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I'd rather talk to a lad in an Indian Callcentre with broken English

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24

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    #32
    Pawwed Rig
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,380 CMod ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    Vodafone: Paul wrote: »
    Boards is a great resource, as a company we've stumbled at times here but I definitely want to make sure our talk to forum is of use.
    It literally is my job to make it work. If it doesn't work the it needs to change.

    I have been watching your forum since you posted this. According to the forum there are 4 Vodafone reps
    Colm
    Darren
    Paul
    Aoife

    Colm's last post on boards.ie was on January 14th
    Darren's last post was yesterday. The post before that was last Wednesday
    Aoife's last post was May 3rd
    and your last post was the one I am quoting above ie 9 days ago

    That to me looks like abandonment of the forum even though the response time has somehow miraculously dropped to 34 hours (despite no responses).

    Could a notice be put up there that the forum is no longer being monitored as it is not fair on people to post there and be ignored. I have been resisting the urge to provide advice to people on the forum that they will most likely not receive any answers but don't want to be a nuisance there either.

    I can see how people would get extremely frustrated on this which could lead to bans etc which I think would be unfair.


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    #33
    RoundyMooney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭RoundyMooney


    If those experiences ring true, then it makes a nonsense of the "response time" statistics. Would be interesting to learn how they're calculated.


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    #34
    Boards.ie: Nicola
    Closed Accounts Posts: 732 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Nicola


    Auld-Yin wrote: »
    I would be interested in how the response time (& rate) are calculated.
    On Friday afternoon the response time for a certain forum was 44 hours.
    Now, about 2½ days later it is 28 hours.
    A check of the listed reps. shows that the last post by one of them was over 4 days ago. I've skimmed through the posts for the last few days and didn't notice any recent replies from reps.

    Response time is based on the average time between the OP and the first rep reply to a thread, based on a 28 day average.

    Response rate is the ratio of threads which have an official reply (ie from a Verified Representative), again over a 28 day period.

    When we were rebuilding the Talk to forums we felt some indicator of service levels was reasonable, both to manage member's expectations and give the Talk to companies an idea of how they were performing.


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    #35
    .BrianJM
    Subscribers Posts: 2,670 ✭✭✭.BrianJM


    Boards.ie: Nicola wrote: »
    Response time is based on the average time between the OP and the first rep reply to a thread, based on a 28 day average.

    Response rate is the ratio of threads which have an official reply (ie from a Verified Representative), again over a 28 day period.

    When we were rebuilding the Talk to forums we felt some indicator of service levels was reasonable, both to manage member's expectations and give the Talk to companies an idea of how they were performing.

    ...but how does a response time of 44 hours reduce to 28 hours when there has been no response over a 60 hour period and at the time of my original post the most recent response was over 110 hours old?


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    #36
    RoundyMooney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭RoundyMooney


    Auld-Yin wrote: »
    ...but how does a response time of 44 hours reduce to 28 hours when there has been no response over a 60 hour period and at the time of my original post the most recent response was over 110 hours old?

    Maybe the stats reset every four weeks, as opposed to a rolling 28 day average?

    That's the only explanation I can think of.


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    #37
    Steve
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 22,584 CMod ✭✭✭✭Steve


    Auld-Yin wrote: »
    ...but how does a response time of 44 hours reduce to 28 hours when there has been no response over a 60 hour period and at the time of my original post the most recent response was over 110 hours old?
    Read the answer carefully.
    Boards.ie: Nicola wrote: »
    Response time is based on the average time between the OP and the first rep reply to a thread, based on a 28 day average.
    It doesn't say the response has to be from a rep so "I've the same issue" posts will improve the response time.

    Response *rate* would be more accurate in this case.


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    #38
    Ken.
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,898 ✭✭✭✭Ken.


    Steve wrote: »
    It doesn't say the response has to be from a rep .
    Yes it does. You even quoted it.

    Response time is based on the average time between the OP and the first rep reply to a thread, based on a 28 day average.


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    #39
    RoundyMooney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭RoundyMooney


    Steve wrote: »
    Read the answer carefully.
    Boards.ie: Nicola wrote: »
    Response time is based on the average time between the OP and the first rep reply to a thread, based on a 28 day average.
    Steve wrote: »
    Response *rate* would be more accurate in this case.

    It doesn't say the response has to be from a rep so "I've the same issue" posts will improve the response time.

    Response *rate* would be more accurate in this case.

    :D


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    #40
    Steve
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 22,584 CMod ✭✭✭✭Steve


    Doh. :o

    I need glasses.


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    #41
    .BrianJM
    Subscribers Posts: 2,670 ✭✭✭.BrianJM


    RoundyMooney wrote: »
    Maybe the stats reset every four weeks, as opposed to a rolling 28 day average?

    That's the only explanation I can think of.

    That had occurred to me but I dismissed it. If stats were reset every 28 days you gould have a response time into 100s of hours then next day it's 1 hour or less.
    Not very meaningful.
    Another question could be 'how often is the calculation made?'


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    #42
    MugMugs
    Registered Users Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs


    It's clear to me that Vodafone are wasting money being here..... And losing custom. My thread is an indication that I don't matter and as such, I'll head off to another provider.http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056950282


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    #43
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Response time is calculated on a rolling 28 day window, including the weekends. It is the average time between the OP's post and the first post by a verified rep of that forum. It seems like a simple statistic, but has a few caveats.

    Say a company has a response rate of 20 hours on 100 threads in the last 28 days. Then one day they respond to a thread that's over 3 weeks old and got lost, it can skew the response times horribly. It happened very recently in the Vodafone forum, somebody went digging up old threads and as a result their response times shot up to over 100 hours. For that reason, and to counteract as best we can the effects of the weekend we take the 90% percentile, the 10% of all threads responded to with the longest response time are discarded when calculating the average. So that's on reason for a big drop recently.

    Then there is the other thing that we're not taking into account - if a rep never responds to a thread that will not affect the response time. It affects the response rate. So if everybody starts threads and they are ignored for a week the response time won't jump to 168 hours or whatever until a rep responds. The response rate will plummet though.

    Feel free to respond with some observations or suggestions for improvement on these metrics, all feedback is welcome :)

    Danny


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    #44
    .BrianJM
    Subscribers Posts: 2,670 ✭✭✭.BrianJM


    I need to give this some thought, however:
    ...if everybody starts threads and they are ignored for a week the response time won't jump to 168 hours or whatever until a rep responds....
    Suppose that it's just four persons ignored for a week. If one is responded to, then time is 168 hours. But this gives a false impression because three received no response. This, presumably, would be reflected by a response rate of 25% but that's almost meaningless. e.g. replying to one of four in percentage terms would be the same as replying to 150 of 600 I think.

    Maybe number of new posts for the period should also be shown.

    Whilst that may be useful it could be misleading. There are posts going back to the start with no rep. response but in a lot of cases they are about poor connection or a setup problem. A short post by rep. saying 'transmitter fixed' or 'solved by PM' etc. would complete the thread.

    ~~~~~~~~~~

    Another matter which doesn't affect the statistics but is still in the remit of this thread:
    there are times when a rep. has responded a few times, has asked for info. via PM and then at some stage seems to ignore the thread.
    It gets taken up by another rep. who requests some information. - The information already sent by PM and posted in the thread.


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    #45
    RoundyMooney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭RoundyMooney


    How about allowing the OP to rate the thread on conclusion (good bad or indifferent?)


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    #46
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    Prof Nincom Poop Ph.D wrote: »
    Than use the "Talk To" Forums anymore.

    Now, I haven't used them all so I suppose I shouldn't lump them all in this (though a quick peek suggests I probably could, except for liberty) but, Three, 02, Meteor, Eircom I've used and all ended up having to go instore or ring them.

    Useless.

    I think the Three one links you to some bad AI somewhere, responses are usually the same lies. I think I'd get more relevant replies from Cleverbot or Alice.

    It could've been a Boards shining Star instead it's just treated like a meal ticket despite promises that it wouldn't turn into such.

    Response time/rate were a good addition but it's easily sidestepped by a simple reply from a rep, though they can't even be arsed to do that, with a resolution for alot of OPs (if their lucky) a week or two later.

    Suggestion for an improvement: Add in a satisfactory score over beside the response things. When an OP Query is dealt with they could be redirected to a "How did we do" with a couple of questions. If Forum scores over X%, Boards will knock 10 Grand* off the cost of letting them on here and the companys will have an incentive to give a fudge.










    *Maybe not 10.

    I used the three folks there a few times and found them great. They did their best and actually listened to my problem. They couldn't do anything for me but at least they tried.
    The phone support for three is a funny thing. The guys in India are so polite, nice and respectful. But they know nothing except follow the same steps for every problem, can't deviate or listen. Just repeat the same steps in the nicest possible way.


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    #47
    Esoteric_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,255 ✭✭✭✭Esoteric_


    VF are at 21% response rate. That's actually shocking, especially after seeing them blatantly ignore MugsMugs.


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    #48
    Duiske
    Registered Users Posts: 3,087 ✭✭✭Duiske


    Esoteric_ wrote: »
    VF are at 21% response rate. That's actually shocking, especially after seeing them blatantly ignore MugsMugs.

    They are not responding on Boards at all. You either have to call Vodafone or go to the Vodafone support website.

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfpost/84949702
    Hi folks,
    We apologise for the recent delay in responding to queries - we are currently in the process of increasing our team, in order to make sure everyone gets a response.

    In the meantime, please see the details below for alternative means to contact us:

    If your query is urgent, please call:
    1907 for billpay queries
    1747 for PAYG queries
    1740 for technical issues with landline or mobile

    If your query is not urgent, please visit us at the following link, or email via this link.


    Thanks,


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    #49
    Pawwed Rig
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,380 CMod ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    Would it be an idea to temporarily shut the Vodafone forum until they replace their staff? Paul posted here 3 weeks ago that it was his job to make sure the forum works and he must have been removed from his post as he has not posted in the interim. Meanwhile Vodafone Darren is putting up apology after apology on the Vodafone forum saying that they are unable to deal with queries. 15% response with 100+ response time? This is showing absolute contempt for boards and it's users.

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056965401


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    #50
    Slutmonkey57b
    Registered Users Posts: 5,560 ✭✭✭Slutmonkey57b


    in my experience the only way to get decent customer service out of an Irish company is to send a registered letter to the ceo/company Secretary. (advice I picked up on boards!)

    Everything else gets ignored.


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    #51
    KERSPLAT!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 31,152 ✭✭✭✭KERSPLAT!


    Slutmonkey57b wrote: »
    in my experience the only way to get decent customer service out of an Irish company is to send a registered letter to the ceo/company Secretary. (advice I picked up on boards!)

    Everything else gets ignored.

    Simply not true. Vodafone here is a shambles at the moment but the lads have fixed things for me before and some of the others seem to do OK and thats just on boards. I've often rang Vodafone and Meteor and the service is pretty good too


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    #52
    Femme_Fatale
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,628 ✭✭✭Femme_Fatale


    Pawwed Rig wrote: »
    Would it be an idea to temporarily shut the Vodafone forum until they replace their staff? Paul posted here 3 weeks ago that it was his job to make sure the forum works and he must have been removed from his post as he has not posted in the interim. Meanwhile Vodafone Darren is putting up apology after apology on the Vodafone forum saying that they are unable to deal with queries. 15% response with 100+ response time? This is showing absolute contempt for boards and it's users.

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056965401
    Surely posting apology after apology would indicate the opposite of contempt for Boards users?


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    #53
    Pawwed Rig
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,380 CMod ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    Femme_Fatale wrote: »
    Surely posting apology after apology would indicate the opposite of contempt for Boards users?

    Vodafone as a company rather than the reps


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    #54
    Sully
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    I don't think Boards intends to step in and tell a paying customer what they should be doing. There appears to be little in the way of encouragement to get forums being proactive and they don't appear to care that their neglect of forums and customers is seen by a large volume of people and shows their business in a bad light.


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    #55
    RoundyMooney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭RoundyMooney


    Lack of engagement with the medium simply devalues the Talk To mechanism as a whole.

    From that point of view, boards should be concerned, even though it isn't their fault-apology after meaningless apology from verified reps simply isn't good enough.


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    #56
    4zn76tysfajdxp
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,944 ✭✭✭✭4zn76tysfajdxp


    RoundyMooney wrote: »
    Lack of engagement with the medium simply devalues the Talk To mechanism as a whole.

    From that point of view, boards should be concerned, even though it isn't their fault-apology after meaningless apology from verified reps simply isn't good enough.

    Exactly.

    If people aren't happy with Vodafone's Talk To forum, for example (such as myself after starting a thread six days ago which has been ignored), it reflects poorly on both Vodafone and Boards.

    Boards should demand a certain standard of customer satisfaction from the Talk To reps, to protect their own image.
    Femme_Fatale wrote: »
    Surely posting apology after apology would indicate the opposite of contempt for Boards users?

    Fixing the problem would indicate the opposite of contempt for Boards users for me. Posting apology after apology indicates indifference, at best.


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    #57
    Steve
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 22,584 CMod ✭✭✭✭Steve


    Kaia Numerous Bluebird wrote: »
    Boards should demand a certain standard of customer satisfaction from the Talk To reps, to protect their own image.

    Agree but it's probably not something boards would think will happen or predict when setting up a talk-to forum.
    The (understandable) assumption would be that if a company is going to pay a considerable fee to boards to host the forum then they will want value and therefore utilize it and reply to people.

    One of life's curve balls I guess. :)


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    #58
    Tar.Aldarion
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,097 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tar.Aldarion


    I miss Declan.


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    #59
    Yitzhak Rabin
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 7,225 ✭✭✭Yitzhak Rabin


    Tar.Aldarion wrote: »
    I miss Declan.

    That was a man who knew how to do customer service. Absolutely trojan worker! What happened there?


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    #60
    LizT
    Registered Users Posts: 29,089 ✭✭✭✭LizT


    Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »
    That was a man who knew how to do customer service. Absolutely trojan worker! What happened there?

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056877953/1#post83157559


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    #61
    MadsL
    Registered Users Posts: 20,299 ✭✭✭✭MadsL


    Maybe a condition of starting a Talk To forum should be that the CEO open an account as a rep and does the customer responses for the first month. Declan was in fact incredible, a shining example to CEOs distanced from their customers.


This discussion has been closed.
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