I've been with O2 now for over 12 years (back when it was called BT Cellnet). I've never had a problem with any services until today, when I attempted to contact the Live 'Help' desk.
I only wanted an answer to two simple questions:
- Are there any new phones that have both a QWERTY Keyboard, and full-size touch screen?
- Why is the iPhone 5 cheaper than the iPhone 4 when looking to upgrade?
Now, I clicked the Live 'Help' button to try and start a chat. I had to wait 16 minutes before the chat agent connected. Upon connecting, I was still waiting a further 3 minutes after saying 'Hi' to at least initiate a conversation. After a fairly obviously scripted greeting from the agent, I proceeded to state I am aware of my Upgrade date being in a few months time, but I want to know the answer to question 1.
A few minutes pass with no response...
I question the agents presence to which the agent states "Please provide the 3rd and 4th characters of your security answer."
Considering nearly every site you register to these days requests you answer a numerous amount of security questions, the 3rd and 4th characters could quite simply be any character just about going... So I take a stab at assuming it's two digits, and proceed on stating I'm aware my Upgrade date is in May, and I'm just looking in to the phones now to see what may be on offer when I come to upgrade...
A long pause occurs again.
"Please provide the 3rd and 4th characters of your security answer."
Again, I'm now left puzzled as to what the question is, so ask "What is the security question?"
Another 3-4 minutes pass of no response...
"Hello?"
"Sorry for the delay..."
What exactly is the agent doing in this time frame? I've now been awaiting Live 'Help' for about 40 minutes and I've received absolutely no help what-so-ever.
I wait again for the security question but instead receive. "What is your full name and date of birth?"
I provide the answer promptly, but have to wait further...
Finally a response comes back saying "Perfect."... thanks for the confidence boost. I was really unsure on whether I could get my own name and date of birth correct. However, shortly after that, I did finally get the security question and again provided the answer promptly to which a reply was "Please wait while I access your account."
To make a point, I was extremely puzzled as to why my account even needed opening; had the agent read my opening question at the start, they'd have full-well known there wasn't a need to check my account for anything.
However, another 5 or so minutes pass and eventually I get the return statement:
"You're not due an upgrade until 22nd May 2013, please contact us again closer to the time of your upgrade."
I'm sorry, but after spending nearly 50 minutes waiting around for a response like that, it's absolutely appauling. I full well knew my own upgrade date, I'd stated it straight to the agent right at the beginning of the conversation. It was a simple question I asked to people around my office while at work and they didn't **bleep** about for 50 minutes before telling me absolutely nothing to do with my question, and they're not 'professionals' for a mobile phone network company.
Finally when the agent decides to actually read what I have to say (or so I thought), I asked the first question of whether there are any phones O2 provides for contract upgrade with a Touch Screen and QWERTY Keyboard, he simply has the audacity to say "What phone are you looking at in particular?" - If I had bloody known what phone I should be looking at, I wouldn't have spent the best part of an hour sat waiting for responses off possibly the worst customer services agent I've ever known!!!
I've worked on a helpdesk before for quite a while, and I've never once been that robotic to stick to scripted responses. If the customer asked me a question, I provided them with the best possible answer to their question, or if I didn't know, I'd find out. I find it absolutely mind-numbing that the agent couldn't just spend 10 seconds and read my question, provide me with any answer other than the automated responses he threw at me, and then he could have gone back to whatever the hell it was that was clearly keeping his attention more than his customer. It should have been a 3 minute conversation in total. I wouldn't have minded waiting 16 minutes to even get into the chat had I come away with the answer, but I actually got so ticked off I closed the chat nearly an hour into the entirely painful scenario.
If that's what you call Customer Services, I'll gladly be looking elsewhere for an upgrade if it can't be improved. I hope I never actually receive a problem with any network services because I'd have to probably take a day off work just to get a response from O2's CS department.
Absolutely disgusted.
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