We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls....

melp1

Octopus has an excellent customer service, but if I can find an email to contact any other company I would use that method. However, for some reason, companies don't make it easy to use an email contact.

... because they'd have to employ people to deal with the emails. The bottom line is profit, it's as simple as that.

Our Doctors’ Surgery regularly sends us texts saying they are closing on a Wednesday afternoon for Staff Training. I would imagine the topics they discuss are :

‘How to avoid seeing patients’
‘How to exclude patients who are not computer literate’
‘How to make it tricky to make an appointment’.

Our surgery got a prize recently for rolling out the COVID jab in our area. I just wish they could be as efficient with returning to some normality. At least they have unblocked the surgery letterbox which was sealed during covid. ?

Octopus has an excellent customer service, but if I can find an email to contact any other company I would use that method. However, for some reason, companies don't make it easy to use an email contact.

The recorded voice doesn't bother me, it's the music when it's loud and 'rock-y' that puts me off. If I've really got to wait 20 minute speak to someone, please play some relaxing classical. Some Vivaldi perhaps. If you can find out the time of day they are least busy, I will phone then and usually get to speak to someone within 5 minutes.

I have had to call SSE on numerous occasions who always start with 'your call may take up to 30 minutes to answer' it's never answered before the 30 minutes is up, while trying to talk to the call handler l could hear what l can only describe as a party going on, loud laughter, shouting across the room, people chatting to each other, when l said l could hardly hear him and commented on how unprofessional it was he said 'it is a call centre' ☹ still not sure if my problem was resolved

*to us.

It’s when you hear “your call is really important and us” on repeat that l feel my blood pressure go through the roof. If it really were that important why on earth don’t they just answer the wretched phone?

I have Saga car insurance.
So far, they have answered very quickly when I phone and give excellent service.

I usually do something else while waiting in a phone queue, then the agent always sounds alarmed if I don't respond immediately, because I wasn't glued to the handset waiting for them.

Trying to contact a company to get a repair, I was trying very hard to understand a young woman whose first language was not English. She asked me my age group and then proceeded to talk to me as if I was an imbecile . She asked if there was anyone in the house who could read a label on the machine for me. I will not be patronised by anyone especially someone younger, less intelligent and less educated than I am. ( now I am being patronising. I am sure there are intelligent people working in call centres who can't get better jobs)

Haven’t heard it for a while, but what often used to rile me was, ‘Thank you for calling (e.g.) British Gas.’

As if I’d been sitting at home twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do, before thinking, ‘I know! I’ll phone British Gas for a nice little chat.’

Also it usually requires serious detective work to even find the number in the first place.
And as previously mentioned, a sales call is answered immediately , a query some time after the twelfth of never.

Witzend, many years ago when my dad died, I had to phone Sky to cancel his Sky package, if I remember correctly it took me a while to get through (very pre covid days, so no excuse there) music was played while I waited, it was horrendous, soul destroying, and not helpful at all. When the phone was eventually answered, it was a young Scottish lad who went through the usual "script", and my first question to him was " who picked that awful music, can you report back to your bosses that I almost lost he will to live hanging on the line". He was apologetic and considering why I had phoned very helpful all the way through the conversation!!

... And then the recording points out that most queries can be answered via the website. Its a devious plot to get the public to stop bothering them for simple things. It's the same with applications for benefits which are turned down first time and granted on appeal and even trying to get through to see a doctor. Make it difficult and half the callers will give up and stop bothering them.

Jess20

The message that annoys me most is 'an unprecedented number of calls' every single time I call. I have asked when the best times to call are and pointed out that for some reason I always seem to join an unprecedented number of callers and when is it a normal number of people trying to get through but they fiegn ignorance.

Unprecedented:
Meaning - never done or known before.

It's a joke, isn't it Jess20 because it is the norm.

Neither does "Unusually high number of calls" mean anything either because it is usual, not unusual.

DVLA are a nightmare, can't get through on the phone, no email address but there is a fax number. DD found out there is a way to send a fax via email, quick response from DVLA finally but still no licence renewal, ah well still waiting for that.

Today has been a prime example of good & bad customer service, rang my House Insurance Company, phone answered promptly & politely, query sorted quickly.

DWP to sort out Mum's Pension Credit, didn't have to wait too long & query sorted.

Last call for the afternoon DWP again to request a form for my PIP, I gave up over 55mins later without getting to speak to a human. Start again on Monday morning.......sigh

The message that annoys me most is 'an unprecedented number of calls' every single time I call. I have asked when the best times to call are and pointed out that for some reason I always seem to join an unprecedented number of callers and when is it a normal number of people trying to get through but they fiegn ignorance.

I fully appreciate what you said about we are experiencing a high volume of calls. I may be very wrong but from my own experience this has become much worse since Covid and people working from home. I rang for an appointment with my consultant got through to his Secretary after an age n then could barely hear a word she ssid due to really bad roaring noise. She told me she was out shopping n a motorbike had gone by. This was 10.30 in the morning. Sometimes I feel so frustrated I feel like the tv character Victor Meldrew.

Trying to get through to my GP's surgery can take an age. Having got through and listened to a litany of does and don'ts, opening hours etc etc etc you get the message " you will now hear Radio Two while you wait to speak to the receptionist". If you ring first thing in the morning you are subjected to Zoe Ball being overexcited - at midday it's Jeremy Vine. Even "Greensleeves" playing on a loop would be preferable.

I don't understand why, if most of their staff are/were working from home, why would that make it harder to get through, surely they have the computer in front of them, same as if they were in a big office, and probably with less distractions too! Pathetic excuse!

I've noticed that BUPA are less accessible on the phone than my previous, smaller provider. Of course, queueing generally us a way of cutting employee costs and shifting the cost onto the customer.

Nobody answers. I think I would just write a letter with a stamped addressed reply envelope.

It took DH 2 years to sort out his energy bill! They were charging him for his own energy plus the energy of someone else’s rented property with the same name. Endless phone calls, waiting for hours, no call backs that were promised etc. Finally he threatened them with the Ombudsman and his problem was sorted super quickly.

It seems that customer service is a dying breed. I feel so sorry for all of those call centre operators who must face abuse on a daily basis, generally through no fault of their own. Not to mention all of us who waste hours of our time trying to resolve issues that can only be dealt with by TALKING TO A REAL PERSON!!

Perhaps we should begin by charging them for our wasted time at the same rate as they charge us for energy.

Rowyn
I don’t know how much you know about working from home but I can assure you that my daughter and friend who both work from home are monitored from the moment they log on.

Morag65 I am always polite and repeatedly tell the agent that it is not their fault that it is the company I'm cross with. Having said that some agents try to solve myproblem before actually listening to what my problem is!

I just waited 50mins to talk to British Gas who we were transferred to when PfP went under. This is the second day running that dealing with British Gas has reduced me to tears. I finally admit that they have defeated me and I'm not one to give up easily - the interchange began back in September!

I think all of their recorded messages have become like wallpaper to them and no-one checks to see whether they are still relevant. Imagine telling customers yesterday and again today that it is much easier to do things on line when their website, app, phone numbers were all down! They seem to enjoy winding customers up before they even get to speak to anyone.

I think for the sake of my blood pressure I am going to have to take my business elsewhere. I have seen no evidence that they want to learn from their mistakes and improve. I've given them plenty of constructive feedback! They used to be a good company. Hey ho.