"our supplier", & other "in-house" terms

[#1]

Reading many many postings on this board of the forum... the PlusNet Staff... and indeed, the "Customer Service Agents"... keep saying things like......

it`s not our fault.,.. it is the supplier... 

When our supplier confirms .....

Our supplier says there is an exception on the order...  HUH ?  what does that actually mean to the customer ?

Is it a state secret, that "our supplier",... ( i.e. THE BAD GUYS ) is actually.... British Telecom .  (aka BT,  or BTW , or BTOR,...  whichever is applicable to the problem..

Sentences, such as this.......

Our suppliers have advised us that the bridge case is still open with Openreach and this has been escalated to the bridge case team.

so...... as I undestand that  to mean..  we ( plusnet ) have asked our suppllier ( state secret who this is ).. and they are supplying us with a bridge case... which is still open...... and Openreach, have looked inside and found that it needs to be put on an escalator to somewhere else and the bridge case team will/may do something to close the case or maybe not, depending on what else they have to do,  at some time in the future with a bit of luck..... 

Why don`t you come right out with it, and say,,... BT has let us down,,... we have chased them up... and they tell us this/that/the other...   using straightforward plain english, and not the "in house" stuff that only confuses the customer even more, and does not explain anything....

When a customer has not received the service he expected, on signing up, .... presumably having been conned by the advertising on tv... he is going to complain about it... and all that he gets in reply, is a lot of short and sweet  "gobbledegook" nonsense, as already illustrated.

 Plusnet used to be "open and honest"... in their dealings with customers.... but over the past few years this has developed and been honed, into the nonsensical responses to customers, that has "become the norm"... therefore, it must be O.K...

When is PlusNet senior management..  ( small first letters intentional ).. going to stand up to the plate, and start to "take charge" of their business....  and fight for PlusNet customers to get a proper service for them?

Whilst I understand, that BT, are the "only supplier"... that PlusNet can use... due to the infrastructure, and lack of competiion on the Telephone Lines side of the business... it should still be "brought to task" for its inept and inadequate delivery of it`s business to it`s customers  (i.e PlusNet, and other ISP`s ).. 

PlusNet senior management should be complaining bitterly about this to the senior management of BT...and if it fails to get some kind of recompense, or improvement in the service it is buying from BT.. then it should go further and  compalin to OFCOM, or whowever is the "overlord" of the Telecoms/Broadband business.

[#2]

Well said Shutter.😁

[#3]

It may be well said, but it would be worth looking at where PlusNet fit in the BT family.Very much junior players when you look where Openreach and Wholesale fit into things.

The whole ISP service is heavily regulated by Ofcom, who unfortunately don't really understand how the Telecoms industry really works.

. 

[#4]

@MustrumIt matters not "where PlusNet sit in the BT family".... PlusNet, is a supplier of internet service... and they are making contracts with the public.... the public look to "their supplier"  (PlusNet)... to sort out any problems between themselves.... If Plusnet has a problem with ITS supplier, it should not be "making excuses" and trite, unintelligble, responses back to the customer by way of " we are doing something,"... when "doing something" actually means doing nothing... Yes... BT have ALL isp`s over a barrel, as they know that there is NO ALTERNATIVE supplier in the UK market... and can be as difficult as they like, hiding behind "the pressures put on them by the ISP`s."..

If Joe Public buys a washing machine, and it fails to deliver,... Joe Public made a contract with his supplier... if his supplier fails to rectify, or cannot, rectify the problem , then Joe Public is entitled to some form of recompense, either a replacement washing machine ( the service supplied )... or a full refund of his money...

With Plusnet, it does not happen that way... they just lay down before BT and expect the customer to lay down alongside, until it is resolved....

With the advertising on tv.. about  "we`ll do you proud"... and ( so called ) "Award winning customer service"... they  (PlusNet) should withdraw all advertising as it is untrue..  and should also, refund customers their money, as soon as any problem with BT connecting their line occurs...

THAT.. would "Do you proud"... and also would be  "Award Winning Customer Service".

Having done the refund, they should then be applying to OFCOM to source recompense from BT as Plusnet has lost a customer, to BT incompetence... therefore BT are Liable to Plusnet for such recompense.

Other ISP`s should also be doing the same thing.... if that happened, throughout the ISP side of the business.. BT would start to take notice, and "up it`s game"... gilving a "domino" effect, of improving ISP service, in general to ALL users...

[#5]

Much of that lack of Ofcom understanding comes from putting a fast tracked treasury mandarin in charge ... who clearly does not have the first clue about what the issues are.

[#6]

@Townman Thanks for that bit of information..... it has made my post worthwhile....... 

[#7]

@shutter Yes you are 100% correct BUT plusnet management  dont see people   all they see is CASH hence why all they want is new customers with free offers .

Gone Has the time when the customers were listened to  , I am really getting peed off when we all know they were GOOD once before Sadly they are now no better than Talk Talk 

and they dont care if anyone leaves

[#8]

For what its worth, I think the CS staff on here are very good, and do report what is happening when issues occur. I don't know of any other ISP that offer this kind of facility , certainly the EE or BT community's don't offer the same amount of support or honesty. Alas they are not always available.

However its all down to the accountants, the bean counters say what the budget is, and any of the ISP's will work out what and where they fit into the market. Within the BT group there are three ISP's and PN are being set the target to compete against the cheapest ISP's in the marketplace. EE have yet to be fully controlled by the BT bean counters and are in the middle, and BT Retail there to charge the most some of the time, and then offer great deals when they think they need to.

It's great that there are so many long term supporters, but just like every other consumer service/facility these days, people need to make regular checks to see which one meets there needs on a regular basis. The 40/2 thing did it for me, I moved, but would come back for the right deal when the time comes.

[#9]

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@Mustrum wrote:

For what its worth, I think the CS staff on here are very good, and do report what is happening when issues occur.

In a language, only they understand.... and that is the problem I am trying to highlight witjh this thread... the rest of your thread, is irrelvant to the post in general...

I don't know of any other ISP that offer this kind of facility ,

I don`t know of any other ISP, either... My previous two, were swallowed up by each other, and then the third "Biskit"... really were so crumby, that they broke up within a few weeks of taking over my previous ISP, hence my move to PlusNet..

certainly the EE or BT community's don't offer the same amount of support or honesty

Honesty  ? ? ?   well that is a debatable word with the present PlusNet Adverts on TV....  ... 

. Alas they are not always available.

How very true....

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Quotes fixed.

[#10]

This may or may not be correct, but from my point of view, the main problem for everyone is that BT, as the ONLY supplier of the network over which all but Virgin cable are forced to go, have, for some reason, not  changed their attitude since the days they were the GPO telephone service, where everyone was at their mercy, and getting a phone installed, even in 'emergency' situations, was done as and when they could be bothered.

Until this antiquated, short sighted attitude is changed, we have no chance of improvement. How this is to be achieved, though, I have no idea - the government seem to have given up, and until someone is installed at the top of OFCOM who understands the industry, we are stuck.

[#11]

Yes 'our supplier' is BT corporate but so are Plusnet, Openreach and BTw.  Hence I suspect the attempt to hide the fact by PN's use of 'our supplier'. What needs to be remembered is that the only reason any of these divisions exist is to make money for BT Corporate. Telecoms just happens to be the way in which they make the money to feed the corporate beast.

Consequently each of these divisions have a cabinet responsibility to keep the corporate profit and hence share price high. As such I would expect that they do what is necessary to keep any public discord relating to poor performance by colleagues in other divisions to a minimum.

[#12]

@Baldrick1 Thanks... for the "corporate" information... which, again, is absolutely nothing to do with the way that PlusNet staff and CSA`s respond to customer complaints... and , is , therefore... irrelevant regarding the original post.

[#13]

@shutter. I'm sorry, I missed that your original post was related to the way that PN respond to complaints. I was commenting on your specific complaint that PN refer to other parts of their organisation as 'our suppliers' as per the title.

I accept that you are angry with PN and I understand where that frustration comes from. However, in my experience the staffers who respond to posts on this forum are very helpful, try their best to resolve problems and use words that I understand. 

[#14]

@Baldrick1   I suggest  you read my original post.... s l o w l y... as there is no "specific complaint"  ... The whole post, is about the wording that PN staff and CSA`s use. to convey something to customers, who, quite frankly, haven`t a clue what they are talking about, because they, PN staff & CSA`s, have fallen in to the trap of using " in house" language, that they talk to each other in, in an external situation.. 

A bit like me talking to you in Morse Code... I know what it means, so do others, who use the language....  but you haven`t a clue.. (well probably not ! !)..

[#15]

Yes I must admit, even though BT has been split up, it is still the same.

I think when mobile and GSM first came out, the mobie companies weren't allowed to sell their services directly, so they had the retail company, who you'd pay and deal with. Of course then they deal with the network themselves.

I think I read that on uk.telecom.mobile, so it may not be true, as things on the internet usually aren't.