Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...st/8389297.stm

:dunce:

Sending a bomb threat via your STB, obviously there is no way it could ever be traced back to you.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Whereas what the guy did was totally stupid and deserved punishing, you have to think how bad VM's service must have been for a customer to react that way.

Anyway it happened to me when I worked for 'NTL' on tech support. Some guy called up ranting and raving that his webspace was down and was losing money by the hour because of NTL etc.

When I reminded him he only had a personal account and was not permitted to to use his webspace for business unless he changed to a business account he started screaming and shouting down the phone at me and told me he'd "bomb the NTL building". What didn't help was this happened about 3 weeks after 9/11 and his name was very middle-eastern sounding. I pressed the Emergency button which alerted the callcentre manager who recorded the call and he was reported to the police.

I don't know if he was prosecuted but I had a written apology from him.

---------- Post added at 09:44 ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 ----------

edit: just read it again, he sent the message after they banned him for misuse, not because of any faults.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Although I haven't personally had any bomb threats, we did receive one at a Leisure Centre where I worked. It was serious as well. As a Local Authority building, all our receptionists had received training on dealing with Bomb threats. They had also been updated on the "code" the IRA used. This mesage fitted in with the code. IIRC, the bomb was found on a train stopped at the nearest station (although the media were told that the train was late and the bomb intended for victoria) 100 meters down the road. She notified the Police who located the bomb, and arranged for it to be disarmed..

The nearest I experienced was years later when I worked part time for Blockbuster.

A customer returned a tape late. He had a £2 fine to pay.. I told him this. He responded by saying that he would bide his time, then return with a bat and beat the **** out of me.. I said "Fine. Do that, then watch as I sue both you and Blockbuster for my injuries". I have no idea if he was actually planning to do it, or was just threatening, but at that point I didn't care. He didn't do it though..

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

He's still biding his time, Stuart...

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

He should have been jailed as probation is meaningless.:mad:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

i remember a guy in cardiff many years ago was having problems with his bills and NTL at the time was promising to refund on the next bill and it went on and on for months and one day he had his bill and had a bad day and went to the main office in Cardiff and grabbed an employee by his throat and dragged him over the desk and said he wasnt leaving till it was sorted lol...

What Virgin doesnt realise that the lack of customer service and support can cause people to snap mentally in an already stressful life and some members of staff just dont want to help or do their jobs.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yes, and I'm sure the employee being held by the throat was LOLing along with the prank the entire time he was in fear of his life. :rolleyes:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

A normal person doesn't snap mentally because a company is slow on a refund.. For someone to grab another by the throat due to a bit of money he must have been mentally unhinged to begin with :rolleyes:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Sorry, but bad internet access or some company stuffing up your bill is NOT an adequate reason for threatening someone like that. No matter how bad the service offered by the company, no one should be physically threatened over their job.

I hope that guy got a prison sentence for his effort..

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

A rather strange and worrying attitude towards a person being assaulted just for working for a company, all I can think of is that all the issues you have been having with Virgin has resulted in some sort of deep seated resentment that makes you want to laugh at this unfortunate incident.

I hope that this person was duly arrested and prosecuted for assault.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Trust me ive come close to doing it myself to a few VM Employees and even told VM Chief execs office and one guy was even disiplined over the way he spoke to me and because of this i reacted in the way he did.

I was called a liar, told i was a nusance caller for reporting fault logs to them even though i was asked to do so by this persons collegue and he couldnt be bothered to check and wouldnt give me time to explain myself and started shouting at me and i told him if he has spoken to me like that to my face id break his nose and i would have done.

The next day not only had the problem i had supposingly lied about surfaced and loads are suffering still from it, but notes on the computer he claimed didnt exist came to light showing i was calling to report the logs and why and even who i was to contact.

So as i said some people just dont want to do their jobs and make it difficult and this is why people do snap.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

You are allowed to request a copy of the notes from your account if you feel that is necessary.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

i didnt need a copy all i wanted for him to do was his job, listen to why i had rang and to why i was doing what i was doing...

All he was interested in doing was saying that Chief execs wasnt for faults and i was a nusence by calling and asking for this person and the problem didnt exist and he wouldnt even let me talk to the person, he said the notes didnt exist on the system for the problem and i had lied and he just didnt want to do his job.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

No what I mean is that you can demand a copy of the notes which can then prove that you are correct as to what you have stated, which can be quite useful when calling about a similar issue in the future.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Normal people don't 'come close' to making bomb threats.

Normal people don't threaten to break peoples' noses.

Normal people don't snap because 'some people just don't want to do their jobs'.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

i beg to differ depending how long the problem has gone on for and how incompitant the staff are.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Violence never resolves anything all it does is escalates it beyond your control.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

i stand by what i said, if the guy had spoken to me like that i would have done what i said i would have. If he doesnt want to do his job thats fine, but he shouldnt take a half hearted approach and take out bad days on customers ringing up to do what Virgin have asked them to do.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Oh dear, I feel an angry moment coming on myself.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

im just stating how i feel.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

If the staff are incompetent, you complain to the management. You do not threaten or abuse the staff.

In fact, abuse can be counter productive, as most companies advise their staff not to deal with abusive people..

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I would have pressed charges for assault simple as that, Then claimed from the person who attacked me for my counselling and for the lose of work and pay due to the fear of being attacked by customers, All because i was attacked by him.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

What a delightful euphemism for 'commit assault'.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Child and tantrum spring to mind.

There is no excuse for abuse, either verbal or physical when dealing with a company or service. That person is not the entity known as *company name*

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Hear Hear! :clap:

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:05 ----------

Disgusting behaviour! There is NO excuse for that! I'm not sure why you find it funny either Chris! :shocked:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

At the end of the day if these firms actually listened to their customer base they wouldnt get things wrong over and over and over and over and over. Yes maybe once, or twice but not repeatingly. All thats needed is some staff that know what they are doing and want to be there.

---------- Post added at 18:22 ---------- Previous post was at 18:19 ----------

he was the one that was abusive with me to start with, i asked to speak to the person i was dealing with and was refused hence i wasnt getting anywhere.

I still standby what i did and will do it again if need be to get my point across when i know what im doing to be right when i was asked by the firm to do so in the first place and some idiot cant be bothered to do his job.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

My dad once asked for compensation for being without service for 9 days. He was told it would come off on the next bill and didnt. He contacted customer services and they said it would then come off the next bill and again it didnt. 2 Months later my dad contacted and asked to speak to a manager and the manager said that my dad was argumentative, petty and pathetic for asking for compensation for such a small period.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Exactly chris, some staff bring it on themselves by their attitude towards customers.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

That still does not justify assault.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Assault is assault no matter how you try to dress it up and anyone behaving in such a way should be prosecuted and jailed for it.

Also if it is an assault on a person in the communications industry as you have advocated then you should be blacklisted from getting any services from another company.

Which would leave you pretty much isolated without internet access and the only TV available to you would be Freeview.

I think that would be an adequate and fair punishment.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

No, they do not.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Stuart so u reckon shouting at a customer on the phone telling him he was a nucence caller, telling him that Chief execs office wasnt for reporting faults, refusing to put me through to anyone else or look up records on the pc or even give me the time to explain to why i was doing what i was, he had the right to do that and didnt bring it on himself?

Yeah right.

A Customer service host is there to LISTEN to the customers and give them a chance to get their side of story across not deny it and just shout at them and blame them for doing something when they havnt got the complete story.

---------- Post added 06-12-2009 at 00:48 ---------- Previous post was 05-12-2009 at 23:18 ----------

Phaps virgin wouldnt get so many threats from customers if they trained their staff properly and told them to have basic mannors on the phone.

The Politest staff ive ever dealt with are the Indian staff but the Language barrier is a problem.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

i agree, there are a number of staff especially if you get to talk to them late in the day or the end of the week that just cant be bothered to do anything and everything to them is a chore and your a problem for having them to do their job.

And what really annoys me then after you speak to these people they say "is there anything else i can help u with?" You didnt help me with what i called up for in the first place because you cant be bothered you silly cow!

My dad has had to threaten them many times in the past with ISPA or the press to get things done which should have been done automatically.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

But most people would have realised he didn't really mean it. It's a bit like call centre staff hanging up on callers who say things like "damn" and use it as an excuse to terminate the call because he was swearing. I had one hang up because they said they couldn't hear me very well and then accused me of shouting at them.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Aren't you nice :rolleyes: respect works both ways you know ;)

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

yes respect does work both ways, BUT! respect is also earned and when a member of staff is off on one from the word go then the customer wont have any respect for them.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Back in those days, so soon after 9/11 the whole country was on a state of alert. I don't know about these days but back then it was policy to treat any threat like that seriously. Had I ignored it and carried on with the call I'd have ended up in trouble if the call was being monitored.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

No Customer Service Representative should shout at you and if they do they are in the wrong vocation.

But if if you shout at me and use abusive language then I will advise you that unless it stops that I will have to close the call, and if that happens full notes are then left as to why the call was closed ( without the swear words )


I always listen to the customer and then try to sort out the issue on that call and if necessary escalate the call to the required department.




I have never been threatened by anyone, probably because I have done my job properly in the first place.


If you spoke to me or any of my team you would find us to be polite and helpful.

---------- Post added at 09:08 ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 ----------

The time of day or day of the week should not come into it they should deal with your call in exactly the same way on each call.


We have to ask that question but it should be in the first few minutes of the call not at the end.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

When have VM staff ever referred a complaining customer to management Stuart?
In my experience, Never.
They are told by management not to, they are told to deal with the issues using their own discretion.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

If I am unable to deal I will escalate the call but I will try to resolve the issue first before it comes to that.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I was the same when I was on 1st line NSC (now FMC)... I would do everything in my powers to resolve the issue to the CUSTOMERS satisfaction.

I would often have a Outlook calender full of follow ups and call-backs to resolve issues.... and there are plenty of colleagues like myself and Moldova in VM who do their best for the customer.

Even in my current role it is all about what is best for the customer and this is paramount in everything we do.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

As above we do our job in the best way possible for you the customer and if I did not enjoy the challenge I would be working elsewhere.

The are many other staff members who post on here and we do this in our spare time because we want to not because we have to.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Moldova but thats just ur opinion and the way u deal with people, many other members of staff deal with people in a completely different mannor and this is what im talking about and when they have an attitude problem this is what tends to get peoples backs up.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

It is not an opinion try reading my earlier post.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34921926-post38.html

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

It's not an opinion, Welshchris, but the way WE deal with customers as a company. It is certainly not "many others" that do things differently as you state.

I've dealt with people who've come on the 'phone saying "I've had a sh*t day, so you're gonna get it mate!" Regardless of what the issue was, I was certainly not there to be spoken to in that manner and certainly never did anything to encourage such a outburst.

You treat people how you want to be treated, it's as simple as that.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

And you seem to think that a violent act is deserving in those cases?

Sorry, but you are starting to come across as an ass, plain and simple.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Some seem to think abusing staff is their right since they are giving you their money. Wrong!

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I've never hidden my frustration at VM's (and other company's) indian callcentre staff over the way they rigidly stick to their script, the way they think they're doing the right thing by serving the company and not the customer and yes I admit to times when I've been screaming and shouting down the phone at them trying to get sense out of them (when calling 3) but getting violent with them? No way, that's never justified.

If a CSA isn't doing their job or gets insulting it should be dealt with by getting the sack, not a kicking.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I never stated the majority of staff are like it, i stated there are staff like it, dont try and twist what im saying to an advantage.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I'm not... read post #43

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yes i said MANY others, didnt say the majority of others did i?

See again ur trying to twist what i said to an advantage.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

and I quote...

---------- Post added at 17:27 ---------- Previous post was at 17:26 ----------

Did you not type that?

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yes well most people do deal with people in a different way its human nature, not everyone deals with people in the same way, but to that end it doesnt mean everyone is abusive.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Indeed, in some cases, VM do not like the fact that their staff post on here..

---------- Post added at 17:34 ---------- Previous post was at 17:33 ----------

Not sure what you guys are arguing about. You both appear to be saying WelshChris said many, and he did.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

he is implying i meant most and the majority.
But then thats just like Virgin Twist things to an advantage.

This reminds me of the slagging match i had the CEO office 2 weeks ago when the person i spoke to 3 months ago claimed i put in a complaint about the 2 Senior Engineers that came here and he claimed he had the proof in a telephone conversation between us. And when i told him to check the log and stop twisting what i had said as i had only complained about one he listened to the log and came back and said i was right and didnt even appologise.

But thats what i expect from Virgin.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

and also that not every CSR is rude and unhelpful ;)

---------- Post added at 17:38 ---------- Previous post was at 17:36 ----------

Not at all... I suggest you re-read the posts.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

If the VM staff who post on here were the types to "twist things to an advantage", do you think they'd also be the types to give up their free time to help out on here?

In the 6 years I've been on the team I have never seen a confirmed VM staffer take any sort of attitude with a customer on CF. If they did they'd be dealt with in accordance with our T&Cs, no special treatment for anyone.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

And so should a company representative suffer abuse from a customer?

I get the feeling you think a representative is there for you to hurl abuse at when its not all going 100%
Skip any process there is and go right to the top and act like a bull in a china shop.
And going by the amount of times you've said in the groups that your contacting the CEO. Yes you did/do harass those helping or doing their best to help you.

It cuts both ways Chris, if a company see's you as a risk they can and will terminate your services.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yes the CSR i dealt with at the time was rude and unhelpful.

This is how bad they can be..... In the last 3 months of my sisters contract my sister had a problem with her TV. She had a V+ box and she kept having picture breakup and when switching channels was getting messages she wasnt signed up even tho she was on the full package. She rang them many times to be told the problem is her TV or the Scart lead and never once was she offered an engineers visit. When she went to sky a few weeks later had a call from Virgin asking why she left and she explained and he pulled the records up and informed her that she had actually called in to report the problem 57 times in the final 3 months and that an enginner should have been sent to try and solve the problem and never once were they. He even admitted that the CS team let her down big time as they should have seen the ammount of times she had called and known there was a problem and sent an engineer.

Again CS couldnt be bothered to do their jobs correctly.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Did she ever speak to 2nd line Support? 57 times? That would have/should have definately auto flagged as a multiple fault customer after the 3rd call and been dealt with accordingly? How long ago was that?

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

my sister wouldnt know how to speak to second line support, she just rang faults like many other people in her position would to get it sorted. This was just over a year ago she went to Sky in Nov 2008.

and yes its 57 times even the person who rang her said it was wrong and admitted that the team had let her down big time.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

And still she didn't threaten anyone or wish that they could break the other persons nose.
You should spend more time with your sister.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

1st line would have transferred the call for 2nd line to deal because she had called so many times... so she called nearly every 3 days? Very stange indeed...

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I firmly believe that CS at VM needs a kick up the rear, becuase what they don't realise, is that customers do have to take time off work waiting for the engineers to arrive, and when they fail to arrive, this is what causes major aggro, and CS do tell a load of porkies, and they find it funny.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I trust you're talking about a metaphorical kick up the rear as opposed to a literal kick in the backside, or indeed punch in the nose?

I can't say I've ever had VM find it amusing that an engineer didn't show, quite the opposite very apologetic on the one occasion it happened to me actually. I would suggest a CS agent find it amusing an engineer no-showed would be a rare event and hardly typical of VM's service nor an indicator that the entire CS needs a kick up the rear. It needs taking back on-shore but beyond that fine for me.

Still YMMV, along with your expectations.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I've never heard of a member of staff talk/think about something like that being funny.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I never lie to a customer ever, as that is not how you deal with an issue, and if I lied it can be guaranteed that it would blow up in my face.

As far as I am concerned every customer that I answer the phone to deserves to be treated with the same respect I would expect from any call centre staff that I have ever had to deal with.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

You would know all about that then :)

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Hi Moldova, you must be the only member of VM who does tell the truth.

The most classic cockup that l have ever had with a VM CS staff, was when my wife called up to query the bill, and when she went to check, she came back and said that our account did not exist, and she went back to check again, and said we will have to check with the supervisor, they then came back and said, the account has been closed down, we said there must be a mistake, this went on for an hour, Another supervisor came back and said the mistake was made by a trainee who had pressed the wrong button, and it was rectified about two hours later.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

That is a clerical error which can happen in any business.

I will say that the whole of my team are the same as me and our team statistics prove this is correct.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Everyone but Moldova is out to get you and yours.

"Change provider, simples!"
Broadbandings CF 2009

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

So, not a case of not telling the truth, more like a mistake?

The majority of staff do tell the truth.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

ive been lied to a number of times especially about oversubscription.

When i was living in another part of Swansea where theres a lot of students i was there for 3 years and twice in those three years it became over subscribed, second line support told me there were no problems and booked enginners and twice in that time it was esculated to the CEO office that told me it was oversubscribed and Second line support should have told me. This is just 2 occasions that i have been lied to.

I was told when living at home years ago when i was on a 600k connection under NTL that my computer was the cause of a DNS failure LOL! that was support again.

I was told that my telephone was the cause of the fact i couldnt ring out or get incoming calls because they couldnt find a fault when they ran tests nor were there any outages reported yet the line was dead and there was an outage in the area of Swansea i live in which i later found on the service status page.

I could go on and on about my experiences.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I can see without going to 2nd line if you are suffering from oversubscription and I would then go to them for confirmation and a possible timescale for a systems upgrade, after which we would in all likelihood get into a discussion about credit for degraded service.

I will once again emphasise that anyone posting here who is a staff member regardless of which centre they work in actually posts here of their own volition and find it somewhat offensive to be besmirched about the job we do at work and sometimes the help we offer on here.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

at the end of the day this is a public blog, people can air their experiences on what they have had from the company and which departments u must take the negative as well as the positive working in the postition that u do.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

At the end of the day, this is a privately owned forum where you may participate in discussions provided you remain within the rules set by the forum's owners. Harassing and insulting people is not acceptable, regardless of who their employer is. So long as we all remember that, everyone will be happy. ;)

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

im not insulting nor harrassing anyone, im just airing my experiences about that ive had with Virgin.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Good ... good ... :)

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Given all the negative posts you've made about VM and its workers, I'm shocked you haven't moved to another provider.
I'm aware of the wait you'd have if you switched provider.

If you suffered that much at the hands of a company and had the option to leave, waiting a few weeks to be up and running with another provider would be acceptable.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Hear, hear! :clap:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I find it ammusing that u are encouraging people who has had problems to switch and not get them sorted to try and get them to improve the service and their customer services.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Could VM provide me with a service I needed?
No

Would brow beating them get me what I wanted?
Eventually.

Was it worth me wasting my time?
No

Did I opt for a different provider?
Yes

Were threats an option I though available to me?
No

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I never end up feeling negative about my job as I enjoy it for what it is and if I can help you as a customer and have you going away with a positive word on your lips because I have endeavoured to help you then all the better.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

:clap: well said

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Can Virgin provide me with a service i needed?
Yes they have done in the past and its only changed to no in the past few months and needs solving.

Would Brow beating get me what i want?
It has done.

Was it worth wasting my time?
Yes and financially.

Did i opt for a different provider?
Yes and this is what made them sorted along with an email direct to Neil Burkett which really annoyed the Staff at the CEO office cos it made them pull a finger out.

Were threats an option I though available to me?
Yes and did help to solve the problem.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yeah I bet the email went straight to him and wasn't dealt with by a member of his staff.

I used to work on the phones, 1st line and complaints dept, was threatened, shouted at, sworn at, verbally abused, etc etc. Personally I always went out of my way to help the nice people and just did my job to the letter of the 'law' with anyone who threatened me... human nature?

What mildly amused me was being told that someone would be waiting outside the building for me etc etc when I was the one sitting with the persons name, phone number, address, date of birth etc... odd, especially considering the Irish Sea was usually in the way.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Yeah... nice people make you go the EXTRA mile :)

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Not really.. It's a perfectly valid option, and indeed, one I would recommend. After all, if a company continues to fail and continually refuses to improve (which is I believe what WelshChris is implying), to paraphrase Star Wars, Who is more foolish? The company that fails to provide a service or the customer who pays for that service every month?

---------- Post added at 10:24 ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 ----------

Well, no it probably didn't. The staff at the CEO's office (of *any* company, not just Virgin) are usually interested in any area where Customer Service is failing, because if CS fails, they have no customers and no business..
Although it probably took a look more hassle than it would have if you were nice..

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

But this is used far too often as an excuse to terminate a difficult call. Saying things like "damn," or "bloody," or at times of extreme frustration, "dear god," should not be used as excuses for ending a call. Given my example above, where I was asked to talk louder and then have the call ended because he accused me of shouting, is hardly what his rule is for. It doesn't reflect well on those who are more competent and diligent, nor does it bode well for the next time I am confronted with an officious idiot.

It was noted on an account with a very poor service electrical store that I swore at the previous call handler. This was totally untrue and it took some weeks to get it the false data removed. In fact, it was noted by the ICO that this sort of data is probably irrelevant and should not be held.

---------- Post added at 12:50 ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 ----------

P.S. Why is it that when we want to talk to a manager (especially if it is to complain about the call handler), every manager in the entire country is in a meeting, every single time.

This is extremely frustrating, especially when you know the call handler is lying. Why do we get told that when we want to talk to someone in the UK that it is impossible, because they don't have the facilities to transfer calls to the UK, but when we called the previous or next week we get transferred?

Then there is the callbacks. Seventy-two hours for someone to call back when you need the issue resolving there and then. Do they have so many complaints that it takes three days to deal with them. Or is that they hope that within three days you have forgotten about your complaint? I have never, ever had a callback from VM, Three, Orange, Sky, BT, or my bank; despite their promises that "this" time they will definitely, absolutely, without fail call me back. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

How do you know they're lying? What if the TL/Manager told their team that they're actually off to a meeting? Does your phone have a BS detector built in or something?

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I might have to produce one of those. A phone with a built in voice stress analyser. That has potential.

I'll give you some royalties.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

But when I ask, "who is in charge?" the answer is almost always, "I don't know." The other alternatives are, "me," "someone in a different office/city/country," or "I will get someone to call you back" (which never happens). I am sorry, but there is no way that every single manager, at all times, is always in a meeting. There is no way that customer service representatives are placed in charge of an entire department, for hours on end, with no management contact. Any manager worth their salt would be able to tell their staff where and when their meeting starts and finishes. They should also appoint some to make decisions in their absence and where they can be reached, or a contact to someone who can make higher level decisions. This is what I always demand of my project managers and I don't see what it should be any more difficult for a business a thousand times the size of mine. If I ask," what would happen in an emergency and they needed to contact someone in charge, who would they contact, this is when they start to "umm and err." If one asks about a specific company policy and why that policy exists, the typical answers are, "I don't know," or "I don't need to know" and when one asks how can we get the answer, we are told, "that information does not exist."

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

It seems to me that you're in no position whatsoever to decide when they are lying or not. Hell yeah I know how frustrating it is to come up against a 'traffic warden' type agent but it doesn't mean they're lying. They could very well have been told that management can't take calls on that particular day. I'm not saying it's right, in fact I agree that someone should always be available to take an escalation (and not a "senior member of the team" which means nothing at all as usually they're just frontline people who have been doing the job a number of years) but it does NOT mean the person you're talking to is lying.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

I am actually pretty good at telling when people are lying, it copmes with experience. If they are lying to me, I am sorry, but I am in a position to challenge them on it.

There is a difference between unable to take calls, to being in a meeting. Is every call centres' management, in the world, all in a meeting, all at the same time? If they are unable to take calls, they should say so and not lie about being in meeting.

Another lie told is, "I am the manager." Until one gets through to the real manager, who tells you that the previous person you were talking to was not the manager at all.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Oh right. So Flyboy knows best again then? Sorry but no, you don't know if someone is lying or not. You might think you have a good idea but you don't know with any degree of credability.

When I worked at Tmobile if I couldn't give someone the discount they wanted or extra minutes etc I'd get accused of lying about it all the time. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just "knew" I was lying.

They, just like yourself have no idea if the agent is lying about there being no-one to talk to or being unable to give them what they want.

And you know this second person is a 'real ' manager how? Your 'Spider sense' is tingling again?

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Being nice rarely gets u anywhere with virgin especially when the problem had gone on for 4 months anyway.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Your rather lame rhetoric aside, when they say stuff like, "every manager in the whole company is in a meeting" and they say that every time one asks to speak to a manager. I think even the least perceptual person would be able to tell that they are lying. Or are seriously trying to tell us that they never lie. But hang on....in your previous post, you agreed that sometimes they lie.

Well.....it kind of stands to reason one of them is lying, doesn't it.:rolleyes:

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Don't go putting words in my mouth, I haven't said they never lie. But just because you can't have what you want does not make them a liar. At Tmobile team leaders and section managers would be in meetings 2 or 3 times a day, that's a fact of working there. The people who would usually take escalations would be Senior Team Members, each team would have at least 2. Sounds all very impressive and yes they had extensive knowledge and experience but had no authority to do anything major. Often a customer like yourself would demand to speak to a manager and sometimes there were none around. Of course, we'd occasionally be accused of lying but it was a case of either speak to the team senior or wait until the TL comes out of meeting and calls you back, the timescale of which I'd never give as I don't make promises on other peoples' behalf.

Just accept that sometimes you don't know it all and that you won't always get what you want.

So how would you know which one? Which one would you be accusing? Both of them perhaps?

Nobody is saying CSA always tell the truth or do their job properly, just like not all customers tell the truth. But to accuse agents of lying just because you're not getting your way is quite frankly, childish.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

Why anyone would want to speak to a manager about a technical issue is beyond me. Managers in VM are not technical.

If you have a complaint to make then write to the complaints address, you then have written proof of your complaint.

Re: Complaints to Virgin Media. How not to do it.
 

You see, this says it all. You are assuming that there are categories of customer. Stereotyping and compartmentalising customers is not a good way to treat them. Perhaps this is why you had more than your fair share of grumpy callers.

So, let's get this straight; if all the managers in the whole company are not in a meeting and the customer is told that they are in a meeting, I shouldn't have the right to accuse someone of lying, even though they are?