Proposal for a "Customer" Panel

[Bigtone]

I really think ntl should be sorting out their current
services rather then introducing new ones,it stinks
of politics and pettyness why a product
manager has decided to ignore customers here,its a typical
ntl attitude,putting politics first before customers.

Originally Posted by carlingman

Ironically at this time NTL were pulling out all the stops to snoop and try and find out if the current team at the time were trying to assist the sites closure while they were setting up this one but it was all to no avail and was a pretty well kept secret.

How the hell do you come up with that carlingman? We was told ntl wanted the site closed by 24th June 2003, this was launched on the 20th June 2003 any idea to launch this site before we was told this did not exist so how we helped assist in the closure i'll never know, when ntl had already decided this way back, before any idea went into creating this site.

If ntl ignore a customer panel because they are members of this site, then that just goes to show how 'petty' and full of politics ntl are.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Bigtone

I really think ntl should be sorting out their current
services rather then introducing new ones,it stinks
of politics and pettyness why a product
manager has decided to ignore customers here,its a typical
ntl attitude,putting politics first before customers.

I wouldn't agree that he's ignoring customers from here as many people from here post over there as well, but I think it would be nice if a similar announcement was made here. I understand that NTL would be weary of working with the admin team here but they could make such an offer without involving us.

[Bigtone]

Originally Posted by Russ D

I wouldn't agree that he's ignoring customers from here as many people from here post over there as well, but I think it would be nice if a similar announcement was made here. I understand that NTL would be weary of working with the admin team here but they could make such an offer without involving us.

They could, we have to mail trials@ntl.com and tell them we are from ntlhell
whats wrong with saying hold on a minute I'm not a member
of that forum, but I AM A CUSTOMER???

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Bigtone

They could, we have to mail trials@ntl.com and tell them we are from ntlhell
whats wrong with saying hold on a minute I'm not a member
of that forum, but I AM A CUSTOMER???

I don't think it would be practical to contact every customer, so they just get a few through other means, and doing it through an NTL related forum (where, naturally, you can expect to find NTL customers) is in theory a good idea but my point is that the offer should not be made to just one site, especially when there are others with higher membership numbers.

[Sociable]

This has never been about Admins it has always been about Members.

One interesting point many seem to have missed was that even back on .com when this idea was first put forward a distinction was always made between the general membership of the forum and the Admin team.

Because of the special circumstances of .com there was an obvious need to include the admin teams in addition to nominated "MEMBERS" because of NTL's ownership of that site it would have been imposible not to.

That is no longer the case though and it now seems entirely appropriate that any "panel" should be drawn from the membership of "All" NTL user groups if it is to have credibility and actually work in any positive way.

What unites us all is our being customers of NTL not our individual association with specific forums. The impression given by the apparent deliberate exclusion of this forum is that this was meant to divide the various groups.

Please do not allow that to happen. The best way to do this is by putting the past behind us and concentrating on constructive ways to move this idea forward instead.

[Russ]

I've been asked to point out that such an offer was made here on the 24th of October 2003 and can be found here and a similar post made on Chetnet on or around the 6th November.

[Sociable]

Originally Posted by Russ D

I've been asked to point out that such an offer was made here on the 24th of October 2003 and can be found here and a similar post made on Chetnet on or around the 6th November.

Thanks for that Russ.

Part of the problem for people like myself is that as we are not members of any other forum it was not possible to know what this latest "offer" to participate was actually about. That would have been avoided had they posted here as well of course, but better late than never.

The implication from what was originally posted in this thread was that NTL were moving forward with the "panel" idea but deliberately excluding us. It would seem from what you have just posted this was not the case at all but simply them following up on that one specific trial which we already knew about.

Thanks again for the clarification.

[rodd]

Admin and moderators, I take it, would be just as welcome on any panel, as other customers. Or they should be, regardless of what their previous relationship was with ntl, or how they got on with them.

It seems to me that pretty well the main message that the customer panel would be, is to give customers, services that actually work as they should do, barring the exceptional occasion.

It's a customer message that already can be seen and read by ntl at any time on the 'hell' sites. It's a message, in effect, by an all-member 'customer panel'. It hardly really needs another 'panel' to meet with ntl to tell them of that bit of feedback. It is not news.

Where a direct-contact panel can be an asset though, is in telling ntl of a new need or desire of the customers, or of a different way that something might be done.

With a company that seeks out customer feedback, and works with that customer feedback, to the mutual benefit of both customer and company, that is where a 'customer panel' can work well for the future.

Has ntl done that New Year somersault, and is no longer of the past?

On the product development trials.
When trying out a new product development, I would have thought that it would be best to use people who had no service problems, otherwise it could produce faulty results. Which makes it seem strange to me, that ntl goes to 'hell' sites, where people have sevice problems, and are used for the trial.

Then again, maybe they want the trial carried out under 'normal' ntl service conditions. If it works under 'hell' conditions, it will work anywhere.

[Florence]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

It's still a shame though that Peter is inviting people to join 'trials' but ignoring this forum - at the end of the day, it's the members of this forum who miss out - NTL staff should remember that the members of this forum are no different to members on the other forums - ie they all have something in common - they are customers.

It really isn't fair to put the blame at Peter he does post on the other two forums but not here I am sure if Pointman was around he would have like he did for the news trails.

Let us not create a wall between us and the few that are trying to communicate. The more members have a go at Pete then less likely he is to want this forums members on the trails. Please give things a chance.

Like I said a few pages back ;

Originally Posted by pem

I really think too many people on this site are trying to read far too much into events - I don't suppose anybody considered the more obvious reason that Peter simply posted it on the two sites he is a member of ?

[Frank]

Originally Posted by Kitty

It really isn't fair to put the blame at Peter he does post on the other two forums but not here I am sure if Pointman was around he would have like he did for the news trails.

Perhaps everyone should bear in mind that those ntl staff who do become involved, in whatever capacity, do do off their own backs. Their presence is not required here, or on any other ntl-related forum, but instead they voluntarily (sometimes in their own time) have conversations with ntl's customers.


IMHO, these people are to be commended for their involvement, no matter how limited it is, simply because they do it through choice and not because they are told to by ntl.

ntl the company needs to wake up and start talking to their customers in an official capacity instead of leaving it to a small minority of the more enthusiastic employees to do in their own time.

[carlingman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Plummer

How the hell do you come up with that carlingman? We was told ntl wanted the site closed by 24th June 2003, this was launched on the 20th June 2003 any idea to launch this site before we was told this did not exist so how we helped assist in the closure i'll never know, when ntl had already decided this way back, before any idea went into creating this site.

If ntl ignore a customer panel because they are members of this site, then that just goes to show how 'petty' and full of politics ntl are.

Now now Mick come off it a bit here.

I believe and know there is more to it than that as well you do.

I am not going to get into the politics about the date but my main point was that you knew or maybe not yourself personally but those concerned were well aware of the iminent closure of .com and stopped on the gravy train (payroll) defending them right up until the plug was pulled and then when you had the whistle blown over here came clean.

Like i said before in the past i sort of accept the reasons for this but lets not try and gloss over it.

Again you misread what i have said NTL will not ignore a customer panel because of the Members of this site more the case they will be well wary about getting their fingers burnt by the Admin of this site.

And yes I agree they are petty and full of politics.

Again to reiterate it has happened so move on as many have done.

[icanadvise]

Originally Posted by Sociable

I think we should at least give NTL a chance to respond to the general theme of this thread before we jump to any conclusions about what that reaction will be.

I will be putting together a mail to Peter in as positive a way as possible and remain hopefull that we can find a constructive way forward.

It will help that process if we all try to think and act more positively and put any past bad experiences behind us as that will be part of what I say to Peter in my message to him.

What did he reply out of interest?

[Sociable]

Originally Posted by icanadvise

What did he reply out of interest?

Basically that it was not his department so he had no interest at all and in any case his involvement with any forum is not as an NTL emplyee as such so he rarely even posts in that capacity even when it is his department.

So sadly Erol's suggestion led to a dead end but I live in hope a more willing individual can be located eventually that can speak for NTL so we can move this project forward.