VirginMedia, reliable as ever when calling for support....

The_Pedant

I haven't had to call them for quite some time, so last night I thought it would make a refreshing change calling them to resolve a lack of internet connection).....

Call, 1, 2 & 3 : Navigate through 3 sets of menus, just to reach an unavailable/engaged tone.

Call 4: On hold 25 mins, operator starts to take my details and then cuts me off :mad:
Call 5: On hold 22 mins, operator takes all my details and comes back after a couple of minutes to inform me that I should call back in a couple of hours :mad::mad:

*sighs*
I despair. Gone are the days when I used to be able to call them after 8pm and get straight though to someone who could resolve the problem.

I would have phoned them this morning but I didn't fancy the prospect of another 20 minutes on hold, with an uncertain outcome, all before I head off to work!

I just needed to vent a little.... :rolleyes:

MellyB_2

We've had this problem before when we've tried to contact them.
For some reason they told us that they can only keep people on the line for 25 or 30 minutes?!

If the problem hasn't been resolved then they cut you off! Ridiculous.

geordieracer

Strange that as i have never had problems getting through to them and problems resovled - mind oyu its normally the same issue with kids knacking something down the end of the street as theres always a virgin van around.

hoyles10

I dread any time I need to phone Virgin media to the point where we have a small fault on our V+ Box which means we have to turn it off after we've watched something to be able to watch something else, but I just put up with it than have to attempt to speak to anyone there.

Pound

MellyB wrote: »

We've had this problem before when we've tried to contact them.
For some reason they told us that they can only keep people on the line for 25 or 30 minutes?!

If the problem hasn't been resolved then they cut you off! Ridiculous.

What often happens in call centres is senior management set targets for call lengths. In theory this puts pressure on staff and their line managers to improve efficiency by reducing call length and saving the company money.

But what often happens in practice is things like the above where calls are just cut off even if the issue isn't resolved or the agent will avoid resolving an issue if they know it will add to the length of the call. One call centre I called helped me with an enquiry, then when I asked them a second question they told me I was only allowed to ask one question per call and I had to hang up and call again if I wanted to ask another question!

Of course it looks good on paper that calls are below targets but it results in dreadful customer service and even decreases efficiency as customers have to make repeat calls about the same issue.

littlearfer

Fully with you all on this - have been on hold (with the same three songs repeating over and over) for over 45 minutes before I gave up.

At least it's free - it'd add insult to injury if they charged!

The_Pedant

Rang up again tonight (still no connection)
Got an extra set of menus which threw me, so I'm guessing the UK were still answering. Then get a message saying that "all operators are busy which means you could be kept on hold for 20 minutes", followed by a short pause, ... and then ... yup an engaged style tone and automatic cut-off.

I've chopped out the last 10m or so of cable by relocating the modem to a secondary connection point (for the TV before I got Sky) and ran a network cable around the house. Still not a great connection ... but it's a connection at least....:rolleyes:

Helix

Are you using 150 or 151. I never have a problem with using those two numbers, always get through straight away or a couple of mins on hold at the most. Miles better than in the NTL days.

Where I get problems is when trying to call other numbers for them like 0800 or 0845 numbers which you sometimes need to do when calling other teams. Like I placed an order online and they asked me to call the web sales team to sort something out, then I got placed on hold for about 30 mins but on the plus side it was a UK call centre when I did finally get through.

pir

150 and 151 still have 10-15 minutes waiting times for me.

NTHell days were much better with respect to customer support.

I would always check out ntlhellworld if I have a problem. Glad to see it's back online. I would check there about problems before phoning up.

My worst virgin media experience was 6 calls in one day to register a new modem all with an approx 10 min wait time.

Good luck.

Esqui

Virgin applied my discount twice this month, so get the thumbs up from me currently!