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View Full Version : When is a customer not an asset?


nrt
06-05-2011, 23:33
Hi,

I am new here, so I will try to keep this brief, especially as it looks very likely that I will not be able to benefit from cable based services, despite the fact that I have signed a contract for these and have sat at home on three occasions waiting for said services to be installed!

Exactly one month ago I signed an agreement to get broadband, TV and phone services installed at the home I was moving to. All the houses around have Virgin cable, there is a Virgin big green box about 20 feet from my front door, but there was clearly an issue - the website said I couldn't have the service, the salesman said I could...

I signed the deal and got an installation date, between 1pm and 5pm two weeks later.

At 4:30 I phoned - "Errr; where are you?"

The reply, "Oh sorry we pushed your installation back a few weeks..."

My response, "But I'm phoning you, who was going to tell me that I was wasting my time sitting here waiting?"

The response, "Oh, someone just manually updated the installation date - we only found out when you phoned..."

Expletives deleted....

When I calmed down - "OK, so when are you going to do the installations?"

"In about another 2-3 weeks..."

My relpy, "But I have no phone, no TV and no internet access, are you really saying that you think it's OK to leave me like this for another few weeks!!!"

"Well we might get a cancellation...."

So then I accept that I can't get a better service quicker and have to wait. I went into the local Virgin shop and the good people there fixed me up with a 3G dongle, which they agreed to cover the cost of...

But now, guess what? Despite coming out and doing a survey, despite pushing the installation date back again, today came the final blow.

A man in a white van pulled up, sat around outside for a few minutes, then dropped a note through my door to say that Virgin cannot offer a single service to me at this address. I had a conversation with him and his manager. I spoke to customer service, sales, installation, I was promised a call back from the area manager...

Basically - I have nothing to show for the month but a free 3g dongle that I didn't want. I have been mislead, lied to and generally jerked around because - it seems to me - Virgin would rather screw every penny they can from the existing infrastructure, than spend any money on exending that infrastructure, even a few feet. They are obviously incentivising their sales force in ways that encourages them to lie about what can be done and are not able to deliver the control and managemnt necessary to ensure that customers are dealt with properly, when this policy blows up in situations like this.

Did I miss anything?

Oh yes - I recall the words of a song - "Like a Virgin F@$ked for the very last time"

So when is a customer not an asset - right now - I know that I will calm down but this really stinks - you can fly round the edge of space in a balloon or dive down to the deep sea in a super-sub all you like Mr B - but unless or until you get a grip on things like this you don't get a penny more spending money from me!

nrt
12-05-2011, 11:10
When is a customer not a customer....


No further contact from VM - No prospect of a decent internet service from them or anyone else - No choice but to go to BT.

As I said; I would not be a member around here for very long - but I was an NTL then Virgin customer for years and recomended them highly to everyone...

Peter_
12-05-2011, 11:19
Mr Branson does not own Virginmedia as the name is only leased from his company nothing more.

Good luck with your new provider anyway.

nrt
12-05-2011, 11:29
Thanks for your good wishes.

It has been a very long time since I had any dealings with BT, but as the infrastructure is here it should be painless to get connected and they as least will actually sort out any problems if the connections are not working for some reason. Going back to 1.5M will be joyful - like old times!

Whatever Mr B is getting for the use of the name would not be enough if my name were associated with this sort of incident - and I note that there are others of a similar hue.

N

Peter_
12-05-2011, 14:37
Thanks for your good wishes.

It has been a very long time since I had any dealings with BT, but as the infrastructure is here it should be painless to get connected and they as least will actually sort out any problems if the connections are not working for some reason. Going back to 1.5M will be joyful - like old times!

Whatever Mr B is getting for the use of the name would not be enough if my name were associated with this sort of incident - and I note that there are others of a similar hue.

N
If you read this why not keep us updated when you get your new service as I expect others will be interested to read about it.:)

nrt
12-05-2011, 18:57
Yes, I'll give you the low-down on BT - they really can't be any worse. VM seem to have totally lost the plot - they sent me a letter with a 'new' install date today! Whooopee! except I called them to find out if they really can install the services after all - first the said they had not sent the letter - then they said "are you sure you wouldn't rather go with BT" - "what for 1.5M broadband" I said - so then they said "Well, no we can't actually install the services."

The letter is dated after the last visit, so they knew that when they sent the letter - "So why send it?" - No answer....

I still think this is a sales scam to get commission on services that the salesman sells knowing they can't deliver, relying in the total lack of management to spin out the process until he gets paid - but that may be juswt my synical side?

Perhaps they really are just useless.

Peter_
12-05-2011, 21:53
Yes, I'll give you the low-down on BT - they really can't be any worse. VM seem to have totally lost the plot - they sent me a letter with a 'new' install date today! Whooopee! except I called them to find out if they really can install the services after all - first the said they had not sent the letter - then they said "are you sure you wouldn't rather go with BT" - "what for 1.5M broadband" I said - so then they said "Well, no we can't actually install the services."

The letter is dated after the last visit, so they knew that when they sent the letter - "So why send it?" - No answer....

I still think this is a sales scam to get commission on services that the salesman sells knowing they can't deliver, relying in the total lack of management to spin out the process until he gets paid - but that may be juswt my synical side?

Perhaps they really are just useless.
I can see your point above.

But I mean once you are installed as it gives other people reading such posts an idea of how another ISP works as not every customer experience is the same.

nrt
12-05-2011, 22:26
Well, I should live on the 19th - let's see....

Peter_
12-05-2011, 23:09
Well, I should live on the 19th - let's see....
Nice one enjoy and do post back.:)

asbo dog
31-05-2011, 15:18
the installation team that did mine couldn't find me due to are row of houses being set away from the actual postal address road and placed on another postal road but not under that roads name, blame the council for such a stupid system.

any way once i flagged em down in the street they said they thought they had yet another bogus sale, and went on to say alot of sales folk are putting through address that are not even there or addresses that haven't even ordered from them.

shocking behaviour and just as bad as the travelling talk talk sales men that lie about stuff like saying we are the only fttc providers here and when asked who there provider was and replying plusnet they went on to say they had taken over them hahaha. they told plusnet this and believe they gave them a good slap for that.

its all about sales with vm and they don't seem bothered about the state of there network and seem not to know how important latency an loss are, and only do the minimum when folk complain of bandwidth faults.

@op
is FTTC not in your area, adsl here is 1.7mb and last qoute for fttc was 16mb but maybe more as when first launched they gave under est out on the checker to play it safe

Digital Fanatic
31-05-2011, 17:32
the installation team that did mine couldn't find me due to are row of houses being set away from the actual postal address road and placed on another postal road but not under that roads name, blame the council for such a stupid system.

any way once i flagged em down in the street they said they thought they had yet another bogus sale, and went on to say alot of sales folk are putting through address that are not even there or addresses that haven't even ordered from them.

shocking behaviour and just as bad as the travelling talk talk sales men that lie about stuff like saying we are the only fttc providers here and when asked who there provider was and replying plusnet they went on to say they had taken over them hahaha. they told plusnet this and believe they gave them a good slap for that.

its all about sales with vm and they don't seem bothered about the state of there network and seem not to know how important latency an loss are, and only do the minimum when folk complain of bandwidth faults.

@op
is FTTC not in your area, adsl here is 1.7mb and last qoute for fttc was 16mb but maybe more as when first launched they gave under est out on the checker to play it safe

That's not true, VM are always upgrading the network, in fact we are in the middle 0f upgrading every single cabinet on our network as we speak.

craigj2k12
02-06-2011, 02:49
That's not true, VM are always upgrading the network, in fact we are in the middle 0f upgrading every single cabinet on our network as we speak.

not for improved latency though, only so VM can offer 100mb down and the improved upload