Changes to Digicare/Complaints & Introducing Customer Relations

[#1]

Thinking about it, the only definite evidence I've seen is that things have got worse. This post had no reply from anyone at Plusnet:

Quote from: jelv

@Jess How many of the team are detailed to monitor Usenet?

It's now nearly a year since Bob announced on p.s.c-f that he was leaving Digital Care. It's as rare as hen's teeth that anyone other than Bob posts on there (and most of those have been as a result of me posting a link on here when I knew Bob was on holiday).
This is Bob's post:
[quote=]Afternoon all,
Judging from recent posts, it seems that my absence from these parts of late hasn't gone unnoticed?
There's a reason for that which I wanted to share with you guys:
There's been a fairly significant change in my role at Plusnet (of which there have been a few over the years!).
An opportunity has arisen for me to try my hand over in Plusnet's Business Unit as their 'Business Propositions Lead', a role which involves a healthy dose of project/improvement oriented work (amongst other things). I'm looking forward to the challenge and see it as a great opportunity to further develop myself. It's a seconded role (six months) after which I'll be in a position to accept a permanent position (or not as the case may be).
What it does mean though, is that I'll be taking a step back from the world of 'Digital Care'. Whilst I'm rarely as active as others on our own forums/Twitter/Facebook etc., I do spend quite a lot of time on the more obscure communities, lurking in Usenet or trawling the wider Internet for mentions of the Plusnet brand. This sort of stuff, and some of the other things I did behind the scenes, I aim to leave in the capable hands of the team I leave behind.
I do, and always will, feel very strongly about the Plusnet brand and I'm very proud of what the team has collectively achieved over the years. I have genuine faith in Plusnet's products and services and it always disappoints me to read of examples where we've let a customer down.
I'd be lying if I said my patience hadn't been tried to its absolute limits at times (mostly outside of this newsgroup, you'll be pleased to hear), however it all  pales in significance compared to the the occasional gratitude, sense of achievement and real feeling that I've been able to 'make a difference' in shaping the quality of service we provide and perception of Plusnet as a brand.
So I guess that's it really. Thanks for being a considerate bunch over the years, and don't worry  - this is a farewell, not a goodbye! I'm a glutton for punishment so I'll still be sticking my head above the parapet from time to time. Mainly to make sure you folk aren't being neglected

[#2]

Quote from: jelv

Thinking about it, the only definite evidence I've seen is that things have got worse.

To true,  to my mind thing's has been one way in the last 12 months and that is downhill.
Any important issues that needs resolving, its the same old response , "we are getting there"  " a bit more time" " we are making progress" after a while this gets long in the tooth.
For instance the ridiculous ticket system, add info to the ticket before a response, straight to back of que. This has been talked about for years and years , no change. 
You dont even for worn the customer about this , instead PN put the cryptic message "Please only add further comments when absolutely necessary." Nothing about going to the back of the que.
As for the announcement made by Jess, well no posts since the 04/08/2014, i would expect to see regular updates in the thread with how progress is been made, but we have not
To make an announcements about pending improvements/changes, and nearly two months , no improvements can been seen " on the front line",and the big new system update that was meant to be summer 2014 , delayed by a year to summer 2015 , just highlights to me the downward spiral of PN at the moment
Hopefully improvements will be sooner , rather than later
Regards
Mike

[#3]

Every time I see someone from DCT/CRT say "We are working on improving the situation" I can only think "A lie, no matter how often repeated, is still a lie."
I'm still waiting on answers to:
Why didn't I get an e-mail when my PN firewall settings were changed? I now know why they were changed, but I still don't know why I didn't get the e-mail.
Why was OpenReach accepting orders for FTTC in my area when there was a known issue with the fibre circuit which had been affecting customers for at least two months which meant they would sync but not connect?
Why do the OpenReach subcontractors (in my area) believe that PN don't supply them with extension kits?
Why do the OpenReach subcontractors (again, in my area) not bother to check if the EU's equipment can get auth before signing off the job as 'completed'
I've always sold/referred PlusNET to people as a great provider because once you're set up it just works and you don't need support, but now .... no more. If they can't get the installation right, I'm not going to put them through support hell.

[#4]

Quote from: Kelly

That's the plan.  Just not there yet.  I'll see what I can do about getting a bit more detail on timescales.

Kelly,
Sorry, the bottom line is that the forums just do not have the coverage they require.  I recall back in DCT days, one could look at the forums late afternoon and post after post had a last updated by one of the CP3 guys.  I look now late afternoon and there are still active threads which have not had a CRT touch in the preceding 24 hours.
PlusNet are not fixing BTOR, calls are not getting answered by the agents, tickets are not being progressed (send to back of queue on user touch does not help) and hence the other channels see higher workloads - but not higher staffing levels.  One's perception is the current active staffing level is actually less.  At present these forums need a minimum of 2 experienced support people.  I notice that Chris Pettitt (bless him) has been in and around here in his own time to help out over recent weeks.
If it were not for community members some threads around here might not see a response for several days.  The expectations set by this thread have yet to be delivered.  The promise "We're getting there" has lost its lustre.
Kevin

[#5]

Despite the fact we had a few new introductions on the forum
PN staff are obvious from their lack of response, in fact most now posts are answered from the community before any response from PN staff , unfortunately this does not look well for the future .
the only way is DOWNHILL   

[#6]

How good the Digital care team was had a bearing on how Plusnet were rated. Plusnet trumpet how good the support is. So how does it currently stack up against the other ISPs with a good reputation?
The ratings on thinkbroadband are a good guide: http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/compare.html?isp_2=1&isp_16=1&isp_77=1&isp_6=1&commit=Compare
I've attached a screen shot of the current results for future reference.

[#7]

Given that Plusnet are a bargain basement supplier this is a fairer comparison in my opinion http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/compare.html?isp_7=1&isp_77=1&isp_21=1&isp_22=1&commit=Compare

[#8]

Jim,
I'm sure that you can remember the days when Plusnet was right up there with Zen and IDNet. But you are right, everything Plusnet do these days is targeted at competing with Sky and TalkTalk. Unfortunately they seem intent on matching not only their pricing but also their service standards so I'm expecting things to slips a lot further.

[#9]

Hi all,
Just to throw my thoughts in here.
The amount of staff supporting on the forum from my point of view has not decreased as Kelly points out in an earlier post (the number of different people posting each day has increased), however the volume of work has increased due to the longer than ideal wait times. It's not an excuse, things need to improve and I'm confident with the team structure and support they receive this will happen.
CP1 (the original CP)

[#10]

The other change not mentioned is that (looking at the introductions posted on here) the new team members are far less experienced than the very good staff who have moved to other departments.
One person who does still chip in frequently with his special expertise (and I don't mean making tea) is Bob, and he moved out of the team nearly a year ago.

[#11]

They are pretty experienced tbh, just not necessarily have used the public forums much.  We're all here to support them as well.
(p.s. Bob actually made tea the other day.  Chris P fell out of his chair!)

[#12]

Quote from: jelv

I'm sure that you can remember the days when Plusnet was right up there with Zen and IDNet..

Also I liked the fact that pn were always open with network issues and didn't hide from it. ( we'll swiftly forget the dark days of the  arbor ellacoya dpi episode 9  or 10 years ago)
The fact that nothing been said about last weeks issue is disheartening. Keep seeing paul h / kelly  dave  plus other lead staff on the forum but nothing forth coming.
If its a  NDA issue an acknowledgement would  be better than the current stone wall.
It reflects  badly   - when all you get is :  switch off and go away. 

[#13]

I gather some kind of explanation/statement is coming on the outage.

[#14]

Judging by the past (Yes an explanation will emerge)
Judging by the present (I would not hold my breath)

[#15]

Never mind - its clear something is a miss - be it an NDA / Bug or  JunoOS  misconfig'ed.
The switch off and go away  - even puts talk-talk in a good light. 
I could accept / understand  that service message more, if even a brief explanation had been forth coming. 
Sadly , I'm now  waiting the MAC Key  to appear on ticket number #92192810.