Cold Calling

Get cold called? If it's anything like the landline I use, and to a lesser extent the mobile line, you'll have cold calling and scams most days. I find on the landline often it's more like five plus, a day.
Now cold calling is an intresting one, it's in effect a completely legal practise and can be applied for as a legal job (job seekers may notice cold calling jobs advertised in Job Centre Plus branches, or on the Direct Gov job listings). But, just because something is legal in the eyes of the law, that dosen't make it right, and many people find cold calling an unreasonable and annoying practise. Some have found it a form of harrasment, with companies repeatedly cold calling despite people asking them not to, and often calling all hours of the day. On the other hand, many people have found themselves taking on the role of a cold calling job, after they have not yet managed a job in all the other avenues they've tried previously, and at least some earnings for the job is then made, and their in employment.
You'll have to decide for yourself, if you haven't already, what you think of cold calling. Part of the problem is not just the cold calling itself, but how it's conducted: it's one thing to face cold calling and another to be met with a rude cold caller, who's behaviour can verge on harrasment, as I have sometimes found. I've also spoken to some on the phone who are very polite and understanding when you tell them your not intrested in what their trying to sell you, or you are a bit busy to talk with them at that moment.
So it'll be intresting to see this documentary from BBC's Panorama, which looks at all the  calls companies put out, as well as texts, as part of their marketing, which were not asked for by you. The show is on this coming Monday.
For details on the programme:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01klwhg

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Dream On With Nationwide

I'm always facinated by dreams, and earlier on I dreamt that Nationwide had answered my complaints letter, that I sent a few weeks back in real life. In the dream when I recieved the letter I knew that it was from Nationwide, though the funny thing was I don't remember anything the letter actually said, only that Nationwide had sent £17 as a way of apology for their bad service (actual cash in envelop, though I noticed it was all in notes which is impossiable for that amount in real life!)-if I do get a reply from Nationwide any time soon, what's the likelyness it will be like in the dream!

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EDF-Bad Service, Leaving Electricity In A Dangerous State

EDF-Not Always How They Tell You On The Adverts

Just to let you know about an upcoming post, incase you have any opinions on the posts subject that you'd like to appear on this site. And the subject in question? EDF. I'd like to share with youa story about the gas and electricity giant-about how their bad service left a houses electricity in a dangerous way. I know for a fact that it happend and how it happened as it happend to my house. I'll tell you all about it, including how EDF, years later never admitted to their mistakes, never issued an apology, offering nothing in the way of compensation. Their customer service has absouloutly sucked. Story coming up, and I'd really like to know what you think of EDF, perhaps you have had simmerler or even the same issues with EDF.

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Another Job Centre Plus/Department of Work and Pensions Complaints Update

Hi their, I come to you with the next Job Centre Plus related 'customer service' update. Just a little thing on the Romford Job Centre Plus' INABILITY TO RING BACK WHEN THEY SAY THEY WILL.
So I have given them plenty of time to ring back, so today, this Friday in June, I'll try ringing them once again,on the Dreaded Job Centre Plus Phoneline (Dun-dun-dun) This time it's gonna have to be different.  If I keep waiting for them to arrange a date, it might not happen before I'm the same age as Sir David Attenbourough. So I came up with the next nearest day that I could make a meeting to them (I tried giving them plenty of time, that didn't work) which is Monday coming, seeing as they will not be open on Saturday or Sunday. I think they have had enough chances now (they had reached that point months ago, to be fair). I gave them any time after 2:30pm for the meeting, so even after the way they have constantly messed me around, they still have plenty of time slots for the meeting to take place. Then if this Tony guy is not avaliable, OK I'll see someone else-because I can see how this meeting could get delayed more and more by them, and this is really supposed to be a complaints issue- I could of really said back at day one, here I am, here's my complaints, and they could of really sent someone their and then for the meeting. I'm not supposed to be accomadating them, my complaints are with them, it should be the other way. It really does seem like their stratedgy has been to delay this as much as possiable.
So I thought I'd also ask JCP why they did not ring back (yet again, so frustrating, the complaints won't go away if that's what they think by ignoring me, with anything it's just adding to them). So I got ringing the Job Centre Plus and, wait for it...... I Got Through Straight Away! What? What's going on?
OK, calm down Ben. I know it's a miracle, but we have the rest of the post to get through. I tried to find out why no one rang, but the lady I was speaking to didn't give me an answer, in fact each time I mentioned it I was met with silence the other end. I tried mentioning it a couple of times-nothing at all back. So this staff member suggested that she could go and try find out from her collouges about my situation and then she could call me back with answers. Sorry but NO. NO WAY. I repeated again how the Job Centre Plus have not been ringing me back, how I had not been recieving their calls.  I said I'd rather stay on the line and wait for her, not take the risk of not getting phoned back once again. So she agreed to this and off she went, while I waited on the line. She was a few minutes away and then returned with her plan. She said on Monday, Tony would ring me, anytime after 9:30am. He would discuss my issues and then if it seemed appropiot I could still come into the JCP branch to discuss them further. Well I wasn't pleased with the meeting being delayed again. But, if his going to talk on the phone, I could at least get to speak with him, see what he has to say on the matters, without a meeting in a branch been canceled. To cut what is such a long, boring and reppititive story with these staff at JCP and DWP, here's what happend next; no one rang back on Monday, so I rang up JCP romford asked if someone could ring back, and why the person who was supposed to ring back didn't-no explanation (or apoligy) for this, I tried to get someone to ring me back at the next avaliable chance, they agreed to this, I waited untill 4pm, they still hadn't called so I rang them. It was Job Centre Romford Manager Nicole who answered. Who informed me, she was going to ring me back (as if I was going to take thr chance waiting any longer again, with their track record), Nicole told me that Tony was on leave. So staff had arrange me a meeting with a man who was on leave, who I had been waiting to get back to me. Brilliant. Nicole told me where she stands on the matter with the whole complaints procedure, was not budging, I could see we were getting no where. She said I could attend the Romford branch, but she had made clear that this was what her final oppinion on the case was, so we both agreed their was pretty much not any point me coming in. So, I was just going to have to try elsewhere.
The saga continues. By the way you might like to know a new TV comedy about the Job Centre Plus is said to be starting soon Thursdays at 8:00pm, alongside the real one which runs at 9:30am to 5:00pm Monday's to Friday's in many areas.

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More Feedback Instore

If you have been in Argos recently, after you have been served you may of had a member of staff ask to fill in one of those electronic survey thingies. If you haven't, basicaly it's a survey on a touchpad with question about the service you recieved, and you press the applicable buttons. One store they have this at is the Dagneham store, which I visited a few times recently, and as their service was generally good, they got good marks from me on said survey pad. But as I was filling it out, I was thinking this is the kind of thing more retail services should offer too. It's a good way of getting customer feedback, and if customers don't have the time to fill in a long survey by hand on customer service, which shops sometimes ask of us, this is a quicker way to give the feedback. Not only that, if you're fed up with having to give companies your details, which, some companies will use in all manner of annoying ways, you can remain annoymous in these electronic services. If they wanted to be ultra flash, stores could have those touch screen machines on the way out of the store, so customers could have their feedback added then. I really think supermarkets could do with taking Argos' lead for example.

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A Nationwide Pain

Nationwide. Like this bank? Have you used the Romford branch. I have and well what a show of service. I was working on an article about some of the bad service that banks give out and I must thank Nationwide for providing me with some more material to add. The article will mention how hard it was made for me to open up a basic bank account.
 Yes, so it's the Romford branch I have to thank. Romford's not doing so well for the companies featured in this blog currently, what with the Romford branch of Job Centre Plus, Tesco and Nationwide appearing in the space of a few weeks for bad service. Don't worry, their are some very good organisations and companies that operate in Romford, I can vouch for that, and hopefully we can get on to them soon. But unfortuntly we have another bad service from a Romford store.
So this is how it went. I run a company called Stuff! (the company that works on the blog you are currently reading) and because of the way this company operates and earns it's money, I found I was best suited to payments been made on to a cash card online account with Mastercard, and the use of Paypal, it best suited the buisness at the time. Also, I did not have a passport (needed a new one) or a drivers license (hadn't yet applied for one) and I knew that would make it hard to have even the most basic current account-and believe me it does, I know as I have been trying to get an account for almost 3 Years.  However as the buisness evolved and some new oppurtunities came I needed a bank account, not only that our friends at PayPal suddenly decided that I needed a bank account and put a block on my account untill I got one. This meant I had fees that I was unable to pay (and were due in a matter of days after PayPal did this). It also meant, with a buisness that's payment system uses heavily PayPal, it stopted a lot of earnings through. So thanks PayPal for that. So off I go to try and apply for a bank account. Nationwide was the only one of the high street banks I hadn't tried, so off I went to see about opening a basic current account. By the way, before I had entered the branch, I had rang a number of staff members of the Nationwide phoneline, as well as the particuler Romford branch that I planned on trying for the account. I did this to check if the ID I had was appropiot to get myself account. Now some staff members said it would be, some said it wasn't and some said it could be, depending on what staff say. Well that's consistant, Nationwide. OK so back to visiting the branch. I waited at the help desk, for a staff member to stop being busy and see me. It wasn't to long before she was able to see me (in a not very busy bank for late afternoon) and I explained about the acount I wanted. The account was the most basic and least fees (but still remember that does not mean they will not try and charge you fees, I'm sorry heigh street banks but you want the trust, you'll have to earn it)-this account is called the Flexi current account. I explained that this was the ID I had. After she took all the ID she went at the back somewhere, I'm guessing to confirm with a member of staff if my ID was acceptable. Well she came back and informed me, that with a statement from my cashplus card and the letter from the DWP I had already given, I would be allowed to open my account. She mentioned a statement through the post, but I explained that Mastercard do not send them through post, fair enough some companies do not, all my statements are through my online account. After thinking it through she told me a print of statement would be fine, and if I came back with it the next day with my DWP letter she would open up the account. So I did. I thought that I should hopefully finaley get a basic current account. Well I turned up, and waited to be seen by a member of staff. The lady one the helpdesk who informed me to come back the next day with the ID to get the account open was not working that day, so another member of staff saw me instead. I explained that I had come back in to get my account opened and about the ID I had and that I did need the account as fast as possiable, by the next day as it goes. The lady took my details, but then started to suggest my ID was not enough. Your are joking right? No she wasn't joking, she said the statement could not be accepted in the way I had given it to her (a printed copy as the lady I had seen the previous day had asked me to bring in). She insisted that she new for a fact my ID would not be accepted, one of the reasons been that it did not have my address on it (the address which is on the DWP letter.......), I tried to reason with her and explain that this ws the ID I was asked to bring in, no one told me it had to have an address on, and as it was an online statement they would not usually. So the staff member went to discuss this with another co worker. The lady who had seen me returned with another staff member who I explained the issue too. She said that she knew for a fact that my ID was not acceptable, and went through the list on the computer saying these are the ID's that can be accepted, checked if I had anything else from the list I could offer (I hadn't) and then said she could not accept this ID. I explained about the member of staff from the previous day to which she replied that she knows for a fact that her co worker knows what ID is required and would not have asked told me that the ID was acceptable. Except she did, and I have witness' who could prove that, thank you very much. After a while she said OK, she would talk to the member off staff about it. But why could we not have just gone with the member of staff who said I could use the ID I had brung in, she was the one who was right, I should be able to open up a basic account with this. This gave proof of name and address perferctly. What else do they want? They might as well ask me to wee in a cup and be done with it. Honestly Nationwide. The least complained about bank? Sorry but I'll be adding to the complaints against that.

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Thanks For The Bad Service

Nothing good can ever come out of bad service, can it? Theirs nothing good to thank it for. Well actually that's maybe not quite true. Two words for you: Fawlty Towers. One of the greatest comedies was made thanks to the bad service in a hotel in Torquay experianced by the pythons John Clesse, Eric Idel, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin. The hotel was the Gleneagles Hotel, with the hotel's owner been described by John Clesse as "the most marvellously rude man I've ever met."
Now I'm not saying we should encourage all companies to offer bad service, on the off chance that we may get a great TV show out of them, but you know I guess it was good that something great could come out of something that was bad servicewise.

Welcome To Fawlty Towers.

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