I worked for a BT reseller until recently and dealt with a few complaints. The best way to complain is via the Chairmans Office, you should be able to find the detail on the BT.com site somewhere - it is actually reffered to as the "Chairmans Office". Good luck!
bt reach a new low (RE: mac codes)
- Thread starter marc2003
- Start date
marc2003 said:
Classic call centre trick there.
Mess around with the line, go on mute, off mute on hold etc until the customer thinks theres something up or the advisor is messing round.... call up to complain and the call records show you hung up, no recourse for the agent.
Text book.
My mates always ask me why I don't go on BT broadband and why I'm paying over the odds for Eclipse. This highlights the reason why. I've had one single problem which was caused by BT doing some work at the Exchange, and Eclipse were absolutely grand with their support. No long queue's, no people that can't speak English, just good customer support. Plus it's also funny when I hear them muttering "BT you clowns" and then come to me and say "oops, did I say that out loud?" 
I'm also 90% sure that I download more the 50GB during peak hours and I've not had one e-mail telling me off.
I'm also 90% sure that I download more the 50GB during peak hours and I've not had one e-mail telling me off.
kibblerok said:
well i've worked in a call centre myself and i would never contemplate such a thing. yes it can be stressful dealing with irate customers and repetitive calls on 12 hour shifts.... but i'd never speak down or lie to a customer. there were even times where i was out of my depth and couldn't answer their query so i would apologise to the customer, put them on hold and get someone who could handle the call. nothing wrong with that......
but to spit out complete lies like she did even though i was quoting the bt website back at her...... well that is something else entirely......
I just moved to ADSL24. Just logged in to my BT Account to find the number to cancel it and it says 'thank you for changing package blah blah blah'. I never changed package, they better not start saying I have started a new contract.
I am currently on hold.... coming up for 20 mins.
I am currently on hold.... coming up for 20 mins.
Quite a bit of this sort of thing happening across a range of ISP's. Ofcom need to get off their lazy backsides and actually do something instead of passing pointless legislation and doing irrelevant studies.
Fortunatley I've been with Entanet for 3 years now and have never seen such problems in my time with them. Guess I'm lucky.
Fortunatley I've been with Entanet for 3 years now and have never seen such problems in my time with them. Guess I'm lucky.
ManCuBuS said:
I wouldn't say making ISP's give MAC codes out was pointless at all. But the rest I agree with. Mainly making ISP's clarify unlimited very clearly, along with traffic shaping "we may enforce management on your connection in peak times" is not clear.
Too many people I talk to think they can max out their connection all day everyday when their package is unlimited.
marc2003, just a thought but have you tried requesting to talk to someone in the UK when getting through to India? Although i haven't tried this myself, a friend of mine recently did so and not only was he able to understand what they were saying he says they were very helpful lol 
You may get want you want a little quicker
I've given up complaining to BT, i've spent hours over the past weeks moaning about my appalling connection, but now i have to say my connection isn't half bad, and the last bill for Option 3 worked out as £21 a month
You may get want you want a little quicker
I've given up complaining to BT, i've spent hours over the past weeks moaning about my appalling connection, but now i have to say my connection isn't half bad, and the last bill for Option 3 worked out as £21 a month
Jambo said:I just moved to ADSL24. Just logged in to my BT Account to find the number to cancel it and it says 'thank you for changing package blah blah blah'. I never changed package, they better not start saying I have started a new contract.
I am currently on hold.... coming up for 20 mins.
Well, I got through to someone after 30 minutes to be told I would have to be transferred to a different department. I said I had been on hold for over 30 minutes after phoning the number their damn website told me to phone. He said he would put me straight through to someone and not in a queue. Obviously I got put in a queue and after a few more minutes hung up in a rage.
I have just cancelled my direct debit and sent a complaint by email asking them to confirm my cancellation in writing. Unbelievable!
I called the number on BT'S web site got through within 20min, and the women on the other end gave me my MAC code fairly quickly (was on hold for 2mins)whilst she sorted this out.
Had the usual why are you leaving, can we give you 6 months free thought about and passed, download speeds less than dial up for the next six months no thanks.
Should be connected to BE on wednesday.
Rob
Had the usual why are you leaving, can we give you 6 months free
thought about and passed, download speeds less than dial up for the next six months no thanks.Should be connected to BE on wednesday.
Rob
sWiZzLe said:marc2003, just a thought but have you tried requesting to talk to someone in the UK when getting through to India? Although i haven't tried this myself, a friend of mine recently did so and not only was he able to understand what they were saying he says they were very helpful lol
you've missed my post a few posts above yours....
marc2003 said:well i got 2 separate phone calls from bt this morning both apologising for the way i was treated and my mac code is in my inbox. i'm a happy chappy now.
i've actually had a 3rd phonecall this evening from someone claiming to represent the CEO's office and got yet another apology. as far i'm concerned it's a closed case now. they say they are going to find out who spoke to me to make sure it doesn't happen again. they say they never want a bt customer to leave on bad terms as people will never go back to them. well they're damn right about that.
it's adsl24 next for me. i've already made a few enquiries about joining them and the support is pretty much instant. and with monthly contract i have nothing to lose. i've also found a firmware online to unlock my bt 2500v router so it works with them. can't wait to get off bt now.
Last edited:
Trifid said:
It was indeed welcome but was also years overdue and too many customers have already fell foul to useless ISP's making up their own rules. Some still do by the looks of things.
The "unlimited" issue really does need addressing as well ISP's still taking money after people have migrated or cancelled, but they are for different threads.
marc2003 said:
This is the point where you went wrong. I understand you didn't want to hear all the usual excuses for you to stay with BT BB but being rude didn't help you out.
I've been with BT BB since ~2002/3 when we first got ADSL. No BT BB weren't my first choice but due to technical reasons (having a new line fitted for DSL under BT BB's T's & C's with no minimum contract if it fails tests) I ended up with BT BB.
I will go out on a limb and say that for the majority of the time I've been with BT BB I've had a pretty damn good service. Only in the last 6 months have I had any problems, the main one being a substantial amount of downtime, which had me emailing the CEO before things were resolved.
Now until the last few weeks I stood by with BT BB until yesterday whereby I put in a migration to Sky (more a financial reason than anything else). I called the "Customer Options" team at the end of June (0800 800 030 for those who want to know) and got through to an operator in a few minutes. The guy asked me the usual questions, why are you thinking of leaving etc. and I gave him a simple response (without being rude). I had my MAC code within 3 minutes without any fuss. I didn't care as to the reasons why I should stay, I simply waited for him to finish and that was that.
Anyway that's my 2p.
Zico said:
you what?
what about being professional and doing the job you are paid to do? like i said above, i've worked in a call centre myself and i would never bully a customer no matter what they said to me. besides i wasn't as blunt as it looks from the way i've written it. all i said was the reason for me leaving wasn't up for discussion and that i wanted my mac code. is that too much to ask from the number specifically given on bt's website for mac code requests?
I'm all for being polite when talking to call centre staff, but there needs to be some recognition that there is no obligation for the customer to do anything more than ask for a MAC and provide sufficient information to positively identify him to his ISP.
I know that an ISP may very much want to find out where the customer is going and why and perhaps try and stop him leaving but the customer does not have to co-operate and should not have their time wasted by repeated attempts to engage in conversations that do not lead directly to the issue of a MAC.
Ask by all means, but if the customer says 'no, I just want my MAC' then it is rude to persist in ignoring his wishes.
I know that an ISP may very much want to find out where the customer is going and why and perhaps try and stop him leaving but the customer does not have to co-operate and should not have their time wasted by repeated attempts to engage in conversations that do not lead directly to the issue of a MAC.
Ask by all means, but if the customer says 'no, I just want my MAC' then it is rude to persist in ignoring his wishes.
um.. I am call centre staff for a big telecoms company. I'm not saying who as you will all kill me brutally at once. there will be nothing left. Basically Zico got it right. TBH BT, the service, is hit and miss, it either works, or its garbage. Your customer service is again, hit and miss. If you get through to the right person, You're cool. If someone asks me for a mac code i put them straight through to MAC Code Request HD, who give them out with no attempt to retain.
I do a combinaton of things (every bloody thing) at my job. new lines, new customers, reconnections, follow up of unpaid bills, Broadband customer services, pay&go telephone stuff, credit checking, telephone customer services, complaints resolution, call charge disputes, sales of all products, network services, and hardware, help with ourcompany.com, network rearrangement (move of sockets, overhead cables etc), accounts, general help.. basically we're the dumping ground. It's great career wise, i'm one of the highest trained advisors in the company, but its hard work. Only been there two years, which in call centre work is like 20 years experience lol
The calls we get, from both sides of things, are very much controlled by the advisor, and it is actually a very difficult job to do well. Any moron can annoy everyone and cause customers to leave, but taking a furious customer, calming them down, sorting their problem, and cheering them up whilst still looking after company interests and remaining within the rules of what we are allowed to say can be very difficult. i'm ashamed to say a lot of my colleagues cannot do this, i am always hearing them arguing and shouting and getting frustrated with customers - its always the same people. I'd never do that, in fact some customers have commented on how calm,and serene i sound for a call centre operative. To which i usually reply "yeah, why be stressed and shouty, all that does is stress you up, then you stress me up, then i stress you up and nothing gets done." - i am perhaps not as formal as some of my colleagues but it works.
The best way to get what you want, out of any of us though, is to calmly, politely, and if possible humorously (its also a boring job) state what you need, do your account security validation, you'd be surprised at how many customers go mad because i cant help them because i cannot verify i am speaking to account holder, listen while they talk, to try and explain if it's a complaint, or to keep you if you want to leave, you might be tempted by a good deal, and if not, just say "no, i want to stop my service with your company"
And most companies have a UK helpdesk. Demand to speak to a UK operative. It's not racism, it's just wanting to speak with someone with whom you share a first language.
EDIT: OO i forgot.. we have an asian language helpdesk (really) for customers who have asian languages as first languages.. why not the other way round? is that not equality?
I do a combinaton of things (every bloody thing) at my job. new lines, new customers, reconnections, follow up of unpaid bills, Broadband customer services, pay&go telephone stuff, credit checking, telephone customer services, complaints resolution, call charge disputes, sales of all products, network services, and hardware, help with ourcompany.com, network rearrangement (move of sockets, overhead cables etc), accounts, general help.. basically we're the dumping ground. It's great career wise, i'm one of the highest trained advisors in the company, but its hard work. Only been there two years, which in call centre work is like 20 years experience lol
The calls we get, from both sides of things, are very much controlled by the advisor, and it is actually a very difficult job to do well. Any moron can annoy everyone and cause customers to leave, but taking a furious customer, calming them down, sorting their problem, and cheering them up whilst still looking after company interests and remaining within the rules of what we are allowed to say can be very difficult. i'm ashamed to say a lot of my colleagues cannot do this, i am always hearing them arguing and shouting and getting frustrated with customers - its always the same people. I'd never do that, in fact some customers have commented on how calm,and serene i sound for a call centre operative. To which i usually reply "yeah, why be stressed and shouty, all that does is stress you up, then you stress me up, then i stress you up and nothing gets done." - i am perhaps not as formal as some of my colleagues but it works.
The best way to get what you want, out of any of us though, is to calmly, politely, and if possible humorously (its also a boring job) state what you need, do your account security validation, you'd be surprised at how many customers go mad because i cant help them because i cannot verify i am speaking to account holder, listen while they talk, to try and explain if it's a complaint, or to keep you if you want to leave, you might be tempted by a good deal, and if not, just say "no, i want to stop my service with your company"
And most companies have a UK helpdesk. Demand to speak to a UK operative. It's not racism, it's just wanting to speak with someone with whom you share a first language.
EDIT: OO i forgot.. we have an asian language helpdesk (really) for customers who have asian languages as first languages.. why not the other way round? is that not equality?
Last edited: