British Telecom and their awful call centres.

[Swami]

I have been having terrible trouble with my landline/broadband and I am fed up to the teeth of being fobbed off by British Telecom and passed off to their Indian call centres.

How can someone in Indian seriously detect a fault in rural Northern Ireland?

Why, oh why can't there be local call centres with local knowledge?

If the situation was reversed, in no way would I be confident about dealing with a query with a customer from India (I emphasise this is a criticism of BT's policy), so why are they providing such a poor service?

Swami

 

[Swami]

Finally, with a lot of complaining, the fault now appears to be fixed.

Mind you, an adviser phoned me earlier to offer me £1.36 of a rebate after three months' disruption.

I don't think so!

Swami

 

[Barbara Fan]

I switched from BT to Virgin and was dreading phoning BT to cancel my contract a few years ago - due to bad experience of not being able to understand the person or their accent at the end of a phone in India on 2 occasions since 2000

When I cancelled i was pleasantly surprised to get someone with an English accent from England and they told me they were moving more work to UK

Your rebate doesnt sound great @Swami!!!! I think when there was an issue with mine back in 2000 i got a free month

Good luck

 

[Swami]

I switched from BT to Virgin and was dreading phoning BT to cancel my contract a few years ago - due to bad experience of not being able to understand the person or their accent at the end of a phone in India on 2 occasions since 2000

When I cancelled i was pleasantly surprised to get someone with an English accent from England and they told me they were moving more work to UK

Your rebate doesnt sound great @Swami!!!! I think when there was an issue with mine back in 2000 i got a free month

Good luck

Given the level of disruption I think at the very least I should be rebated the full quarterly bill.

Swami

 

[Swami]

I was today offered the derisory sum of £30 by way of compensation for three months' disruption. I suppose it was a bit of improvement from £1.36.

Swami

 

[Rove]

Most companies here in Australia have their call centres based in India. Thankfully my Bank has their call centre based in Australia. When I decided to switch from Broadband to NBN (National Broadband Network) I was dreading contacting my Telco only because of the horrid experiences I've heard from others. But I decided to be smart and instead logged into my account and used the online chat service. As soon as I typed I wished to switch from Broadband to NBN they gave me a phone number. I spoke with a lovely lady based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was a smooth transition, something I wasn't expecting. I now tell everyone else to use the online chat service rather than trying to ring.

 

[Swami]

Surely it isn't too much to expect a bit of common sense, in order to solve a local problem, surely it makes far more sense to have local call centres manned by local people with local knowledge?

Swami

 

[Rove]

Surely it isn't too much to expect a bit of common sense, in order to solve a local problem, surely it makes far more sense to have local call centres manned by local people with local knowledge?

Swami

Common sense would tell us that but if these companies are beholden to shareholders the board of directors will find ways of maximising returns to those shareholders.

 

[Swami]

Very true, unfortunately.

That seems to be the guiding principle for them, rather than customer care.

Swami

 

[Rove]

That seems to be the guiding principle for them, rather than customer care.

The slightest sniff a company is not doing the right thing by me I walk or close my wallet. I once walked into a car dealership during my hour lunch break. For 35 minutes I walked around the dealership eyeing off a particular car (brand new) I had researched and had my heart set on. I noticed one couple sitting down with a salesperson however there were others (salespeople) milling about. I was ready to deal. Not one person approached me so I walked. I was so incensed I went home that afternoon and sent their head office an email outlining my frustration. I always keep my emails polite. I asked them not to bother replying because I had taken my business elsewhere.

My current issue is with ancestry, that massive genealogy company. After subscribing to them for just over 10 years as a World Subscription Member I recently discovered they are offering new subscribers the same package for half price. Again I was so so annoyed I promptly cancelled my subscription and politely informed them why. That was just over a week ago. Haven't heard peep from them. Perhaps they are under the impression I'll change my mind. That will be a big fat NO!

What's that saying we've heard so many times on our favourite soaps? "Don't get mad, get even."

 

[Swami]

Agreed!

Swami