Bereavement in Help and Support

[#1]

@Anonymous

It is not one of those things companies like to advertise, I think when I had to ring a company through general enquiries and told them why I was calling and the reason why they couldn't talk to the account holder (not nice), I got transferred somewhere else.

Obviously companies want to protect themselves from fraudulent calls - say for example I could pretend to be you if I knew your personal details. Note: I don't know yours and I am not going to, that's a joke 

I don't know how PlusNet work, but if I were in charge, I would have some of the CS team specially trained for these situations. Make sure some are always available, so if CS 1 is off sick or on annual leave there is someone else, CS 2 to cover. So they're not allowed annual leave.

Then if I call the general CS number - I tell a different person the reason why I am calling, and get the old "I'm just going to transfer you to a different department" (i.e. someone else).

Can't remember which company I called now, but I got that and I assume that's how they work.

[#2]

Superuser citation

This topic has been cited by one of the Superusers; the purpose of which is to provide a note for information which might help to focus continued discussion (but might not result in a staff response).

[#3]

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@Alex wrote:

It is not one of those things companies like to advertise

It might not be on a companies front page, but a specific "Bereavement Team" phone number should still be easy to find using the website's search or sitemap.

I have always simply done a Google search for "bereavement" & "company-name", to get the number.

If you do that for Plusnet, all the most significant search results point to this community forum !,

or lower down the results you see Plusnet contact pages that don't mention the word bereavement.

[#4]

I don't see the need for a separate number personally, just tell the CS person the reason why you are calling (as nice as it not is - I know from experience).

They may be able to deal with it, or if not transfer you to someone who can.

I don't know how PlusNet train their staff (or any company actually), whether it is standard for all CS staff or a group.

I suspect the company I called was a group specifically trained and that's why I got transferred.

[#5]

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@Alex wrote:

I don't see the need for a separate number personally

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Because when you are grieving and trying your best to deal with these things, you have to choose your moments of courage to call.

Calling a specific bereavement number that puts you directly and immediately in contact with someone who sympathetically answers the phone already prepared for a possibly incoherent conversation with someone in tears, makes a huge difference to the caller.

Waiting in a long call queue, to an unprepared heartless sales person in retentions who then passes your call around, is not a humane way of dealing with someone in distress who probably does not possess all the facts, or understand the procedures, or able to answer security questions.

[#6]

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@Alex wrote:

I don't see the need for a separate number personally, just tell the CS person the reason why you are calling (as nice as it not is - I know from experience).

They may be able to deal with it, or if not transfer you to someone who can.

In an ideal world where phones are answered promptly across the board, front line agents are fully skilled and a transfer can be made without delay or dropping the call, then I think you'd find reasonable agreement.

In the real world where all calls end up in a long queue, after which one has to go through the (possibly painful) process of explaining the reason for calling ... to be needed to be passed on to another person (possibly encountering another wait) and having to explain it all again just is not reasonable.

In the real world there needs to be a direct number answered promptly by people who have the ability to sensitively deal with all that needs to be done ... there and then.

EDIT: @Anonymous beat me to it!

[#7]

Yes I see both your points, in having a number which takes priority over general CS calls and having it be directed to someone trained to deal with these issues.

[#8]

so about 2 months later and nothing seems to have happened - perhaps an update wouldn't come amiss

@Townman @jaread83

[#9]

Jim,

I’ve chased the escalation.