Epic Hold times....

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antoniosk

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Topic # 189217 21-Dec-2015 09:10

I don't normally call Spark... not a customer. But on this occasion I have to because of some charges on mum's bill... so far the call centre queues for BILL help are awesome:

Yesterday Sunday 2pm - 95 mins
Monday Morning - 905am - 220 mins

Again - not a sale, just a bill enquiry.

Wow... just wow....

________

Antonios K

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Reply # 1454204 21-Dec-2015 09:14

Thats pretty impressive.
I have seen 105 minutes at Vodafone, That was the longest i ever saw.

NonprayingMantis

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Reply # 1454205 21-Dec-2015 09:17

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for bill enquiry, presumably it's not crucial to get an instant response? (i.e. if you got an answer a day or two later it wouldn't be a big deal)

If so, why bother calling and wasting your time on hold?
Just send an email and then go play video games or whatever until you get an answer in the next few days.

UHD

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Reply # 1454218 21-Dec-2015 09:29

Someone should set mantis as the answer. Why waste your time on hold when a simple e-mail would get things rolling?

Wheelbarrow01

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Reply # 1454239 21-Dec-2015 09:38

Hi Antoniosk,

My understanding is that the average call time has increased significantly with the introduction of fibre services. Each call into our call centre now takes a lot longer and is more complex that it has ever been before. We have also recently upgraded to a flash new customer management system so all our front-line staff have had to get to grips with that.

To give you an example of one of the causes, where once a move of address was a simple process involving one order, many of our customers are now taking the opportunity to upgrade to fibre voice and broadband at the same time that they move address. This requires a full discussion to be had about their needs as they switch to one of our new fibre packages, and involves multiple orders being issued in different provisioning platforms.

To address this, Spark has already hired 100 additional call centre staff, and are currently recruiting another 40 in Christchurch alone. The hope is that as our people get the hang of our new fibre order and customer management system, our average call handling times will start to fall, and the additional headcount will further ease the wait times our customers are currently experiencing.

Please also note that December and January are traditionally some of the busiest months of the year for us, so call volumes and therefore hold times are higher than average. Please do take advantage of our online chat service if you are able to, as you may find you can get an answer a lot quicker at this time of year.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

johnr

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Reply # 1454242 21-Dec-2015 09:42

TimA: Thats pretty impressive.
I have seen 105 minutes at Vodafone, That was the longest i ever saw.

Not now thank goodness

dclegg

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Reply # 1454244 21-Dec-2015 09:50

Wheelbarrow01: Please do take advantage of our online chat service if you are able to, as you may find you can get an answer a lot quicker at this time of year.

It may also be worthwhile to reach out on Twitter. I've been wrestling with ongoing connectivity issues, and rather than battle the long call centre wait times I've been interacting with the very helpful social media team. They've been able to perform diagnostic support, and escalate to Chorus when needed.

NonprayingMantis

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Reply # 1454248 21-Dec-2015 09:55

UHD: Someone should set mantis as the answer. Why waste your time on hold when a simple e-mail would get things rolling?

Yep
If you are calling and clogging up the call centre for something like a non-urgent bill enquiry then you are part of the problem.

antoniosk

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Reply # 1454267 21-Dec-2015 10:10

Thanks folks

Unfortunately the enquiry requires a human to investigate and provide a response. Having used chat services in the past, all they do is act as an alternative to the queuing system but still place you back into the core queue for resolution - which has the epic wait time :-)

I have lodged an email - 3 day response time - which I am highly confident will deposit me into the core queue for resolution.

I agree xmas period does blow out wait times - I have worked in telco before as some people know - but even so, 220 mins was a real eye opener I thought :-)

________

Antonios K

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Reply # 1454285 21-Dec-2015 10:21

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Does Spark answer emails? Because from all I know (and reports) Vodafone doesn't. And I am too cynical to believe in email interactions with large companies.

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Reply # 1454290 21-Dec-2015 10:24

There's a chat option on the website - used that a couple of times. You can find it on....

https://www.spark.co.nz/contactus/