Top 5

[Kursk]

Here's an idea. Instead of the regular complaint posted here about the VM service, how about we collectively agree on the top 5 irritations for customers so that Virgin have a chance to focus on the things that bother us most?

Some postings at CF just lurch from one moan about the service to the next and are spiced with varying degrees of vitriol that, to be honest, is unlikely to be helpful to customer or company in the long run.

Now I have to admit that I have good service from my cable broadband internet, but it is the only product I currently have with VM. I therefore want the provider to continue to be successful. Constructive feedback will help them and it also allows VM the chance to explain the problems it can face in sustaining the standard we expect.

So waddya say? Is 2009 going to be another "my speed is shot" and "I hate everything Virgin" sort of year or could we try a more productive approach in which we're clear about what the customer wants and VM are clear about what can be realistically delivered? We could all benefit I reckon.

Like I say, my package with VM is limited and I'm happy with it. But my top 5 list would look something like this:

1. I don't want my connection routinely throttled;
2. I don't want third party ISP level interceptions;
3.
4.
5.

There is no 3,4 and 5 as I don't believe in moaning for moaning's sake.

There is one other thing: 2009 is likely to be a tough year as the global financial mess continues to unfold. I wish the very best to Virgin Media and its staff in the difficult times possibly ahead.

[Kymmy]

I want a higher upload speed!!!!

[Sir John Luke]

1. I don't want Phorm.
2. I don't want Phorm.
3. I don't want Phorm.
4. I don't want Phorm.
5. I don't want Phorm.

[Dai]

I'd like a touch more honesty about the throttling although I'm happy with the principle. It sure is better than BT's method where if you exceed a Gb limit you get throttled for the WHOLE of the next month. It's just that it doesn't always seem to match the published times..

I'd like a faster upload.

Other than that it's a damn good service from where I'm sitting. I get most of the 20Mb for most of the time and it's very rare that it breaks down for more than a few minutes when the UBR cat trips over a cable.

[Kursk]

The Top 5 so far:

1. No throttling or, more honesty about the need for throttling;
2. No Phorm;
3. Faster upload speed;
4. VM is otherwise perfect;
5. VM is otherwise perfect.

[Dai]

The Top 5 so far:
5. VM is otherwise perfect.

Not perfect, but a damn sight better than many of the alternatives..

[LaineY]

I would like more updates for when roll outs for certain services would be..

for example.. are we getting more HD Channels or not?
and when will the 50MB hit my area

[chickendippers]

1. Better communication from head-office; perhaps a regularly updated blog?
2. More and better organised self-help
3. Better staff training

[General Maximus]

i dont want to be cynical but this is pintless because we know VM arent interested in what we think, they do whatever they want to and screw everyone else. I don't have any problems with my BB but it is clear from other discussions on this forum to do with level of service and the lack of staff training etc etc is that they just don't care. You could hand the perfect plan to them on how they could makes all our lives happier and tell them precisely what needed doing and they still wouldnt do it because all they care about is £££.

[looper35uk]

3. Fewer incompetent staff

That's a bit below the belt. The problem with VM is the processes that are implemented by the VM management and the extremely poor training given to new employees (or as we now call ourselves, the inmates). I believe VMs attitude towards this (and ntl's before that) is to give them the basics and let them learn on the job, and if they can not hack it, their easily replaceable. And they wonder why call centre's have a large staff turnover.

[chickendippers]

Thanks for explaining that looper. As a customer I'm not aware of VM's training policy and all I have to go on is my experience when I ring up - staff will sometimes say random and inexplicable things - it comes across as they don't know what they're doing. That said I know there are good people there (including these forums and the newsgroups).

As such I have revised my number 3.

[broadbandking]

1. More HD
2. Higher limits for STM
3. Faster Upload
4. Communication for the whole of Business
5. Stop stupid retention deals

[UnReaL]

5. Stop stupid retention deals

What is wrong with retention deals?

You either haggle for a better deal, or you just stick it out and pay the full price without second thoughts (after your 12 month contract has expired may I add).

[Kursk]

i dont want to be cynical but this is pintless because we know VM arent interested in what we think, they do whatever they want to and screw everyone else. I don't have any problems with my BB but it is clear from other discussions on this forum to do with level of service and the lack of staff training etc etc is that they just don't care. You could hand the perfect plan to them on how they could makes all our lives happier and tell them precisely what needed doing and they still wouldnt do it because all they care about is £££.

Well, let's give them a chance eh General? With all the complaints they get, it must be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff and to keep their staff motivated; a bit of focus can't hurt.

Broadly speaking, the current top 5 are:

1. No throttling or, more honesty about the need for throttling;
2. No Phorm;
3. Faster upload speed;
4. Better communication with customers;
5. Better staff training.

This could change if there are further contributions. Apologies if this omits a specific point but the Top 5 irritations are the aim ;).

[xpod]

I`d like more snow at Xmas.

[Graham M]

I want Peace & Good Will for all men!

[LaineY]

I want a naan bread and curry sauce!

[broadbandking]

mmmmm curry I want one now

[Kursk]

I want Peace & Good Will for all men!

Troll feeding. Groan :sleep:.

I`d like more snow at Xmas.

Move to the South Pole.

I want a naan bread and curry sauce!

Go to tescos?

mmmmm curry I want one now

Go to tescos now?

[caph]

That's a bit below the belt. The problem with VM is the processes that are implemented by the VM management and the extremely poor training given to new employees (or as we now call ourselves, the inmates). I believe VMs attitude towards this (and ntl's before that) is to give them the basics and let them learn on the job, and if they can not hack it, their easily replaceable. And they wonder why call centre's have a large staff turnover.

I had three months of atrocious speeds on BB and it took tens of phone calls and two months to eventually find out that my UBR was chronically oversubscribed, and I'm convinced it was because no-one I spoke to knew how to use the system that tells you this info (or didn't think to look). It was an English lady who finally told me but that may be coincidence. It still makes me angry when I think how many hours of my time I wasted.

It's probably no surprise that my main complaint is:-

1. If a UBR is chronically oversubscribed, upgrade it. Don't leave it for 3 months giving your customers dial up speeds in the evening (I've read of even longer upgrade times for other UBRs so I actually consider myself lucky). In my opinion this shouldn't even be allowed by OFCOM so it shouldn't even need to be in this list.

Everything else I would complain of pales into insignificance against this so I won't list them here.

[Gopher]

The Top 5 so far:

1. No throttling or, more honesty about the need for throttling;
2. No Phorm;
3. Faster upload speed;
4. VM is otherwise perfect;
5. VM is otherwise perfect.

Oh my god I am going to PUKE
1 should be the bandwidth you pay for!
2 oh the same as 1
3 oops the same as 1,2
4 oops the same as 1,2,3
5 you guessed it 1,2,3,4:mad::mad::mad::mad:

[chickendippers]

You pay for a contended residential service, if you want guaranteed 100% of the advertised speed 100% of the time I would recommend a business leased line. You do in fact get what you pay for.

[homealone]

1 more people realising they share the bandwidth
2 less people who can't grasp that, whingeing about the speed they get
3 more people swapping to another provider instead of whingeing VM doesn't work
4 more people downgrading to dialup instead of complaining that is what their speed is like, so they find out what it is really like.
5 more people downloading out of peak times to 'share the load'

[Gopher]

You pay for a contended residential service, if you want guaranteed 100% of the advertised speed 100% of the time I would recommend a business leased line. You do in fact get what you pay for.

I would be more than happy just to 12-15 Mb through the day and evening so I dont think my Request is Unreasonable.

---------- Post added at 01:05 ---------- Previous post was at 00:50 ----------

1 more people realising they share the bandwidth
2 less people who can't grasp that, whingeing about the speed they get
3 more people swapping to another provider instead of whingeing VM doesn't work
4 more people downgrading to dialup instead of complaining that is what their speed is like, so they find out what it is really like.
5 more people downloading out of peak times to 'share the load'

The Fact that Virgin's marketing Ploy and Price structure was to get more customers this has worked. But at what Cost! they have sold more bandwidth than they can Supply (FACT)

Why should I change I have been with Virgin/Ntl for 4 Years and until last October I never had speed issues. so I have every Right to complain.

Oh and having had Dial right from the days of my 1400 dial up external modem back in the early 1990's so I do know what dial up is like.

5 Your point even when Capping Heavy Down loaders you still have the problem of Torrents which is notoriously Bandwidth Hungry; In some areas they still do not have the Bandwidth to cope.

Therefore Virgin have tried and succeeded in acquiring new customers and increasing their Revenue without thinking far enough ahead to see the Consequences of their actions.

This shows Short sightedness and poor management; a question I will be asking at the next Share Holders Meeting (More Fool Me). This in turn gives me EVERY Right to complain.

[homealone]

I would be more than happy just to 12-15 Mb through the day and evening so I dont think my Request is Unreasonable.

---------- Post added at 01:05 ---------- Previous post was at 00:50 ----------



The Fact that Virgin's marketing Ploy and Price structure was to get more customers this has worked. But at what Cost! they have sold more bandwidth than they can Supply (FACT)

Why should I change I have been with Virgin/Ntl for 4 Years and until last October I never had speed issues. so I have every Right to complain.

Oh and having had Dial right from the days of my 1400 dial up external modem back in the early 1990's so I do know what dial up is like.

5 Your point even when Capping Heavy Down loaders you still have the problem of Torrents which is notoriously Bandwidth Hungry; In some areas they still do not have the Bandwidth to cope.

Therefore Virgin have tried and succeeded in acquiring new customers and increasing their Revenue without thinking far enough ahead to see the Consequences of their actions.

This shows Short sightedness and poor management; a question I will be asking at the next Share Holders Meeting (More Fool Me). This in turn gives me EVERY Right to complain.

you posted yours, I posted mine, I made no other statement....

[Joxer]

I would be more than happy just to 12-15 Mb through the day and evening so I dont think my Request is Unreasonable.

---------- Post added at 01:05 ---------- Previous post was at 00:50 ----------



The Fact that Virgin's marketing Ploy and Price structure was to get more customers this has worked. But at what Cost! they have sold more bandwidth than they can Supply (FACT)

<anecdotal evidence>
Of the people I deal with over 50% with speed issues have issues with their equipment, less than 10% of the rest will be over subscription, the rest are SNR issues. It may be that I do not get a representative portion of calls. But I doubt it.

Personally I think more oversubscription issues are caused by malware/inexperienced users than download/torrent hogs.
</anecdotal evidence>

1. Pay tech support better (pay peanuts, get monkeys).
2. Educate customers better (actually not really VM's job)
3. Be more transparent. (refer to 2).
4. Communicate better with front line staff (refer to point 1).
5. Train staff better (refer to point 1).

[|Kippa|]

I'd like Virgin Media not to keep the customers in the dark when they do new things.

[chickendippers]

They have sold more bandwidth than they can Supply (FACT)
Please show me a single residential ISP who doesn't, as bandwidth costs ISPs aprox. £147 per month per Mbps (http://community.plus.net/blog/2008/02/28/how-uk-isps-are-charged-for-broadband-the-cost-of-ipstream/).

[sniper007]

I can get mine into 7. I think a lot of the complaints are not specific to virgin as an ISP and are too generic, like paying support staff more money for example.

1: No phorm
2: Higher upload
3: An STM implementation that works
4: Clear advertising/information/rules/use policies on products/services
5: No silly retention deals singling out customers
6: More care for current customers
7: Cheaper broadband prices

I think point 7 is justified purely because ADSL has caught up so much and there are more restrictions in place now with Virgin. People say you get what you pay for so get a business line, but this argument is the complete point for Vm customers in that we pay a premium for cable in the first place and more than ADSL lines. We pay these prices for permanently fast broadband and a good service. The way VM advertised was to promise less restrictions and caps as they grew as a Broadband cable provider, and with it they have kept a lot of loyal customers that are now dissapointed with current limitations.

[broadbandking]

As for limitations I would prefer STM to a monthly cap or appilciation throttling, however now Virgin Media are bring this in I am going to be no using my BB much, cant see much point in firing up a torrent if I am going to be throttled

[xpod]

Troll feeding. Groan .

And a Merry xmas to you too.
I just thought the chances of any top 5 being implemented would be as likely as my snow and probably just as outrageous....oh well.

Move to the South Pole.

I`ve moved far enough South thank you very much.

[sniper007]

As for limitations I would prefer STM to a monthly cap or appilciation throttling, however now Virgin Media are bring this in I am going to be no using my BB much, cant see much point in firing up a torrent if I am going to be throttled

I'd also sooner see a monthly cap as well so long as it was a resonable one. In fact they could maybe reflect certain priced packages with regard to caps. They need to realise that it's 50mb is meaningless in terms of speed and that its more about how you can use it. People would rather pay 50mb prices for a truely unlimited solid 10mb/s line in some cases.

[Kursk]

And a Merry xmas to you too.
I just thought the chances of any top 5 being implemented would be as likely as my snow and probably just as outrageous....oh well.

I`ve moved far enough South thank you very much.

Ok, fair enough sorry. I just thought it was a flippant remark (and it did have that effect on some subsequent posts).

Look, if you're Scots, you're ok by me. Have a good hogmanay, the noo ;).

[Gopher]

Please show me a single residential ISP who doesn't, as bandwidth costs ISPs aprox. £147 per month per Mbps (http://community.plus.net/blog/2008/02/28/how-uk-isps-are-charged-for-broadband-the-cost-of-ipstream/).



OOPS maybe you should Post this on the NON Cable Forum as it refers to Copper not Fibre optic / Copper.

[Graham M]

OOPS maybe you should Post this on the NON Cable Forum as it refers to Copper not Fibre optic / Copper.

This site doesn't just reference Fibre Optic broadband.

[bigsinky]

I`d like more snow at Xmas.

i would like about 10 inches as well

[Kursk]

i would like about 10 inches as well

Well, just post a note to Santa and ask for the other nine and a half :D

[bigsinky]

;)

i have always found 4 inches enough, ....most girls don't like it that wide.:D

enough of this, back on topic sorry for the hijacking the thread

[xpod]

Ok, fair enough sorry. I just thought it was a flippant remark (and it did have that effect on some subsequent posts).

Look, if you're Scots, you're ok by me. Have a good hogmanay, the noo

I`ll let you off then.......fer noo;)
Hae a gid yin regardless.

i would like about 10 inches as well

As well as the snow you mean?

[General Maximus]

no, he meant he would like 10 inches of snow

[xpod]

no, he meant he would like 10 inches of snow

Have you had a few already mabey or was my bad attempt at even more toilet humour really that lost on you??

I will try and controll myself from now on,sorry.

[Kursk]

Ah it's the New Year, it's good to have a laff :) I think the top 5 is still:

1. No throttling;
2. No Phorm;
3. Faster upload;
4. Better comms;
5. Better staff training.

Interestingly, the cost of the service doesn't seem to figure that prominently. A sign perhaps that people want good internet and will pay to get it. If VM put a little work in to sorting the top 5, the returns for them are guaranteed - that's a win/win for Company and customer.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL. VM STAFF AND TECHIES AND MODS INCLUDED :)

[General Maximus]

I was joking xpod, I thought it was funny anyway :)

I agree with your top 5 Kursk and I have always had the philosophy of you get what you pay and whilst we dont all have enough money to pay for everything we want, we prioritise. Some people spend all their money on their cars, some people on clothes, I spend most of mine making sure i have got the best components for my pc.

As far as internet goes, if it is something you spend a lot of time on and enjoy it, the same applies, people don't mind paying for something as long as it is worth it and this is the problem with 50mbit, especially with the activation fee on top. As they are marketing it as a premium product which I agree with at that sort of speed, people expect unrestricted usage so whilst i half understand why they need to do application throttling/stm because the network is over capacity, I would rather pay a tiny bit more and have an unrestricted connection, even if it meant dropping the downstream to 30mbit or something.

[Kursk]

Yep, that sentiment just about sums it up General.

Don't get me wrong, I know how annoying it is when the internet goes down or the performance is poor. But all the random moaning in the World won't make it better. We've been constructive; we've come up with the top 5 irritations as identified by the customers. Over to you VM.

[xpod]

I was joking xpod, I thought it was funny anyway

Ahh...so you got me then,and that was me with nothing to drink:o:

we've come up with the top 5 irritations as identified by the customers. Over to you VM.

My personal 5 are a bit different i think.
1....Get the cable out on the pavement buried before some little git cuts it in two.It`s only been dealt with 4 times already,with people out twice just to see it then promptly pass the buck elsewhere.
2....Get our E-mail sorted so we can use the Homepage portal.That`s only been dealt with 3 times so i suppose it might take another couple yet.
3....Get rid of the "offshore" call centres,stick them all in Scotland possibly?their always good at their job up there it seems,in my experience anyway.......or at least let me get through to one to sort the Cable/Email thing out:erm:
4....Better comms(i`ll agree with this one)
5....Did i mention snow???

[ontheball]

Why cant I watch babestation sky have all the good channels

[broadbandking]

Move to Sky then lol

[xpod]

Why cant I watch babestation sky have all the good channels

Babestation?
Is`nt that what you have your internet for;)

[broadbandking]

Babestation?
Is`nt that what you have your internet for;)
No we have the internet for linux distros

[Kursk]

Move to Sky then lol

He can't move anywhere with his trousers around his ankles :rolleyes:

[nutellajunkie]

5. More training of their staff, it seems most of us here on the forum know how to read, its time the staff understood the products more!
4. Our internet should be unlimited, apart from harsh abusers/cloners.
3. Data connections between VM users should be alot higher! (internal stuff I assume is free and plentiful)
2. If upload was higher, we would have a far more pleasant on-line experience.
1. No false advertising.. unless we get fibre to the home. (how they get away with that ill never know!)

[Zhadnost]

3....Get rid of the "offshore" call centres,stick them all in Scotland possibly?their always good at their job up there it seems,in my experience anyway.......or at least let me get through to one to sort the Cable/Email thing out:erm:


Maybe they just need to improve training for Offshore Staff (sounds like they employ people who live in the north atlantic, maybe overseas would be a better description). Three spent a lot of money in updating procedures and training for their Indian Call Centres and the difference in CS quality is incredible.

[broadbandking]

Something Virgin Media won't do is spend money like that, I know for a fact they do train the Indian call centre staff on how they speak but for the actual knowledge, well that's a script and sees to be that way for a long time.

[xpod]

Maybe they just need to improve training for Offshore Staff (sounds like they employ people who live in the north atlantic, maybe overseas would be a better description). Three spent a lot of money in updating procedures and training for their Indian Call Centres and the difference in CS quality is incredible.

I can only comment on my own experiences of course(and those of a few friends & neighbours) but i`ve seen no difference in the quality,or lack of,as far as the overseas(well spotted) calls are concerned.There as bad now as they were 3 years ago when i first jumped aboard the Internet.
Half the time they can barely speak English well enough to even communicate with,let alone solve the problem....and that`s coming from a Scotsman who cannae spoke proper England at the best of times.

[General Maximus]

I just wish they would realise that they are actually throwing money away because there is no sense in employing people if they are useless and can't do anything.

[xpod]

Mabey the type of money they spend on their Uma`s & Samual`s could be better spent on more home grown help centers.

[General Maximus]

yup, Asda realised this a couple of years ago when they paid an awful lot of dosh for Sharon Obbourne and Victoria and David Beckham to do add campaigns for them. There was uproar from the staff in the company and they realised in the end that the money would be better spent investing into stronger promotional offers for customers rather than gimicks on TV and it paid off. VM might one day realise that if they invested more money into maintaining quality of service that their customer base would increase through word of mouth.

[Kursk]

Oh, I dunno I'm not so sure. IT complainants are notoriously hard to please whether they are speaking to someone from the home counties or outside the UK. My experience with VM tech support has been that they are polite and helpful.

There are cultural and historical links between the British and Indian people and it's a relationship to preserve not denigrate. They are patient with my IT ineptitude and I am patient with the fact that they are probably in the process of developing their CS skills and conversing with me in my language at the same time.

[xpod]

Oh, I dunno I'm not so sure. IT complainants are notoriously hard to please whether they are speaking to someone from the home counties or outside the UK. My experience with VM tech support has been that they are polite and helpful.

Knowing myself how difficult is to make sense of any IT problem explained over the phone by the average home user i can certainly sympathise with all the tech support people out there in that regard.

There are cultural and historical links between the British and Indian people and it's a relationship to preserve not denigrate. They are patient with my IT ineptitude and I am patient with the fact that they are probably in the process of developing their CS skills and conversing with me in my language at the same time.

I dont think VM outsource to India because of any cultural & historical connections though....cheap labour more like

[crispyfrog]

I'd like free cream cakes with mine.

[Kursk]

---I dont think VM outsource to India because of any cultural & historical connections though....cheap labour more like

I'm sure you're right. Given the circumstances though, it makes more sense to work with the arrangement rather than against it. I don't mean to get into a political discussion about the rights and wrongs of Business decisions; all I want is my line kept up and running and whoever does it, and is rewarded appropriately, then I can't complain.

I'd like free cream cakes with mine.

Good first post :rolleyes: The joke's been done before in the thread though.

[General Maximus]

I dont care what country they are from, at the end of the day they are their to provide technical support. I ring them once a year, if that, when my connection genuinely dies and doesnt come back and I ring them up and all i get is "I have run some test and they have all come back fine, it is your pc which is at fault, you must have a virus". All I want them to do is acknowledge the fault and log it if it needs logging so the dudes higher up are aware of it, or say that they are aware of it and the eta is 4 hours or that they dont even have an eta. I just need some sort of reassurance they actually know what is going on otherwise they had might as well employ a bunch of monkeys and train them to repeat the same line over and over again.

[Joxer]

Ooh, Ooh, Ooh.

[Kursk]

I dont care what country they are from, at the end of the day they are their to provide technical support. I ring them once a year, if that, when my connection genuinely dies and doesnt come back and I ring them up and all i get is "I have run some test and they have all come back fine, it is your pc which is at fault, you must have a virus". All I want them to do is acknowledge the fault and log it if it needs logging so the dudes higher up are aware of it, or say that they are aware of it and the eta is 4 hours or that they dont even have an eta. I just need some sort of reassurance they actually know what is going on otherwise they had might as well employ a bunch of monkeys and train them to repeat the same line over and over again.

You ring them once a year? Most people would regard the service you receive for the other 364 days as exceptional. And a virus is a possibility isn't it?; I know plenty of people who have never heard of AVG, PC Guard, Spybot, Defender, Ad-Aware etc and all are free.

Better staff training has been identified in the Top 5. Perhaps we should add better customer training too :)

[xocemp]

From my understanding "Customer education and self help" are on the todo list for VM.

#1Customer education and self help
#2 Better staff training, onshore and offshore.
#3 non as yet
#4 non as yet
#5 non as yet

[General Maximus]

I have always been happy to admit on other threads that the speed and reliability i get from my connection are top notch and I never hav any problems. Once a year my connection will die so i ring tech support to let them know about it and the point i was trying to make is that it is so annoying when they won't admit their is a fault their end and they just blame it on my pc. Psychologically I lose all confidence in the company because i feel like they don't know what they are doing and feel like moving to another provider that does. (and before anyone makes any sarcastic comments, the reason why i havent is because I know I cant get the speed i get from anywhere else and as I said, my connection is 100% for 99.5% of the time).

[ontheball]

My main problem is the billing and lack of confidence that they will bill me correctly if I change any part of my service. I remember when I first switched to cable modem from setop box. They started charging me twice. I phoned to say I now have broadband through modem not setop box and each month still billed. Then they said would refund on next bill of course never happened like that.

[xpod]

My main problem is the billing and lack of confidence that they will bill me correctly if I change any part of my service. I remember when I first switched to cable modem from setop box. They started charging me twice. I phoned to say I now have broadband through modem not setop box and each month still billed. Then they said would refund on next bill of course never happened like that.

We were the opposite when switching from the STB broadband to the SACM,we were never billed for the old STB account but we always still had full use of the 1Mb broadband.We obviously dont have access to it now that we`ve moved but i can still use the original old Email.
I kinda miss that 2nd connection,very handy that was with my lot.
We did have numerous other problems with that particular upgrade though and we also had many an issue with billing when we first signed up,and more recently after we moved.

I`m still happy enough overall,it is only a broadband service after all.

[Kursk]

I have always been happy to admit on other threads that the speed and reliability i get from my connection are top notch and I never hav any problems. Once a year my connection will die so i ring tech support to let them know about it and the point i was trying to make is that it is so annoying when they won't admit their is a fault their end and they just blame it on my pc. Psychologically I lose all confidence in the company because i feel like they don't know what they are doing and feel like moving to another provider that does. (and before anyone makes any sarcastic comments, the reason why i havent is because I know I cant get the speed i get from anywhere else and as I said, my connection is 100% for 99.5% of the time).

Fair enough. But fair's fair too: for 99.5% of the time your connection is good so VM tech do know how to run the network. Perhaps 'losing confidence in the Company' is a bit harsh when most of the time they are getting it right? Look, we all know it is frustrating when your connection plays up but the World ain't perfect. I still think if VM are given a chance, they sort things out pretty quickly and they are polite and patient into the bargain.

The original premise of this thread was to identify the Top 5 irritations from a customer point of view. If VM were 'allowed' a Top 5 I'm sure one would be that their customers should at least give them a chance.

Yes, I know you pay and so do I but cable is streets ahead of the competition for broadband and a better service is more attainable if the provider and customer work together imho.

[General Maximus]

you are still twisting my words. I know the tech dudes who run the newsgroups for example do a top notch job. I was specifically referring to the Indial call center people and how crap they are. Whilst VM may do a good job behind the scenes their front line people who deal with the customers needs to be trained properly and create a good impression with customers. If you walked into Asda and one of their members of staff was rude to you and didn't help you with your query and didnt know what they were talking about you wouldn't shop thre anymore and go to Tescos or something instead all because of that one person, despite the fact that Asda are great and everyone else who works there is.

[Kursk]

you are still twisting my words. I know the tech dudes who run the newsgroups for example do a top notch job. I was specifically referring to the Indial call center people and how crap they are. Whilst VM may do a good job behind the scenes their front line people who deal with the customers needs to be trained properly and create a good impression with customers. If you walked into Asda and one of their members of staff was rude to you and didn't help you with your query and didnt know what they were talking about you wouldn't shop thre anymore and go to Tescos or something instead all because of that one person, despite the fact that Asda are great and everyone else who works there is.

I'm still twisting your words? I wasn't aware of actually having twisted your words in the first place. Sorry :erm:

An exchange like this is always a good indicator of how 2 people unknown to each other can misunderstand each other. No body language, no facial expression or gesticulation; just words to go on.

Rather like, say, when you ring up a guy or girl in another Country who cannot converse as eloquently as he/she would like (because he/she is speaking to you in your first language and not necessarily his/her own) but who is nonetheless doing their level best to resolve a problem for you.

People who ring Tech Support often do so with preconceived opinion of the person they are about to speak to; sometimes they have a high opinion of their own technical ability and resent being asked to do tests that Tech has no idea whether or not have been already tried.

I have had cause to speak to Scots and Indian tech; I found both accents took a little while to acclimatise to but once I'd got the hang of it, the advice given was solid, efficient and polite. None have been rude or I agree I would have a different opinion.

I would not call call center staff crap. I think they work hard in a job that a lot of people wouldn't do.

[nutellajunkie]

was so much easier back then...

[General Maximus]

I have no problem with them being Indian, English, or anything else, I play a lot of fps and I have got some really good friends who I have been playing with across Europe for years and I am used to speaking to people with dodgy accents. I actually find it easier to understand foreign people speaking english than I do my relatives in London and Liverpool.

It is all to do with their lack of training. I can understand them absolutely fine and they can understand me. Like I said, I ring them once a year if that and it is when i have a genuine connection ptroblem and I don't need them telling me everything is ok and I must have a virus on my pc. Strangely enough the connection comes back a couple of hours later, has my pc cured itself?

[Kursk]

Possibly, if your virus checker picked up and dealt with a problem :D

To be honest General Max, if I had a connection problem once a year and after a couple of hours it was ok again, I wouldn't complain. I play fps too so latency is a big thing for you and me - I hate getting a kicking when I get lag. But I do think we're pwned by the way the internet works and that it's not just down to VM.

[General Maximus]

If i always know my connection is going to be back in 2 hours i wouldnt bother ringing them and i would happily leave them to it. I ring them to make them aware there is a fault so that they can deal with it and it is them telling me there is nothing wrong that makes me want to kill someone :)

[broadbandking]

The main problem with the tech support in India is the script as soon as it comes to a end and they havent got the problem sorted then they will just blame the PC.

[xpod]

The main problem with the tech support in India is the script as soon as it comes to a end and they havent got the problem sorted then they will just blame the PC.

I`m lucky to get passed first base with their scripts,never mind to the end:)
For somebody that never really used Windows i found it quite strange having to keep a copy installed somewhere just to call Virgin with.
Explaining that i got my Operating System of choice from their servers never quite cut it but i had fun trying.....:angel:

[Kursk]

Man, am I glad I don't work in tech support.

But if this thread is showing one thing it's that the complaints of frequency revolve around those listed below and that is the point. Rather than lots of users complaining individually, we've sort of identified where VM could concentrate and therefore make their customers happier (if that's possible :D).

1. No throttling for responsible users;
2. No Phorm. Ever;
3. Faster upload;
4. Better comms;
5. Better staff training.

None of us want a daily battle to get the service we pay for after all and what you pay for should be what you get. I'm sure VM would have more chance of delivering if it wasn't managing the volume of complaint that it is obliged to do so every day.

[Joxer]

Explaining that i got my Operating System of choice from their servers never quite cut it but i had fun trying.....

They didn't reply to my request for Mandriva mirrors, maybe I should request on the Madriva forum to have them ask...


Sorry for being off topic.

[Kursk]

Sorry for being off topic.

It's ok, the thread's run out of legs now anyway ;)

[Zhadnost]

They didn't reply to my request for Mandriva mirrors, maybe I should request on the Madriva forum to have them ask...

Sorry for being off topic.

You need to try and get an email sent to Alan Gordon. (I Don't have his address)

[Joxer]

Thank you Zhadnost, a name is very useful.