Talk To Forums Feedback

Boards.ie: Tony

Hi All,

Have you used (or know someone who has used) our Talk To forums for help / support? If you have, we’d love to meet up with you to talk about your experience. We’re looking to bring the experience on the Talk To forums to the next level, but want to hear from people who've actually used it to get help / support.

We're looking to get feedback on the mechanics of the forums and how that can be improved. It doesn't matter if you've had a good / bad experience; we need both sides so we can see what’s being done right, and what’s not so we can make it better.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints we’re limited to meeting people from Dublin this time round. So, if you've used the Talk To Forums and are willing to meet up for a few minutes (either in a coffee shop that suits you, or even here at the Boards HQ in the city centre) please post a reply below and we’ll get in touch to make arrangements.

Thanks ,
Tony.

whitelightrider

Hi Tony,

Im just wondering whats going to be done with specific Talk to forums where companies are not bothering to reply to customers?
Ive been having serious issues with Vodafone since the 9th May. Ive posted numerous times since then trying to get a response but Im just being ignored.
Yet today I see Darren replied to a post in the competition thread from yesterday! So they are looking at the forum, just not bothering with customers.

Its disgraceful.

Oh meant to say that Im in Dublin tomorrow evening if you want to meet up to discuss.

Boards.ie: Tony

whitelightrider wrote: »

Hi Tony,

Im just wondering whats going to be done with specific Talk to forums where companies are not bothering to reply to customers?
Ive been having serious issues with Vodafone since the 9th May. Ive posted numerous times since then trying to get a response but Im just being ignored.
Yet today I see Darren replied to a post in the competition thread from yesterday! So they are looking at the forum, just not bothering with customers.

Its disgraceful.

Oh meant to say that Im in Dublin tomorrow evening if you want to meet up to discuss.

Hi whitelightrider,

In this particular instance, we're more specifically looking for suggestions and feedback on the mechanics of the forums and how that can be improved.

If your issue isn't being dealt with in a specific forum, all we can do is suggest that you contact them every day until they respond to your issue.

We can't tell any company how to run their customer support but we do advise them that the longer an issue goes unresolved, the worse it looks for them.

Tony.

Ken.

Their was a suggestion in feedback(i think) a while ago suggesting that the talk to forums get tags like the help desk. Stuff like open,ongoing,customer query,resolved etc. Sounded like a good idea. Sorry cant find it after doing a search.

Kamjana

ken wrote: »

Their was a suggestion in feedback(i think) a while ago suggesting that the talk to forums get tags like the help desk. Stuff like open,ongoing,customer query,resolved etc. Sounded like a good idea. Sorry cant find it after doing a search.

This one?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056337124

RUCKING FETARD

Kamjana wrote: »

This one?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056337124

Nope

TeddyTedson

I've used the talk to forums (with three) and one critisism I'd have is that I PMed about getting a phone blocked. I was getting replies from multiple people, but eventually one of them PMed me to tell me it was taken care of.
About 2 months later I PMed to have a different phone blocked. I then received a PM back from one of the staff back telling me that I had previously asked for a different phone to be blocked and to clarify.

I'm not sure exactly how the PM system works with the "talk to" forums but this to me seems to be a flaw.

Hope that's helpful to you in some way.

KoolKid

I find most of them very good and very eager to help.
Special praise to Vodafone, BOI ,Eflow and Currys who I find very helpful.
The only one I have had issue with is Eircom. I find they ignore or fudge what they don't want to answer.

One general dislike across the board is the stock prepared replies.
They sound more like a letter you get when you're CV had been received and chucked in a file rather than a discussion.

Tow

KoolKid wrote: »

One general dislike across the board is the stock prepared replies.

Some of the Reps often give stock script replies, without properly reading the OP's post or without bothering to go the extra mile to give a proper reply etc.

Would it possible for the OP to give a rating to quality and relevance of the reply, much like Microsoft and others do with their online help?

RUCKING FETARD

ken wrote: »

Their was a suggestion in feedback(i think) a while ago suggesting that the talk to forums get tags like the help desk. Stuff like open,ongoing,customer query,resolved etc. Sounded like a good idea. Sorry cant find it after doing a search.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056352199

From a Thread about the Three Forum, year later, nothings changed!

Priori

I think the 'Talk To' links should be more visible, perhaps with their own tab at the top of the page. They're even more hidden with the new design.

Boards.ie: Tony

Would any of you guys / girls be willing to meet for 20-30 mins to answer a few questions?

KoolKid

I,m up for this.

oB1

Hi Tony, all,

Just giving my "+1" to alot of the responses here, RE:

>> Adding the "Tags" like the ones in the help desk forums.
>> Some form of Mod/Admin Notification system when a new thread (question ) gets asked to the "Talk-To" guys, and is not responded to in a few days etc. - The mod/admin could then chase the Reps etc.
>> I could be wrong here , but, the Reps mod there own forum, right? - i suggest getting an external modding presence to eliminate the biased presence, if its already there, well then, never mind
>> Try to reduce, or get rid of the "Scripted" responses, it isn't that nice of a response, (contrary to popular believe ) - Often, and in my own experience i asked a question, and got a "script" response, leading to my question not being answered at all.
>> Make the "Talk-To" forum more visible, bigger presence etc. sometimes, hard to find, unless your a regular to boards.
>> Rating system for responses, IE Scale 1-10 , how help full the response was
>> One idea, i think would be cool, and not just for the "Talk-To" Forum, would be a like button, along side the thank button, as sometimes, you don't want to thank the person for there post, rather, "Like" what they said.


Just my two cents, will gladly provide more feedback if needed

Rob

Boards.ie: Tony

RobertHopkins wrote: »

Hi Tony, all,

Just giving my "+1" to alot of the responses here, RE:

>> Adding the "Tags" like the ones in the help desk forums.
>> Some form of Mod/Admin Notification system when a new thread (question ) gets asked to the "Talk-To" guys, and is not responded to in a few days etc. - The mod/admin could then chase the Reps etc.
>> I could be wrong here , but, the Reps mod there own forum, right? - i suggest getting an external modding presence to eliminate the biased presence, if its already there, well then, never mind
>> Try to reduce, or get rid of the "Scripted" responses, it isn't that nice of a response, (contrary to popular believe ) - Often, and in my own experience i asked a question, and got a "script" response, leading to my question not being answered at all.
>> Make the "Talk-To" forum more visible, bigger presence etc. sometimes, hard to find, unless your a regular to boards.
>> Rating system for responses, IE Scale 1-10 , how help full the response was
>> One idea, i think would be cool, and not just for the "Talk-To" Forum, would be a like button, along side the thank button, as sometimes, you don't want to thank the person for there post, rather, "Like" what they said.


Just my two cents, will gladly provide more feedback if needed

Rob

Thanks for all the feedback / suggestions. They are all things that are 100% on the list to be added over the next while.
re: Reps modding their forum, they don't have any modding privileges.

Unfortunately, we can't force a company to run their customer service in a particular way. We can encourage the community to persist to make sure they get an answer though.
Sorry I can't be any clearer than that, but I hope it makes sense!

johndoe99

i'm from waterford, ca'nt make it to Dublin, have you thought about providing a feedback page temporarily for the information that you seek, like many companies do.

oB1

johndoe99 wrote: »

i'm from waterford, ca'nt make it to Dublin, have you thought about providing a feedback page temporarily for the information that you seek, like many companies do.

I could be Wrong, but isn't that the idea of this thread

johndoe99

RobertHopkins wrote: »

I could be Wrong, but isn't that the idea of this thread

yup, your wrong,

the OP's post is quite clear in that he wants to meet up and discuss, it states to leave a reply if you can meet up.

a feedback page would contain questions that one would answer.

Vahevala

I have used the Three forum extensively and would be interested in this.

I believe the talk to forums are such a great idea and such a brilliant way of getting answers quickly and problems ironed out and saves me time and money!

I would be interested in meeting up

biko

Boards.ie: Tony wrote: »

Would any of you guys / girls be willing to meet for 20-30 mins to answer a few questions?

Sure, come over any time.

But in short: I've a few threads there and must say I've got great service so far in all forums I've used.

damien collier

i could not leave a comment on the camera competition

rex-x

Boards.ie: Tony wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback / suggestions. They are all things that are 100% on the list to be added over the next while.
re: Reps modding their forum, they don't have any modding privileges.

Unfortunately, we can't force a company to run their customer service in a particular way. We can encourage the community to persist to make sure they get an answer though.
Sorry I can't be any clearer than that, but I hope it makes sense!

I know you cant tell them how to run their business but can you not tell them if they dont provide an adequate service and reply in a timely manner to each query they are out of the talk to forum. If they pay for the service then perhaps a monitary penalty for non compliance?
It looks bad for boards when such behaviour is allowed by companies

aoshea83

Following on from my ignored thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056337124

I notice that there is one issue to be added to my above thread and to explain it I'll give an example:

The Talk To Vodafone Forum -

I have an issue so I post a thread looking for help of one of the reps, that's grand, that is until someone else starts posting in my thread either offering advise or moaning about the same issue.

While these people are either trying to be helpful or just venting what they are actually doing is bumping my thread back up to the start of the forum on page 1.

What's the issue?
The vodafone reps start at the oldest thread and work towards the newest one, I may have posted my thread early enough to be first thread to be answered the following day unless someone posts and bumps it back into "last" place.

I just feel that only the reps should be allowed post in a thread unless the OP asks for feedback from other users, I'll stop now before this gets moved to R&R

-Corkie-

I know you say that you cannot tell them what way to run there business but the Vodafone forum is a pure joke. I had a problem that went on for over a year before it was resolved.

I must say though hats of to Declan @ Currys, he really knows what customer satisfaction is. I have used the other forums too and was very satisfied but the VF one is a mess.

I am in the real capital btw Tony if you fancy a pint of Murphys to discuss...:D

RUCKING FETARD

aoshea83 wrote: »

I just feel that only the reps should be allowed post in a thread unless the OP asks for feedback from other users, I'll stop now before this gets moved to R&R

No!

Just look at Richer Sounds and Currys, No comparison.

You get far better responses overall with anyone being able to respond, the community could offer a better product or a different route to go altogether that you never considered than you just getting a price/stock level response.

Once upon a time I responded to someone on Richersounds asking about an LG smart TV, feck I'm not writing it all out but jist is I linked to better LG TV that Richer didn't stock on a dif site that was at same price with more features, explained all the important ones and why it was better as I'd just spent a good 2 months googiling TVs myself, all to be deleted by the Mods as that's how the Forum works, OP went with Richer Reps recommendation.

aoshea83 wrote: »

What's the issue?
The vodafone reps start at the oldest thread and work towards the newest one, I may have posted my thread early enough to be first thread to be answered the following day unless someone posts and bumps it back into "last" place.

More an issue with that Forum and the Reps just not bothering to respond as mentioned earlier.

Looking at it there, they don't respond to oldest Threads first either.


Currys Forum/Declan is Brilliant. Puts the rest (that I've looked at) to shame.

El Weirdo

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

No!

...
More an issue with that Forum and the Reps just not bothering to respond as mentioned earlier.

Looking at it there, they don't respond to oldest Threads first either.

Exactly.

It looks like they just pick and choose which threads to respond to over there in the Vodafone forum.

Other users shouldn't be discouraged from replying to threads if they have a solution or even the same issue. The Vodafone reps should be encouraged to bother their holes looking to see when a thread was started.

Thor

I do love the talk to forums for not only being able to chat to companys and get help, but the main aspect in which all of it is visible to the public. I think this alone makes it so that companies are pressured even more to help out as best they can and put more of an effort in.

Another function which would be great is that in every talk to forum it says more noticeably if any agents are online and what times they access boards at, I understand the talk to forums are mainly for less urgent matters, but it would be nice if you had an idea of when they are around and when each agent for each talk to forum is online.

Like the way the new boards layout is for navigation, it follows you around the entire site, sometime around the talk to forums for each company to allow you to see each agents who is online and if they are actually their.

The reason for this is that sometimes you will leave a thread to get help and think they will get back shortly and they don't and then you have to wait until another day for a reply or to contact them another way.

The talk to forum is an amazing part of boards.ie alone and I think more companies should join as it doesn't just raise the help of their customer service but keeps it in one area with a massive community.

RUCKING FETARD

Thor wrote: »

Another function which would be great is that in every talk to forum it says more noticeably if any agents are online and what times they access boards at, I understand the talk to forums are mainly for less urgent matters, but it would be nice if you had an idea of when they are around and when each agent for each talk to forum is online.

:eek: You didn't read the charters! That's a weeks Ban!

If you scroll down to the bottom of any Forums main page you'll see who is active in it "currently active users" (unless they're using invisible mode, which reps shouldn't be if you ask me) and if you look in the Charter you'll see when they're suppose to be online.

Thor

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

:eek: You didn't read the charters! That's a weeks Ban!

If you scroll down to the bottom of any Forums main page you'll see who is active in it "currently active users" (unless they're using invisible mode, which reps shouldn't be if you ask me) and if you look in the Charter you'll see when they're suppose to be online.

I know we have the standard active users, but as I said a more noticeable way. Basically like the new floating navigation menu we have that follows us around. That is just genius alone and something that makes it noticeable as to which agents are online.

Perhaps just a way than to tell if a rep has read your post or is checking on it without the need to reply.

Also, this is a big one that I think would be great if implemented. lol I have been thinking about ideas to improve the talk to forum since I read this thread.

Okay, so a lot of the time when a person posts a query or an issue the rep will ask them to PM the details. So what if the person when making the thread could easily fill any necessary details that may be needed(each talk to forum could easily be different)

For instances, name, account number, address, contact number

Of course all of this information is only accessible to the reps of each talk to forum. Basically just like a few fill boxes above each new thread that you fill in when making the thread in the first place

I really think it would help cut down replies for just the basic information if each rep had access too it already and again would allow them to get to work on something without needing a reply or pm from the user.

I just think sometimes it may take a few hours for a rep to reply to a thread and by that time the user won't see it until the next day and by then it has already been a day. This way the rep could even have a solution by the time the user comes back online.

Anyway, just a few ideas I had.

dyna2010

Hi could u tell me how long it take for use to deactivated. A adverts account, as iv. Emailed use yesterday to do so,got a email back of use say id have to withdraw my ad before this can be done,i done that and reply back to use to say it woz done plus i gave my vaild. Reason why i want my account deactivated but got no reply,and still receiving email of ads i woz watching,sry if i posted in wrong section regards chris,

Madam_X

johndoe99 wrote: »

yup, your wrong,

the OP's post is quite clear in that he wants to meet up and discuss, it states to leave a reply if you can meet up.

a feedback page would contain questions that one would answer.

This is also a feedback page - what's with the pedantry?

RobertHopkins wrote: »

One idea, i think would be cool, and not just for the "Talk-To" Forum, would be a like button, along side the thank button, as sometimes, you don't want to thank the person for there post, rather, "Like" what they said.

Well I think the thanks button means like also, and all those positive things. When I saw it, I thought it was unusual that it said "thanks". "Thumbs up" would be more appropriate IMO.

damien collier wrote: »

i could not leave a comment on the camera competition

Da fuq?

dyna2010 wrote: »

Hi could u tell me how long it take for use to deactivated. A adverts account, as iv. Emailed use yesterday to do so,got a email back of use say id have to withdraw my ad before this can be done,i done that and reply back to use to say it woz done plus i gave my vaild. Reason why i want my account deactivated but got no reply,and still receiving email of ads i woz watching,sry if i posted in wrong section regards chris,

Da fuq?