Ashtrays and Motorbikes
When my phone line and Internet service went down the other day - I had no choice but to contact BT's customer support service which - some readers may know - means speaking to a call centre in India.
Now I have nothing against India or Indians - quite the opposite - I am fascinated by the country and the people I have encountered are all extremely polite and eager to please.
But the problem is that this counts for nothing when your phone line isn't working - and dealing with people whose first language isn't English makes the nightmare even worse - terribly stressful and frustrating for both sides.
So after two days of banging my head against the customer services equivalent of a brick wall - I decided to take the bull by the horns - by e-mailing the BT Chairman directly - Sir Michael Rake.
Here's what I had to say to Sir Michael - and I'm delighted to say that it had the desired effect - a BT engineer came out yesterday and repaired the fault.
Sir Michael Rake
Chairman
British Telecom
By e-mail
Dear Sir Michael
BT Phone Service
I would like to ask for your assistance in restoring the phone connection to my property in Glasgow.
The line has no been working since Wednesday lunchtime and 48 hours later I am no nearer to having the service restored despite several calls to BT's customer support line.
When I have called the support line I appear to get put through to a call centre in India - the people I have dealt with so far have been very polite,but their first language is not English and they have been unable to provide me with any practical help. For example they kept calling me Mr Mark and Mr Marian - the account being in my wife's name (Marian).
In the past two days I have been cut-off twice having spent a considerable amount of time trying to get through the automated service - and I have spoken to BT staff named: Arun, Rajkala and Rajkala's manager who didn't give me his name.
The support 'service' from India is deplorable - to coin a phrase it is about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike and so far I have been told:
1 That the service would be restored within 3 days
2 That the fault would be repaired on 26 October - 6 days away at the time
3 That the fault lies at the exchange
4 That the fault lies with the server
5 That the fault can only be repaired by digging up the roads outside my property - which is patently untrue as I am sending you this e-mail from my neighbour's flat in the same building.
As you can imagine I am extremely frustrated and fed up with this terrible service and I speak as a BT customer for over 30 years.
I would like you to get someone from the UK (preferably a technical person or engineer in Glasgow) to contact me to explain what is going on and tell me when the phone line will be reconnected - in other words to treat me like a valued customer.
The present situation is hugely inconvenient and I am asking you to use the authority of your office to bring about a solution - urgently.
I can be contacted on the following mobile number - 07947 795 222.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
Now I have nothing against India or Indians - quite the opposite - I am fascinated by the country and the people I have encountered are all extremely polite and eager to please.
But the problem is that this counts for nothing when your phone line isn't working - and dealing with people whose first language isn't English makes the nightmare even worse - terribly stressful and frustrating for both sides.
So after two days of banging my head against the customer services equivalent of a brick wall - I decided to take the bull by the horns - by e-mailing the BT Chairman directly - Sir Michael Rake.
Here's what I had to say to Sir Michael - and I'm delighted to say that it had the desired effect - a BT engineer came out yesterday and repaired the fault.
Sir Michael Rake
Chairman
British Telecom
By e-mail
Dear Sir Michael
BT Phone Service
I would like to ask for your assistance in restoring the phone connection to my property in Glasgow.
The line has no been working since Wednesday lunchtime and 48 hours later I am no nearer to having the service restored despite several calls to BT's customer support line.
When I have called the support line I appear to get put through to a call centre in India - the people I have dealt with so far have been very polite,but their first language is not English and they have been unable to provide me with any practical help. For example they kept calling me Mr Mark and Mr Marian - the account being in my wife's name (Marian).
In the past two days I have been cut-off twice having spent a considerable amount of time trying to get through the automated service - and I have spoken to BT staff named: Arun, Rajkala and Rajkala's manager who didn't give me his name.
The support 'service' from India is deplorable - to coin a phrase it is about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike and so far I have been told:
1 That the service would be restored within 3 days
2 That the fault would be repaired on 26 October - 6 days away at the time
3 That the fault lies at the exchange
4 That the fault lies with the server
5 That the fault can only be repaired by digging up the roads outside my property - which is patently untrue as I am sending you this e-mail from my neighbour's flat in the same building.
As you can imagine I am extremely frustrated and fed up with this terrible service and I speak as a BT customer for over 30 years.
I would like you to get someone from the UK (preferably a technical person or engineer in Glasgow) to contact me to explain what is going on and tell me when the phone line will be reconnected - in other words to treat me like a valued customer.
The present situation is hugely inconvenient and I am asking you to use the authority of your office to bring about a solution - urgently.
I can be contacted on the following mobile number - 07947 795 222.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
