Engineer not turned up again!

[#1]

I waited in all pm Friday for an engineer. He did not turn up or contact me  When I contacted Plusnet they told me that the engineer had cancelled the appointment and re arranged with the client for pm Monday???  He never spoke to me! Now have another appointment for am Monday. I have requested the first appointment and a phone call to my landline when he is on his way. (no signal on my mobile at home due to O2 mast not working yet  after floods in Cumbria    ) Unfortunately Plusnet cannot confirm that I will be the first appointment or the engineer will phone. 
Whatever happened to good old fashioned customer service?

[#2]

of course, you're complaining about lack of customer service from openreach, not plusnet.

[#3]

Hi IDC1954,
I'm really disappointed to hear about what you've mentioned here and allow me to apologise on behalf of their suppliers.
We feel strongly about such problems occurring between Openreach and our customers and will endeavor to pass some feedback on.

[#4]

My contract is with Plus net not Openreach  It is up to Plusnet to ensure that contractors working for them fulfill their obligations or face penalties.

Quote from: chenks76

of course, you're complaining about lack of customer service from openreach, not plusnet.

[#5]

what more could plusnet have done in your situation?
openreach told them that they had spoken to you (or someone at your property to re-arrange).
when you advised them they hadn't, they rebooked it at the first available slot.
openreach aren't "contractors". they are the ones who own and manage the network.
openreach are the supplier and plusnet are essentially just one of many users of the network.

[#6]

Quote from: chenks76

openreach are the supplier and plusnet are essentially just one of many users of the network.

Maybe so, but the OP is correct, he/she has an agreement with PlusNet, not Openreach. One could argue that continuously emphasizing that the problem is Openreach and not PN is meaningless when the only control the customer can exercise is via Plusnet. The customer should not even have to know the mechanics of what Plusnet has to do behind the scenes to make things happen. It is up to Plusnet to make it work, and if things are screwed up, sorry, that is Plusnet's responsibility.

[#7]

as i said, what more could plusnet have done in this instance?

[#8]

"what more could plusnet have done in this instance"
Maybe they could have informed THEIR customer, the one who pays THEM, what had happened and what they were going to do to sort things out? Rather than the customer having to contact them.
"you're complaining about lack of customer service from openreach, not plusnet." No, see above.

[#9]

but openreach had told them that openreach had spoken to the customer and re-arranged.
or are you seriously suggesting that plusnet contact the customer every time openreach updates them on a job to confirm it is correct? that is clearly idiotic.
in this instance, plusnet would only know something had gone wrong when the customer tells them.

[#10]

What would not be 'idiotic' would be Plusnet automatically updating the ticket which would be emailed/SMS out. If it was different to what the customer understood they'd know to contact Plusnet.

[#11]

Quote from: chenks76

what more could plusnet have done in this instance?

Easy - Plusnet should have informed the customer that the appointment had been cancelled and provided them with the date of the new appointment instead of relying on what Openreach says they may or may not have said to the customer.
We know that OpenReach cannot be relied upon to turn up when they say they will. Neither can they be relied upon when they state they spoke to the customer. Plusnet need to be proactive in tackling these problems, and that means keeping the customer informed of any changes to the original schedule.
So yes, if it means that Plusnet need to update the customer each time there is a change to the schedule initiated by Opeanreach, then far from being idiotic, it would be smart move.
Can you imagine how many customers might not miss unpaid days off work waiting for engineers if they were to get notification any time Openreach changed an appointment.
What IS idiotic is that Plusnet are not doing more to handle the clear failings in this respect.

[#12]

@jafreer - I agree with you whole heartily. Our contract is with Plusnet  - I don't care which suppliers they use whoever it maybe but they need to be more proactive. I imagine, however, that they have so many problems and disgruntled  customers that its like trying to push water uphill.
I just sent a mail to the Managing Director with the timeline of events with my fault and asked for his comments as this is a company that is supposed to pride itself on customer service.

[#13]

Quote from: jafreer

Can you imagine how many customers might not miss unpaid days off work waiting for engineers if they were to get notification any time Openreach changed an appointment.

your solution would make no difference, as openreach don't inform plusnet until AFTER the event.

Quote from: scottjo

as this is a company that is supposed to pride itself on customer service.

is there such a company that doesn't?
people constantly trotting out that line as if it gives them some sort of weapon to use really makes me chuckle.

[#14]

Quote from: chenks76

your solution would make no difference, as openreach don't inform plusnet until AFTER the event.

Then that is what would have to change. I think the problem is that everyone is fixed in their thinking and inflexible as to implementing solutions. To simply say it wouldn't work because Openreach don't inform PN until after the event is, quite frankly, not an acceptable argument by Plusnet.
Without getting into the mechanics of solutions, the system is not working now, so solutions are required. It is up to Plusnet and Openreach to implement these solutions - and they have to do it to fix a broken system.
Giving reasons as to why it is Openreach's fault versus Plusnet's fault does not help matters, and it certainly is of no comfort to the customer.

[#15]

the point i'm making is that this is not solely a plusnet issue. all ISPs have the same problems with openreach.
so it IS an openreach issue, and it's openreach that need to fix the issue.
plusnet have not "clou" over openreach, they are simply one of the many ISPs that use the openreach network.