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Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

shutter
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

You betcha... it is commercially sensitive.... in other words... you have far too many customers in the ratio compared to the number of support staff, and it has not bee a priority action to increase the number comparitively over the years, therefore you are finding yourselves in the hole you are in now,... also the problems that the customers have, have not been properly addressed by the appropriate management decisions and actions, therefore the number of complaints has risen to the current level,....
The sides of the hole are made of sand.... and the more you try to dig your way out with the same old promises of,....." we`re working on it.... we`ll get there..... give us time...."   the deeper the hole becomes....
You have had well over 3.5 years since I started to get CSC into some kind of acceptable situation vis-a-vis the turnover time and response time for calls and tickets.... and yet you "suddenly" find you need to "work on it " again.... WHY ?  
The problems that the customers are reporting, and requesting assistance are still the same as they were 3, 2, 1 year ago... so it seems that.....
a)   nothing has been done.......(to fix the problems)
b)   If anything has been done... (capital letters IF) , it was not good enough
Purleigh`s "guidelines" quoted above, seem to have fallen on blind eyes and deaf ears..... despite your  acknowledgement that
Quote

there's a combination of things that need to happen

that combination of "things" should have happened by now.... why haven`t they.... and.... how much more time do you need?
You,Chris, were very adamant in your responses during my last postings, that you WILL get it sorted, and all you needed was time.....
Well, you have had time... Why is the situation still the same?
Because the problems are still the same....... When are you going to fix the problems, so that there number of complaints drops dramatically, then you won`t need so many CSC staff to cope with a backlog.
Please, Chris... give us some "proper answers" to the questions, and do try to be honest about it.....
Nobody beleives the politicians anymore, because they always sidestep difficult questions by re-quoting the party line over and over again.... don`t go down that road.. ....................
Chris
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

Quote
You,Chris, were very adamant in your responses during my last postings, that you WILL get it sorted, and all you needed was time.....
Well, you have had time... Why is the situation still the same?

A question for you Gerry. Has the response time been unacceptable for the whole period since you first posted about this 3.5 years ago or is it small chunks of time within there where the responses have been longer than they should?
Look, I'm not trying to downplay the fact that support times are too long at the moment. We know they are. What I'm trying to do is be realistic about how long this has been going on for.
Jelv, to cover the point that you started this thread with, I'll try and find out when/why we changed that time.
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Mav
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

I'm just wondering how many customers know about the Customer Support Stats page and, therefore, check them out before raising a ticket.
Would it not be possible to display the Question Handling Stats just before a question is actually raised so that if the current average closure time is high the customer can try another method of contact? Displaying the stats after the question is posted seems then a bit late

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He who feared he would not succeed sat still

jelv
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

I think posts I have made going back over a couple of years are relevant to what's happening today:
Quote from: jelv
Several times I have suggested backing off the advertising campaigns to allow support to get to a better place.
That that hasn't happened has me utterly convinced that there is one or more sales/marketing managers who's bonuses relies on the number of new sign ups they manage to get. They will not be at all concerned as to whether these people have a happy experience. It's highly likely they will have been parachuted in to Plusnet by BT - and we all know where BT stands on the make a profit/do what's right for the customer balance. They probably knows that if things continue the way they are Plusnet will get a bad reputation and that getting new users will be more difficult, but that won't bother them, like all these bods totally focused on their bonuses they'll just move on. I've seen this sort of thing so many times over my working life, as far as sales/marketing are concerned if they get paid a bonus it's the right thing to do.
I'll bet there are some very interesting discussions go on between the sales/marketing and the support management teams!

Quote from: jelv
No the unacceptable delays at the moment are because PN embarked on a number of advertising campaigns along with very aggressive pricing in the Market 3 exchanges. This has obviously brought in significant numbers of new users, many of whom will have trouble getting connected. PN are recruiting/training agents faster than ever, but not fast enough to keep up.

Quote from: jelv
So why haven't they had a response for a week?
[quote=http://www.plus.net/supportpages.html?a=212]Average closure time: 6 hours, 51 minutes and 56 seconds
Target closure time: 4 hours

That tells a story: you are not hitting the target. When you start hitting the target is the time to start advertising.

Interesting one that one - I'd completely forgotten that the target used to be four hours - just shows how far things have slipped.
Quote from: jelv
I'm suggesting that when it was apparent that the support teams were not coping there should have been a reining back on the advertising until such time as support improved.
We're seeing far too many interventions from Digital Care where people are not getting timely responses to faults and far too many apologies where agents have got things wrong.

Quote from: jelv
It's due to a massive increase in user numbers as a result of the advertising campaigns and support resources lagging behind. It takes time for a new support person to get fully up to speed and the new support staff are making a lot of mistakes.

Quote from: jelv
Another user has raised the issue of the alleged £7.2M spend on the recent advertising campaigns and trying to make a totally spurious link to the charge being imposed for payment by cards.
Firstly I don't see why how much they have spent should be an issue for us. The campaigns have been ramping up over the last couple of years; they must be being successful in bringing in more users and be giving a net profit or Plusnet wouldn't be continuing with them. I've noted that the number of users online at any one time as shown by the performance graphs has doubled in the last couple of years or so - the campaigns must be working.
I think there is a valid debate to be had as to the timing of the campaigns - I've posted previously that I thought they should be scaled back until the support resources were ready to cope with the extra workload the new users bring. But I see no relevance in discussing the amount of the spend - that is a commercial matter just for Plusnet and their owners.

Quote from: jelv
Quote from: _Adam_Walker_
Support are going through a very busy time at the moment but we are continuing to train and recruit to meet demand.

... and because of that Plusnet have put all the advertising on hold until CSC and other departments are up to strength and sufficiently experienced to answer queries/faults promptly and accurately.
Oh, look there's some bacon flying past the window!

Quote from: jelv
I presume that as CSC are struggling at the moment you are easing up on the advertising?
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shutter
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

Chris,
You know better than me the answer to your question.... I accept that response times do go up and down.... however, that is not what this is about... it is the underlying problems that are causing the response times. and these problems are still being complained about, and more often, by more customers...
Logically, you have had 3 years to address these problems,  ( perhaps even longer , before I started to campaign )... and yet they are still there....  WHY ?
You keep on saying... We are aware of it....  we are working on it... give us time...    yet 3 years later, you are still swimming along in a sea of treacle and not getting the problems solved.  WHY?
Jelv` s point about the increase in "target" times just brings it all up  again...  by increasing the "target"  time, you are, in effect, lowering the standards, and therefore it does not improve the situation, any more than your "we are working on it ... "..

My own "observations" are on the current "front page" of the Feedback board on the forum.... May I suggest you have a read of them all.... note what the problems are, and then go backyearly, for  3 years ago, and do the same exercise... You will see what I mean....
This line ...... "   What I'm trying to do is be realistic about how long this has been going on for. ".... is typical "politician speak"..... We , the customers, are not interested in "how long it has been going on for" as a ratio of time over the past years...
what we, the customers, are interested in, is "How long must we endure the current situation, that was brought to notice 3 years ago?" and need a realistic answer.
Realistically, we do not expect you to come back and say.... OK... everything will be fixed by June 30th at 0900.... Realistically, we expect Customer Service to be the best there is.  Realistically, it should be happening NOW... as you have had 3 years to  "work on it"..  
By Customer Service... we don`t just mean "ticket times or phone call answer times"... but the Whole Package of Customer Service... from the moment of Sign up, to the "occasional" fault/probem  report and service of that request for help.
Put yourself in the customers position, and ask yourself the question...... Why am I putting up with this level of service? and ask yourself  Should I be putting up with this level of service.... then go back to your desk, and be the CSC manager , and take action accordingly.

swayton
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

I only just mentioned to my partner that last time I remember putting in a question it was estimated 4 hrs, the one I've just put in is 35 hrs!  I'm changing to fibre on 19/2/13, ordered on 5/2/13 (ticket 153297773) but hardware not arrived yet... hope it arrives quicker than tickets get answered!
jelv
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Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

There are two very simple questions to be answered:
[list type=decimal]
  • Why was the target response time increased by 200%?

  • Exactly when was the change made?



  • I'm disappointed that no explanation has been forthcoming so far. I'm wondering if this is going to be brushed under the carpet.
    jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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    Anonymous
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    and these -
      3)  What is the actual average wait time to ticket closure currently experienced by customers ?
      4)  What delay is considered unacceptable, and what should the customer do if no ticket reply appears beyond that limit ?
    EnglishMohican
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    A ticket system that cannot generate a response within 4 hours is not fit for purpose. It should be a conversation in text, not a black hole in which customer problems are filed.
    Why does it take less time to look at and respond to a ticket when it is 35 hours old than when it is 1 hour old?  Answer - it does not, it takes the same time in both cases. It therefore takes the same amount of effort and resource. Incredibly short queues do not utilise staff fully, somebody is sitting round waiting for the next ticket to come in, but in a big well run organisation (Plusnet anyone??) that incredibly short queue may only need to be a few minutes long. Alright, CS are answering the phones at the same time and phones should take priority - but phone peaks that last for more than an hour or so takes us back to not enough staff on shift and poor management.

    Why do companies allow long queues to develop? Answer: to  dissuade customers from raising a problem because it is just too much trouble - the world will have moved on before an answer arrives.
    I am sure I remember when JamesH was brought back in to solve just this sort of problem and asked us to give him time to get it working. You seem to have found the solution James - never mind the customer's problems, just move the target!.
    ITWorks
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    Quote from: Chris
    Jelv, to cover the point that you started this thread with, I'll try and find out when/why we changed that time.

    Chris, have you been able to find any information out about this yet?
    Regards
    Mike

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    Chris
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    Yes, we changed it towards the end of January when we saw the response times increasing. It was changed to give a more realistic timescale for response and will continue to be reviewed.
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    EnglishMohican
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    Its not a very impressive response from Plusnet (we all have to stick to the party line Chris so that is not getting at you.)
    The change was snuck out without any announcement or notification. Leaves me wondering what other reductions in service occur that are not admitted to.
    It is "under review" which we are probably meant to understand as it might come down but it could equally mean that it could go up even more.
    There is no timescale for the review to happen. So it's a bit like HMG kicking things they do not like out into the long grass. It may never happen.
    These forums are full of topics that should be adequately handled by customer service using the phone or ticket system. Its getting to the stage where one raises a ticket and a forum topic at the same time just to get something done.  These days we have to threaten Plusnet with bad publicity to get it to do what it should be doing anyway. It's a very poor trend which is emphasised by Plusnet downgrading the response time on the ticket system and being less than enthusiastic in responding to any discussion about it.
    I suppose its what I should expect from cheap and cheerful rather than professional. While it works - its great but woe betide you if it stops working,
    Kelly
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    I'm not happy it snuck out without announcement.  The DC team and myself were unaware and would have probably asked for it not to be changed.  Looking to make sure that doesn't happen again.
    Kelly Dorset
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    jelv
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    I'm still not happy that we've received satisfactory answers to the issues raised here.
    Quote from: Chris
    Yes, we changed it towards the end of January when we saw the response times increasing. It was changed to give a more realistic timescale for response and will continue to be reviewed.

    I don't understand this response. You show the current average closure time which gives a realistic timescale for a response based on the current ticket queues. In no way does that justify changing the target.
    I'm pleased to note that from the ludicrous 36 hours average it is now back to 18 hours. I presume however that as you are now beating your target by 25% the presume is off and no efforts are being made to make further improvements and the managers are back to getting nice bonuses for beating their targets.
    Quote from: Kelly
    I'm not happy it snuck out without announcement.  The DC team and myself were unaware and would have probably asked for it not to be changed.  Looking to make sure that doesn't happen again.

    Is the target going to be changed back to the 8 hours it was before or is the 24 hours a permanent change?
    Finally, if the target is going to be changed to reflect the current situation, just what is the point of having a target?
    jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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    Chris
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    Re: Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)

    Quote
    . I presume however that as you are now beating your target by 25% the presume is off and no efforts are being made to make further improvements and the managers are back to getting nice bonuses for beating their targets.

    The managers aren't targetted on the shown target reponse from the website.
    Quote
    Is the target going to be changed back to the 8 hours it was before or is the 24 hours a permanent change?

    It will be reviewed periodically and if we think going back to 8 hours is the right move then yes. (Personally I'd like it to be put back to Cool
    Quote
    Finally, if the target is going to be changed to reflect the current situation, just what is the point of having a target?

    To try and set a better expectation of turnaround times.
    Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.