Demon's Customer Service - Lack of
CJB
and I'm not even connected yet.
I recently emailed adsls...@demon.net requesting information about
what kind of WiFi router they recommended. I was then told to call 0845
262 0040. This no. was u/s.
I then went to their website and found the no. for 'Technical Support -
Broadband' as 0845 272 0040. This connected but after choosing this
menu option and that menu option I was forwarded to a call centre in
India. I was then told that I had called the wrong number for support
for a residential broadband package. And the girl had to repeat
everything she said due to a heavy accent I couldn't understand. Doh!!!
Then the girl said that all the nos. on the web site were wrong anyway
and that I should call an 0871... no. (which wasn't on the website).
Then I tried calling 0845 272 0040 again but without choosing any menu
options. By default I was transferred again to the call centre in
India, and again I was told I had called the wrong no. for Technical
Support for Broadband. Doh again!! Also the guy hadn't got a clue what
hardware I was getting in the package, he couldn't even find my account
details, and had even less of a clue as to which WiFi router I could
use. And this was supposed to be Technical Support???!!!!!
Now I am a brand new customer of Demon and am rapidy getting concerned
that buying into one of its broadband packages was not such a good idea
afterall - and as I said I've not even gotten connected up yet.
Before the cooling off period ends I am SERIOUSLY considering
cancelling my contract.
The hardware package also seems to be floating in the ether because it
has not yet been delivered by courier. Apparently it was sent out on
August 26; today is the 31'st. But what usually happens is that
couriers delivery to our block of flats make an attempt, fail to leave
a notification card, and then the items disappear for good. It has
happened so many times - this could be yet another case.
It seems that like most internet service providers Demon is quite happy
to take customers' money but then makes it almost impossible for
customers, especially new ones, to actually get any help.
Goodness knows what aggravation will be caused when I start using the
'service.'
CJB.
Graham Murray
> It seems that like most internet service providers Demon is quite happy
> to take customers' money but then makes it almost impossible for
> customers, especially new ones, to actually get any help.
Demon's customer service went 'down the pan' when they were taken over
by Scottish Power (later to become 'Thus').
As an aside, why do things always seem to work out the same way? A
small business is doing well, provides a good service/product, good
support and has a loyal customer base. Then the company gets taken
over and the new owner changes (nearly) all (normally for the worse)
the things which previously made it stand out as a good company (and
therefore also a candidate for being taken over), the quality of
service and support drop, and many of the previously loyal customers
'jump ship'.
PhilT
> Demon is rapidly becoming my less than favourite broadband supplier,
> and I'm not even connected yet.
>
> I recently emailed adsls...@demon.net requesting information about
> what kind of WiFi router they recommended.
Phil
Jim Howes
> It seems that like most internet service providers Demon is quite happy
> to take customers' money but then makes it almost impossible for
> customers, especially new ones, to actually get any help.
In my many years experience of Demon as a service provider for my home systems
(1995-2006), the network has, on the whole, been very stable. This is a good thing.
The helpdesk was excellent, until it got outsourced, but I rarely had to deal
with them. After the outsourcing, and following some kind of BT snafu involving
my line, I had multiple occasions to call the helldesk. On ONE of these many
occasions, I got through to somebody in dialup support. I'm fairly sure I
didn't select dialup support, but the indian guy there, who's name I did not
record, somehow managed to do everything right. I was actually very impressed.
(not difficult considering the lack of success in other calls)
When BT snafu'd my line for yet another time after that, I got through to the
helpdesk, went through the usual process of lying about my configuration to get
past the 'have you rebooted?' silly question phase of the script, and after
about an hour, eventually got the job referred to BT.
Two days later, my 2272kbit connection was back on. Two days and one minute
later, I had a migration code, and moved to AAISP. Five days after that, I have
a nice stable line currently syncing at 6816kbit, (Thunderstorms, bleah.
Usually it's at 7392 or 8128kbit) with interleaving turned off permanently, a
fully routed /28, preconfigured Zyxel router on permanent loan, and a help desk
that usually _tells_me_ about BT line problems before I even notice them.
Granted, it has a 1Gb cap at £18.99/month, but that applies 8am to 6pm mon-fri
only, i.e. office hours, i.e. hours when I am usually at the office (and
therefore not burning home bandwidth).
If it wasn't for Demon's ineptitude at the helpdesk, I'd probably still be a
demon customer, paying more for a single NAT'd IP, a tiny unfunctional(static
pages) web server, no DNS control, etc.
Demon customer communication has, I feel, improved markedly since I left,
possibly something to do with the reopening of a UK call centre, but if I had
problems out-of-hours, I'd probably still have to deal with India, which I am
not willing to do.
Nightowl
off.
I'm not a Demon customer but started my net life with them a zillion
years ago. Hmm. . . I see PhilT has pointed you to the Demon Store,
where they offer Linksys routers, but according to this page:
http://www.demon.net/demon/products/internetaccess/broadband/homeoffice/Technical%20info
the wireless router they sell with the HomeOffice package is the Thomson
Speedtouch ST585.
I noticed they offer "live Text Chat support" during office hours from a
link on:
http://www.demon.net/helpdesk/helpdeskchat.html
Might be worth a try if you want to talk to someone about it and avoid
the Indian call centre :-) There are also lots of Demon newsgroups
where you could get some advice; demon.tech.pc might be a good place.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
--
Nightowl
Eeyore
Graham Murray wrote:
MBAs.
Graham
Simon Smith
Demon Office 0845 272 0666
Thus Head Office 0141 567 1234
I think the 0845 number can get you through to a UK call centre were you
are more likely to get understandable support. Failing that the second
will let you complain about the call centres.
Simon
Colin Wilson
> and I'm not even connected yet.
> 'service.'
Per the other response, I believe Bill Allan is still the Chief Exec of
Thus, but Phil Male might also be worth a punt if you want to shake the
tree from a little higher up than the regular phone monkeys...