Virgin-media @ New Delhi LIE and DECEIVE us!

I think the thread title is a bit strong ,VM's offshore call centers may be annoying but i'm sure they are not lying and deceiving people

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by martyh

I think the thread title is a bit strong ,VM's offshore call centers may be annoying but i'm sure they are not lying and deceiving people

Hmmm...let's see...one of their favourite fobs is that the callers issue is a "National Fault" when it isn't.

Then there is the "I'll just check with 2nd level and ring you straight back" and the call back never comes fob.

Not forgetting the Classic "I cannot find any fault with your connection and cannot give further assistance" before hanging up the phone fob.

If they are not examples of lying and deceiving then I don't know what is.

To cut to the chase they will say anything that comes into their heads to try to terminate the call.

I have nothing against outsourced support centers. Be have some and they are truly excellent. The outsourced support center VM uses is utterly useless, to be brutally frank it is Not Fit for The Purpose.

[p6410880]

got phone call of indian call centre offering me free xl TV for 3 months I ask some questions then he said would phone me back never did. if you go off the script they cannot understand you

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Hmmm...let's see...one of their favourite fobs is that the callers issue is a "National Fault" when it isn't.

Then there is the "I'll just check with 2nd level and ring you straight back" and the call back never comes fob.

Not forgetting the Classic "I cannot find any fault with your connection and cannot give further assistance" before hanging up the phone fob.

If they are not examples of lying and deceiving then I don't know what is.

To cut to the chase they will say anything that comes into their heads to try to terminate the call.

I have nothing against outsourced support centers. Be have some and they are truly excellent. The outsourced support center VM uses is utterly useless, to be brutally frank it is Not Fit for The Purpose.

Heard it seen it and no surprise.

[johnathome]

Originally Posted by p6410880

got phone call of indian call centre offering me free xl TV for 3 months I ask some questions then he said would phone me back never did. if you go off the script they cannot understand you

welcome to the community, 4 1/2 years to make a post

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Masque

I doubt that any legal action would get very far and any solicitor would inform that you had no case for Virgin Media to answer through lack of proof as it would be your word against theirs, plus the may not even be a record of that call in your account notes again making your claim impossible to verify.

Originally Posted by Russ

Quite possibly - but for years when people have assumed it to mean the calls will be tape recorded, it's not always been that way.

That, whilst I don't doubt is correct, is an appalling way to do business.

You make a very valid point Russ.

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Hmmm...let's see...one of their favourite fobs is that the callers issue is a "National Fault" when it isn't.

Then there is the "I'll just check with 2nd level and ring you straight back" and the call back never comes fob.

Not forgetting the Classic "I cannot find any fault with your connection and cannot give further assistance" before hanging up the phone fob.

If they are not examples of lying and deceiving then I don't know what is.

To cut to the chase they will say anything that comes into their heads to try to terminate the call.

I have nothing against outsourced support centers. Be have some and they are truly excellent. The outsourced support center VM uses is utterly useless, to be brutally frank it is Not Fit for The Purpose.

I agree, from what i've just read, the lying and deceiving starts as soon as they give their "name"!

I do have a problem with overseas call centres. They, as you say, are often not fit for purpose. I also believe that it would be better to employ people in this country instead of making VM employees redundant.

All those who have/will be losing their jobs won't be spending their wages in their own local economy and this has a knock on effect for other businesses who, in turn, may have to lay off their staff as a result. It's like a pack of cards...

The ex VM staff won't be paying in tax and NI and may well have to claim benefits.

Then, there is the human and social cost of unemployment to factor in. I believe that such policies fuel racism too.

Yes, they are cheaper on the face of it, but think of the loss of customer satisfaction (or even the loss of the customer spend completely).

I have also found that they go through their script and invariably try to book a needless engineer call out. It would be interesting to hear from any engineers who have their time repeatedly wasted, which also costs the company money.

Originally Posted by p6410880

got phone call of indian call centre offering me free xl TV for 3 months I ask some questions then he said would phone me back never did. if you go off the script they cannot understand you

Very true, the calls take much longer than they would otherwise, wasting more money and frustrating customers.

Two personal examples of stupidity:

Q "Can you please give me my customer account number"

A "Yes, certainly, I would be happy to help you with this... blah blah blah. Can I take your customer account number"

Q "Can you please tell me more about the option of buying minutes for my landline, to make calls to mobile numbers"

A "You will have to ring Virgin Mobile"

I had my TV email disconnected around the time Nagra 3 came in, but after many months of complaining and talking to people who didn't know what they were talking about, had it restored.

[martyres]

I find it laughable when I read about call centres being better if they are UK based.

I work for an outsourced organisation and call centres no matter where they are based are not exactly sought after as they do not offer much scope for progression and on the whole are not well paid jobs.

What is more concerning are the highly qualified jobs i.e. in IT, systems analysis and project management that are being off shored. No verbal contact with the UK is required so there are no complaints. However, UK science graduates who do not want to work in call centres will find it increasingly difficult to get jobs in their line as qualified graduates can do a similar or higher standard of work at a lower cost off shore.

My point is for the UK, it is better for call centres to be off shored and technical back office jobs kept here.

[RichardCoulter]

I think it would be better to have both here.

I find it really useful being able to understand what they are saying, especially on a long distance line

I pay UK money to a UK company, so why should a foreign country benefit from the employment and money?

There is an argument that it is cheaper as they will work for less, but, if you take into account my comments above, I think that this is a false economy.

I wonder if VM get a special deal for all these long distance routed calls too??

[Russ]

Originally Posted by martyres

I find it laughable when I read about call centres being better if they are UK based.

It depends on what you define as 'better'.

In all honesty I have more confidence in an agent's ability to assist with my enquiry/fault if they are UK based. It would seem that the majority of Asian (Indian, Filipino etc) callcentre staff work from scripts. This makes it very difficult to get a straightforward answer out of them if what you're asking is not on their script, it's often like talking to a robot.

In these countries they tend to have a hard and loyal work ethic (not a bad thing in itself) which means they feel that rigidly sticking to company policy is the right thing to do, thereby 'serving' their employer. This is entirely the wrong attitude. They are there to serve the customer.

They don't understand this sort of culture that we expect in this country. UK callcentre staff tend to be far more willing to 'bend' the rules, use discretion or use basic common sense to help a customer.

On that basis I am of the opinion that UK callcentres are better than offshore ones.

Of course if your understanding of being 'better' is based on tech knowledge then that's a different subject but bear in mind that not all callcentres are for tech support.

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Russ

It depends on what you define as 'better'.

In all honesty I have more confidence in an agent's ability to assist with my enquiry/fault if they are UK based. It would seem that the majority of Asian (Indian, Filipino etc) callcentre staff work from scripts. This makes it very difficult to get a straightforward answer out of them if what you're asking is not on their script, it's often like talking to a robot.

In these countries they tend to have a hard and loyal work ethic (not a bad thing in itself) which means they feel that rigidly sticking to company policy is the right thing to do, thereby 'serving' their employer. This is entirely the wrong attitude. They are there to serve the customer.

They don't understand this sort of culture that we expect in this country. UK callcentre staff tend to be far more willing to 'bend' the rules, use discretion or use basic common sense to help a customer.

On that basis I am of the opinion that UK callcentres are better than offshore ones.

Of course if your understanding of being 'better' is based on tech knowledge then that's a different subject but bear in mind that not all callcentres are for tech support.

When I worked on Telewest TV/Telco faults many moons ago, I would always say to the customer that I was on their side and would do my best to get the result they needed/deserved. I'd often go the extra mile to get things sorted, especially around number ports!

If I promised a call-back at 6pm, you got that call-back!

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

When I worked on Telewest TV/Telco faults many moons ago, I would always say to the customer that I was on their side and would do my best to get the result they needed/deserved. I'd often go the extra mile to get things sorted, especially around number ports!

If I promised a call-back at 6pm, you got that call-back!

I am the same but that will not matter much in a few months time.

[Helix]

Originally Posted by Russ

It depends on what you define as 'better'.

In all honesty I have more confidence in an agent's ability to assist with my enquiry/fault if they are UK based. It would seem that the majority of Asian (Indian, Filipino etc) callcentre staff work from scripts. This makes it very difficult to get a straightforward answer out of them if what you're asking is not on their script, it's often like talking to a robot.

In these countries they tend to have a hard and loyal work ethic (not a bad thing in itself) which means they feel that rigidly sticking to company policy is the right thing to do, thereby 'serving' their employer. This is entirely the wrong attitude. They are there to serve the customer.

They don't understand this sort of culture that we expect in this country. UK callcentre staff tend to be far more willing to 'bend' the rules, use discretion or use basic common sense to help a customer.

On that basis I am of the opinion that UK callcentres are better than offshore ones.

Of course if your understanding of being 'better' is based on tech knowledge then that's a different subject but bear in mind that not all callcentres are for tech support.

I would agree with this, I phoned up to sign up for a new account and I think it was the Manilla call centre I got as they had a fake American accent. I said I wanted to take TV, Phone and BB but on a 12 month contract. They said it was 18 months only, so I mentioned Sky still do 12 months on bundles and how I would take them up if Virgin didn't give me a 12 month contract. She went and spoke to her Supervisor and came back and said I could have it as a one off special deal if I signed up right that minute, I said I couldn't do that yet as I hadn't found a move in date for my flat and she said when I called back it would definitely be 18 months and they couldn't do the offer for me again.

The next day once I confirmed when I was moving into my flat, I phoned again and this time got through to the UK. Said the same as a did to Manilla, wanted Phone, TV and Broadband on a 12 month contract. Got the response no problem we can do that, and he talked me through signing up. No supervisor required.

Why Manilla couldn't offer me the same without getting a supervisor involved and making it a time sensitive offer I don't know.

[DABhand]

The reason why they hire people from India is simples as Sephiroth's little furry friend would say.

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[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

When I worked on Telewest TV/Telco faults many moons ago, I would always say to the customer that I was on their side and would do my best to get the result they needed/deserved. I'd often go the extra mile to get things sorted, especially around number ports!

If I promised a call-back at 6pm, you got that call-back!

What an excellent customer focussed work ethic

Originally Posted by Masque

I am the same but that will not matter much in a few months time.

It's not good to hear that your commitment to your job is being rewarded like this

Originally Posted by Helix

I would agree with this, I phoned up to sign up for a new account and I think it was the Manilla call centre I got as they had a fake American accent. I said I wanted to take TV, Phone and BB but on a 12 month contract. They said it was 18 months only, so I mentioned Sky still do 12 months on bundles and how I would take them up if Virgin didn't give me a 12 month contract. She went and spoke to her Supervisor and came back and said I could have it as a one off special deal if I signed up right that minute, I said I couldn't do that yet as I hadn't found a move in date for my flat and she said when I called back it would definitely be 18 months and they couldn't do the offer for me again.

The next day once I confirmed when I was moving into my flat, I phoned again and this time got through to the UK. Said the same as a did to Manilla, wanted Phone, TV and Broadband on a 12 month contract. Got the response no problem we can do that, and he talked me through signing up. No supervisor required.

Why Manilla couldn't offer me the same without getting a supervisor involved and making it a time sensitive offer I don't know.

Sounds like more lies to pressurise you into signing up.

I have often found Asian businessmen to have less scruples than the average person. What I would refer to as "ripping someone off", they seem to regard as a positive business outcome. I don't know why this is, perhaps it's a cultural thing, but many people I know refuse to do business with them because of this. No doubt the PC brigade would regard them as racist!

Originally Posted by DABhand

The reason why they hire people from India is simples as Sephiroth's little furry friend would say.

I think you're right, but that it is a false economy (as per my comments above.)