Yesterday we tried to call BT (British Telecom) from Canada to get our phone line disconnected following the move. We did this from here because for a while I still had a machine connected to an ADSL line at home.
Unfortunately BT have outsourced their call center to India.
First of all we waited 3 times for 20 minutes on hold until the remote end disconnected us. Not good. Then when we finally got through the whole process took us nearly 25 minutes due to numerous misunderstandings occurring because of language barriers and misheard words. The best part was when the lady on the other end tried to give us the disconnection reference. It started with "DQV", but first I got "B for Bee" (which I assume now was "D for Dee" - useful), and then "Coo-eee". It took me about 10 minutes just to get the reference number.
No wonder we were on hold so long if a process that should have taken 5 minutes took 25.
Clearly this sort of outsourcing is saving BT money, which is good for the shareholders. But frankly as a customer I don't give a damn.
They really should have just outsourced this stuff to Wales or Scotland instead. At least then the wages go back into the local economy, but more importantly the customer would remain happy.
They're making money on all the calls they forwarding for you. It's a profit centre!
-Dom
They really should have just outsourced this stuff to Wales or Scotland instead.
