Changes to ticket response targets (increased from 8 to 24 hours)
I think posts I have made going back over a couple of years are relevant to what's happening today:
That tells a story: you are not hitting the target. When you start hitting the target is the time to start advertising.
Interesting one that one - I'd completely forgotten that the target used to be four hours - just shows how far things have slipped.
Quote from: jelv Several times I have suggested backing off the advertising campaigns to allow support to get to a better place.
That that hasn't happened has me utterly convinced that there is one or more sales/marketing managers who's bonuses relies on the number of new sign ups they manage to get. They will not be at all concerned as to whether these people have a happy experience. It's highly likely they will have been parachuted in to Plusnet by BT - and we all know where BT stands on the make a profit/do what's right for the customer balance. They probably knows that if things continue the way they are Plusnet will get a bad reputation and that getting new users will be more difficult, but that won't bother them, like all these bods totally focused on their bonuses they'll just move on. I've seen this sort of thing so many times over my working life, as far as sales/marketing are concerned if they get paid a bonus it's the right thing to do.
I'll bet there are some very interesting discussions go on between the sales/marketing and the support management teams!
Quote from: jelv No the unacceptable delays at the moment are because PN embarked on a number of advertising campaigns along with very aggressive pricing in the Market 3 exchanges. This has obviously brought in significant numbers of new users, many of whom will have trouble getting connected. PN are recruiting/training agents faster than ever, but not fast enough to keep up.
Quote from: jelv So why haven't they had a response for a week?
[quote=http://www.plus.net/supportpages.html?a=212]Average closure time: 6 hours, 51 minutes and 56 seconds
Target closure time: 4 hours
That tells a story: you are not hitting the target. When you start hitting the target is the time to start advertising.
Interesting one that one - I'd completely forgotten that the target used to be four hours - just shows how far things have slipped.
Quote from: jelv I'm suggesting that when it was apparent that the support teams were not coping there should have been a reining back on the advertising until such time as support improved.
We're seeing far too many interventions from Digital Care where people are not getting timely responses to faults and far too many apologies where agents have got things wrong.
Quote from: jelv It's due to a massive increase in user numbers as a result of the advertising campaigns and support resources lagging behind. It takes time for a new support person to get fully up to speed and the new support staff are making a lot of mistakes.
Quote from: jelv Another user has raised the issue of the alleged £7.2M spend on the recent advertising campaigns and trying to make a totally spurious link to the charge being imposed for payment by cards.
Firstly I don't see why how much they have spent should be an issue for us. The campaigns have been ramping up over the last couple of years; they must be being successful in bringing in more users and be giving a net profit or Plusnet wouldn't be continuing with them. I've noted that the number of users online at any one time as shown by the performance graphs has doubled in the last couple of years or so - the campaigns must be working.
I think there is a valid debate to be had as to the timing of the campaigns - I've posted previously that I thought they should be scaled back until the support resources were ready to cope with the extra workload the new users bring. But I see no relevance in discussing the amount of the spend - that is a commercial matter just for Plusnet and their owners.
Quote from: jelv
Quote from: _Adam_Walker_ Support are going through a very busy time at the moment but we are continuing to train and recruit to meet demand.
... and because of that Plusnet have put all the advertising on hold until CSC and other departments are up to strength and sufficiently experienced to answer queries/faults promptly and accurately.
Oh, look there's some bacon flying past the window!
Quote from: jelv I presume that as CSC are struggling at the moment you are easing up on the advertising?
There are two very simple questions to be answered:
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Why was the target response time increased by 200%?
Exactly when was the change made?
I'm disappointed that no explanation has been forthcoming so far. I'm wondering if this is going to be brushed under the carpet.
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I'm disappointed that no explanation has been forthcoming so far. I'm wondering if this is going to be brushed under the carpet.
I'm still not happy that we've received satisfactory answers to the issues raised here.
I don't understand this response. You show the current average closure time which gives a realistic timescale for a response based on the current ticket queues. In no way does that justify changing the target.
I'm pleased to note that from the ludicrous 36 hours average it is now back to 18 hours. I presume however that as you are now beating your target by 25% the presume is off and no efforts are being made to make further improvements and the managers are back to getting nice bonuses for beating their targets.
Is the target going to be changed back to the 8 hours it was before or is the 24 hours a permanent change?
Finally, if the target is going to be changed to reflect the current situation, just what is the point of having a target?
Quote from: Chris Yes, we changed it towards the end of January when we saw the response times increasing. It was changed to give a more realistic timescale for response and will continue to be reviewed.
I don't understand this response. You show the current average closure time which gives a realistic timescale for a response based on the current ticket queues. In no way does that justify changing the target.
I'm pleased to note that from the ludicrous 36 hours average it is now back to 18 hours. I presume however that as you are now beating your target by 25% the presume is off and no efforts are being made to make further improvements and the managers are back to getting nice bonuses for beating their targets.
Quote from: Kelly I'm not happy it snuck out without announcement. The DC team and myself were unaware and would have probably asked for it not to be changed. Looking to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Is the target going to be changed back to the 8 hours it was before or is the 24 hours a permanent change?
Finally, if the target is going to be changed to reflect the current situation, just what is the point of having a target?
Quote . I presume however that as you are now beating your target by 25% the presume is off and no efforts are being made to make further improvements and the managers are back to getting nice bonuses for beating their targets.
The managers aren't targetted on the shown target reponse from the website.
Quote Is the target going to be changed back to the 8 hours it was before or is the 24 hours a permanent change?
It will be reviewed periodically and if we think going back to 8 hours is the right move then yes. (Personally I'd like it to be put back to
Quote Finally, if the target is going to be changed to reflect the current situation, just what is the point of having a target?
To try and set a better expectation of turnaround times.