How Can Customer Service Be So Bad?

How can one company cause another company so much stress taking them to the brink of bankruptcy and then wash their hands of the whole situation offering minimal compensation.

When I first opened my company in 1999 I had so many issues with British Telecom I took my business away from them within months. Unfortunately although you may use another Telephone supplier it seems all roads still lead back to the company of British Telecom albeit now called Openreach.

In December 2010 Greenaway Residential Estate Agents developed a problem with our broadband connection which took over two weeks to resolve. Needless to say in this digital age all businesses need to be online at all times to stay as competitive as possible. Once the line had been checked a so called expert arrived to check our equipment. I say the so called expert as he left the office ‘saying the line is fine but the equipment has all failed’. On a quick inspection it was plain to see the problem with the wifi and the router had the others power supply attached. The smoke coming from one of the units was an easy give away that there was a serious problem. However after replacing all of the equipment and thinking that this problem was now resolved we hoped that it would be plain sailing but we were wrong.

The following month the internet was down yet again which was reported to our telephone provider Adept Telecom based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The problem with broadband being down is not only does it prevent websites being updated and emails being downloaded but it often prevents credit card payments. At this point we now get to see how each company blames the other, the date now is the 10th January 2011.

The following day Openreach turned up to work on faults reported by our neighbour’s property. After advising Openreach we also had a problem that had been logged the previous day we were advised their notes did not mention our issue so could not help. We were not expecting what was to follow, which was as soon as they left one of the main trading telephone numbers was down. This meant that if more than one call is made or received the telephone system was then trying to find the missing line and no calls could get through. So now not only did we not have email, internet access or a credit card machine but we were without telephone (well not strictly true we had one phone line and six employees).

Three days later we were advised by Adept Telecom that the problem would be resolved that day. By lunch time we chased and again at 5.45pm to advise still nobody from Openreach had turned up.
As you can imagine at 5.45pm on a Friday evening nobody want to get involved with a serious issue which is made even worse as the following day is an Estate Agents busiest day. We were told that the working day finished at 6pm and therefore could not be logged as a no show until that time, conveniently when they close for the weekend. But the great news is if we call the 24 hour help line they would be able to follow up on our case then.

At 7.15pm we followed up on the 24 help centre received a call and advised them of the inevitable no show. Hoping that someone may be able to help we were very disappointed as we were informed they would investigate the issue but Openreach would ‘probably turn up next morning’. Do you ever get the feeling that you are being really fobbed off?

The following day we were back on the case calling Adept Telcom 24 hour department and after thirty minutes of trying to get through now advised they could do nothing as the fault had been logged with main office. Then the bright idea was suggested to put the numbers on divert to mobile phones so we could receive the calls. Not the solution that a busy business wants to hear but at least someone was trying to come up with a suggestion, this would take fifteen minutes to set up.
Monday morning a new day of a new week and Adept Telecom receive an early morning telephone call to advise no divert had been put on the line and still no sign of Openreach. We then are advised that Openreach needed to lay a new line and the following day it would be connected. This is never good to hear as from the initial problem being reported and now having additional problems nine days would have passed.

Now if things were not bad enough they could only get worse. The day that the line was supposed to be laid came and went but the next day we had positive signs. Two men with Openreach jacket walking up and down outside our premises trying to find us, clearly a difficult task as they were all of about three meters from our shop front. We decided to pop out and introduce ourselves on the hope that it would speed up the finding our large shop frontage that they were standing in front of. After a five minute chat and highlighting where the line was to and from (clearly you would have thought they would have known that) they say the following words ‘our paperwork says soft surface this is a hard surface’. Really, its a pedestrian area why on earth would anyone think it was a soft surface. With a tremble in my voice I ask if this is a major problem, my heart sinks at what is to come ‘we need more people, sand and tools’. They then advise they will have a think and come back to us. As soon as our backs are turned and in a blink of an eye and a puff of smoke they were gone.

In fairness to the two guys the following morning they were back with the correct tools, sand but no extra people. But two hours later the line was laid and waited to be connected. Excitement was soon turned to sadness as Adept Telecom inform us that they have spoken to Openreach and were told we are lying the line has not been laid. After many calls and photographs being sent over Openreach finally agree that the line has been laid and the would get an engineer to us............five days later.

So now we enter day fifteen of the original problem was reported, I have lost most of my hair,my finger nails have now gone, my wife refuses to talk to me and the team have all but lost the will to live. But no sooner than the working day starts Openreach are outside starting work. After early problems of not having a generator and threats that they may need to come back another day one finally arrives from another job mid morning. The joy soon disperses as we are advised that the generator has to be back in the depot by 4pm which is over thirty miles away. We sadly watch as the tools are packed up into their vans and they all disappear.

The following morning another new day and renewed hope as Openreach arrive and after a fair amount of effort by mid afternoon all of the telephone lines are working. At last something to smile about after sixteen days. Now just the initial problem to sort out the broadband! Needless to say a different engineer to sort this problem but at least he is here and checking the line. He reports the line seems fine and starts checking our equipment. Finally with a smile he tells us the problem is with our equipment which he takes out. To our relief he checks again and still a problem. Isthis how bad things have got that we are glad that the problem is still there. The answer is yes as we are advised if it is our equipment Openreach will bill us for his time.

After twenty more minutes a smiling engineer appears ‘I have found the problem’ , ‘what was it ?’ expecting to hear a very complicated explanation ‘there was a screw loose in the junction box’. Silence falls upon the office.

After sixteen days not being able to function our business has all but ground to a halt due to a loose screw.

During this whole process Openreach refuse to speak to us as a company as we have to go through Adept Telecom. Adept Telecom give us the updates that contradict previous updates. We are now at the stage of trying get compensation, the break even cost of our business per day is £746 the same applies to the weekends. Clearly a business does not trade to breakeven but we want to be fair to all parties concerned so 16 days at £746 is £11,936. The first offer we receive is £210.91 which has just increased to a final offer £480, both offers have been made to Adept Telecom.

Can anyone advise firstly have they been subject to such incompetence by either Adept Telecom or Openreach and secondly how we can get to talk to Openreach directly?