Fed up playing guessing game, what's Virgins telephone support numbers?

[mikeym]

Hi,

I would like to contact Virgin to ask them about what broadband connection package I'm supposed to get. I signed up to something for existing 10 meg customers to upgrade to 20 meg about a year ago. I'm still on sub 10 meg.

Followed the link in the forum sticky post, but can't be playing virgin's game to guess which answer will reveal the phone number.

Could someone let me know what it is? And / or how to find out what my connection package is?

[Kymmy]

All you have to do is click on one of the options, then click NEXT at Haven't found what you're looking for?

Phone

Call us on 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or on 0845 454 1111* from any other phone.

8am to midnight, 7 days a week

[mikeym]

Thank you. Should have remembers it was such an easy number from a virgin line.

As for clicking on options and selecting next in the contact us page. There are 5 options each with approximately 4 sub options. Each of those has roughly 4 further options to choose from that in turn give you approximately 4 more options. Giving a ballpark figure of 320 option combinations. I am not going to search 320 options looking for a phone number, especially as approaching it rationally answering the questions failed to reveal a number.

It is spectacularly unhelpful and the only way I can conceive of why you would do this is to deliberately obstruct to customers to prevent them speaking to an actual person.

[Peter_]

Do you have a bill to hand if so just look on the back of it as they are there.

[mikeym]

Masque, yes thanks, I know but was looking because I couldn't track down a bill in my house, or remember the easy to remember number.

Was just frustrated by the poor contact us page.

I agree Mikey, VM's website is clearly designed to try to prevent you phoning them. They fairly bury their numbers, and when I was their ADSL customer (not getting a paper bill) I got into the habit of keeping the number on a scrap of paper in the desk drawer, just in case.

[mikeym]

Not having a contact number or email immediately visible on a contact us page is extremely poor form, but Virgin are not the only ones, I've just been on BT's webpage and they have exactly the same kind of setup. That's not to excuse it, just to say there are 2 companies that you should seriously consider relieving of your custom.

imho, as most calls are for simple queries, they (BT, VM, and many other companies) are trying to "winnow the chaff" with FAQ systems, with calls being for things that can't be resolved by menu-driven self-help.

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by mikeym

Thank you. Should have remembers it was such an easy number from a virgin line.

As for clicking on options and selecting next in the contact us page. There are 5 options each with approximately 4 sub options. Each of those has roughly 4 further options to choose from that in turn give you approximately 4 more options. Giving a ballpark figure of 320 option combinations. I am not going to search 320 options looking for a phone number, especially as approaching it rationally answering the questions failed to reveal a number.

It is spectacularly unhelpful and the only way I can conceive of why you would do this is to deliberately obstruct to customers to prevent them speaking to an actual person.

Nope, as when you select the first option there appears a Haven't found what you're looking for option at the bottom right and that then gives you the phone/email contact details

[v0id]

Originally Posted by Masque

Do you have a bill to hand if so just look on the back of it as they are there.

I thought paperless billing was more or less the norm with Virginmedia nowadays

[mikeym]

Kymmy, Ah, yes! You need to click on one of the 5 options that don't apply to you, then click on one of the following 4 or so options that still don't apply to you and again on one of the 4 or so further sub-options that don't apply to you, then ignore the final 4 or more options that are listed, instead looking down to the bottom of the screen and noticing the curious combination of a label "Haven't found what you're looking for?" with a button "Next" and click next.

Simple. I've no idea why I didn't find it earlier. Oh, I know! Because they've hidden the contact details on another page with a cryptic link shoved down to the bottom of the screen, buried underneath 4 layers of menus!

[Kymmy]

Took me just 4 clicks to display the phone numbers.. I don't see any issue with that???

---------- Post added at 17:13 ---------- Previous post was at 17:11 ----------

Also aren't the contact details on the bill???

[mikeym]

Uhhh...hu.... And did you already know where to find it, where to look? I would guess so. It is not easy to find. It is not self explanatory. From a interface or design point of view it is terrible. Go to almost any contact us page on the internet and it will have prominent contact details there on the first page, because most companies want to be contacted. Only someone who does not want to be contacted does not put their contact details clearly on the FIRST page in the "contact us" section.

You are right. It's possible in 4 clicks, but the whole structure is off putting and confusing. First of the "contact us" page is not a contact us page but an automated technical support page so it is immediately misleading. The first thing I did when encountering it was check that I had in fact clicked on the correct link. So then there are 5 options of type of contact (I notice you didn't count hovering over one of these to select it as a "click" or step). Even this is off putting as most people just want to talk to someone and unless there's a very good reason to do so don't want to be answering automatic questions. So if there are separate contact details for each of these types of contact then I could understand having a distinction, but even then the contact details should be visible underneath them. Instead you now have to answer another question about the type of service you have. Then more questions about the type of question you have (why does that matter to contacting you?) and then a list of fast answers. The flow of the page clearly indicates that you should be clicking on one of these, but none of them will take you to the contact details. Instead you have to break from the natural flow of the page and click on the big red "Next" button that's finally appeared at the bottom of the page.

Studies repeatedly show that people do not respond well to too much choice, I would suggest that 320 choices to pick from will put a lot of people off. Having a button called "next" at the bottom of the screen that actually is for contact details will stop even more people. Having an automated telephone system that will ask you 20 questions that the support person will just have to ask you again will also put many more people off. Having a call centre in India who often only have the language skills to repeat the questions answered in the previous steps will also put people off. Eventually if you can persuade a particularly fluent member off staff they may put you through to a call centre where they may be able to answer your question.

Is it just me or is there a pattern?

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by mikeym

Uhhh...hu.... And did you already know where to find it, where to look? I would guess so.

Nope, my cable is with VM business which is a totally different website. It was the first time following your supplied link.. I may have been lucky who knows but I don't think it was as problematic as suggested

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by v0id

I thought paperless billing was more or less the norm with Virginmedia nowadays

Not for everyone hence the question.