install engineer no show

[#1]

No show from installation engineer today. I even put my mobile number on the notes for engineer. 12PM / 6PM window, 12/12/12
I don't mind taking time off work, it's the waiting in all day, cant even take a shower during the large installation window in fear of missing the knock at the door (I live alone). To not get any communication from the installer is all so very frustrating.
What do I need to do now? HELP!

[#2]

1. Have a moan at PN immediately to let them know. Phone support or at the very least raise a high-priority ticket.
2. Read this thread: http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,109860.msg940566.html#msg940566
(and other similar threads)
3. Be INSISTENT on getting it sorted to YOUR satisfaction.

[#3]

OK well I must admit it I have no need to do anything now, At 19:11 a BT engineer knocked on my door, he must have left not much before 20:00 and it's all done. So a credit to the installer and to plusnet for not letting a new customer down, thanks a million.

[#4]

Glad it's sorted for you, makes a change for them to turn up late.
And a belated welcome to the forums

[#5]

@matchsticks
I'm glad to hear that got sorted too and I'm really sorry the engineer turned up so late, I'll make sure I feed that back to our supplier.

[#6]

Quote from: matchsticks

At 19:11 a BT engineer knocked on my door, he must have left not much before 20:00 and it's all done.

Good news.
I'd still "compare and contrast" to my typical experience with other service engineers, who typically phone ahead to let you know when they're due, contact you ahead if they're running late etc. etc. and there's normally an admin number you can call to check they're definitely on the way with real-time access to scheduling and location information.
BTOR are a total disaster on the customer communication front and this feeds through to the ISP's and in many (most) cases an attitude of accepting the unacceptable.
As I've said before I think the likes of PlusNet really could do everyone a great service by "getting a grip" on these sort of issues and providing the timely accurate information the customer needs.

[#7]

Just out of interest what information do you think would be more useful for us to provide HPsauce?

[#8]

Hmm, I'd need to think about that as it's not an exact comparison to say a British Gas engineer coming, but a few things that others do are:
A text message to your mobile confirming the appointment, a few days in advance, a reminder the day before and one on the day giving a better ETA (an hour window roughly).
A contact number you can ring to confirm the appointment is actually happening, i.e. with access to engineers actual schedules & locations. And the ability for you to say "I'll be out from X to Y"!
A management office that makes proactive calls to customers, especially on the day, to inform of improved/more accurate/revised timings.
A courtesy call from the actual engineer who is coming is always a nice touch - "I'm on my way due whenever..."
NEVER EVER abandon the job at the exchange for whatever reason - ALWAYS go to the premises and explain.
If they can't get access, try a neighbour (or 2 or 3 or 4), and also wait a reasonable time and try again (and again) - and phone.
Use both landline and mobile numbers sensibly. And record alternative contact details if relevant, not to mention location instructions if at all likely to be difficult to find.
I'm sure being in a service business you can think of loads more............................
One delivery (courier) company I am serviced by has a web site where you can track your package and it shows estimated delivery times - after all they do know the rounds/routes used. It's surprisingly accurate.

[#9]

Fair and sensible suggestions thanks, let me know if you have any more as I'm feeding back to our suppliers with regards to our customers experiences of engineer visits in a weekly basis now.

Quote

A management office that makes proactive calls to customers, especially on the day, to inform of improved/more accurate/revised timings

I can see that as an idea being overlooked in favour of engineers making the calls themselves which to me would be the more realistic option, I'm aware that doesn't always happen but I will ask BTW if they think the engineer having to call the customer and keeping them informed at key points of an install (or a fault for that matter) is feasible or not.

Quote

I'm sure being in a service business you can think of loads more............................

We certainly are but we want to hear any ideas or suggestions from our customers as you're the guys that have a direct perception of using our services.

[#10]

Quote from: _Adam_Walker_

I can see that as an idea being overlooked in favour of engineers making the calls themselves which to me would be the more realistic option

Personally I'm not convinced, the supervisor (or whoever) should have a good overview of where the actual designated engineer is and what their schedule is. Also someone office-based is a necessary 2-way point of contact for the customer - after all the engineer should be busy either working or travelling!
Not to mention that this is something that can easily done by ISP's without waiting for BTOR to change practices/processes/systems/union agreements etc etc.  
(for easily read - implement more quickly than BTOR though it may involve kicking a few BTOR doors in to get access to the information!)
I see direct contact between engineer and customer should normally only occur shortly before, during and at the end of the task - i.e. when they have their mind on that specific job. Outside that a central admin would be better.
That said, I have had no need of BT's services in quite a while so I can't speak from direct recent experience, only comparing what I see other organisations now manage to do and what "let-down" ISP customers report here and to be fair on other ISP's forums.

[#11]

Quote from: HPsauce

Hmm, I'd need to think about that as it's not an exact comparison to say a British Gas engineer coming, but a few things that others do are: A text message to your mobile confirming the appointment, a few days in advance, a reminder the day before and one on the day giving a better ETA (an hour window roughly). A contact number you can ring to confirm the appointment is actually happening, i.e. with access to engineers actual schedules & locations. And the ability for you to say "I'll be out from X to Y"! A management office that makes proactive calls to customers, especially on the day, to inform of improved/more accurate/revised timings. A courtesy call from the actual engineer who is coming is always a nice touch - "I'm on my way due whenever..." NEVER EVER abandon the job at the exchange for whatever reason - ALWAYS go to the premises and explain. If they can't get access, try a neighbour (or 2 or 3 or 4), and also wait a reasonable time and try again (and again) - and phone. Use both landline and mobile numbers sensibly. And record alternative contact details if relevant, not to mention location instructions if at all likely to be difficult to find. I'm sure being in a service business you can think of loads more............................ One delivery (courier) company I am serviced by has a web site where you can track your package and it shows estimated delivery times - after all they do know the rounds/routes used. It's surprisingly accurate.

I am not disagreeing with you but you’re asking for a more precise time slot on something that may take up to three hours for each customer. I wonder what the average time is for each installation.  I don’t know how many installations per day the engineer has to do, mine arrived here unannounced but within the time frame and as I had moved furniture etc. he was here less than half an hour. You also say that they should try neighbours and wait, how long should they do this? Don’t you think that while they are faffing around trying to gain access to one customer they may be able to have finished another?

[#12]

Well quite a bit will depend how long jobs take and how they're scheduled/located and the travel times between.
Surely it makes sense to spend a few minutes trying to get access if the next job is a 30-minute drive away?
Also if there's no initial answer will the engineer go back again after the next job or just slap on a charge for "no access"?
Once an engineer has arrived and assessed the situation it's easy enough to feed back to management if the job will take longer than normal and take appropriate action.
That may mean doing only some preparation and scheduling a return visit of appropriate length. Better that than impact a whole chain of subsequent customers?
Maybe they do this already?
Again, comparing to others I know that British Gas do something like that. If they can fix a problem from their "van stock" quickly they do, but often have to order parts and schedule a return.
Maybe because they have to do that regularly they're better organised?

[#13]

Some kind of final check in the late afternoon should be introduced to ensure all appointments that are assumed to be booked, are actually booked?

[#14]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, keep them coming.
@dai, if we've seen problems with engineers not having turned up, unfortunately in a lot of these cases the engineer has actually been booked hence us not always being able to preempt such issues.
However, in some cases a flag is placed against the order to indicate a delay, in some cases that delay can lead to the scheduled engineer visit not taking place so we're going to look at what processes we could perhaps put in place to nip those in the bud before the customer is impacted.

[#15]

My suggestions:
1) In an ideal world the engineer should text / ring the customer an hour or so before ETA.
2) If the engineer gets no response from the doorbell he should definitely ring the customer to check whether they are at the right / wrong address.
3) Some formal apology from the engineer for wasting customers time by not showing up having made them wait.
4) A new appointment within couple of days for the customer who suffered by the incompetency of the engineer.
These are the only few points I can think of at this moment . I will update if I  have more once the engineer comes to my right address and do the install.