[AusNOG] TPG NOC CONTACT

Brad Peczka brad at bradpeczka.com
Mon Nov 10 20:59:26 EST 2014


Have you ever thought about the reasons why *every* major ISP has a script? 

Some are better than others at covering it with dialogue and discussion - "Hi Sir, how are you today, let's do an ID check..." - but every ISP will tell you to power cycle your modem, reboot your PC, and other basic troubleshooting because they're catering for the lowest common denominator.

You know who I mean - Bruce and Sheila in Nowhere, NT, who have a Bigpond service because "Hey, it's Telstra, they used to be Telecom so it can't be too bad" and who somehow manage to avoid the litany of virii that would nuke their XP machine in a heartbeat because they only visit news.com.au and the website for their local Lotteries agency. They don't know about computers, modems, and all that jazz, because they don't want to (nor should they have to) - and so, when it stops working and Bruce calls Tech Support, they walk him through the simple steps to ensure he won't get hit with an NFF when a tech rolls out and finds the modem has locked up. 

These people *do* exist - and while they exist, the script will exist.

In regards to training, can you offer even a shred of proof that Telstra and Optus "do not train their CSRs properly" beyond your personal opinion? Do you have a point of reference you can share for proper training? I'd be extremely interested to see it because, last time I checked, Telstra won't let a CSR within a cooee of a customer-facing phone without at least 6 weeks worth of training on systems and processes. The same for Optus, the same for iiNet, and any of the other major providers - regardless of where their call centres are located. New operators are closely monitored for their first few weeks on the phones, and not a single one will deviate from the script because that's exactly what they're being paid to say. Follow the script, log a ticket if the script says so, and the process will sort the fault out. I challenge you to find another Tier 1 provider in the US or UK who has frontline support personnel that don't have a script.

Just because your staff don't have a script, doesn't mean that a.) It's the norm, or b.) It's The Right Way(TM). If you're happy with your staff speaking to your clients without a script... then cool bananas! However, every large enterprise will err on the side of caution - and hence, they will provide a script.

Lastly, it's also worth remembering that the old adage still applies. If you want better service, where "better service" == "speaking to an Australian", pay for a better product. Using Telstra as an example, TID support is still handled in Australia at double the price of Bigpond because that's what it costs to get bums in seats in .au, support above-average CPE, and to have Level 2-capable people staffing a Level 1 desk. 

Regards,
-Brad.
________________________________________
From: AusNOG [ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net] On Behalf Of ANSA SERVERS [info at ausnetservers.net.au]
Sent: Monday, 10 November 2014 4:37 PM
To: Skeeve Stevens; Geordie Guy
Cc: ausnog at lists.ausnog.net
Subject: Re: [AusNOG] TPG NOC CONTACT

I thought I had really put my foot in it with this thread a day ago, now its turned into something that’s worth watching. I agree with Skeeve that we as a collective and all other people in the IT industry need to stand up and say enough is enough with sending jobs overseas.

Again, I will stress its not the CSR’s fault… they are just doing their job but its frustrating for the consumer on the other end of the phone that gets frustrated and ends up abusing the CSR’s because they cannot understand what I am saying, breath heavily into the microphone of just make stupid mistakes that come down to poor training.

Jared, I have never had to deal with your call centre so I cannot comment on yours, but I am talking primarily about Telstra & Optus’s contact centres that are purely to save money however;

They do not train their CSR’s properly. They give them a checklist to follow which most people have already tried before calling, others just can’t be bothered and expect the call centre to fix a physical issue on the phone.

I as a small business am sick and tired of cleaning up the mess and bread crumbs left by the bigger ISPS. Just today one of my clients told me that their internet is so much faster than its every been after I replaced their equipment which was dodgey isps supplied stuff and the cheap and nasty filters with proper Telstra inline filters

Regards,

Matthew Matters  Managing Director / CEO of Aus Net Servers Australia Pty Ltd
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