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Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?
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Old 22-10-2017, 16:39   #46
RichardCoulter
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Banana View Post
Has it ever occurred to you that we all are aware that you have a disability, so you really don't need to mention it time after time after time?
It's important for people to be aware of the full facts so that they can make an informed choice of how best to proceed. Your suggestion that every single member on this forum is aware of my difficulties is utterly ridiculous, most won't be aware and those that do, won't wish to use the forum as a vehicle of spite, harrassment, discrimination etc.

Thus far, your only contributions to this thread have had no bearing upon the salient topic being discussed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mythica View Post
You don't own the forum so there for if you mention your disability expect people to to talk about it. I'm not sure were you get off to tell people to stop talking about your disabilities while you can keep talking about them. What a strange post this is.
I have not "told" anybody what to do as I do not have the authority as an individual to do so. Upon the advice of my Disability Support Worker, I have merely asked OB to refrain from making comments that are upsetting me. Your interjection, at best, can only be described as "unhelpful".

Quote:
Originally Posted by pip08456 View Post
RiDICULOUS! You are posting on a public forum and partaking in discussion. Obviously you will get replies to your input. If you don't like the replies you get then maybe it is you who should reconsider interacting with members.

There are many on this forum who have various disabilities of many different degrees, none of them are treated any differently to any other forum member.

Perhaps if you stopped mentioning your disability this issue would go away.

Your disability has no bearing on this thread anyway.
Disability is an integral part of of me and has impacted on my thought processes, ability to express myself effectively, emotions etc.

As to regards to mentioning it, I didn't for many years over the decade that I have been a member of the forum. When I 'came Out' as disabled, that's when certain members started causing problems for me, the worst offenders were banned, have seen the error of their ways or realised that they were on a hiding to nothing.

Imagine two men arriving into the office tomorrow morning, one gay and one straight and are asked what they did over the weekend. The straight man tells his colleagues that he took his wife and kids to a theme park and the gay man says that he took his boyfriend for a meal. Is he shoving his sexuality down the throat of his co workers?

IIRC you have family with experience of working in mental health/disability services, you could ask them how brain injuries affect people??

I genuinely thought that there was a possibility that I could die over the summer (not that I'm afraid of the illusion of death, but I don't want to leave this Earth just yet!)

I'm glad that you accept that my disabilites have nothing to do with the topic under discussion

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen View Post
To be honest I put the blame on the customer for that. If you have a dd and it took you 2 years to notice it then a 50% refund is pretty fair. Some companies would only refhnd 3 or 6 months if it was not the fault of the provider.

I work in CEO complaint and customer relations so am the highest level someone can deal with before it goes to deadlock and the ombudsmen. It's your account and bank account so you should be monitoring it.
More useful insight into the other side of the coin- thanks Stephen.

It came across to me that VM were simply taking an extra Direct Debit and refusing to refund it, so I did wonder why he didn't simply take them to the small claims court?

With hindsight, it looks more likely to be the case that it's regarding an old product that he'd forgotten and no longer used.

It does seem preposterous to offer 50% back and then casually say "oh, that offer has now expired" though!

Last edited by RichardCoulter; 22-10-2017 at 17:12.
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Old 22-10-2017, 16:54   #47
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

Not at all, some offers made may be time limited or if further calls are made after an offer is rejected then a final offer may be made and if that is rejected the situation will be escalated to deadlock and it's then up to the customer to contact the ombudsmen for their investigation and final outcome, which could be more or even less then they were offered by the provider.
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Old 22-10-2017, 17:04   #48
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by Stephen View Post
Not at all, some offers made may be time limited or if further calls are made after an offer is rejected then a final offer may be made and if that is rejected the situation will be escalated to deadlock and it's then up to the customer to contact the ombudsmen for their investigation and final outcome, which could be more or even less then they were offered by the provider.
Ahhh right, I've never come across offers of resolution being time limited before; thanks for explaining.
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Old 22-10-2017, 17:10   #49
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
Imagine two men arriving into the office tomorrow morning, one gay and one straight and are asked what they did over the weekend. The straight man tells his colleagues that he took his wife and kids to a theme park and the gay man says that he took his boyfriend for a meal. Is he shoving his sexuality down the throat of his co workers?
Again RIDICULOUS! He would be answering a question.

Yes I do have family who have worked for the NHS dealing with mental health issues, still do and are very high in the profession. It was also the first job I had when I left school all those years ago so I do have at least a little experience and understanding.

I have no issues with LGBT people and have many friends in that particular community. I have no problem with anyone with a disability (and I know many) no matter what it may be. On of my best friends suffers from cerebal palsy but he appreciates I treat him no differently than anyone else.

No matter if it is by accident or design you appear to bring up your disability as a way of getting preferential treatment this does no favours to anyone else with a disability who may actually be worse off than yourself.

I suggest you sit back, read and digest my comments before replying. No-one is trying to belittle you due to your disability.
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Old 22-10-2017, 17:27   #50
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

Thats enough about LGBT and disabilities, neither has anything to do with this thread.

Move on.
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Old 22-10-2017, 18:00   #51
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by Raider999 View Post
When you sign up for a new phone with an element of paying for that phone over say 24 months it is not acceptable under any circumstances for the supplying company to continue to charge you for the purchase element of the phone after that 24 months.

The contract should be explicit on the payment terms, i.e. 24 months payments at £X pm then 25th payment onwards at £Y pm.

It is not down to the customer to police this, although it is prudent for the customer to check the correct payments have been taken, it is down to the supplying company to ensure it only takes money it is entitled to.
If you get a "free iPhone" with minimum term contract of 24 months, at month 25 and beyond if you keep paying up the same monthly price then there's one person to blame.

Every mobile contract I've ever had has been crystal clear to me.
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Old 22-10-2017, 18:16   #52
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post

I have not "told" anybody what to do as I do not have the authority as an individual to do so. Upon the advice of my Disability Support Worker, I have merely asked OB to refrain from making comments that are upsetting me. Your interjection, at best, can only be described as "unhelpful".
Utter nonsense. So you told him what to do then, it's the same thing. Your support worker has nothing to do with this forum and should be telling you to ignore people not asking them to refrain from making comments when you keep talking about it. I don't care if it's unhelpful or not, what you have typed is one of the strangest things I've read on the internet.

---------- Post added at 17:16 ---------- Previous post was at 17:06 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen View Post
To be honest I put the blame on the customer for that. If you have a dd and it took you 2 years to notice it then a 50% refund is pretty fair. Some companies would only refhnd 3 or 6 months if it was not the fault of the provider.

I work in CEO complaint and customer relations so am the highest level someone can deal with before it goes to deadlock and the ombudsmen. It's your account and bank account so you should be monitoring it.
That depends, if VM had took £8pm for something the person didn't order or want then a full refund should be offered immediately after it was found out to be VMs fault, not sure why a 50% refund would be fair if the money wasn't theirs to take.
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Old 22-10-2017, 18:53   #53
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
Since Liberty Global took over VM, i've noticed that frontline staff seem very reluctant to escalate problems that they have been unable or unwilling to resolve at first contact level.

Has anyone experienced this? I'm beginning to wonder if LG are now somehow putting pressure on their staff not to escelate problems.

Examples are, some time ago, I had to raise a formal complaint when a CS person outright refused to do so (now sorted out).

The other day I was not happy with the amount offered for a total loss of TV & BB. The person I was speaking to tried to make out that her decision was final and nobody else could/would be able to help me, even when I pointed out that I could leave due to the forthcoming price rise.

It was only when I mentioned that one of her colleagues had recently been disciplined for doing exactly what she was attempting to do that she was able to do what she previously claimed was impossible/pointless.

Maybe it's just their bruised pride or ego at the suggestion that they've somehow failed that's causing this behaviour??

This news item posted by Mick does seem to suggest that CS is deteriorating since LG took over the company:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...t-virgin-media

Edit: On all occasions that I've experienced this, the staff were based in the UK. Anyone expecting any sense from the offshore call centre is on a hiding to nothing!
Hi Richard

Just came back from a couple of days away and found your thread.

Couple of points

The terms of compensation are shown here http://store.virginmedia.com/the-leg...uidelines.html Can you let us know if you were being offered compensation based on the criteria?

Moving on to your recent experience with VM, I assume you spoke with an offshore call handler?

Did you use the threat to leave as a mechanism to "up the offer"?

Why did you feel the need to "remind" the call handler of a previous incident? was this an attempt to intimidate the call handler?

Given your previous experiences with VM why not just call retentions and avoid the hassle of speaking to an off shore call handler.

The "news" item you refer is at least 6 months old and really does not add anything extra to your post.

Cheers
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:10   #54
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by Mythica View Post
Utter nonsense. So you told him what to do then, it's the same thing. Your support worker has nothing to do with this forum and should be telling you to ignore people not asking them to refrain from making comments when you keep talking about it. I don't care if it's unhelpful or not, what you have typed is one of the strangest things I've read on the internet.
You have been told to cease talking about this and I suggest that you take heed.

---------- Post added at 17:10 ---------- Previous post was at 17:00 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by 007stuart View Post
Hi Richard

Just came back from a couple of days away and found your thread.

Couple of points

The terms of compensation are shown here http://store.virginmedia.com/the-leg...uidelines.html Can you let us know if you were being offered compensation based on the criteria?

Moving on to your recent experience with VM, I assume you spoke with an offshore call handler?

Did you use the threat to leave as a mechanism to "up the offer"?

Why did you feel the need to "remind" the call handler of a previous incident? was this an attempt to intimidate the call handler?

Given your previous experiences with VM why not just call retentions and avoid the hassle of speaking to an off shore call handler.

The "news" item you refer is at least 6 months old and really does not add anything extra to your post.

Cheers
Hi Stuart,

Terms & conditions rarely relate to the real world and if I find that any company is no longer meeting my needs or expectations, then I will sometimes remind them that other alternatives are available to me.

The call handler was repeating an incident that I had experienced by one of her colleagues in the recent past. This was especially disappointing as I'd been reassured that this incorrect behaviour would not happen again. In these circumstances, I felt it prudent to avail her of this information so that she could make an informed decision as to whether she was going to carry out my request or not. Fortunately, she changed her mind and took the correct action, so no formal complaint was actually made about her.

I quoted Mick's news item to demonstrate that what Mick had noted six months ago had shown no signs of improvement.

Last edited by RichardCoulter; 22-10-2017 at 19:13.
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:15   #55
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by jfman View Post
If you get a "free iPhone" with minimum term contract of 24 months, at month 25 and beyond if you keep paying up the same monthly price then there's one person to blame.

Every mobile contract I've ever had has been crystal clear to me.

I think you are missing my point - assuming the contract is crystal clear the supplying company should only take the amount of money it has said it would.

If it continues to take the original incorrect amount then it is clearly in the wrong as it is taking more than it said it would.

I will concede that it is prudent for the customer to check the amount taken has indeed reduced, but if they don't it doesn't make it ok (or legal) for the supplier to take more.
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:19   #56
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by Raider999 View Post
I think you are missing my point - assuming the contract is crystal clear the supplying company should only take the amount of money it has said it would.

If it continues to take the original incorrect amount then it is clearly in the wrong as it is taking more than it said it would.

I will concede that it is prudent for the customer to check the amount taken has indeed reduced, but if they don't it doesn't make it ok (or legal) for the supplier to take more.
This is an interesting scenario, especially if the customer is incapacitated in some way eg someone with dementia.
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:28   #57
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
Think you're getting posters and what they've said mixed up there Dilli.

Assuming that you meant to address the point about speaking to others with respect, obviously this should be what is aimed for.

However, as I said earlier a professional should be able to deal with all customers in a professional, non judgemental and non discriminatory way- in fact it's the law.

Why? Well, some people find it difficult to express themselves effectively for a variety of reasons.

As an example, there was a case where an autistic girl who could hardly speak was being encouraged to become more independent. She went into a shop whilst being observed by a carer and pointed to a carton and said "milk".

The shopkeeper subjected her to comments such as "try saying please and thank you", "were you dragged up" etc.

This knocked the girl back immensely and shattered her confidence and self esteem, simply because the shopkeeper was being egotistical. Thankfully, legal action was taken on her behalf to prevent him repeating his behaviour.

As you will be aware Dilli, some disabilities are invisible, especially at the other end of a telephone!

VM do have a duty to protect their staff from abuse, threats etc, but staff should never be treating customers less favourably or be being deliberately obstructive and difficult if the way that they are being spoken to meets with their displeasure.

I ensure that all new starters watch a recording that I have. It shows a rude, abrupt and angry woman arriving to check into a hotel after a bad journey. The first scenario is where the receptionist responds in the same manner. The situation escelates out of control, the management become involved and the receptionist is disciplined.

The second scenario is where the receptionist remains calm, polite and respectful. The guest eventually becomes embarrassed at her own behaviour and apologises to the receptionist, which is normal in most cases like this.

Business are in the game to sell their products, not pander to any individual employees pride or to stroke their ego.

Anyway, we're drifting off topic from the salient point of the thread.
no, I didn’t mix anything up.
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:32   #58
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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no, I didn’t mix anything up.
Then i've become confused myself!

What was the point you wanted to make Dilli?
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Old 22-10-2017, 19:33   #59
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

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Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
You have been told to cease talking about this and I suggest that you take heed.

---------- Post added at 17:10 ---------- Previous post was at 17:00 ----------



Hi Stuart,

Terms & conditions rarely relate to the real world and if I find that any company is no longer meeting my needs or expectations, then I will sometimes remind them that other alternatives are available to me.

The call handler was repeating an incident that I had experienced by one of her colleagues in the recent past. This was especially disappointing as I'd been reassured that this incorrect behaviour would not happen again. In these circumstances, I felt it prudent to avail her of this information so that she could make an informed decision as to whether she was going to carry out my request or not. Fortunately, she changed her mind and took the correct action, so no formal complaint was actually made about her.

I quoted Mick's news item to demonstrate that what Mick had noted six months ago had shown no signs of improvement.
So you carry on talking about it, great. For your information I hadn't read that far down before the reply to you. Maybe stop telling people what to do, you don't own the forum.
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Old 22-10-2017, 20:16   #60
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Re: Are VM frontline staff now discouraged from escalating customer issues?

Maybe this thread has served its purpose.
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