Shame on you VM - Page 2

carlwaring · 24-05-2012, 09:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

But the guy offered to supply proof. From my time working at NTL, had I been the agent I would have gone and spoken to the highest level manager available about this.

[coughs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyh

So a dying man phoned up to end a contract ,this was refused by first line reps escalated to senior managers who are possibly the only staff with the authority to end the contract anyway ,and hey presto the contract is ended .Did the Sun have a few spare column inches today ?

Sounds like that's exactly what happened

BenMcr · 24-05-2012, 09:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

But the guy offered to supply proof. From my time working at NTL, had I been the agent I would have gone and spoken to the highest level manager available about this.

However even the 'highest level manager' probably wouldn't haven been able to give a 100% guarantee over the phone and without any proof of the situation that the contract would be cancelled - which seems to be the nub of the The Sun story.

I'm not saying that Virgin would need full medical history or anything, but just something they can log to the account to justify the cancellation

We don't know the exact phone conversation either, so judging based on story probably doesn't give the full picture.

Peter_ · 24-05-2012, 09:56

No one knows the validity of this story so without hearing the actual call how can anyone pass judgement especially as the source is the **** newspaper which no one in their right mind would trust to print the thruth.

Russ · 24-05-2012, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlwaring

[coughs]

Sounds like that's exactly what happened

No, what it sounds like happened was the customer was greeting with the old NTL style 'brick wall' from a 'Traffic warden' CS rep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_

No one knows the validity of this story so without hearing the actual call how can anyone pass judgement especially as the source is the **** newspaper which no one in their right mind would trust to print the thruth.

Nobody from Virgin Media has denied The Sun's version, which is what I'd imagine most companies would do had the story been incorrect or misleading.

Going on my history of NTL/VM, this story sounds very much like something they would do.

BenMcr · 24-05-2012, 13:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

Going on my history of NTL/VM, this story sounds very much like something they would do.

Based on my history of dealing with some customers, it can be just as much of a brick wall the other way

Russ · 24-05-2012, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Based on my history of dealing with some customers, it can be just as much of a brick wall the other way

Absolutely - however the customer offered to supply proof. VM have not denied this.

BenMcr · 24-05-2012, 13:27

Indeed, and as I said there is probably been a way to handle it better.

But as I said before, just saying you'll send in proof wouldn't have been enough to confirm a cancallation over the phone.

What should have happened is that he should been advised to write in explaining the situation and then Virgin could have taken it from there.

Also we don't know what the tone of the conversations was? There is an assumption it's all on the agent (and it may well be), but it could just as much been a combination of both sides.

watzizname · 24-05-2012, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Indeed, and as I said there is probably been a way to handle it better.

But as I said before, just saying you'll send in proof wouldn't have been enough to confirm a cancallation over the phone.

What should have happened is that he should been advised to write in explaining the situation and then Virgin could have taken it from there.

Can you confirm that "What should have happened" is actually VM policy for such a situation, or are you just saying that in an ideal world it would be better if it was?

I am genuinely curious to know if there are actually tried and tested steps in place to weed out the honest customers from the liars when someone makes a claim like this, or are the staff instead trained to treat everyone as nothing more than potential fare dodgers?

I mean, given the amount of customers VM have, it can't be the first time something like this has happened..

BenMcr · 24-05-2012, 15:44

As far as I know there is no defined process to cover this particular situation - processes are usually only mapped out for regular queries.

The reason I said it would have been approrpriate to get the customer to write in is that it's likely to be dealt with in a slightly more considered position. To be honest when I was on the phones I would have had difficulty in knowing what to do with a call such as this.

Peter_ · 24-05-2012, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by watzizname

Can you confirm that "What should have happened" is actually VM policy for such a situation, or are you just saying that in an ideal world it would be better if it was?

I am genuinely curious to know if there are actually tried and tested steps in place to weed out the honest customers from the liars when someone makes a claim like this, or are the staff instead trained to treat everyone as nothing more than potential fare dodgers?

I mean, given the amount of customers VM have, it can't be the first time something like this has happened..

Quite simple really he would have been advised to send in written proof of his illness which any doctor worth is salt would supply for the patient.

What else could any company do except ask for written confirmation, any less than this would leave companies open to abuse of their systems.

Anyone that thinks that a company should act any differently to the above is living in fantasy world of their own design.

Do remember that this is the **** we are talking about and they just like any other daily paper will make a case like this fit the required headlines just to sell newsprint and without hearing the actual call all that they printed can be taken with a pinch of salt.

I know one thing and that is if that customer had come through to me while working for Virgin Media then I would have personally spoken to a retentions agent and would have advised them to do the right thing for this person, I never had to deal with issues like this one but I did take ownership on any call that warranted it.

Sirius · 24-05-2012, 16:03

Funny how this thread reminds me of nthellworld from 10 years ago. I hope we don't have any flyer's about spiderman anywhere

Peter_ · 24-05-2012, 16:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

Nobody from Virgin Media has denied The Sun's version, which is what I'd imagine most companies would do had the story been incorrect or misleading.

Going on my history of NTL/VM, this story sounds very much like something they would do.

If I was member of Virgin Media upper management then I would not want any dealings with this paper as they would no doubt twist the story to fit their headlines.

All that should happen is for upper management to contact the customer to resolve the issue without the need for newspaper headlines, as that is dealing with the issue responsibly which oddly some people do not want to happen.

Russ · 24-05-2012, 16:25

If a company was being given negative publicity in this way over something they didn't actually do, or is being reported in a distorted light the common sense thing to do would be to respond to it, even if to a rival paper. This has all the hallmarks of VM knowing they've done wrong and damage limitation.

Peter_ · 24-05-2012, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

If a company was being given negative publicity in this way over something they didn't actually do, or is being reported in a distorted light the common sense thing to do would be to respond to it, even if to a rival paper. This has all the hallmarks of VM knowing they've done wrong and damage limitation.

This has all the hallmarks of a rag not fit to wipe anyones backside just stirring the bull droppings as per usual nothing more so why would a company want to give credence to a low life rag such as the ****.

Now if this is a real issue why has it not hit the television headlines even at local level, now if it was on television then you could realistically give this tale some credibility but in that rag it has all the hallmarks of pinnochio.

Russ · 24-05-2012, 16:44

Fair comment.

However I like to think that if I had a company that was being lied about in a national newspaper, I'd probably want to do something about it such as launch legal action or put out a statement denying it and giving the real version of events.

The last thing I'd do is leave a guilty silence over what initially happened. But maybe that's just me.