Indian Call Centres

[Siphorous]

So I rang up my broadband provider to whine, bitch and moan about my slow broadband connection. It was causing streaming stuff to stop every few seconds (right annoying trying to watch youtube or anything else). I've had issues for over a week.

Anyway, after 30 minutes of waiting I got put through to an Indian support guy. Now, I'm Indian Asian myself but I had huge trouble with this guy. I had to speak more slowly and more clearly than I normally do and he still didn't grasp my issue.

Loud voices warbled delightfully in the background. The best was some lady (I'm sure I was talking to a guy) that was talking in Hindi (probably to a colleague) loud enough to almost be the support guy that I was talking to during my call.

In the end, somehow though I got the guy to understand my issue.

"Yes sir, your low speed is due to your lines being upgraded in that area. This is due to complete by June 20th".

followed by:

"I don't want you to be calling again about this issue" - I was like WTHeck is this guy on? It was my first call.

Anyway, I resolved at that point to cancel. The best bit of this boring story? Hold music.

Right at the beginning of the call they gave me a CHOICE of hold music "Press 0 for the latest Britain's got Talent musical hits", "Press 1 for Top 40..." and so on. I was quite astonished to say the least that they must have known there'd be long queues and gave me that choice...

This morning I cancelled. Got through to a UK person in 2 minutes. That tells me they are more concerned about getting you and keeping you for your money than providing a decent service/support.

Anyways, this lady tells me it isn't the upgrade that was causing the issue it was me. I'd been a bad boy - I'd used 100gb of stuff and the fair use limit was 60gb she was saying. I thanked her for clearing that up - and cancelled.

Moral of this sorry tale - read the fine print. I didn't and I ended up paying the price. The provider I've moved to doesn't have limits (I've checked the fine print).

-------

Carry on - boring random tale over

 

[HK]

Who are you with now, if you don't mind me being nosy? I'm with Sky on their unlimited broadband package, the only problem I've had is that you have to ring up occasionally and make them bump the speed up. It'll go back to awesome, and then over a few months gradually deteriorate. It's really weird.


I really want fibre optic, they're going to be installing it in my area or something, but it'd mean changing provider and paying more, so I'm a little hesitant right now.


At least with Sky, I've only ever spoken to people in England. There's something very annoying about trying to explain a problem to someone who isn't crazy familiar with your language, despite apparently being paid to be just that.

 

[Kakapo Dundee]

so, shit service from ISP call centres is a global thing?


Ironic that telcos are among the worst at call centre-based 'service'.

A handy hint I have found when dealing with the tax department.......don't fuck around letting them put you on hold with ghastly music. If there's an option to select to report suspected tax evaders, click that one, your call will always be answered quickly, and they're pretty good at transferring 'misdialed' people to the correct department quickly.

 

[Springsteen]

I'm with TalkTalk and their customer service is frankly shit.

The problem with the overseas call centres is they read from scripts and it's a language barrier because if someone goes off script so to speak, they don't know what to say. But it's cheaper for a company to outsource call centres than to have one in the UK. I'm not saying it's right, but it's cheaper.

 

[Siphorous]

HK - I'm with Virgin Media. Since moving back to my hometown I had the choice of Virgin or Sky. I'd been with both in the past but chose Virgin. My new provider is Sky again though. I checked their fine print - no capping or issues on the unlimited package which is what I'm on.

Since I was last with them though they've introduced that Phorm 'targetted ad' stuff etc. Did you get an option to opt out of that when viewing any pages? I wonder if that causes your degradation over time. In my previous tenure with them, I don't recall that kind of slowing down. Just a thought!

I did check out their support stuff too - and broadband support seemed to be UK based - what you've said supports that. Billing looked like it was India but I can cope with that.



Kakapo - seems so then I guess. And yes, a good point about telcos and their support What you've said too about clicking through the wrong thing I shall have to remember. Next time I'll just press the 'I want to cancel' options etc and I daresay should be put through quickly!

 

[Springsteen]

Sky's customer service is based in Scotland, which is better. But the holding times are horrendous (for TV anyway)

 

[HK]

Ah, we only have a telephone line and internet with them, no TV packages.


Not had horrendous holding times that I remember, and I've been pleased because you can set it up so other people in the house who aren't the account holder can call and discuss issues so long as they give a password.

 

[Kakapo Dundee]

The great thing with Indian call centres is that you can base them in the Midlands, and it's only a local call.

 

[dancingpotato]

I had to repeat my address four times (including spelling it out twice) to a guy on the phone once who was Indian. My address starts 6/2 and my bill arrived

6
2 6-2 6 (Insert street name)

I'm shocked it arrived at my address.

 

[HK]

Actually on the subject of support, I'm loving online chat options. I'm with O2 for my mobile phone contract and I'm talking to a guy right now about my bill through a chat window


It's handy since I'm at work and can't sit on hold then discuss it with someone in front of my boss, but this way it can just sit in another window. Plus, no problem with accents!

 

[Abcinthia]

Ahhh Virgin Media. I could have guessed based on your original post.

When I lived at home we were with them and they're customer service was awful. We lost our internet because we needed a new electrical gizmo (yeah I don't know what it was) but we couldn't get it was that winter with all the snow a few years back and the deliveries weren't happening. But before we could get that answer we had to go through:

Someone in the Uk who said it was a tech problem..
Tech guy in India who we could not understand who eventually said it was a problem for someone else...
In the Uk who sent us back to...
Someone in India! Who said it wasn't their problem so sent us to...
Someone else in India who sent us back to the tech department which is in...
India who said it was not a problem for them so sent us to...

A lovely lady in the UK who listened to the problem and finally gave a reason as to why the internet was not working and why it couldn't be fixed right now.

 

[Siphorous]

Wow. That's quite some to'ing and fro'ing there.

Plus, their website sucks donkey balls. Trying to go through the support options directs you towards their 'Digital Home Support' (a pay for service) before you get anywhere near their actual support number (which you have to hunt for).

Ah well, soon over I guess.

DP- do you have a thick Scottish accent? Indian call centre peeps seem to find it hard enough to understand relatively neutral English accents.

 

[Siphorous]

As for the limits, it's 5gb between 4-9pm weekdays and all weekend with Virgin Media. Go over that and they slow you down for 5 hours. I guess I must have streamed/downloaded a lot as I've been slow for over a week.

 

[Abcinthia]

Wow. That's quite some to'ing and fro'ing there.

Plus, their website sucks donkey balls. Trying to go through the support options directs you towards their 'Digital Home Support' (a pay for service) before you get anywhere near their actual support number (which you have to hunt for).

Ah well, soon over I guess.

DP- do you have a thick Scottish accent? Indian call centre peeps seem to find it hard enough to understand relatively neutral English accents.

What made the to and froing worse was that every time it happened we had to repeat our address, phone number, name and problem. The indian call centres also charged more although the nice lady at the end agreed to get rid of all the costs because it turns out the first person we talked to should have been able to tell us the problem.

And yes they do like to hide their numbers. Its almost like they don't want to talk to you

 

[Siphorous]

What made the to and froing worse was that every time it happened we had to repeat our address, phone number, name and problem. The indian call centres also charged more although the nice lady at the end agreed to get rid of all the costs because it turns out the first person we talked to should have been able to tell us the problem.

And yes they do like to hide their numbers. Its almost like they don't want to talk to you

I guess any business tries to sort you out with their website to reduce costs but their hiding is just a little OTT!

I did check that too with Sky (along with the call centre thing and fine print). Yes, the website tries to sort you out but the number is not so hard to get to for support.

 

[TGLucario475]

I've been with 3 for the past year, or so, for my internet (tethered from my phone) and I've had a really good/cheap service for unlimited internet. Though I'm one of the few who uses a mobile phone as a modem to tether their unlimited internet access phone tariff for laptop use.

 

[dancingpotato]

Wow. That's quite some to'ing and fro'ing there.

Plus, their website sucks donkey balls. Trying to go through the support options directs you towards their 'Digital Home Support' (a pay for service) before you get anywhere near their actual support number (which you have to hunt for).

Ah well, soon over I guess.

DP- do you have a thick Scottish accent? Indian call centre peeps seem to find it hard enough to understand relatively neutral English accents.

I do but I do speak clearly when I am on the phone. The video that was posted on here about the Scottish guys in the voice controlled lift, I don't sound like that but it is so true!!

I'm with virgin, I have internet and TV. I did have a landline but got taken that out a few months ago. For ages I had problems with letters for someone else coming to my house and no one knew who this girl was. I called virgin on numerous occasions and like Katie has said, I got transferred from place to place until I had told my story about 4 times. This girl had unpaid bills and Virgin kept sending letters about it. Nothing was done until I started putting the letters back in the post box with "not at this address" written on them. Eventually, I got a letter from bailiffs about her unpaid bill which again, I sent back. I contacted virgin AGAIN and nothing happened. Then one day a guy turned up to collect the TV box. My flatmate was like eh, this girl has never lived here in the last 5 years! He went away, couldn't care less and I have never heard anything since!

 

[AUFred]

Tech support is a thankless job I know but trying to talk to someone when you need an interpreter is far worse. I have been irritated enough to continue to insist to speak to someone who understands and speaks English.

 

[pjbleek]

Tech support is a thankless job I know but trying to talk to someone when you need an interpreter is far worse. I have been irritated enough to continue to insist to speak to someone who understands and speaks English.

:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap

good for you Fred!

 

[Dana]

Ya I've ran into issues with fine print... I HATE getting foreign support...