Why it really is good to talk

Some communications providers could do with following the channel's example, writes Sara Yirrell

By Sara Yirrell

More from this author

18 Oct 2007

Be the first to comment

  • Digg
  • Tweet

Popular opinion says that one of the most stressful things in life is changing job. Check.
The second most stressful thing in life is moving house, which is what I’ve spent the past week of my life doing - with still another week to go. However, folks don’t mention the added stress of dealing with every day service providers such as phone companies and internet providers when trying to sort out your move.
One company in particular, TalkTalk, which spends countless hundreds of thousands of pounds on its shiny advertising image has added significantly to my stress levels recently.
As is the bane of many people nowadays, this company, which claims to be a far better and cheaper alternative to rival BT, has outsourced its dismal customer service to somewhere such as Bangalore, which may save it time and money, but certainly adds to the burden of its customers.
Said company took it upon itself to cut off my house phone and by default my internet service without a word of authorisation from me, the bill payer, and with no notification.
It took several attempts at trying to make calls and connect to the web to actually discover there was a problem.
I finally established the route of the problem when I received a letter telling me I was liable for a £70 surcharge for terminating my contract. Apparently when I had called a few weeks ago to enquire about the house moving process some bright spark had taken it upon themselves to cut me off.
This is where the channel beats all its larger, direct competitors hands down, both on a business and a personal level. It offers a 24-hour human response that its customers crave and makes its clients feel valued and important. Something which should be heeded by the likes of TalkTalk.

display:none
Loading
We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions

Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Will Apple's attitude to the channel change in 2012?

54%

21%

24%

1%

CRN Partner Connect 2012

CRN Partner Connect logo

CRN's premier networking event is back on 17 May at the Ricoh Arena

Date: Thu 17 May 2012

CRN Fight Night 2012

One of the fights from CRN Fight Night 2010

Channel fighters preparing to square up once more on 24 May

Date: Thu 24 May 2012

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Submit your email address and we'll send a link to a personal newsletter control panel

fragment image

The mobile enterprise: Secure the data, not the device

The proliferation of endpoint devices within the enterprise has highlighted the shortcomings of one of the traditional approaches to data security

fragment image

Measuring the ROI of Google Apps

This Forrester report compares the costs and benefits of legacy email and productivity software with Google Apps


Dave the dealer blog

Dave the dealer

Clocking off

Dave discovers that rozzers are seemingly living in the technology dark ages

View from the channel

Views from the Channel

Departing CEO has done Dixons a service

Mark Needham, founder of distributor Widget, argues that John Browett leaves for Apple with Dixons in better shape than when he arrived

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.