Ticket replies to Forum questions

[#1]

I've noticed over the last few weeks that staff replies to forum posts have increasingly been along the lines of "I've created ticket no [...] on your account with your answer".
I can understand the logic behind this when there may be confidential information involved in the reply, but surely the whole point of this forum is for help to be given in a public manner, which benefits not only the OP but anyone else who may be searching the forums for help with a similar situation?

[#2]

Anything that's account specific, or where it's borderline we will be cautious and reply on a ticket. Often we'll find that the customer posting in the forum has created a ticket, so we need to reply there anyway.

[#3]

I fully agree, but it can be quite frustrating to follow a post from initial problem to resolution, without actually finding out what the fix was (if any).

[#4]

I agree, if the customer wants to post then fine, however we can't in some instances.

[#5]

Quote from: Jaggies

it can be quite frustrating to follow a post from initial problem to resolution, without actually finding out what the fix was

Frustrating isn't the word I would use.
Those threads might just as well be deleted as they are in effect censored anyway.

[#6]

I'll second what has been said above - maybe have some kind of signature on the person who resolves the ticket saying "If you are happy to post the resolution to this issue on the forums please do as it may help other members" or similar.

[#7]

The real issue is that the call centre response is so poor that people are trying to bypass the call centre altogether and get a better service on the forum.
I've been posting and lurking on this forum since the beginning of the year, and the PlusNet response has not changed - they know that their call centre service is unacceptable, they are happy to continue to enjoy their earlier reputation for good customer service, and they are very sorry.
Plusnet - you can only get away with this for a limited period of time!

[#8]

We've been open and honest about the problems we've got with our call answer times and we're continually working hard to improve this.
Unfortunately this isn't a quick fix, and we know there's still work to be done to get things back to a level that's acceptable. We really are sorry for this, and we'll keep doing our best to help out on the Forums.

[#9]

Being 'open and honest' about your poor customer service does not make any difference to somebody who has been hanging on to the phone for an hour or so, especially if they have already had to call you more than once about a problem which you have failed to deal with.
You should pay whatever it costs to persuade your call centre staff to work from very early in the morning until very late at night, and you should find a way to offer a call-back service so that your customers can plan their day around something more enjoyable than trying to contact their phone/broadband provider.

[#10]

Thanks for your valuable feedback, I'll ensure that gets passed on.

[#11]

Quote from: KK

offer a call-back service

Looking over this forum that service appears to have been offered many times.
Unfortunately a follow up post often says that the call never materialised and that a further wait on the phone had to be undertaken to find out what happened.

[#12]

Just to add to the above:
Making outbound calls takes agents away from taking inbound calls, which is the primary focus, with the call centre being an inbound orientated environment. Would you really want to risk making the call queues longer?
These people also cost money, perhaps paying more for your broadband connection would help facilitate a call back service?

[#13]

If any organisation's prices are insufficient to provide a reasonable level of customer service, then they should say so either in their advertising, or in their terms and conditions.

[#14]

Quote from: Mattz0r

Making outbound calls takes agents away from taking inbound calls

On the contrary, it's a very effective way of managing the peaks and troughs of incoming calls when the staff are rostered to work for hours at a time so numbers available fluctuate on a longer timescale.
Improves the efficiency of a call centre quite considerably.   And of course reduces customer frustration.  

[#15]

It would only improve it if the amount of agents remained static. The level of agents rises and falls throughout the day which would need to be raised to enable a call back service. The problem here is that there is never a spare moment to call someone back which is why what Matt said is completely true. If we were to offer call backs then in general it is in place of an agent taking an inbound call - thereby increasing call times.