On Tuesday I had a call from Plusnet, offering a discount of £2/month if I re-contracted for 12 months. I explained that I'd need notice of that question, so the agent said I'd get a call in two day's time.
Now this got me thinking. I haven't had a phone or broadband fault I've needed to report for ten years, so maybe I'm due for one! And when it happens – what then? I've raised the occasional query in the past, but they were all before the demise of the ticket system.
Today I was thinking about all the companies and organisations I have to deal with, from local government and libraries, through to finance, legal, insurance, energy, tax, TV licensing etc etc. Almost without exception, I can report a problem or raise a query via email or web form. But my ISP? NO! Ironic, eh?
The main attractions of Plusnet when I joined in 2008 were its reputation and the ticket system. Sadly, the latter has gone and the former is going down the pan. Chat appears to be available on an irregular basis, often with long queues, and waiting time on the phone lines is just ridiculous – an hour or more not uncommon. On this forum we're constantly promised 'jam tomorrow', but tomorrow never comes.
When the agent called this afternoon, I explained all the above, and turned down the offer. I said I'll stay with Plusnet for the time being, but if there is an unacceptable delay in reporting a fault or raising a query – that's it – I'm off. He seemed quite sanguine about it, and made very little effort to persuade me – I guess he'd heard it all many times.
A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine
Zen SOGEA 40/10 + Digital Voice FRITZ!Box 7530
BT technician (Retired)
