Poor Customer Service (split from 3 mobile - fun and games)

[StevieG]

What an absolute disgraceful showing.

Perhaps we ought to have a section on this site where we detail all our personal instances of bad customer care?

Thinking of composing a book re the the overall inefficency of the businness world that I have encountered recently and ongoing correspondence/phone calls/emails.
The list of :clowns is endless:-
BT
Scottish Power
Talk Talk
National Westminster Bank
and Uncle Tom Cobbly & all
With you all on this one but will it stop the relentless pursuance of the public privacy

[rebbonk]

Talk talk are a damned nuisance. I get several calls a week from them, despite my telling them I'm not interested.

LLoyds TSB are useless, I never queue for less than 20 minutes and they have only 2/3 out of 6 teller positions open.

[StevieG]

Tom, re TalkTalk unsolicited phone calls
BT operate a Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which you can register Free of Charge if you do not want to receive unsolicited direct marketing calls:-
Tele:- 0845-07-007-07, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and believe me, it works as they put a blocker on the phone number/s you quote &" Cold Call Marketing"
which is illegal,so I am informed, is stopped.
The other alternative Tom, is to lift the receiver & when the party ie Talk Talk announces who they are, put the receiver down and leave the caller talking to themselves

[martin]

Knocking poor customer service is a national past time. But, you shouldn't ignore examples of good service. Even in large organisation like BT, TalkTalk, British Gas, etc much too little credit is given to individual people or teams who strive every day to do the best they can for their customers, often against appalling odds. Staff with abysmal communication or customer service skills often just couldn't care less but those with a positive approach to customers need all the motivation they can get.

[pollyanna]

Knocking poor customer service is a national past time. But, you shouldn't ignore examples of good service. Even in large organisation like BT, TalkTalk, British Gas, etc much too little credit is given to individual people or teams who strive every day to do the best they can for their customers, often against appalling odds. Staff with abysmal communication or customer service skills often just couldn't care less but those with a positive approach to customers need all the motivation they can get.

That's a very good point Martin. There's good and bad customer service in most organisations - but bad customer service always leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
A friend of mine has just lost her husband - she contacted TalkTalk to get the account put in her name after explaining her husband had died - and they refused to help unless they could speak to the account holder. Despite explaining to them several times that he was dead - they still refused to help. She cancelled her contract needless to say.

[dutchman]

Before my housekeeper died all the utility bills were in her name even though I was the one who paid them direct from my own bank account. After she died I telephoned all the utility companies to have the accounts transferred to my name. Every one of them was only too happy to oblige except for Severn-Trent who demanded (and still demand) that I make a journey to Sandy Lane with my housekeeper's death certificate before they would transfer the account to my name!

[rebbonk]

We accept poor service as the norm. I don't see other nations accepting what passes for customer service as we do. (I used to teach the subject to various organisations).

As regards talktalk, I made a formal complaint to TPS about their antics. I have heard nothing from them since. I think it disgusting that I had to involve a third party and the threat of legal action to get them to leave me alone.

[StevieG]

Rebbonk, we should not have to accept poor customer service as a lot of people think & if I do not get a good service from a store or whatever, I go elsewhere
I had an issue with NatWest some time ago & a jumped up employee tried to ride all over me, to the point she threatened to have me removed from the bank so I sent a report to the Customer Services & received a personal phone call from the Branch Manager trying to kowtow for her actions but told her politely to stuff the bank up her and closed the account & moved elsewhere so I cannot see why people have to accept poor service as it appears the norm these days

[rebbonk]

... I go elsewhere

And that is the power of the customer. If more of us did this, these organisations would sharpen up their acts.

Unfortunately, many people think that their little "protest" won't matter. - It does if enough "little" protests occur.

[dutchman]

I once closed an acoount with Abbey National in protest at the poor service and moved my money to the National & Provincial. Abbey then took over the National & Provincial, closed the branch I'd left and put the same manager in charge. I was right back where I started.

I also know people who've moved their ISP account from one of the big, impersonal conglomerates to a smaller, more customer oriented organisation only to have it taken over by the same ISP they left in the first place!