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Originally Posted by Anthony Al-Naqib
I understand your point: good tech supports dont grow on trees....but this is no longer a 'start-up' company.
We have had a cable service provided by: Cable & Wireless, Nynex and now NTL for around 10 years. I have twice previously been a customer of the other manifestations of the company, and never been very satisfied-hence keep moving away...but it has never been quite THIS BAD before!
Another commenter suggested I would be made tempting offers to prevent me disconnecting. Absolutely correct! I recorded over 20 minutes of exemplary customer relations, offering me the moon on a plate (almost!) ... new modems, periods of free line, half price for many months, giva away tv etc.... Very nice, but if I had received even a fraction of this level of service originally - I probably wouldnt be moving now!!!
..still glad i'm going, eagerly awaiting my new BT broadband modem/wireless router.....  |
My post wasn't really making out ntl is a start up, but ntl is born out of the original CableTel company. The original CableTel company in the South Wales franchise ignored experienced engineers working for a small cable company who were earning peanuts, in favour of employing people with no previous experience at all. The company would have a better qualified workforce if they had implemented career development as a need, instead of treating employees as something that could be easily replaced when they get fed up and leave. My comments about a better qualified workforce are not a swile at individual emplloyees at ntl, but a criticism of the organisation as a whole. The company was fed off BT's cast off's, and that is not meant as a put down to any of them in any way. ntl was able to pick up extremely competent engineers in the later stages of their careers who took a good redundancy payout and early pension, these type of people form the technical backbone of ntl in the field customer facing level as well as many ex-Cable TV engineers with 15+ years experience. These people though will obviously not be around for that many years, some I knew have already taken early retirement because quite frankly when things become really s**t they dont need the money that badly, as they have a pension to fall back on.
ntl management are now very pressurised by the people who own the company to cut cost and show a false profit, I use the words false profit because the long term harm will come back and bite them in the bum. I started working in the Cable TV industry in the mid 80's, and I joined a company that was a shell of its former glory. The company had been run into the ground by management who wanted to maximise profit and pour nothing back into the business. The company once had extremely high standards, but they ended up with poor morale and networks falling apart due to lack of maintenance. The end result was networks so badly looked after and outdated it would be cheaper to build new than repair.
Perhaps very few agree with my views, but I honstly think unless ntl change they will end up in the same situation. The current major shareholders will of made their money by running things tight and will be long gone by that stage. Every change in ntl is about cost cutting and nothing to do with maintaining or inproving service levels, I thought it funny in a meeting at my place of work today as management discussed the very large contract we have just terminated after a fairly short period with a company who run our stores facilty, and gone to another company who are considerable more expensive but of a much higher quality.
ntl is all about cutting cost, and running with as few employees as possible.