Phone Wait Times Sky.

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rugrat

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#296082 19-May-2022 13:13

Just ringing to cancel some channels as my year contract is up and bill going from $38 to around $61.

In past been no more then 5 minute wait, this time got told 45 minute wait.

Quite often I add chancels when on special like movies which can do online. There is no online way of removing channels that I’m aware to do instantly like adding.

Wondering if this is the effect of Sky going into broadband services.

I don’t have 45 minutes now, but if it’s a long term situation I think I’ll be canceling my entire service with them when get through, as unlike my internet provider I call more then once a year to remove channels.

I know there is nothing anyone can do, until this afternoon call Sky has always answered in under 5 minutes, so came as a surprise.

I was going to drop my sub to $25 one and wait for new box, but now thinking I won’t bother.

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#2916006 19-May-2022 15:57

There really should be a way of cancelling channels online in the same way you can order them.

I understand the concept of making it hard. so that people will inevitably not bother with cancellation of channels, but the reality is it just annoys people.

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evnafets

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#2916381 20-May-2022 10:26

Sky phone support service has always been pretty good to date.
Sad to hear things are slipping. I guess Covid / Cost-cutting is the reason ?

One thing I did hear this week in passing is that they have apparently switched on the ability to register for 'callbacks' so you don't have to wait 45 minutes on the phone.
So looks like they are aware of it and are endeavouring to make things better.

guyl

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#2916395 20-May-2022 10:51

Don't bother with the call backs... Or with chat.

I have been trying for 4 days to close my account (Sky and Fibre). I have waited on a call for ages and gave up. I then spent a long time waiting on chat - and when I did get someone, they said they couldn't do anything and would get someone to call. Heard nothing.

I also did the "press 1 to arrange a call back", and again, 4 days later have not had a call.

Eventually spent 45 mins waiting on a call yesterday - and I am still no closer.

The first person took all my details (Account, DOB etc) and then announced she would need to transfer me to another team.

Eventually spoke to the next team, who proceeded to ask for all my info again. Grrrrr.

After that, I was told he couldn't help me either, and someone would call me back.

Totally agree that their call centre used to be a hundred times better than it currently is.

rugrat

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#2916427 20-May-2022 12:13

Agree with above about call wait back, wait times were 30 minutes when rang, waited 45 minutes no call back.

Rang again, told wait time 55 minutes. Went to have shower.

One surprise when got back was told 19th in queue , quite useful info.

Was going through about 3 people a minute.

Got through to someone who then put me through to someone else when said wish to cancel.

Only couple minutes.

Asked about call wait times and got told their broadband was more popular then anticipated, that they are training more people for the call centre.

Asked about new box, got told August. I’m not holding my breath on that one.

End result, I have Sky Box with free to air channels for no charge for next three months. As paid $600 many years ago box will continue to record, someone will ring near end of three months.

In three months time I’ll be interested to see what their wait times are, I’ll do a test call after two months as probably be in third month they call.

linw

2843 posts

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#2919422 27-May-2022 13:14

Pretty bad to basically be offline to customers. I am a Sky account holder already with fibre and I tried to check out the Sky broadband section from my account login. But I can't get past the 'enter your address' part. Says my account needs updating so ring 0800 759 759. Oh, dear, I thought.

I think the problem is that the Sky Box location address they have on my account is slightly differently worded from the Chorus fibre lookup address. Obviously the same address but not an exact letter for letter match so get in the dial queue.

Mmmmm.

Goosey

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#2919538 27-May-2022 17:21

Sounds like they learned some bad habbits when they had a friendship with VF a couple years back...

I wonder if shareholders will be happy to hear this...especially the hard yakka they have been put through in the last decade...

linw

2843 posts

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#2927976 15-Jun-2022 14:47

Tried to phone again - not prepared to wait 1h 50m!

So, sent an email instead. These could take 10 days to answer they said!

This is bloody outrageous. And all I wanted to do was investigate giving them some more money. How can a sane person think it a great idea, now, to trust them with their broadband?

Basicly, they are off air.

Just have to hope our skybox doesn't play up.

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linw

2843 posts

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#2933011 22-Jun-2022 09:29

They did fix the address and emailed me 7 days later. So, all done and 3 days early!!

They also gave me the ph number if I had any more problems!

Oh, well, it's what it is these days.

lxsw20

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#2933108 22-Jun-2022 11:39

linw:

Oh, well, it's what it is these days.

Yes and people need to understand that. With sickness and the lack of available staff, this is an issue everywhere.

Anyone that says to just employ more people isn't familiar with the current job market.

rugrat

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#2933152 22-Jun-2022 14:04

lxsw20:

linw:

Oh, well, it's what it is these days.

Yes and people need to understand that. With sickness and the lack of available staff, this is an issue everywhere.

Anyone that says to just employ more people isn't familiar with the current job market.

Nah sorry. The wait times people are posting above are ridiculous, they use to answer the phone in under 5 minutes. There are processes that could be automated, eg canceling channels, but they force you to phone, or email which could take up to 10 days to action.

Answering phones can be done from home for some business as well, and where I work Covid seems to have run it’s course.

When they ring back I will be cancelling as not a sport watcher can get most things from more automated services. When I sent an email to Prime Video, had a response in under 12 hours.

I believe it is Sky going into broadband that has screwed up their answering times, as the calls are probably more time consuming.

I have to call them to give a receipt number when return decoder, hopefully can email it but from memory when canceled multi room think had to give them receipt number within week.

It is what it is. But I don’t have to remain a customer.

JPNZ

1520 posts

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#2933155 22-Jun-2022 14:17

lxsw20:

linw:

Oh, well, it's what it is these days.

Yes and people need to understand that. With sickness and the lack of available staff, this is an issue everywhere.

Anyone that says to just employ more people isn't familiar with the current job market.

Agree with this we have massive staff shortages in construction at the moment, sickness (flu and RSV type bugs are everywhere it seems) about 10% of our staff currently away with covid or have close contacts with covid (waiting on negative tests) not to even mention the massive trouble it is to even get appropriate staff when you want them.

Have you tried the live chat on the website?

Its bloody hard out there for all businesses at the moment.

Disclaimer: I have Sky Satellite and Fibre (thankfully fibre is 100% uptime since December when it was installed and I've never needed to contact them so far)

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gehenna

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#2933158 22-Jun-2022 14:19

Pretty much every contact centre is going through COVID staffing hell, just like every other org and service in the country right now. Just have a little patience and persistence and you'll get through, but don't take it out on them, they're already going to be stressed and overworked.

richms

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#2933161 22-Jun-2022 14:24

Nope, no patience for this, its the new normal and they have had a long time to deploy automations, sort out work from home, have additional shifts and extend hours they answer etc.

That there are still uncontrolled waiting times is fully on management for not adapting to the new reality.

Richard rich.ms

gehenna

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#2933163 22-Jun-2022 14:27

There's a lot more to it than that, the entitlement is palpable in your reply. People are dropping like flies everywhere. Not just the people answering the calls, but the people managing the automations and configuring the IVRs and managing the queue structures and running the insight reporting to know where best to put the resourcing, and every other thing you can think of that goes into running a service like this.

JPNZ

1520 posts

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#2933172 22-Jun-2022 14:57

richms:

Nope, no patience for this, its the new normal and they have had a long time to deploy automations, sort out work from home, have additional shifts and extend hours they answer etc.

That there are still uncontrolled waiting times is fully on management for not adapting to the new reality.

LOL, come back to me when you have to call the business call centre at the IRD

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