Ticket system is a complete waste of time.

[#1]

After getting off to a good start with quick and trouble free connection, I too am disappointed with the ticket system.  Raising a question about an account should bea fairly straightforward matter - there is either a mistake or there isn't.  At the moment I am not convinced that I haven't been charged twice for the first month. A simple explanation shouldn't really take 2+ days and it's beginning to look as though the only way to get an answer is to place a post on this forum. 

[#2]

and put the reference number, but being Easter weekend, dont expect an answer before Tuesday

[#3]

- I agree. PN ticket system is a complete waster of time. I have had a ticket in for several weeks now and I am sure that the question is too difficult. If PN bothered to reply I could tell them what the problem is and then maybe we would all be happy. Some people learning something and some people sharing information. 

[#4]

you are always free to add to your ticket and share your knowledge

[#5]

[quote=pierre_pierre]you are always free to add to your ticket and share your knowledge
While this would normally be a perfectly valid thing to expect, I have to disagree !
On the basis that (in my experience) when raising a ticket, you take great care in phrasing your problem in as clear and unambiguous language as you possibly can, but the reply that comes back does not relate in any way to what you asked - like having a conversation with a deaf aunt - "Would you like an ice cream ?" ... "It's half past two !".  Therefore sharing knowledge through the ticket system is never going to be understood, or will not get used for the greater good, so I would suggest don't bother.
Sharing that knowledge on this Forum is a different matter, as it will have a much wider audience, and is likely to be of real help to someone else.

[#6]

Quote from: pierre_pierre

but being Easter weekend, dont expect an answer before Tuesday

While myself also being critical of the ticket system (and the fact the targets are far too optimistic compared with actual times, so IMO need some alternative presentation like 16h as a current target (not 4), 12h by mid-May, 8h by end June, 4h by mid-August, which is closer to what may be achieved, open and honest to customers, and not give false hopes - one of m...

[#7]

WebDude,
Yes you are right, fewer staff were available over the Easter weekend, however we were still answering tickets and calls to the best of our abilities during that period. Any targets posted with regards as to when you should receive a response are based on averages which we believe would be closer to the truth than overshooting the mark in order to set better expectations. We do have the tools in place to ensure that our responses are prioritised which ensures that the mainstay of the queries we receive like customer support and technical queries should be picked up and dealt with quickly, however as already mentioned more specialist work flows like faults may take us slightly longer to deal with any backlogs which we acknowledge may push up response times on these types of queries but we are hopeful that we can recover things over the coming week.
With regards to webcams, they are still there  but are only being used for internal purposes now, our reasoning behind this was posted here: http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,76876.0.html

[#8]

Thanks for the link, Adam, can understand them not being on any more - would perhaps be nice to have a view of Sheffield instead, surely some window looks out onto a featured building or clock - and we can also tell if it is wet / sunny / etc
I'm glad the queues do get sorted into priorities but it would still be good to send a copy of the customer comment back to the customer, along with an estimate of a response, if that can be calculated...

[#9]

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/travel-information/traffic-cameras/camera-list

[#10]

WebDude,
No problem and re

Quote

...it would still be good to send a copy of the customer comment back to the customer, along with an estimate of a response, if that can be calculated...

I really like that idea. I'm not sure how feasible that is but I will be putting some thought into that this week as I'm not sure we've considered that before.
As far as webcams I doubt we'd go as far as installing our own cam for that purpose, but if you are curious and have a look at Strat's link '06 West Bar Roundabout ' is the closest one to us and pretty much displays the view out of the east side of the building.

[#11]

"copy of the customer comment back to the customer" is the bit I think is essential, so the customer also has a record (assuming they download mail or it goes outside PN) for instances where the Portal is unavailable to users (like right now)...  It also goes along with what is displayed in the ticket system (which I cannot quote this minute, but something like "copy sent to customer" when what is actually sent is not a copy, but just an e-mail saying the ticket number and general comments, not a copy of what the customer wrote...
I can imagine the 'estimate of a response {time}' being more awkward to calculate, but it all depends how the ticket system works... I'm really only guessing but having seen mention of there being many different queues, it seems not unreasonable that once the queue has been selected, some estimate might be possible knowing how many other tickets are in that queue.  What gets awkward is if there are shift patterns meaning some queues won't be looked at overnight, say, or only with reduced staff numbers over a bank holiday period.

Strat - thanks for the Sheffield Council's camera list.

[#12]

Am I the only person to be happy with the system?
About the only ticket I've had to raise regarding something was raised on a Saturday morning, when Sheffield was under flood and there were pretty much no CSC staff in.  I got a response that resolved the issue the same day - despite being advised it could take longer than normal due to staffing levels.
I can only assume that a great number of delays are caused by people not explaining their problems correctly which result in longer response times.

[#13]

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.

[#14]

Hi jelv,
It's certainly having an effect - we can see ticket wait times and volumes coming down now the new agents are hitting the floor, and I'm very happy to say we have a new bunch joining the faults team (in fact some of them have started already as of yesterday) so things will keep on getting better.
@geofftswin very glad to hear it - and thanks for the positive feedback.

[#15]

Quote

now the new agents are hitting the floor,

You should get them some chairs Orb, they would be much happier