Virgin launch Customer Forum

I can not see it being much help . Ive looked at a couple of issues where billing or something is concerned and all you get is dial this number dial that number imo a forum tied to VM and part of the VM website should be staffed by people with access to accounts etc and abel to actually do something rather than just say call CS or TS. I know its not busy enough to be manned 24/7 but it should be linked to the offices with staff access or its just pointless

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by zing

I can not see it being much help . Ive looked at a couple of issues where billing or something is concerned and all you get is dial this number dial that number imo a forum tied to VM and part of the VM website should be staffed by people with access to accounts etc and abel to actually do something rather than just say call CS or TS. I know its not busy enough to be manned 24/7 but it should be linked to the offices with staff access or its just pointless

WHich goes back to my post.. Most help will be from member to member the same as it is here with the support number given out to anyone who needs real VM help. So in the end it's not a VM support forum as VM themselves are not providing any direct help. It's really though in a vicious circle... The forum can't help until it's membership gets a lot higher and until it's membership gets higher people will forsake it for established forums like CF..

[spiderplant]

Billing issues can't be handled through a forum because they need to verify they are dealing with the account holder.

There's no reason for VM not to provide technical support though, exactly as happens with the newsgroups.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Rob M

We've got some right bashers on this forum

Glad i did not bother registering over there now looking at the comments here.

[Sir John Luke]

Originally Posted by spiderplant

Billing issues can't be handled through a forum because they need to verify they are dealing with the account holder.

There's no reason for VM not to provide technical support though, exactly as happens with the newsgroups.

According to the staffers on the Newsgroups, the forum is intended to be for 'self help', the newsgroups are still the 'official' VM support route.

so it is a total waste of time then? all they needed to do was a link to here and job done

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by zing

so it is a total waste of time then? all they needed to do was a link to here and job done

I think that was done in the first few days

http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...-also/td-p/157

yeah I seen and replied in that thread but the whole thing is just a waste of time they should have just had a page with contact numbers advice on how to use the newsgroups and a link here

[Kymmy]

I'm actually very suprised that they've bothered to open up a forum like this... All they're doing is diluting the knowledge already out there on already established sites. I wonder how many simple support calls are avoided (and hence the costs of them calls) by people on this and other sites giving simple but effective answers in relation to people with VM problems...

I think in this case it's a step backwards and not forwards

---------- Post added at 10:58 ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 ----------

Originally Posted by zing

yeah I seen and replied in that thread but the whole thing is just a waste of time they should have just had a page with contact numbers advice on how to use the newsgroups and a link here

Agreed

[Raistlin]

I suspect that they're reluctant to offer official help through their forum because they know that so many people hate having to deal with (some of) the telephone support agents, most of whom (I say most, not all) seem to give an extremely poor level of service, that the forum would soon become overwhelmed and the 'phone lines would all go quiet.

I'm guessing that if they chose to provide proper support through their forum they wouldn't be able to off-shore it, so that would also put additional stress on the UK agents.

In short, they can't win - they're spending money providing a service that can't possibly have any tangible benefits either for the company or its customers. They'd have been better spending the money improving the services they offer, or the infrastructure they use to provide them, and leaving the 'support' to sites like CF.

[joglynne]

I have decided that, as it is not really the done thing to keep plugging this site over there, I will start plugging Newsgroups. At least that directs customers to a UK based site for help if they have problems sorting out their problems on the phone. (no disrespect intended to our extremely competent VM staffers)

If someone can come up with reasons why I shouldn't do this please speak up now as doing this is probably going to be the only reason I will continue visiting that forum in the future.

Originally Posted by Rob

That's a pretty big sea change in attitudes within VM from the old days of NTL. It's something long overdue, given that most organistations work hard to encourage customer self support, and feedback. I wonder how they will respond when the inevitable critical posts about services are made?

And in your final paragraph there lies the problem.

[Ignitionnet]

Should be interesting to see how long http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/.../m-p/1151#M314 lasts for.

[Ignitionnet]

Blimey I have to say there are some fine works of fiction there masquerading as help. Good to see people who clearly have no idea how cable or any of its' associated support systems work pontificating on it. Good imaginations indeed.

[Kymmy]

Yeah I blame that Ignition character on there.. He's a right one he is