Cable Forum - View Single Post

NTL_Sux · 03-03-2007, 11:39

Cheers Al.

Likewise; It's nice to see someone who gathered the facts before making (what I deem to be) a lucid, rational, and correct, assessment.

If ntl/Virgin Media had a similar approach to yours, maybe the 30,000 disgruntled "customers" who left them in the month leading up to Virgin's take-over would not have felt the need to. Everyone makes mistakes. No getting away from it. If I felt they were being corrected, and lessons being learned, I wouldn't have even thought about switching. Now, I wouldn't switch back if they offered to pay me ten times their subscription fee. I would still end up paying out more to be their customer.

We should have legislation so that companies like ntl/Virgin Media cannot advertise how much their services cost without including the extra, invisible, costs of waiting for hours on the telephone waiting for them, or the days spent indoors off work waiting for people who don't show up or do the wrong job when they do, and the costs which we their customers incur trying to correct their mistake when they over-charge us!
I did not agree to pay any of these extra charges but I've incurred them all merely because I signed up to become their customer a few years ago.

In ntl's 'customer charter' it says that anyone who does not feel satisfied with the way that their problem has been dealt with can ask to speak to a manager. Technically, this is extremely accurate; I asked five times over the last year and still haven't managed to speak to one.
In fairness, it only says we can ask.
Nowehere does it say we might ever achieve it.

What scares me the most is the scale of ineptitude. This isn't all about a single issue, although it started out as one. I doubt there's anything left in their Q & A manual which I haven't been put through.

Last week I had a letter from the ntl/Virgin Media Sales Director. Basically he thought I might like to know how lucky I was to be his customer. I don't normally even read these things (it's just 'snail-spam') but, on this occasion, I wrote back; I like to help people and he might benefit from planning an early career move before it's forced upon him.

I mentioned how he might be better diverting the money he spends on promoting such drivel into improving his customer service and help to save a tree at the same time.
Thinking about it I should have also included a definition of 'service', but that's hindsight for you.

I am glad for all those who receive, and benefit from receiving, service from VM.
I also sincerely hope that you do not one day have to contact them to put something right or that, if you do, it is solved instantly. If it should start to drag on, don't be like me and think, "Oh, it's just a quirk and one last, final call will probably fix it." A year later you may be starting your own thread here and passing on your experience to other potential new "customers" (or 'cable-bait').

[ lol @ the nuts crack.

]

03-03-2007, 11:39	#86
NTL_Sux Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Surrey Age: 66 Services: Cancelled ntl t.v. Moved my ntl phone line back to BT. Just the useless ntl broadband left to sort Posts: 52	Re: 12hours? Pffft Cheers Al. Likewise; It's nice to see someone who gathered the facts before making (what I deem to be) a lucid, rational, and correct, assessment. If ntl/Virgin Media had a similar approach to yours, maybe the 30,000 disgruntled "customers" who left them in the month leading up to Virgin's take-over would not have felt the need to. Everyone makes mistakes. No getting away from it. If I felt they were being corrected, and lessons being learned, I wouldn't have even thought about switching. Now, I wouldn't switch back if they offered to pay me ten times their subscription fee. I would still end up paying out more to be their customer. We should have legislation so that companies like ntl/Virgin Media cannot advertise how much their services cost without including the extra, invisible, costs of waiting for hours on the telephone waiting for them, or the days spent indoors off work waiting for people who don't show up or do the wrong job when they do, and the costs which we their customers incur trying to correct their mistake when they over-charge us! I did not agree to pay any of these extra charges but I've incurred them all merely because I signed up to become their customer a few years ago. In ntl's 'customer charter' it says that anyone who does not feel satisfied with the way that their problem has been dealt with can ask to speak to a manager. Technically, this is extremely accurate; I asked five times over the last year and still haven't managed to speak to one. In fairness, it only says we can ask. Nowehere does it say we might ever achieve it. What scares me the most is the scale of ineptitude. This isn't all about a single issue, although it started out as one. I doubt there's anything left in their Q & A manual which I haven't been put through. Last week I had a letter from the ntl/Virgin Media Sales Director. Basically he thought I might like to know how lucky I was to be his customer. I don't normally even read these things (it's just 'snail-spam') but, on this occasion, I wrote back; I like to help people and he might benefit from planning an early career move before it's forced upon him. I mentioned how he might be better diverting the money he spends on promoting such drivel into improving his customer service and help to save a tree at the same time. Thinking about it I should have also included a definition of 'service', but that's hindsight for you. I am glad for all those who receive, and benefit from receiving, service from VM. I also sincerely hope that you do not one day have to contact them to put something right or that, if you do, it is solved instantly. If it should start to drag on, don't be like me and think, "Oh, it's just a quirk and one last, final call will probably fix it." A year later you may be starting your own thread here and passing on your experience to other potential new "customers" (or 'cable-bait'). [ lol @ the nuts crack. ]