Contacting Companies

[PHILIPE]

Due to the current crisis, this seems to more of a Catch 22 situation. Due to COVID-19 more reasons are cropping up for people requiring to contact various Companies via their Call Centres for queries or advice. However, at this time when they are most needed, contact is more difficult due to the volume of calls that are being made with automated messages often stating that there will be long waits to speak to an advisor or, even in some instances have had to stop taking calls at all. Things can be more difficult due to less facilities now to be able to contact by E-Mail. (Suggested to make it difficult to complaint)`

 

[yorkie]

Things can be more difficult due to less facilities now to be able to contact by E-Mail. (Suggested to make it difficult to complaint)`

I don't understand what you mean by this

 

[Busaholic]

I don't understand what you mean by this

I think he means that many companies that deal with selling products or services to the general public have decided to stop advertising a general email address, assuming they had one in the first place.

 

[PHILIPE]

I think he means that many companies that deal with selling products or services to the general public have decided to stop advertising a general email address, assuming they had one in the first place.

Correct

 

[Domh245]

The one that's irritating me no end is logging into the Santander app on my phone - it tells me that they're experiencing high volumes of calls and that I should use the chat function within the app. Slightly ironic but I could deal with it apart from the fact that it shows every time I log in - you only need to show it once, especially when you're encouraging people to use the app anyway!

 

[PG]

I'm probably going to get shot down for this one - how about the somewhat old fashioned art of letter writing?

 

[johnnychips]

No you aren’t. This is the only way I can tell Scottish Power and other bodies I have moved. I naively thought that you would be able to do it on the Internet. I manage to change the address for tax on the government website, after a Spanish Inquisition of passport, NI number, mother’s maiden name and thought that this info would be shared. Then I got a redirection letter about my car tax and had to do the same with DVLA.

 

[DarloRich]

Are call centre operatives immune to this virus? Are their families?

As suggested a above write them a letter. I always find that gets a better response and cost the company causing you trouble money

 

[Busaholic]

Are call centre operatives immune to this virus? Are their families?

As suggested a above write them a letter. I always find that gets a better response and cost the company causing you trouble money

They probably have a rarity value too, and are not so easily overlooked. The replies you get are usually more carefully worded, on an individual basis, and tend not to contain absolute porkies, unlike phone responses. At least in the first instance, don't disclose you have an email address, unless of course you're writing to your internet provider! You can sometimes even get a direct letter from someone high up in the organisation, even if you didn't direct your letter to them. As soon as I got such a letter from someone at Barclaycard, I knew my hassles with them would get sorted for once and all, which proved true.

 

[LCC106]

The one that's irritating me no end is logging into the Santander app on my phone... Slightly ironic but I could deal with it apart from the fact that it shows every time I log in - you only need to show it once, especially when you're encouraging people to use the app anyway!

Been logging onto it on my iPad and there was a tick to acknowledge box a few days ago. Tried logging in today and went straight to my accounts page.

 

[hooverboy]

I don't understand what you mean by this

presumably things like call centres where it is manned by large numbers of people at desks are operating with reduced manning to keep social distancing,or being done remotely.If done from a home location the internet and PC speeds will be lower than an enterprise based server and corporate broadband direct LAN connection

 

[Hadders]

presumably things like call centres where it is manned by large numbers of people at desks are operating with reduced manning to keep social distancing,or being done remotely.If done from a home location the internet and PC speeds will be lower than an enterprise based server and corporate broadband direct LAN connection

Plus call volume through the roof at the same time as fewer staff available to answer them due to higher absence levels.....

 

[Fawkes Cat]

As suggested a above write them a letter. I always find that gets a better response and cost the company causing you trouble money

No. Please don't. Please use email if you possibly can (and I acknowledge the difficulties with this noted upthread).

I'm one of the people this post might be meant for. But I'm in my bedroom in Bootle, and the post is in the office in Manchester. Someone is going to have to go into the office to scan the post so that I can read it - and whether that someone is me or a colleague, I don't want to generate more trips out of the house than absolutely necessary.

Rather than clogging up post rooms, why not document which organisations have particularly unhelpful websites / apps for discouraging e-communication, and take it up with your media outlet of choice? With everyone stuck at home, this is the sort of customer dissatisfaction story they would love, and a stroppy article in the Guardian/Daily Mail/whatever will have far more impact than a paper letter from you.

And you won't have to go out to the post box either.

 

[DarloRich]

No. Please don't. Please use email if you possibly can (and I acknowledge the difficulties with this noted upthread).

I'm one of the people this post might be meant for. But I'm in my bedroom in Bootle, and the post is in the office in Manchester. Someone is going to have to go into the office to scan the post so that I can read it - and whether that someone is me or a colleague, I don't want to generate more trips out of the house than absolutely necessary.

Rather than clogging up post rooms, why not document which organisations have particularly unhelpful websites / apps for discouraging e-communication, and take it up with your media outlet of choice? With everyone stuck at home, this is the sort of customer dissatisfaction story they would love, and a stroppy article in the Guardian/Daily Mail/whatever will have far more impact than a paper letter from you.

And you won't have to go out to the post box either.

I am talking about generally. Not much to complain about right now other than the government!

Despite that, how about you (as in large companies) repond to emails in the same manner you do as letters? I find email responses formulaic, written by the most junior underling, often miss the point, are designed to dimiss your comments out of hand and are often rude. Email response is all about churn and targets not dealing with issues.

Also it is much easier for big companies not to receive emails when you start to complain. Amazing how often that happens. Absolutely amazing.

Anything important goes in writing and will continue to do so. I also insist upon a response in writing. In normal times I urge everyone to do the same.

That said I dont expect a response on the usual sla at present so no need to go to the post room. Sort it out when you are back.

Also the media dont give a stuff.

 

[PHILIPE]

Plus call volume through the roof at the same time as fewer staff available to answer them due to higher absence levels.....

Some companies I have had to try and contact have said as much in their recorded message,

 

[Mojo]

presumably things like call centres where it is manned by large numbers of people at desks are operating with reduced manning to keep social distancing,or being done remotely.If done from a home location the internet and PC speeds will be lower than an enterprise based server and corporate broadband direct LAN connection

It seems that most companies are not set up for this and hence have requested emails, instant chat on their website, or Social media. I don't know if this is for data protection reasons, or if the technology is not just cut out for call centre operatives in many businesses to work from home (or if this would involve a costly technological solution which firms are unwilling to pay for).

I usually prefer to call, as often end up disappointed when I email a company as they usually don't give a correct answer in response to the point I'm trying to make. Instant chat is a usually happy medium as I can respond immediately without going to the bottom of the queue as would do with Email or an online contact form.

 

[northernchris]

It seems that most companies are not set up for this and hence have requested emails, instant chat on their website, or Social media. I don't know if this is for data protection reasons, or if the technology is not just cut out for call centre operatives in many businesses to work from home (or if this would involve a costly technological solution which firms are unwilling to pay for).

I usually prefer to call, as often end up disappointed when I email a company as they usually don't give a correct answer in response to the point I'm trying to make. Instant chat is a usually happy medium as I can respond immediately without going to the bottom of the queue as would do with Email or an online contact form.

In my job part of the role involves answering the phone and responding to emails amongst many other things. We've turned the phoneline off and left an automated response on asking people to email instead as the entire team are now working from home. Ironically, a new phone system was going through testing which would have allowed for external calls to have come through to your personal mobile, but the scheme was paused due to the virus!

The contact centre teams are still site based, but to enable social distancing the teams are now spread out across 5 sites rather than 2 as the company has some disaster recovery sites which have been brought in to use. I know of at least one organisation whose customer service team are working from home, so it is possible from a data protection perspective, but will undoubtedly affect the service which can be offered

 

[maniacmartin]

I've just bought a new house, and many of the incumbent utility providers have proved impossible to contact by phone, and don't advertise an email address. As such, I've submitted my opening meter readings etc all by letter.

Sorry Fawkes Cat, but if companies don't want us clogging up their post rooms, then they need to advertise an email address.

 

[Busaholic]

Sorry Fawkes Cat, but if companies don't want us clogging up their post rooms, then they need to advertise an email address.

And to at least acknowledge receiving your email, otherwise it can all be denied later, whereas a Recorded Delivery letter will at least provide some evidence, possibly enough to satisfy a regulator or even a County Court judge if push comes to shove - you might gather I've got previous on this!

 

[Adam Williams]

I really don't understand why in 2020 companies aren't using VoIP/SIP based calling systems. There's no technical reason why this work can't be done remotely (even my crappy ADSL upload can do voice), it just seems to come down to companies not investing in the technology again and again.

Which doesn't make much sense to me from a business perspective. The rent, utilities and business rates on the call centre can't be insignificant.

 

[DarloRich]

It seems that most companies are not set up for this and hence have requested emails, instant chat on their website, or Social media. I don't know if this is for data protection reasons, or if the technology is not just cut out for call centre operatives in many businesses to work from home (or if this would involve a costly technological solution which firms are unwilling to pay for).

I know of at least one organisation whose customer service team are working from home, so it is possible from a data protection perspective, but will undoubtedly affect the service which can be offered

I know of one large company doing home working for their customer service call centre people. It has taken a long time to get it arranged mind due to all kinds of technology/hardware and software issues.

 

[Adam Williams]

I know of one large company doing home working for their customer service call centre people. It has taken a long time to get it arranged mind due to all kinds of technology/hardware and software issues.

Out of interest, is that because they had to scramble to try and put it in place quickly, or was it something that the company had supported for longer (but perhaps started struggling to work due to demand)?

 

[DarloRich]

Out of interest, is that because they had to scramble to try and put it in place quickly, or was it something that the company had supported for longer (but perhaps started struggling to work due to demand)?

The former. The first issue they had was in getting enough laptops and then getting software loaded and commissioned, then security, then testing, then getting workstations, then procedures, then legals, then persuading the people!

It seems their business continuity was based on alternative/back up locations rather than not being able to leave your house! The people they are asking to work from home were never considered as ever having to do that!

 

[Bantamzen]

I really don't understand why in 2020 companies aren't using VoIP/SIP based calling systems. There's no technical reason why this work can't be done remotely (even my crappy ADSL upload can do voice), it just seems to come down to companies not investing in the technology again and again.

Which doesn't make much sense to me from a business perspective. The rent, utilities and business rates on the call centre can't be insignificant.

Technically it can be done of course, however asides from the remote set-ups a lot of organisations have had to throw together in no time at all, there is also the issue of actually taking calls from home. Working on purely electronic pieces of work outside of the office is one thing, but taking calls & possibly dealing with sensitive information when other family members are in earshot may not be preferable. Even just the aesthetics of working at home with the kids mucking about behind you may not be suitable for many kinds of telephony work.

 

[Mojo]

I really don't understand why in 2020 companies aren't using VoIP/SIP based calling systems. There's no technical reason why this work can't be done remotely (even my crappy ADSL upload can do voice), it just seems to come down to companies not investing in the technology again and again.

Which doesn't make much sense to me from a business perspective. The rent, utilities and business rates on the call centre can't be insignificant.

I’m thinking of a major bank insurance department I used to work for (my first job), who used a proprietary computer system, all with text commands, and only set up to be accessible in the building. It was so old we had to manually type in the name and address of customers on the top of template letters (no Mail merge!) So it could be their systems are not accessible externally rather than lack of call taking tech.

 

[Adam Williams]

I’m thinking of a major bank insurance department I used to work for (my first job), who used a proprietary computer system, all with text commands, and only set up to be accessible in the building. It was so old we had to manually type in the name and address of customers on the top of template letters (no Mail merge!) So it could be their systems are not accessible externally rather than lack of call taking tech.

Mmm, this definitely wouldn't surprise me (and why is it always so often financial companies!). At the university I do a lot of work for, there are still a few systems that have been .. more trouble than others to use remotely.

If executives have any sense, I think we'll start to see procurement frameworks clamp down on this over time now, as they have (rightly) done with information security, but it'll take some time to actually result in any change.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I'm probably going to get shot down for this one - how about the somewhat old fashioned art of letter writing?

A lot (most?) contact centres are now home-working. Letters will be going to the office with no one there. It’ll be a slow response.
Even at best, letters are a slower response. As there are so few they aren’t usually recorded or put into the statistics, so you can usually put what you want in a letter (promise the customer the earth, tell them what they want to hear) as no one monitors letters, but phone calls are recorded and listened to and emails are read to check responses are correct.

Many contact centre staff are either on minimum wage (minimum wage equals minimum attitude) or on performance pay, which is often excellent money, but you have to hit targets, not just volume but quality.
We, for example, when on emails, had to answer at least 25 emails an hour, of which a random 33% were checked. These had to score at least 98% on quality checks when monitored. We were also not allowed more than two further emails back from the customer in the chain, as this meant we hadn’t answered the original points if they came back to us.

On phone lines, we had to have an AHT (average handling time) below 3 and a half minutes. So if one call took four minutes, another one needed to be three! Again at least 33% monitored, and a quality score of at least 98%.

When short staffed (or busy), phones are the first thing to go. Live chat is faster as we each had upto five chats live at any one time, you can only be on one phone call at a time!
It is possible to work from home on the phones, but much easier to do emails and live chat only. Hence why phone lines have either long queues or are currently closed.

You always, of course, get people who insist on speaking to a manager as if this will get them something else. All it gets them is an annoyed manager of course. This is much more of an issue when home working, you can’t stroll over to the mangers desk and ask them. You can forward them an email, or screenshot and message a live chat.

 

[Busaholic]

A lot (most?) contact centres are now home-working. Letters will be going to the office with no one there. It’ll be a slow response.
Even at best, letters are a slower response. As there are so few they aren’t usually recorded or put into the statistics, so you can usually put what you want in a letter (promise the customer the earth, tell them what they want to hear) as no one monitors letters, but phone calls are recorded and listened to and emails are read to check responses are correct.

Many contact centre staff are either on minimum wage (minimum wage equals minimum attitude) or on performance pay, which is often excellent money, but you have to hit targets, not just volume but quality.
We, for example, when on emails, had to answer at least 25 emails an hour, of which a random 33% were checked. These had to score at least 98% on quality checks when monitored. We were also not allowed more than two further emails back from the customer in the chain, as this meant we hadn’t answered the original points if they came back to us.

On phone lines, we had to have an AHT (average handling time) below 3 and a half minutes. So if one call took four minutes, another one needed to be three! Again at least 33% monitored, and a quality score of at least 98%.

When short staffed (or busy), phones are the first thing to go. Live chat is faster as we each had upto five chats live at any one time, you can only be on one phone call at a time!
It is possible to work from home on the phones, but much easier to do emails and live chat only. Hence why phone lines have either long queues or are currently closed.

You always, of course, get people who insist on speaking to a manager as if this will get them something else. All it gets them is an annoyed manager of course. This is much more of an issue when home working, you can’t stroll over to the mangers desk and ask them. You can forward them an email, or screenshot and message a live chat.

You say that ''you can usually put what you want in a letter'' because it's not monitored. The customer with a bit of nous who's received one of these letters ''promising the earth'' is then in a very good position should the promises fail to materialise, assuming they hang on to the letter. My hanging on to old letters has saved me hundreds of pounds in bills over the years, caused British Gas to abandon a ludicrous County Court action against me with a letter of unreserved apology and a 'goodwill' cheque for their proven insolence!

Personally, my arguing abilities on the phone are constrained by my natural good naturedness and general politeness! I hate to lose my temper, particularly with strangers whom I can't even see. In a letter, I can refine it to make sure I make all the points I wish to make,firmly but without emotion, make it clear I'm neither a halfwit nor a chancer, won't be browbeaten and just wish to sort the matter out, whatever it is.

 

[GusB]

A lot (most?) contact centres are now home-working. Letters will be going to the office with no one there. It’ll be a slow response.
Even at best, letters are a slower response. As there are so few they aren’t usually recorded or put into the statistics, so you can usually put what you want in a letter (promise the customer the earth, tell them what they want to hear) as no one monitors letters, but phone calls are recorded and listened to and emails are read to check responses are correct.

I'm not quite sure that it's true that no-one monitors letters. I've worked in call-centre environments for the last 20 years, and most large companies have a mail room that scans documents and uploads them onto the relevant system. I would agree that it can take a bit longer with physical correspondence, but that's purely due to the nature of the postal system and the workload of those in said mail room. In my last situation (complaint handler for one of the big six energy companies) outgoing responses were composed on web forms, then printed centrally before posting. Everything was recorded on the complaint log.

Personally, my arguing abilities on the phone are constrained by my natural good naturedness and general politeness! I hate to lose my temper, particularly with strangers whom I can't even see. In a letter, I can refine it to make sure I make all the points I wish to make,firmly but without emotion, make it clear I'm neither a halfwit nor a chancer, won't be browbeaten and just wish to sort the matter out, whatever it is.

There is a lot to be said for non-voice communication in these situations. The person at the receiving end is able to digest the facts without the emotions, and they can spend more time dealing with the actual issue rather than having to calm someone down first and then address the problem. There's nothing worse than trying to get to the bottom of a problem with a customer giving you earache at the same time.

 

[ainsworth74]

Personally, my arguing abilities on the phone are constrained by my natural good naturedness and general politeness! I hate to lose my temper, particularly with strangers whom I can't even see. In a letter, I can refine it to make sure I make all the points I wish to make,firmly but without emotion, make it clear I'm neither a halfwit nor a chancer, won't be browbeaten and just wish to sort the matter out, whatever it is.

Yes I have to say that I'm far better in writing them I am on the phone when it comes to arguing the toss on issues. I remember I had an issue with EE and a broadband dongle which I'd gotten back in T-Mobile days. I bought a top up for it which ended up be wasted money (by memory it was supposed to be x number of days usage in y period but treated it as just one days usage) so wrote an email complaining asking for my money back. Got a very friendly phone call apologising but saying it was my error not theirs and so there wouldn't be a refund which I just went along with as I didn't have all the facts in front of me and I'm fairly good natured and polite. After the call I went back to look and confirmed that actually I was right and they were wrong so I sent another message restating my position and including some screenshots of what options I had. This triggered another call from the same bloke this time apologising again but explaining that the system I was using had been retired and he was stunned it still worked at all. He refunded the amount I'd be charged extra (I think he even chucked in a small extra payment as goodwill gesture) and advised that I get a new device as they simply didn't support that type anymore.

So written communication all the way for me I have to say!