Bring back human beings

My Mum's partner cancelled VirginMedia (VM) in March. In August I noticed a payment coming out of her bank account for VM so rang them to sort it out. On the first call, I waited for ages, got transferred, got put on hold so waited for ages and then just as the Service Agent came on line, her computer crashed and she said she'd ring me back. Of course she didn't.
So the next day, I started over the whole procedure again. They denied the package had been cancelled despite the fact they had rung us trying to get us to stay with them and had subsequently transferred our phone number to NOWTV. Consequently, I got passed from pillar to post until I ended up with disconnections. They couldn't deal with it either but as my Mum had gone into a home, they took that as a bereavement and put me onto the Bereavement Department. The service was entirely different and they sorted out what they owed Mum in record time. The only problem is they couldn't pay it for up to 12 weeks...just in case she owed them money and they wouldn't want to chase her for it! Honestly, you couldn't make it up.
I did, however, make sure that the Service Agent knew how pleased I was with the Service once I got through to her and how it was the only time ever, I had been able to understand what she was saying, had not been mucked around and she did what she said she would do.
We were with VM for 25 years in their various forms of Cable and Wireless, NTL World and VM. The service got gradually worse and worse until we could stand it no longer, leaving the company and took up with Vodafone...what a difference in price and service!

I had to unpeel myself from Sky. I nearly cried with frustration. In the end I did get to speak to one or two humans by selecting an option where I knew I would find one. That human couldn't help my particular issue but transferred me to one who might be able to. He could but he wouldn't. I told him I felt bullied by a big company and would take things further. The next day a human phoned me and agreed that I had cancelled my Sky account as verified by them in several letters and e-mails, and would refund the money they'd continued to take from my account. I felt limp and in need of a brandy after that. Sorry to go on so, if you are still reading, but it still rankles.

Actually, it depends on the human what is easiest in my opinion.

Since the advent of the e-mail, no-one working in an office seems to read the WHOLE thing you write. They answer your first question and frequently have misunderstood even it. The rest they don't bother about.

If I get the usual automated message when I phone, saying press 1 for this, 2 for that, etc and one of the categories is relevant then it usually saves time. If not, I opt for press 9 which is usually where you find an actual human being.

Once I have apologised for my hearing, which makes it necessary for me to ask anyone who sounds about 10 and threfore is probably in their mid-twenties, to speak up. we usually manage to sort things out.

A shout out for Plusnet and Octopus Energy, wonderful Customer Services. I can't believe the rubbish I put up with for years with TalkTalk.

I much prefer speaking to a human being. I have just changed to Octopus from Ovo and have to say that the difference in attitude to customers is astounding. I'm not on commission for Octopus, but would have to say it's a well run company with well trained staff.

I have had a problem with a dental insurance claim. Each time I phone I get to speak to a different advisor who tells me different things. I have resorted to emails and have replys out of office hours and at weekends, so I feel that is part of the problem as I assume these people are still working from home.

Lupin, I quite understand how you felt. It wasn't even my money but the loss of over £400 made me feel sick to the stomach. It was made more difficult by the fact that my Mum's partner couldn't remember anything about the disconnection and I had to play detective to find the information.

Very surprised that some have had difficulty with OVO. I have been with them for over three years and never had a problem. At one pointI had quite a lot of cash just sitting in my account, asked them to refund £200 and it was in my bank account two days later.

I have just had an appointment confirmation from the hospital, all by computer, very confusing details and the only contact available was 'press one to repeat this message'. To make it worse, recorded with a foreign accent.

I must speak up for Worcester / Bosch. I had a problem with my boiler controls. I spoke to a LADY in the technical department. She agreed with me what the problem was and put the right part in the engineers van. Work would be done next day although she couldn't say am or pm. I was woken at 7.55 am. and the engineer had finished and gone by 8 30 am.
Personal service at its best.

I must give a shout out to LG. We had a problem setting up our new tv. More or less straight through to a human who instructed us in words of one syllable. ???

I spoke to a human yesterday at Shell energy. There’s nothing wrong with my hearing but I literally couldn’t understand most of what she said. The amount of times I asked her to repeat herself was embarrassing ??‍♀️

I don’t mind computerised systems when they work, but I’ve been going round in circles trying to find the correct claim form online from Staysure insurance. The phone line just says ‘We’re currently experiencing a high volume of calls’ - as does every other customer service phone number.?
I must give a shout for Dunelm though - we reported a missing part on some chairs and spoke to a very helpful lady, who arranged for a speedy replacement. ??

I was transferred over to OVO earlier this year. When I tried to access my account online, I couldn’t. I tried a couple of times, eventually phoned, spoke to a lovely woman who, from her accent, was from the north-east of England. Turned out, when my account was transferred, several details were erroneously changed. Ovo assistant was very patient, sorted everything out and was very apologetic for the mix-up. She really couldn’t have been more pleasant or helpful.

And they wonder why their CEO or Chairman’s inboxes are bursting. Sometimes it’s the only way to get a live human on the phone to fix a previously intractable problem….

Just saying.

I made two phone calls yesterday, one to Open University and one to the small local office of the Council. Both problems were sorted out by very helpful officials, hugely polite, in minimum time, and I could hear every word they said, not always the case.

I had discussion on this very topic with a young man I know... I suggested Sky etc should some customer service agents who specialise in helping the older folk who aren't so tech savvy. His reply was that "they" should catch up and he was surprisingly adamant that this was a reasonable expectation. I found it a rather disturbing exchange. And he's not a horrible person but in his mid twenties he can't comprehend how different it is for those of us who are 60 +

It really is incumbent on us to try to keep up to date, Sandigold. Your suggestion of 60+ is a bit worrying - many of us are still working full time and coping with technology in our 60s and beyond. I was one of them! I don't like to think that people of 60+ are 'older folk', either!

Some weeks ago I had my wallet stolen. Among other things it contained my staff discount card for Waitrose and my staff discount card for M&S. A phone call to Waitrose, lasting about 10 minutes, got my new card sorted and I received my new card a few days later. The M&S one has been an on going nightmare. I've been directed to various web sites which have offered conflicting advice and had one or two surreal phone calls to people who seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. At one point it seemed to be working - then it stopped again and I was given more instructions - still no luck and it's going to have to be more phone calls!

Much prefer to talk to a real person, but it's not always plain sailing. My DH was patiently trying to sort out an issue recently and the customer service agent was a lady with a very strong foreign accent who spoke very quickly. As my DH struggled to understand what she was saying, she asked in a frustrated voice whether there was anyone at our end who could speak English! Needless to say, a complaint was submitted and, thankfully, we did eventually get things sorted out.

Full marks to Scottish Power today. I tried online to cancel my fixed rate account & transfer back to the standard tariff but was unable to do so. Tried emailing but Scottish Power no longer using this, so I had to phone them. Despite a message saying there was a 30 minute wait to speak to a customer advisor, I was soon put through, once I had pressed the correct button. She couldn't transfer me back herself so I was put on hold for a few minutes while she consulted her support team. When she came back it was sorted.

Sandigold
With respect there are a lot of older folk on this site who are very tech savvy.
Let’s say 20 yrs ago. Those now 60+ were 40+, did they not see what was coming, what a wonderful thing it was going to be.

I'm sure some computer tick box application forms would be fairer and more compassionate than some human beings.

eazybee

I made two phone calls yesterday, one to Open University and one to the small local office of the Council. Both problems were sorted out by very helpful officials, hugely polite, in minimum time, and I could hear every word they said, not always the case.

Not the same Council as ours, I take it, eazybee!!

My visa card has stopped working on tap & pay & via chip and pin. On the phone for ages and being told (automated voice) quicker on line, but if my card doesn't work surely the pin won't work in my card reader so how can I do this on line?

I had to phone my energy supplier, Eon-next recently with a query. My problem was dealt with brilliantly by a really helpful customer service advisor who went out of her way to provide an excellent service.