Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Icstis claim that they are suspicious of any delay longer than 15 seconds, no service provider is allowed to use unnecessary delays to generate revenues.
For the full story see money mail form today.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

What can you do in 15 seconds though...?

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Now there is a leading question ;)

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Icstis are being handed powers by Ofcom however I seem to remember that this will not happen untl 2008, and as the reports seems to claim that ntl are going back to free customer care and support, this will be nothing to worry about.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I'm sure I can think of something.


What do you mean? The time waiting to first speak to an operator, or the time kept waiting whilst the operator does something for you? Where I work, a wait time of upto 5 minutes is acceptable, though I think the average would be about 3 minutes. We try to minimise the time a customer is kept on hold, but if, say, their printer is faulty and I need to double-check that we maintain that printer, I need to speak to another department, which could take one to two minutes (possibly more). I think 15 seconds is way too short.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

i think 15 seconds is a bit short IMO, if companies are only allowed to have customers holding for 15 seconds it means they would have to have loads more staff which is more expensive especially since they would be doing less work as they would be waiting for calls to come through rather than taking call after call.

another option though would be to limit calls coming through meaning you would have to keep calling back until an agent isnt on a call, incurring a connection fee every time which would be a lot more expensive to the customer

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

What they are on about is the time you are kept on hold once your call has been answered.
They are saying that they are suspicious if you are kept longer than 15 seconds, the answer to this seems to be more staff to take the calls, there is no doubt in my mind that ntl will employ as few csa's as they can get away with, putting the welfare of the customer on the back burner, ntl are not the only guilty party in that respect.
I would suggest that when people call these numbers, if they are kept on hold longer than 15 seconds they notify ICSTIS and let them deal with it, this will also help highlight the problems of understaffed call centres.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

But if ntl are going back to freephone numbers, how is being put on hold generating any rvenue for them?

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Ob Ntl are to go onto freephone numbers, I am not disputing that, what I am thinking is " kneejerk reaction " to future action should they continue to rip off customers with these expensive numbers that they rake a good amount of money from?
It is about time something was done, and I think that 15 seconds is good enough before eyebrows are raised, but will only work if people do as I suggest, keep a log of calls that exceed the 15 second hold and notify ICSTIS, if they are saying that they are suspicious then we should do all we can to weed it out.
If it is down to manpower levels then our unemployment rates will soon come down ;)

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

But if they're going to freephone (or as I believe, have already gone..), this entire thread, as far as ntl is concerned, is a bit pointless, no?
And how do you propose that this is policed?
Then expect the numbers to become payable again - they're gonna have to pay the wages somehow... :rolleyes:

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Have to agree with that one - companies are much more likely to use this 'cost efficient' approach rather than the customer friendly approach. At least when you're on hold you know there is a queue rather than just having to hope you get through in a second.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I've never understood why ntl can't do what BT have been doing for ages - all through your time waiting to speak to someone, you're given the offer of a callback - and these once actually materialise - within an hour.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

they do, its called Q buster but its only activated when the abandonment rate goes above a certain percentage as it is expensive to use, i think its 4% and it becomes active

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I never ever had an offer of a callback (other than when someone was trying to fob me off) whereas each time I call BT and I'm in a queue, it gets offered and the call arrives within 10 minutes.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

In that case, 15 seconds is unrealistic IMHO.

I hate call backs. Annoy me no end. You can call, wait patiently, and have your problem fixed. Or you can call, and hang up, and leave us to spend days chasing you - "in a meeting... can't find her... no answer... surgery closed...". And the time wasted chasing people could be better spent actually answering the phone and helping those customers who have patience.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

the q buster system is automatic so you dont really have to chase people up, as said before it only becomes active when the abandonment rate is high, and it hasnt been that high for a while now, basically it gives the option to call you back and keep your place in the queue, if you dont answer or are engaged it will try again in 10 minutes if again there is no answer or still engaged it wont try again, it can be useful as you dont have to sit with a phone to your ear especially if the call queues are high but it is more expensive that someone waiting in a queue as is normally the case

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

You had better tell ICSTIS that 15 seconds is " unreasonable "
I do not think it is, about time companies got their backsides into gear, I get really cheesed with the attitude " we can keep them waiting for 10 minutes and in the meantime make loadsa money for the directors xmas bash "
When do NTL Chase customers who have called and decided to hang up? I am perplexed by that one ;)
And even when you get through after 10 minutes, if youre lucky, you're not guaranteed to have the problem sorted, even though the csa assures you that it will be :mad:
Ob, whether NTL offer free calls, it still does not make it right to keep a paying customer waiting longer than what the regulators say, it is not just to do with making money from keeping people waiting, its called GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE, sadly what NTL lack the majority of the time time.

---------- Post added at 11:39 ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 ----------


Is this " q buster " system able to be overided if there are not enough csa in the call centre?
IE; if there are not enough staff it can be " deactivated " :erm:

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Excuse me, but your opening post was all about putting people on hold and generating revenue - I've attached a link to your post just incase you want to double check. linky

Now you're changing your tune because your original argument holds no water because of the freephone numbers ntl are using again.

Seriously, get a real hobby. :rolleyes:

Can I suggest to a mod that this thread is in the wrong forum, as it's not relevant to ntl?

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

The whole point of what ICSTIS were saying was about people being kept on hold longer than 15 seconds, but the fact that companies are raking money in does not make it any more pleasant.
WHETHER NTL ARE OFFERING FREE CALLS DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT, KEEPING PAYING CUSTOMERS WAITING, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?
I am not backtracking at all, I suggest you read the article.;)
I think it is very relevent, its about call waiting times.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

ICSTIS regulate premium number services. ntl do not use premium numbers. You're urinating in a very strong breeze.
PERFECTLY. HOWEVER, IMO 15 SECONDS IS NOT UNREASONABLE. ANYONE WHO EXPECTS THEIR PROBLEM TO BE INVESTIGATED AND RESOLVED WITHOUT A LITTLE WAIT TIME NEEDS TO STEP INTO THE REAL WORLD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?
You are backtracking completely, your posts now do not relate whatsoever to your original post.

I suggest your provide a link to the article :dunce:, I'd love to read it. :rolleyes:

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

:dunce:
Dont you buy newspapers on a sunday? you would do well to give it a try, I cannot abide lazy people ;)
NTL keep people on hold, do you not understand that? :erm:
Whether you do not pay for the pleasure makes no ounce of difference.:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I do - the Times
so ntl keep people on hold. But I'm not sure what that has to do with the topic of this thread, that being ICSTIS and their concerns about companies generating revenue from premium numbers... Could you please clarify?

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

The OP intended to discuss a link between NTL and the ICSTIS news story. Whether or not other members think the OP is mistaken, if he intended for this to be a discussion about NTL, this thread is in the correct place.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

But there isn't a link between ntl and ICSTIS, therefore it shouldn't be in an ntl forum.. Current affairs would be the best place for this - AS IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH NTL PHONE AND CABLE TV.At the very least, a pointless, ill informed dig at ntl is the best way to decribe this thread.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I'm not about to take sides in the discussion by moving it. The OP has used the ICSTIS news story as a jumping off point to talk about NTL's on hold times. I'm happy enough that this is therefore a discussion about NTL, even if you think the original leap from ICSTIS to NTL was poor logic.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

FFS. :rolleyes:

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

I am with OB on this one - I don't understand why this thread holds any relevance to ntl.

For a start ntl are re-introducing free calling again to customer services and faults. So this thread is irrelevant.

On another issue - anyone who expects an issue to be resolved within 15 seconds on any call, needs their head testing.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Throw your rattle then. :shrug:

---------- Post added at 13:24 ---------- Previous post was at 13:16 ----------

I agree that arcamalpha has used somewhat tortuous logic to get from ICSTIS and premium rate phone numbers to a complaint about NTL's on-hold times, but he clearly intended for this to be a thread about NTL. He clarified that when he posted this:

I have bolded the key parts. Arcamalpha is complaining about NTL putting culstomer welfare on the back burner, not NTL ripping people off with long on-hold times.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

But the whole arguement still doesn't hold any water at all - that I can see, with the simple fact, ntl is going back to freephone customer services and faults. Why would anyone want to get suspicious of being on hold to ntl - the call is free. Thus this arguement is by far, flawed.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

He's saying, if you're being put on hold by ntl, time it and complain to ICSTIS - what for??????? ntl do not use premium rate numbers for the customers. If he wants to **** and moan about the CS, then do that in a more appropriately themed thread. As I said before, this has nothing to do with ntl phone and cable TV. So it's in the wrong forum. :rolleyes:

This thread is about companies generating revenue by putting people on hold when they're calling a premium number, nothing to do with ntl at all.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Surely part of the argument is that the waiting times are due to companies being under staffed

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

Sure, if you're waiting any more than 5 mins or so, that's not acceptable. But 15 seconds??

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

In which case Arcamalpha is talking out of his butthole. People do it on this forum and others all the time. But we don't move threads simply because people get their facts wrong.

With respect, this thread is about whatever the OP intended for it to be about. He obviously intended to have a go at NTL's on-call times. The fact that he doesn't know what ICSTIS is for doesn't change that.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:41 ----------

All that means is that the OP may be being unforgiving, impatient and unreasonable. He wouldn't have a monopoly on it if that's the case. It still doesn't mean he can't express his opinion, or that we should deny he is having a go specifically at NTL when he clearly is.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

You're the mod. If you want ill informed tripe clogging up your forums, that's your prerogative I guess.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

We have had ill-informed tripe posted here for three years now. No reason why today should be any different. :shrug: ;)

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

no it doesnt need to be either, its just a way of keeping your place in the queue so even if the call center were short staffed it wouldnt really make much difference having it on or off, personnally i think it should be put on all the time but thats just my opinion

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

15 seconds is barely enough time for the phrase "You are being held in a queue and will be answered shortly".

Anyway, I've always thought the length of waiting for a call to be answered is actually less important than getting a positive result. Obviously, as long as you don't end up waiting hours.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold
 

It is everything to do with NTL in that they keep people on hold for longer times than they are meant to, the fact is before NTL decided to go back to freephone they were charging customers to call and report a fault with a service that they were paying NTL for, and the cost of the call was not a local call, NTL decided to cream the customers.
you may not like it that I have a pop at NTL, but that is what you get in a free country, people expressing their opinion, if you dont like it you dont have to read it!
Mods feel free to close this thread, but as I said if anyone is on hold for longer than 15 seconds you can complain or put up with the 10 minute wait, there are independent bodies who make these decisions not me.
Closed............
ooops to the toe rag who decided to be big and not post it on here in the open, for what it is worth, or infact anything to do with you, I have a " proper " job and a life too.

Re: Keep an eye on how long you are kept on hold