Share |
The truths they don't want you to read....

Monday, July 06, 2009

Customer Relationship (Mis)management

What a fabulous story from Hebrides News about the unique CRM provided to Hebrides.net customers.

I am sure that there are two sides to every story, but this is just spectacular.

The boss - the person in charge of customer relationships wrote:
“put the crack pipe down for a minute... I will try and use small words so that you can understand.”

“A drug problem seems like the only explanation for your bizarre unwillingness to follow the instructions given to you.”

“I see you were hitting the smack again last night... ”
Read the entire story for the full utterly wonderful and gory details.

Remember: the success of customer relations is not how you deal with the easy customers, but how you deal with the dissatisfied.

18 comments:

Ex-customer of hebrides.net said...

This is not an isolated incident. I had several incidents with hebrides.net while I was chained to their service (not out of choice). I've kept records of all my dealings with them and associated people and organisations. It'll make for at least a significant part of a book.

Many (no exaggeration) other residents of the Hebrides and Uists had similar rude or insulting experiences. The modus operandi of hebnet (or ConCom) is:

1. When we screw up, it is never our fault. The customer is always at fault.
2. Collect the money first. Then maybe provide the service.
3. Disconnect people as an unsubtle warning to other residents that it'll happen to them if they complain too much.

I strongly advise anyone dealing with them to keep all emails, and (if possible) to record your phone conversations.

Also beware that they may be reading your incoming and outgoing emails, if you use the provided hebrides.net account. So if you want to communicate about your experiences with them, you'd best do it using a hotmail or yahoo account and change your ID.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/betterbroadband/index.html

Anonymous said...

Correction to the last commenter. The petition is here:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/betterbroadband

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...sounds like the Highland equivalent of Tiscali, the worst large broadband provider in the UK in my opinion, and which has just been sold to Talk Talk, voted the worst ISP in the UK!

Lousy speeds, frequent disconnections, atrocious customer service, ignoring of emails, blocking file-sharing programs, the list goes on.

If those stuck with CON-Com at the moment ever get upgraded to a BT exchange, whatever you do, don't sign up with Tiscali, or you're in for more of the same...take it from one who knows!

Captain Swing said...

Is this the same Tiscali that I have been with for nigh on ten years without having any bother whatsoever? No disconnections, whenever I have had to contact them re moving home it has always been a pleasant operation with no hitches, billing OK, the only problem I have had is that the Internet Use function in My Account i.e. the bit that says how long I've been connected to the Internet does not always work. But I think I can live without that.

No all in all I would recommend Tiscal. And no I don't work for them, but knowing my luck now I have praised them it no doubt will all go pear shaped.

Anonymous said...

Some businesses serving the Islands would do well to remember this quote attributed to Ghandi:

"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so"

Anonymous said...

Everything Tiscali touch goes to hell, they destroyed Lineone and then Nildram, their customer service is indeed atrocious.

Anonymous said...

You are very luck indeed, Capt. Swing, if you've been with Tiscali that long with no bother at all. Maybe you should contact the Vatican and register it as a miracle :-)

It's when things do go wrong that Tiscali fails very badly indeed, at a time when ISPs should be at their best. Tiscali really are the pits.

Anonymous said...

Ah, the fragrant Tiscali. Never have I been so glad to get away from any company in my life as Tiscali.

Assuming you can understand the Indian on their 'support' line (which you pay for through the nose, thank you very much), it becomes apparent after a very short time that they're actually reading from a sheet of common answers to common problems (and a lot of people have problems with Tiscali).

If you have anything more than a beginner's problem with your connection, you're shafted, but they will anyway put you through to someone else, after five or ten or fifteen minutes of tinny Vivaldi (which you pay for through the nose, thank you very much) who eventually doesn't solve your problem, which was created by Tiscali, and which they don't really give a damn about, as long as your direct debit is still going.

Tiscali, get thee hence!

Anonymous said...

Ditto on the atrocious. It took my friend fully 9 months to extract herself from Tiscali. Refused to end contract (after several years), would only take cancellations by phone but they repeated denied having had the cancellation, and finally cancelling the d/d led to them threatening court action. Finally they said just pay us another 14.99 and we'll let you go.......

Anonymous said...

10:55

That's a common 'policy' of Tiscali's: only take cancellations by phone, then you the customer have no proof of cancellation having occurred (how many people record their phone conversations?) and your direct debit keeps on going into their account until you can get rid of the slimeballs.

They are basically crooks and the worst company I have ever encountered on the web. Ever.

Anonymous said...

thursdays Dilbert has something to say about this!

Anonymous said...

oh 10:55 I had the same problem exactly, it's obviously a policy.

Anonymous said...

It's a policy all right: it's there in their Terms & Conditions, buried in the bits you never read (and they don't want you to read) until you want to get away from them.

It's probably illegal for Tiscali to state that they only take cancellations by phone, but I don't suppose that bothers them too much as long as they keep getting away with it.

Anonymous said...

Ex-customer of hebrides.net, from the Connected Communities
Broadband Network Wholesale Broadband Services Agreement;

4.2.7 The Customer accepts that due to unforeseen technical reasons or due to a subsequent failure
to meet the requirement detailed in paragraph 3.1., it may become apparent that the Field
Support Services Contractor is unable to rectify a fault. In such circumstances the service for
some individual End Users may need to be withdrawn and the Authority will rebate any charges
paid by the Customer.

Basically no obligation to provide a decent service (even though given vast sums of taxpayers money to do so), it's in the contract!

Razorfish said...

I was expecting a few more comments about the service or otherwise of Hebnet. And if the practises in the 1st comment by the ex-customer is anything to go by, they are truly despicable.

To report poor or non-existent broadband service, sign the petition, and also register at
http://www.broadband-notspot.org.uk/

Anonymous said...

@Razorfish

We've all ranted till we're blue in the face about it... we're still at it but we, Hebnet, the Comhairle, HIE and God knows that the service is shite, the charges are criminal, the customer service is appalling and the straightjacket we've been put in is a mistake - what can we do. We get sick of hearing ourselves complain at and about elected officials*, officers and agencies that don't give a tinker's toblerone about all the things that could work perfectly well here but don't. (*except for Peacock who is doing something, I believe.)

Tiscali and the BT exchange being overloaded are a refreshing change because at least they're not problems we've foisted on ourselves.

Anonymous said...

10:11 PM Peter Peacock can only do something about this if people put their name to his petition;

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/betterbroadband

This isn't an issue without sufficient numbers to show it is. I urge all the people who are unhappy at the current broadband situation to sign this petition and get all their family and friends to do likewise.