I wrote recently of a issue about Netspace, where we were shaped since the 10th of March, incorrectly, due to a system stuff up.
Since that time, I’ve continued to be on Netspace’s rear, trying to get a resolution to my problem, and had very little success. So little that I infact also made a TIO complaint about the lack of customer service.
After still getting nowhere, I took matters a step further, I took it to where it counts. I created a Whirlpool thread.
Viola! As was the case when I moved, creating a Whirlpool thread got them working and bowing down before me, ready to meet my every need. Amazing, isn’t it? You can sit on the phone, day in, day out, and get nowhere. Make a TIO complaint, nothing happens.
Post on Whirlpool, and within hours, the issue is resolved. Whirlpool is a powerful tool.
Also, for those that might be interested, some statistics on Netspace:
Employees in Netspace’s Customer Service area work a full shift, starting at 8.30AM, and working through to 7.00PM, I take it a few casuals start the shift, and the majority of the full time staff are in from 11.00AM for the long haul through to 7.00PM.
They employ around 16 staff to man the customer service lines. Those customer service lines almost always have a 40 minute wait time attached, no matter what day, or what time you call.
The average staff member doesn’t have time for a toilet break, considering the call volumes (and the lengths of calls).
It’s obvious Netspace’s systems aren’t designed in a way to get the job done instantly, requiring a few talks back and forth between other staff members (seniors), in order to get a single issue resolved.
I think Netspace need some reform, by reform, I mean they need to train and allow staff access to systems like quota, for example, which might have seen my issue sorted a lot sooner, compared to the untouched state it was in from the 10th of March through to Friday, where it was finally solved, nearly 1 full week later by the same staff member who stuffed up the relocation of our connection in the first place. I suppose he finally made things right, despite weeks of ongoing issues.
On that note also, I took it upon myself to get my name added to the account, so if there is a problem in future, they can’t handball the issue, and I get to tear whoever is at fault to peices until they learn that they get the job done right, or they don’t go home. Honestly, I don’t think staff should be pushed to limits, I think a casual environment is better in comparison to a heavy workload, but if staff aren’t doing the full jobs asked of them (hey, the calls aren’t going anywhere, leave them, yesterday’s work comes first), they need to certainly be re-evaluated.
Netspace have a great reliable network, by no means is there any issues with them providing internet access. They do it well, that’s a very good credit to them, however, if you get them to do something outside of finding a item of information, they aren’t very useful, and are prone to stuff up.
Best bet? Give clear, concise directions, anything they tell you can’t really be taken as solid, unless the actual actions being committed are those intended, and if they stuff up, don’t go to the TIO first. Don’t contact “Management (or mis-Management)”, instead, post on Whirlpool, if your issue remains unresolved, and you feel you have a genuine complaint 24 hours after, go to the TIO.
Don’t drop your complaint until the issue is resolved. A resolved issue is one that has ALL aspects of the issue finalised, you want a credit, you wait til you can see that credit taking shape (or its cash), before you do anything with the TIO.
The only reason that is, is because they can say something, and go back on that 5 minutes later after you’ve withdrawn the complaint. Stand your ground, the TIO costs them money for not ensuring you didn’t go there in the first place.
If they got money to blow, go for it. Level 3 complaints cost them near $100. That’s just on the complaint, if your complaint is of a financial nature, they’ll eventually need to pay that too.
The resolution should be satisfactory, if it isn’t, the TIO should either agree or disagree with you and persue further.
My matter still isn’t resolved completely, they still owe us a credit for the downtime, however, the fix has certainly been welcome, given I have had pretty much an idle week, unable to do much, Netspace stole a great deal of my time following the issue up, that wasn’t progressing anyway. Laziness and Ignorance shouldn’t be tolerated. I don’t care if they are busy, my issue was 6 days old and shoved to the side after being raised several times.
Whirlpool, powering Internet Providers (well, at least the Customer Service aspect anyway).