BTOR Appointment times
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?
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?
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!
The engineer came around nine but said he had another seven jobs to do.. So somebody has got to be first and last!
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
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
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?
)
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?
)
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.
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.
