the mx-ironport mail server. Convention/legislation/protection in SA is evidently not as mature as it is in the UK/US where unilateral restriction on email contravenes commercial law (is anti-competitive)and this is accepted/enforced through statute. Not a customer of PlusNet prevents me from raising this issue through their normal technical helpdesk and resort to this forum to sort. Can plus.net in the UK now resolve this issue before it would be necessary to register issue with necessary internet governance bodies, ombudsmen etc and potentially pursue this matter through these means. We cannot continue not to communicate with our client base simply because those clients have plus.net services. Please reply to russell@voicentric.co.uk
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@Russell, perhaps you can share with us the IP address of your MTA? Our anti-spam appliances are provided by Cisco/IronPort and it's their reputation engine we use for anti-spam filtering: http://www.ironport.com/technology/reputation_filters.html http://www.senderbase.org/senderbase_queries/rep_lookup If your Plusnet clients switch off spam filtering at http://email.plus.net then they should start to receive mail from your servers. To be brutally honest, I don't think you'll get particularly far with Internet governance bodies etc. as this practice is widely adopted across the Internet and our anti-spam filtering isn't nearly as aggressive as that employed by many postmasters. @Geomorphologist, I'll be looking into your problem later and will be back in touch, but as I mentioned on Twitter yesterday it looks like an IP Profile/Wiring/Interference issue to me: http://twitter.com/plusnet/status/18520352142 http://twitter.com/plusnet/status/18520469716
Bruce_McIsaac
Not applicable
Hi I've been with Plusnet/Free-online for many years. I have at times had to use the customer services and my experience is that waiting times have gradually lengthened and that staff seem less able to understand or deal with things as well as in the earlier years. They do eventually get there often by re directing a query to someone else (with another delay). Overall I would say performance rates 6 out of 10 recently compared to 8 or 9 out of 10 five years ago. Regarding costs I am once again looking at other ISPs as they seem to offer better value. Generally I have stayed because "better the devil you know" etc. I don't understand why different regions can enjoy lower charges simply because there is greater competition. It seems that those of us in the non competitive ( and slower bandwidth) areas are subsidizing the better served!
bobpullen1
Not applicable
The charging variation is due to rulings by the regulator Ofcom. You can find more information about this here - http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/faqs_and_guides/low_cost_areas.shtml
Bruce_McIsaac
Not applicable
I was aware of that but does it mean that Ofcom force you to charge more (double if you use the lower price service) for your services where there is little or no competition. If so then perhaps a legal challenge or referral to the Office of Fair Trading might be in order. Alternatively are you given subsidies for the lower price areas or do you just make greater profit? I can appreciate fuel retailers charging more in rural areas due to the increased transport costs but doubt whether broadband provision is that much more expensive.
NSavage
Newbie
Hi Bruce - my understanding of the Ofcom ruling is that the price difference is designed to encourage more competition in areas where BT are seen to have a monopoly. It means that other providers can set up at that exchange and not immediately be priced out of the market by a much bigger company. Broadband is a ruthless and competitive market where costs can be huge for new providers, especially if they are only running a few lines. Once the level of competition is high enough, the restriction is lifted and ISPs, both large and small, are able to charge less. I know in the short term this seems counter-intuitive, as market 1 and 2 exchanges tend to be in more remote areas with slower broadband, which doesn't seem fair. But if Ofcom can encourage other providers to supply broadband there because they can afford it, then over time healthy competition will make things better than if they were just left alone. Does that make sense? It's one of those questions I had to answer all the time when I was on the tech/faults team. It's a hard thing to explain, and sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't.
Bruce_McIsaac
Not applicable
Hi Nick Yes that does help a bit (after reading twice). I think I'm just having a pessimistic and cynical day. Perhaps by tomorrow I'll appreciate the competition ethic a little more. It has after all led to more small independent traders (TESCO springs to mind!). Thanks for your comments. Bruce
NSavage
Newbie
No problem. For those not in a low cost area it does seem like a bitter pill to swallow for now, but long term you should see cheaper prices and a better network as a result of more competition. Once you get your head around the logic that is Wink
GordonT
Newbie
I am amazed at this award. I have been with plusnet for years and have found the customer service to be dire in the extreme!! I have been having frequent disconnects for months and the problem has never once looked like being solved. I work 9 to 5 and the only time I can phone to request a MAC code is at lunchtime and I have never been able to get through to a human being :( I hope you enjoy the cozy glow of your award better than I "enjoy" your incredibly unreliable service that I pay you for!!!
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@Gordon, have you reported your connectivity problem to our helpdesk and if so, do you have a ticket reference I could take a look at? Regarding the MAC request, you can always write to us via snail mail if you're unable to get through on the phone?
GordonT
Newbie
Thanks Bob Yes I have reported this problem and the ticket number is 34199331. I managed to get through to cancellations 5 mins ago so it looks like I will be leaving Plusnet soon to try another isp for a while to see if the problem continues.
frank_martin
Not applicable
I have just spent a frustrating time trying to upgrade so that I can get windows 7 without trouble. I have found the 'instructions' confusing and suspect that the advisers know as little as I do. Finally 'David' more or less told me to get lost..' if you cant understand the instructions you should not be trying to upgrade, we cant help you any further'. so much for customer service.
Mark1
Not applicable
Frank. I'm really sorry that you've had an unsatisfactory experience with our support team. I've raised your issue internally and one of our team will be in touch to get this resolved for you. Mark
bventure
Newbie
Just spotted this after raising an issue on the feedback blog about how long it is taking to get a simple order completed. If Plusnet has the best customer service, how bad can the others be? It beggars belief. I've been with Plusnet for years, often (like now) with multiple connections as I often work away from home & take a flat where I'm working. Customer Service certainly used to be very good. It was possible to speak to someone who actually knew what they were talking about and wasn't a Call Centre Robot - but those days are, sadly, long gone. Now it is a complete waste of time phoning. No-one knows anything, they always either don't have any information but "someone will be in touch" (not likely!), or everything is fine and it will all be sorted out in a couple of days. You could save some money by replacing them with an answerphone that gave one of the two stock replies at random, it would be as much use.
nickyt
Not applicable
congratulations plusnet,fantastic broadband for the money,more than happy with the service and speed im a very happy customer a+++
Derek
Not applicable
I've been with Plusnet a few months now all I can say is the service is first class. Derek
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@Martin, sorry to hear your experience has been less than desirable. If you can provide me with the username to the account in question then I'd be happy to take a look to see if I can identify where the hold-up is?
newinvention
Grafter
My recent experience of Pnet has been very good - I think their award is probably very well earned. I would vote for them. I just put a post up in the Fibre BB section though - can Plusnet now be the first ISP to really nurture its rural customers and help us get decent modest speeds (2MB/s would be nice), never mind the 100MB/s now being trialled?
edgar_Mills
Not applicable
Hi all well done great achievment to all
Arun_John
Not applicable
Pathetic Service. I have been with PlusNet for 2 months -- Internet worked for the 1st month and then just stopped working. I raised a fault -- Its now close to a month and the fault is still open! Pathetic service is an understatement. The customer service guys, esp. after 6PM are useless - They just read out from the website and say 'We are looking at it. Will let you know when it is fixed'. That's the lamest response I've ever got...almost equivalent to saying 'It will get fixed when it will get fixed'. They don't even bother if you say you might as well switch to another provider -- The response I got was 'You can switch if you want. The process is....'. PlusNet doesn't care about customer retention. I am planning to just wait another couple of days...and then switch to another provider. The hassle of waiting and calling PlusNet customer care is just too too much. I have worked in various countries and used services of different Internet Providers....this IS the worst experience EVER!!!
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@Arun, sorry to hear you're not satisfied with the level of support you're getting. Perhaps you can provide me with a support ticket reference number so that I can take a look and see if there's anything I can do to help? We do care about customer retention. In fact we have a Customer Options Team dedicated to nothing but this.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
plusnet provide me both business phone and internet Thursday my phone line is dead , contact plusnet to report fault and ask them to divert my calls to mobile , to be told divert cannot be done , call back and told divert can be done but it will take a week , call back again to be told divert can be done will take 20 mins, why did it take 3 phone calls and all morning, Friday phone now working , Saturday no internet , call plusnet , customer service person starts shouting at me that my router is broken and not there fault, he now very agree so I put phone down , call back and next person not shouting they look into it and tell me I put a request in for my internet to be turned off ( I don't think so) so a request has been put on my account to turn my internet back on which he says will take a week , running a hotel with no phone is very difficult ,divert needs to be immediate no phone costs me hundreds of pounds per day, we did not request the internet to be turned off, so iv had to buy an iphone to receive email, no internet also costs me hundreds of pounds per day plusnet please turn my internet back on!!!!!!!
Mark1
Not applicable
Ian. I'm sorry to hear of the difficulty you've experienced. I've raised this to my team for investigation and resolution. Mark
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Internet still not working, deadline of 2pm today or I take myself and all referrals to another supplier. How plusnet got this award is beyond me. I work a 7 day week and I expect 7 day support. Clearly plusnet can't offer this simple service. After 8 years of being a loyal customer I wonder what I am actually paying for. Will never refer to anyone again. Look forward to a response but I expect that no call will be recieved as the managers and support staff have no passion about sorting there own errors and are only interested in a wage. 07974 353789
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
1 hour until deadline which proves plus net doesn't care about customers or customer service. What a shambles of a company all they do is blame other departments.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Just spoke to Will on business support. Unfortunatly business support go out Saturday nights and don't work on Sundays so it diverts you to residential support who are just as useless as business support. From my experience it's not can't but actually can't be arsed.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Bad seller avoid
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Seller failed to deliver bad seller avoid
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Going to keep spamming until web works again. Enjoy
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Just spoke to supervisor who has sympaphy with me and promises to help. She finaly admitted plusnet were to blame for the fault and threat of being charged for reconnection had been withdrawn. She also seemed concerned about my plans on leaving. Why have no other members of staff had the same concerns? Still no Internet though.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Still no Internet. They can't be arsed to help, disgracefull company.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Not seeing many people defend the great business customer services. Quite clearly proves how bad it really is. Anyone thinking of joining plusnet must avoid, they take your money, promise the earth and don't deliver. Avoid avoid avoid bad seller
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
http://www.pipex.co.uk/business/broadband/
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Still no broadband. Would have thought this is a simple given for a company who dedicates it's business to supplying broadband. I've never dealt with such a rubbish company in all my life.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Had to buy a mifi. At least I'm now up and running ish.
bobpullen1
Not applicable
@Ian, whilst I'm sorry to hear of your experience, I don't think spamming this blog post with comments is helping! I know Mark's already raised this for investigation however I don't mind taking a look into things too if you're able to provide me with a support ticket reference or your username?
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
ianhowarth75. Maybe spamming it doesn't help you but it doesn't bother me. By the way still not working. At least skeleton weekend staff are no longer working on my case now and i'm not dealing with people who imply I'm an idiot. Maybe all this could have been avoided if the first guy I fools to on Saturday hadn't shouted at me. In other words don't blame me!
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
Should say spoke not fools. That's cause I'm trying to get with iphone that I've had to buy.
bobpullen1
Not applicable
Ian, it neither hinders nor helps us which is entirely my point - repeatedly commenting this blog post isn't going to speed things up and your efforts are better channelled via our official support channels. TBH, I'm surprised that you felt the need to buy an iPhone? I'm assuming there were other factors that led to this decision and it wasn't simply because your broadband was down? It would almost certainly have been far more cost effective to have purchased a 3G USB dongle. I know Vodafone, O2 and 3 all offer them on monthly contracts for a fraction of the cost of an iPhone. Anyway, I've taken a look at your account and can see that James spoke to you this morning and is overseeing this particular issue from a management perspective. What happened to your account is certainly not common and whilst I'm deeply apologetic, I've confidence James and his team will be able to get to the bottom of things for you.
Ian_howarth
Not applicable
I appreciate that this is not a common issue, however what I don't appreciate is aggression from weekend skelleton staff. I would never have been in this frame of mind if your support team hadn't been so rude or aggresive, he also demanded that costs for reconnection due to your companies incompetense was my responsibility. I can truely say that I'm totally disgusseted in how this matter has been handled. From where I'm sat right now it appears that the only way to get my point accross us through forums such as this and I'm sure that my complaint wouldn't have been dealt with for several days. After 8 years of loyal custom plus many referals it seems strange that the only way to resolve an issue like this is to stand on the rooftops and shout or in this case write on blogs. Surely the support staff should be able to arrange or advise on workarounds. Anyway now I'm fully up and running I'm now able to start looking for alternate suppliers.
Nick_Dehnel
Not applicable
Hi I have a problem in that I need to contact customer services / billing, but I am overseas and need to do so electronically to avoid a huge phone bill (and the problems with phoning 0845 numbers!). I have asked plusnet both on the phone and on the electronic help&support system to call me on my work number here or use my email address but with no success. I can't access the online system any more as the problem is with closing my account and the login side has been closed (just not the rest)! Does anyone know a good direct email address to use please? Thanks Nick