Virgin Media - Letter of complaint sent to the CEO of Customer Services

Dear Virgin

 

Account number: 8********

 

PACKAGE: £46 per month, TV – Basic package, broadband – Large, landline.

 

I have been with you for many years now, I used to pay the bill in my step dads name at the same address above with landline number 01636 ****** under the name of**********, so although your records may show I have been with you since 2010 the fact is it has been much longer.

I am disgusted and at my wits end that I have to send this to you but feel I should give you one more chance as i have got nowhere with your staff by phone, online or via twitter.

 

As a loyal customer I would expect to be given the best packages and services. I know a host of other people who are paying much less than I, yet receive a better and more lucrative deal than i have ever had. Off the back of this, your company has been bombarding with unnecessary phone calls that I have had to unplug my landline for the 6 months. It is a modern world we live in, and as i have explained to your staff I do not have time to receive phone calls and would prefer to receive any updates/offers via email, but this has fallen on deaf ears. I have provided you in the past with account details of people I know who are paying less than £40 per month TOTAL for a large broadband package (that works), TiVo with extra channels and also a landline.

 

The Wi-fi service provided by your company is truly and utterly shocking. I have followed every technical suggestion provided online, bought and tested different equipment and even had an engineer out and still I have such a poor service it actually gets me aggravated and impacting my domestic/personal life. I work from home and rely on your service and constantly find  myself using alternative means such as mobile broadband which is a massive inconvenience and costs me more money, despite me paying for a service already! The download speed is awful, the wi-fi connection radius is very poor and often I cannot connect despite being beside the modem.

 

However, the real reason I have decided to write to you is in regards to recent interaction with someone claiming to represent your company. I recently received a phone call on my personal mobile from ‘Virgin’ apparently telling me how much of a ‘valued and  loyal customer’ I am and how I am going to rewarded for being so. My first reaction was “brilliant and about time too!”. So I listened to the operators spiel of” we can do this, we can do that” and then I was asked for my account password. As I work for the largest telecommunications company in the world, and actively deal with interactions such as this I was sceptical. So I quote an incorrect password which was accepted by the agent! She knew a lot of my personal details and continued to go on about how wonderful Virgin is and how they love to reward their loyal customers. It turns out it was an offer for a mobile phone!! This is the absolute last thing I wanted a conversation about! I felt genuinely surprised and immediately annoyed that this was the reason I was being contacted despite my numerous attempts in the past to engage and highlight my issues with virgin. I proceed to tell her I work for a telecoms company and get 50% off, to which she swiftly thanked me and hung up! My concerns with this are as follows. Either, this was an a legitimate call which has shown a very poor and somewhat alarming attitude to customer security and DPA or this wasn’t a legitimate call and it seems my details have been acquired from your company and are now sitting on some con artist’s list! Part of me hopes it is the later as this interaction has highlighted what a poor customer engaged company Virgin really are with no focus on customer satisfaction but rather a, get them in the door attitude and then they can do bugger all to get out the contract!

 

I pay my bill on time every month, have demonstrated the desire and eagerness to follow your companies advise and policies and ultimately I feel it is about time Virgin gets its act together and deals with my problems immediately. I do NOT want another phone call and require and timely response to this complaint. I would like to have answers for the bombardment of calls to my house phone, an understanding of the details of the latest interaction (which I would assume is documented somewhere), a plan for how you intend to update and maintain the service promised in my household and finally a reviewed offer of my package and any appropriate actions you plan to take off the back of this complaint.

 

I look forward to your response.

 

Regards,

 

Natalie Butler

I receievd a follow up email:

Dear Natalie,

Thank you for your email regarding your complaint. Firstly please allow me to introduce myself, my name is ****, and I work in the Chief Executive Office on behalf of our CEO and Executive Directors at Virgin Media. My role is to ensure the appropriate resolution is reached for any complaints they receive.

I have assigned your case to one of our specialist complaint agents who will assume full accountability to ensure your complaint is resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. They will be in touch within the next 24 hours.

Whilst we do aim to resolve all issues as quickly as possible and usually within 5 days, the agent dealing with your case may be required to investigate your issue further. If you’d like to speak to us while we are handling your complaint then please don’t hesitate to call.

I would like to take this opportunity to say how sorry I am you have had cause to complain, however I can assure you we will do our utmost to resolve this to your satisfaction.

Regards

**** *******

The RESOLUTION was to offer me half price line rental for 6 months WITH me signing a 12 month contact..............2 words for you Virgin! HELLO SKY!

Sky

Sky

So I know this topic will bring much in the way of debate for most……….in the industry I work in and people I meet Sky have always been an example of ‘bad customer service and support’ from people. I have to say…..this is not my experience….so far….at all!

After being without a consistent Wi-Fi signal for 2 years, a house phone I unplug to not get bugged by Virgin all the time and a TV with 85 channels I have been sick to death of the entire Virgin brand! Which is a shame because I actual love Richard Branson and what he has done with his life and career!

Anyway, away from Virgin, there will be another ‘not so nice post’ about them coming up soon!

So………after 2 years of hell and letters to Virgin I had enough, I had looked into Sky before but because there were no cables in my area I was instantly looking at paying a minimum of £200 JUST to have some compatible cables put from the street to my house…….Virgin had me over a barrel.

But then came Kelvin!

Granted he knocked on my door half way through Friday night curry night which didn’t go down well with Kerry as she doesn’t like her Curry night being interrupted! But when I told him we were having tea but I would like to speak to him he agreed to come back in an hour.

He kept this promise……bang on an hour later, belly full of curry and the house smelling like Goa…..I welcomed him into the living room.

Before he started with the expected ‘sales’ pitch, I set him straight from the off knowing what Kerry is like that I would hear him out but would under no circumstances be signing anything there and then as Kerry likes to mull things over for a few days to make sure it’s the right move and is affordable. Actually the truth is she likes to make sure there is nothing hidden in any small print and there is little disruption to our lives as we are both so busy.

Kelvin sat down and started his sales pitch with his shiny laminated leaflet and all that jazz……We listened intently and then told him what we have at the minute with Virgin.

I won’t bore you with the finer details of what we have and what he could give so in a nut shell, for the same money we were paying Virgin, Kelvin could offer us over 200 channels, super hub broadband and a land line with free weekend calls. Not loads better than Virgin but more channels and a reliable Wi-Fi (although potentially slower) I was happy, so was Kerry.

So here came the million dollar question………….Installation!

This wasn’t as simple as a dish on the house and flipping a switch……it was new cables, holes in my ridiculously thick concrete walls that even a sledge hammer won’t get through and much more. The house had never had Sky; it had initially been NTL before being taken over by Virgin so we needed much more of a complex installation therefore meaning higher cost.

Kelvin pulled his ‘one off special discounts’ pitch and said the installation of the Sky dish would be free, the equipment would be free and the broadband installation he would do us for free…………so far so GREAT! Kelvin explained that the cables are harder, we would need new cables to run from the street to the house and then into the equipment (which I knew and knew would be costly) he told us how they use BT engineers (who are known to be the best in the business) to come out and do the work on the box outside the house across the road and this is normally £149 on its own………but here came his rabbit out of the hat………..he would put that down as free too!

So where is the catch?

Me: So what’s the set up cost then?

Kelvin: Nothing

Me: Ok so what’s the cost going to be aside from the monthly payments, like a setup fee?

Kelvin: Nothing

Me: So you’re telling me that you will get us changed over to Sky, new equipment, cables, engineers etc. for £43 per month on a 12 month contract nothing else hidden on the way?

Kelvin: Yep, I can get it all one here and now by calling the set up team, all of our customer services are in the UK other than the set up team but it’s me that speaks to them anyway so you will only ever deal with UK call centres

Me: Erm, ok, so I know we said nothing would be signed tonight but Kerry I think this is amazing! What do you think?

Kerry is by now knee deep in terms and conditions and reading the small print so I get little input to my question.

Kelvin continues….’I’ll also do the broadband for you free for 6 months saving you £7.50 per month so the first 6 months of your 12 month contract will be £35.50 per month.

By this point I’m swallowed by the Sky monster and ready to sign anything he puts in front of me!

Kelvin spoke about all the extras, Sky sports, entertainment packs etc. but at no point was there any pressure to sign up; we said no thank you and this was accepted with no resentment.

We had a good chat about weight loss, families, general interests and genuinely felt like we had a friend in the house, yeah yeah I know this is what salesman do but he was different, sincere if you like.

Poor Kerry is finished reading all the small print now and still has a little squint on her face from straining to read everything on Kelvins shiny booklet, she’s ready! Ready to make a big step for us and move companies for one of our services! But there WAS a catch…………………………….Just not from Kelvin……………….Kerry wanted it in her name so she has her first ever utility bill in her name in almost 30 years! Ahhh bless…………I’m sure that won’t be a problem! You want the bill love? You have it!

At this point I realise I haven’t even offered him a cuppa! Oops……I offer, although too late, and he polity declines. He’s now on the phone to someone halfway across the world setting up our new deal not hiding anything from what he has offered and getting the person on the other end of the phone to confirm everything with the new bill payer….Kerry……..or Miss Kerry as the helpful agent keeps referring to her as! Ha ha bless!

So…………..all is done and dusted! Kelvin is happy with his sale no doubt and we are most certainly happy with leaving the evil corporation that is Virgin Media! Off he pops but not before leaving us with his card and personal mobile number in case we need anything! He’s so friendly I’m tempted to ring him at 4am one morning when I have a hankering for a pizza!

So I know this is a little premature as I haven’t had to call Sky for anything to follow up and I am waiting for my installation of the broadband. But so far so excellent! We have had regular text messages and emails telling us when the engineers are coming, giving a 1 hour slot so we don’t have to sit in for hours on end, confirmation of prices and deals and loads of information all the way through! We have been kept in the loop and up to date with everything! I am over the moon so far even though it’s just taken me 15 minutes and Google to help me work out how to record a TV series! Apparently the ‘record’ button kinda works! DOPE! Oh an if you’re wondering………I’m recording ‘obsessive compulsive cleaners’ on Channel 4 at 8pm starts on Wednesday! I’m sure Kerry will appreciate it! Wished id seen the applications for contestants I would SO have sent her on it!

Anyway………….Sky!..................8/10! You haven’t lost 2 points but you have a potential 2 points to gain depending on the consistency and support of your aftercare customer services which I am yet to experience J

Apple Inc - Evil enterprise or Amazing corporation?

Apple Inc.

After 4 months of fighting with my nice shiny new iPhone 5 I finally gave in speaking to my telecoms provider with the offer of a repair (which to be fair I understand is process and why this has to be the case) but being stuck with a phone that needs charging CONSTANTLY throughout every day did my head in!

It wasn’t only the battery, I mean, the charger coming away from the cable, camera closing down when trying to take a photo, dropped calls, new SIM’s, exchanges and the constant freezing was enough to give me a nervous breakdown! The sheer disappointment in my new phone was too much to take! Lol! After being a massive fan of the iPhone 3GS and my iPad I was so excited to be one of the first people to receive their phone that I thought I could overlook its flaws……I’m afraid not….

So in my last ditch attempt to get this fixed for once and for all and to STOP having to use the nightmare phone that is the Samsung Galaxy S3 I decided to contact Apple direct!

Slight miffed with the options on their ‘contact us’ section with having to select various difference countries, reasons I wish to contact them, possible solutions and topics etc I ended up switching to good old trusty Google to get a contact number so I could just call them! This didn’t work……….

I ended up filling in a call back request form online which to be fair, was relatively easy to do, selecting the call back time and number I wanted to be contacted on was a great bonus. I was a little disappointed in having to justify why I deserved to speak to an Apple agent free of charge but I suppose there must be another reason for this out there other than they could swallow the world with their brand power if they wanted to……maybe…..

I made my telephone appointment for 11.30am the very next day as I knew I would be too busy between now and then to go through the faults on my phone. I had already made a script with bullets of the issues I wanted to raise and how I am a loyal Apple customer and express my sheer disappointment to them! Ok some of it was a bit dramatic but I fancied myself a bit of an iTunes voucher as compensation for being messed around……..even though it wasn’t Apple’s fault……bad Butler!

Anyway, this brings me onto the next morning! I am very excited about possibly speaking to some American in that big ole country AMERICA! You know I love America and Americans and anything American at all other that Americano Coffee (for obvious reasons)

11.25am…….5 minutes to go

11.27am…….is it time yet

11.29am……I wonder if they will call me on time

11.32am…..well it did say ‘approximate’

11.35am…….taking the pee now think I need a bigger iTunes voucher as compensation

11.37am……….Nicki Minaj breaks into ‘Starships, are meant to flllyyyy, hands up and touch the skkkyyyy’

Hello Natalie speaking………….

Apple: Hello Miss Butler?

Me: Speaking.

Apple: Hello Miss Butler this is ******* from Apple customer care how are you today?

Me: Oh, very well thank you

Apple: That’s great to hear! So I can see from your call form you have been having problems with your iPhone 5’s battery, I’m really sorry to hear that, let’s see how we can fix that for you

Me: oh….brilliant, ok

*some diagnostics are completed within 2 minutes and the faults are found*

Apple: Ok so Miss Butler we can see there is a fault with your battery and also the diagnostics have shown some other errors too, we need to get this sorted for you

*offers various options to suit ME and gives me time to decide what I want to do, I chose to go into a store and make an appointment, this takes around 3 minutes of which the agent kept chatting to me and remained upbeat and cheerful throughout, confirming my appointment time and place a few times too*

Apple: When you go into the Apple store for your appointment and advisor will approach you, they will have your details on the appointment card on their iPads and will have your details and be able to either repair the phone there and then or replace it for you, is there anything else I can help you with today Miss Butler?

Me: No that’s absolutely brilliant, thank you so much for your time.

And so it begins! Backed my phone up, popped everything in the box and looked forward to my Apple store visit on Monday!

Off I went with my phone in tow! I thought maybe if I got there early I ‘might’ be able to squeeze an early appointment. I walked into the store with as many staff as they had customers and was blown away by the atmosphere! Everyone was so happy, excitable, open and willing to help! It oozed from every section!

I walked towards the brightly lit desk where again, I’m surrounded by people in blue t-shirts with iPads and barcodes around their neck! I’m approached by a nice young guy with his handy iPad in tow! ‘Hi welcome to Apple can I help you’. I explain about my appointment and faulty phone to which he reply’s ‘I’m sure we can get you in now, if you want to go with ******* and he will take good care of you’.

*******approaches me and asks me how he can help! I’m overwhelmed with all the help these people want to give me! I’m tempted to ask for a £1000 loan they’re all so helpful! I put this to the back of my mind and concentrate on my poorly iPhone 5! ***** leads me to a PC…..MAC of course……and asks me to click on a few options in my phone. He remotely connects to my phone with his iPad and BOOM! List of faults displayed on his iPad from my phone……wow……loving the technology here! Feel like I’m in an episode of Futerama without the lobster!

‘ok so we can see the faulty battery here, when I can do is check if we have any batteries in stock now and get it fixed for you, if we haven’t then I’ll get you a new device, is everything backed up or do you need help doing that through iCloud, we can connect you to our Wi-Fi in store?’ I confirm I have already backed everything up a million times to be safe as I am useless with losing data. Off ******* trots to go into the back, in the meantime welcoming me to browse the store and have a play with all the gadgets!

A burglar alarm controlled by your iPhone…….a TV controlled by your iPhone…………a motion sensor controlled by your iPhone…………..a lamp controlled by……….yep you guessed it………..your iPhone!

I’ve been browsing now for about 5 minutes and decide I was to start looking for a robot housemaid that I can control with my iPhone when ****** returns from the back of the store with not only a nice shiny BRAND new iPhone 5 for me………but my SIM card installed, fully charged and ready to go! He stands with me and helps me set it up….choosing my language, time, date and all that jazz. Stands with me to make sure all of my data is back on the phone and gets me to sign his iPad to say I accept the zillion terms and conditions (obviously I have thoroughly read them before :s) to say this would normally cost £147.50 out of warranty but today it will be free. I thank ****** very much for all his help and kindly ask him where abouts the new charging cables are seeing as I managed to destroy mine in less than 60 days! He directs me over to a young lady stood 5 meters away who will be able to help me. I thank him and get on my merry way!

Approaching the girl stood near the chargers she was happily chatting to her pink haired colleague but with an ‘excuse me’ turned all smiley and offered to help me! I asked for the charging cable to which she did a 180 degree spin and presented me with a nice new cable for my iPhone and the tune of £15. Bargain, that’ll do! Getting my purse out she didn’t need to move an inch to charge me! She had a nifty little device sat there waiting with my payment details and ready for me to charge my bank card………..less than 10 seconds later I’m all paid up! ‘Would you like your receipt emailing to you?’ Wow! Now that’s technology! ‘erm, yes please’ before I have chance to tell her my email she asks is Natalie_jane_2000@yahoo.com the one you would like me to use?’……..’erm, yes please’ ok…..slightly stalkerish but impressive all the same. ‘That will be with you within the hour and your 12 month warranty on the cable starts today, have a great day’ and off I trot!

After reading this mammoth entry I hope you too are juggling with the amazing, futuristic services I received as well as the stalkerish big brother style information the already had on me. It’s amazing nowadays what your name can tell you about yourself! If I Google myself I am greeted with a vast amount of data about myself and other Natalie Jane Butler’s across the globe! I’m sure on some level this SHOULD concern me…………….but in this day and age it doesn’t. Were all so open to technology and trusting into things that are ultimately controlled by wires, signals, electricity and geeks in labs!

Anyway……..I digress………..Apple! You are a giant, multinational, billion dollar company who have so much control over the telecommunication and business industries………….and you know what! I don’t mind! You can take over the world for all I care because your service is second to none and I have never in my life felt so much like an individual and valued customer!

You get a SOLID thumbs up and 9/10 Butler points! I’m afraid you lose a point for not lending me £1000 or having an iPhone controlled housemaid for me! But ultimately you are number 1 in customer service for me and without a doubt you will be hard to beat!