Spark, hire some damn help desk staff

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1101

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Topic # 248052 8-Mar-2019 18:15

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Spark . Please fix your lack of help desk staff. Hire more people .

1hr 20 on hold . I gave up after that . Completely unacceptable wait time.

Even Orcon, who have the worst reputation, actually answer calls within 5minutes .
Youre making it hard to justify staying a customer.

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Reply # 2193897 8-Mar-2019 18:22

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Oh it just gets better.

After I gave up on hold, spark txted me the website link to request a callback
spark.co.nz/callback

404 error. Even your website's callback request page doesnt work
sigh , very frustrating.

sparkz25

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Reply # 2193903 8-Mar-2019 18:33

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You should just ditch them, I would.

Theres no excuse for waiting on hold that long

there are many more options and better service than spark out there!

hio77

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Reply # 2193905 8-Mar-2019 18:39

1101:

Oh it just gets better.

After I gave up on hold, spark txted me the website link to request a callback
spark.co.nz/callback

404 error. Even your website's callback request page doesnt work
sigh , very frustrating.

https://www.spark.co.nz/book-a-call/

Wrong link, it was changed Yesterday afternoon, I'll reach out to the folk to have the sms updated.

You could always have chatted... Queues are low in chat.

is there something i can help with there?

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msukiwi

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Reply # 2193945 8-Mar-2019 20:53

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1101:

Spark . Please fix your lack of help desk staff. Hire more people .

Wrong - Hire more HELPFUL people!

Technofreak

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Reply # 2193946 8-Mar-2019 20:53

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hio77:

You could always have chatted... Queues are low in chat.

is there something i can help with there?

So if they can have low queues on chat why not the same for phone calls? After all they are selling talk time yet they cannot provide talk access in a timely fashion.

I spent well over an hour 30 min on hold just recently too, without any offer of a call back. Another communications company that doesn't do well at communicating. In marks out of 10 they'd get minus 10

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Reply # 2193953 8-Mar-2019 21:07

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I always just do an online chat, far more efficient and has the added benefit of having everything in writing and emailed to you.

hio77

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Reply # 2193990 8-Mar-2019 21:09

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Technofreak:

hio77:

You could always have chatted... Queues are low in chat.

is there something i can help with there?

So if they can have low queues on chat why not the same for phone calls? After all they are selling talk time yet they cannot provide talk access in a timely fashion.

I spent well over an hour 30 min on hold just recently too, without any offer of a call back. Another communications company that doesn't do well at communicating. In marks out of 10 they'd get minus 10

Many agents are multiskilled eg, they take phonecalls, emails and chats.

there are a few conditions on if a callback is offered not really mine to adjust, but i can certainly pass the feedback along and see if it can be tweaked a little.

I build the systems the agents use, the metrics they produce are by always on my mind. Scheming up new ways to improve them is an constant.

Sure more bodies can be thrown at the problem, but that's more of a short term solution to a larger problem that is...

We as new zealanders actually do demand a lot more of our broadband, Networks are also Far more complex. It's not uncommon to have a handful of iot products, a mobile device only home, a no cables home environment.

These all boil down into things like..

Netflix buffers, that's an internet fault! It's not because the user has a microwave between their modem. or my internets slow when my phone syncs pictures!

i do what i can here, not only because i take passion in my work.. But i also get the Exceptionally insightful anadocal information from users that's not just facebook style "F Spark rant rant rant"

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jonathan18

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Reply # 2193996 8-Mar-2019 21:14

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I tried to call Spark this afternoon; I'd forgotten the number (dumb, considering it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!) but finding this on their website was amazingly difficult! It seems like they've amended their website to deliberately push people to do anything other than call - even pushing 'call back' arrangements as prefered over customer-initiated calls.

Once I found the number and called I found the menu system so frustrating - eg trying to get back a menu layer after finding out I'd selected the wrong option - I ended up giving up and going with the online chat. Wait time on that was about 10 minutes, whereas when I had looked at booking a call-back that would have been over an hour.

While I achieved what I wanted to via online chat I'd much rather had spoken to someone - just not having to wait over an hour to do so, or for them to call back at a time that suited them more than me.

Given I was calling to ask about my options at the point my BB contract ends next month, this experience will no doubt play a role in my interest in remaining a Spark customer...

hio77

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Reply # 2194004 8-Mar-2019 21:23

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jonathan18:

I tried to call Spark this afternoon; I'd forgotten the number (dumb, considering it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!) but finding this on their website was amazingly difficult! It seems like they've amended their website to deliberately push people to do anything other than call - even pushing 'call back' arrangements as prefered over customer-initiated calls.

i dont mean to be that guy... but... i didnt even need to click?

Note: some of these links did change Yesterday afternoon so they are new to me too..

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Dial111

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Reply # 2194007 8-Mar-2019 21:35

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Technofreak: So if they can have low queues on chat why not the same for phone calls?

I’d take a stab and say because most people want to talk to someone rather then type out their issue or query over chat and also that a lot people don’t know about the chat feature.

I for one always use the chat feature over phoning in as I don’t have to wait in queues for any longer than a couple minutes.

Call me selfish but I hope people still ignore the chat feature and call in so I can still get great service when needed lol

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Reply # 2194595 9-Mar-2019 16:51

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I would say Spark's 'Live Chat' is good at times. I usually have to wait only a few minutes too.

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Reply # 2194641 9-Mar-2019 17:40

hio77:

jonathan18:

I tried to call Spark this afternoon; I'd forgotten the number (dumb, considering it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!) but finding this on their website was amazingly difficult! It seems like they've amended their website to deliberately push people to do anything other than call - even pushing 'call back' arrangements as prefered over customer-initiated calls.

i dont mean to be that guy... but... i didnt even need to click?

Note: some of these links did change Yesterday afternoon so they are new to me too..

Great roll over link "Help & Support" in the second from top site navigation bar as graphically pointed out by @hio77 but you will also find similar "Help & Support" links, including 'Book a Call', at the bottom right of just about every Spark web site web page. Both of these navigation links require only one mouse click to reach your desired destination.

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Reply # 2194642 9-Mar-2019 17:42

FineWine:

Great roll over link "Help & Support" in the second from top site navigation bar as graphically pointed out by hio77 but you will also find similar "Help & Support" links, including 'Book a Call', at the bottom right of just about every Spark web site web page. Both of these navigation links require only one mouse click to reach your desired destination.

i will admit, that even i often forget the hover is a thing...

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chevrolux

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Reply # 2194648 9-Mar-2019 18:14

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OP, cut it out.

Spark have one of the better help desks. Although it may take time to get through to them, they can generally answer any query right away. As opposed to me other help dems that will just constantly transfer to another department.

Their live chat is very good. Its 2019, no real need to default to picking up the phone to get a hold of an ISP.

1101

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Reply # 2195737 11-Mar-2019 11:43

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chevrolux: OP, cut it out.

.

why, because I imaged the 1hour 20 on hold.
That wait time is never acceptable. And it will be the same or worse for every other poor customer trying to get through.
As I said, Orcon , 5 minutes wait or less .

I did use the book a call via the website, booked a call for the next day
That worked well, got a call back on the time booked & then about a 5 minute wait.

The ongoing fault finally fixed , after several years intermittent issues .
This is the first time the chorus tech crawled under the house & actually repaired the cable join.

book a call & online chat is not a option that everyone can use . Your internet has to be working to use those options .

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