to be utterly fed up of "because of pandemic" being used as an excuse..

[5foot5]

..for piss-poor service. Particularly on call centres and the like.

Granted in the early stages I can see it would have an impact - people off sick or self-isolating. Initially also I suppose there was some set-up to get people working efficiently from home. But, come on, it has been over a year. Surely things should be sorted by now?

I have just spent 45 minutes of my lunch hour waiting for my call to be taken. And yes I do know that some of my questions might be answered on the web-site FAQ and yes I know that I can manage my account on-line for some things. But not this thing. Even though they gave me four choices of musical style to listen to while I am waiting it doesn't help. Of course I wasn't arsey with the person who eventually answered as it's not his fault (I assume) but I do wonder if some companies are now using this excuse to cut down on staff and explain the long waits away on "unprecedented" circumstances.

DH is in a similar position. He sent a query about something to one of his pension funds. February was when he made the original query. He got the "because of difficult times" excuse and was told it would be in excess of 20 working days before they they could reply. More than 6 weeks later and no response he chased it. Then he was told another 10 days. Of course no joy so queries again and now it is 5-10 days. FFS 3 months to answer what he thought was a simple query

Just how long I wonder are companies going to keep hiding behind the pandemic excuse

Well a lot of companies are still working their way through a backlog that was caused by being shut down or working from home. I know a lot of the agencies we work with are struggling to catch up. The work just didn't disappear because people were furloughed.

Lots of places are using the pandemic as an excuse and cutting staff. I know people let go from call centres who tell customers delays are because of the pandemic. They are lying.

@Weebitawks

Well a lot of companies are still working their way through a backlog that was caused by being shut down or working from home. I know a lot of the agencies we work with are struggling to catch up. The work just didn't disappear because people were furloughed.

But people should not have been furloughed if the work was there.

Wasn't that because it was lunch time? Less people working because some are off to their lunch breaks?

Yes it's a poor excuse and used for poor service by many businesses still.

Currys - dreadful service to book a repair - why not allow online bookings as others do - 30 minute wait to get through - appalling - emply more staff or sort the systems out

I ask how much discount i’ll be getting due to covid. When they say none, i say i expect full service.

@ChelleMum85

There are only so many staff for so many nuisance callers whose calls are not urgent.

People jam the lines, taking up agents who could be helping vulnerable people for non-urgent calls.

Unless you're dying or poor - What's the problem? Use your commonsense and Google it. Otherwise, look at the bigger picture and just wait.

I know the stats for call lines, my particular role is quality checking. Honestly, it's a system that everyone must abide by and just do their job. It cannot be changed.

There are hundreds and thousands of you calling for a limited amount of staff, because there are more than just calls which need answering...there are payments, paperwork, new guidances, people with other responsibilities outside of their job.

Bunch of snow flakes. Just be lucky you're not suffering.

But surely the additional work was the same BEFORE the pandemic so what's changed? If you don't have enough staff hire more or reduce the number of customers.

I always Google before phoning, but that doesn't always solve the problem... so what am I meant to do?

Two companies I wont be using again - Carpet Right and Furniture Village. I had carpets laid throughout, after house renovation. One by one the edges of the landing carpet have begun to fray where they are joined in the bedroom doorways - two of them have completely come away from the door plates. I rang Carpet Right and was told that it sounded as though the carpet needed re-stretching but because of Covid, they couldn’t send anyone out. At the end of lockdown I rang again and was told that the carpet is now out of guarantee and I’ll have to pay to have the fitter visit- even though they admit it’s their fault !!

We bought a sofa online from Furniture Village and were told 4 weeks delivery. It’s now going on for 8 weeks and I can’t get to speak to an actual person. Every time I ring the waiting time is over an hour and the live chat system on their website is bloody useless. I waited for an online adviser for over an hour - 34 people ahead of me in the queue and just as the adviser logged on, the chat blinked off with the message that it had been terminated die to inactivity for a long period of time !!

If we’re on track to have the restrictions lifted and social distancing scrapped by end of June, I think that will be the day of reckoning. Hopefully they’ll realise that people have long memories when it comes to shite service.

YANBU OP.

I have needed to be seen in the early pregnancy unit twice, I'm just 16 weeks now and it's a high risk pregnancy with complications after losing one twin.

Before covid, you could just turn up to be seen at the early pregnancy assessment unit but now you "need" a whole new referral for any single attendance.

Getting there referrals is a mission in itself. You have to contact your GP and wait for a call back which can take days, 2 if you're lucky 4+ if you're not.

You then have to explain what's going on to the GP who sends an electronic referral to the EPU. You then have a further wait for a nurse to pick up your referral and put you on a list to be triaged over the phone.

Only then is it decided whether or not they'll see you.

I turned up there in person, worried sick, and was turned away because this new process needs to be adhered to because of "covid"

Don't get me started on how children with special needs have been fucked over. My DS has been waiting so, so long for much needed SALT and OT.

Now, thanks to 'covid' I've had to go around the houses getting two new referrals via my GP.

@saltychoc

I assume the long wait on the phone for call centres etc are because those companies have taken the opportunity to furlough their staff and see what they can get away with - nothing to do with WFH

THIS ^^

all my friends in customer service have had there contracts cut or are still waiting for a return date its nothing to do with WFH and all to do with greed

After the "get back to work" message from the government last summer , like a good little commuter I was trying to use Pret a Manger. Except they only had half the stuff, and none of my favourites, and there was nothing I wanted in there. No veggie brioche for breakfast. Fuck that.

@Spanielsarepainless

Try HMRC. I sent them a direct debit form a year ago and so far they have taken no money.

Yep! I deal with them through my work and their call centre is impossible. Wait time is often over an hour for a small query.

Thy have had a year to sort customer service out and it's still woeful. If they cannot cope with the demand while staff are home then they need to be bringing more back into work

Are you me!? I say this all the time! Anything companies get wrong they say 'oh because of covid' no sorry that don't cut the mustard anymore. It's been a year, you should have figured out how to combat these issues by now.

@WoohooCharityShops. I had similar problems with NHS referral system. My mum, who’s 90, has dementia and has recently been losing control of her bladder. I waited ages for a referral to continence services and when I finally got an appointment over the phone, they were next to useless, suggesting that before they could provide pads for her, I would need to take steps to try to address the problem and get her ‘dry’. Despite trying to make this individual understand that trying to reason with someone with dementia was impossible, she was insistent. So we agreed that she would ring me back in 4 weeks and that if I was still having problems, they would look at providing padding. No follow up phone call came and after several weeks I rang continence services only to be told that the case had been closed and if I needed any further help I would have to have another referral from my GP. I’m still awaiting the initial phone call after re-referral and have decided it’s probably easier to use commercial products even though none are quite right for her needs. Useless.

Yanbu I work with a very small team and we aim to get back to every query within 2 days. I finish late, usually by an hour nearly every day though and that's unpaid.

I've had a great experience with HRMC recently - getting money overpaid off them.

I am in the middle of a major battle with the council over council tax reduction and it took them a year (well more) to give me a form I needed.

And there "five days to send a pin to you to access your council tax bill" means I may now be left paying the whole thing in full as a week later I still have no freaking pin to access the account to pay the bill. I have twenty pounds to my name so will spend another two plus hours trying to get through to someone on the phone tomorrow again in order to avoid a court summons.

Oh this winds me up. Six months after a relative died (shit care 'because Covid' then, whoops, too late to operate now) one of the pension companies has yet to acknowledge the executor or the bereaved. The bereavement team hide behind [email protected]. nò names no phone number no nothing

Doctors surgerys have been absolutely appalling in my vast experience over the past year. I say this as a nurse practitioner in a specialist team that receive referrals from people who cannot get through to their GP and so ring our service instead.

Just yesterday I saw a lady who desperately needed anti-biotics (diabetic, terrible abscess, frail). She had called the practice in the morning and was told she could not book an appointment over the phone but would need to fill out an online form, that was sent to her by text. The lady is in her 90s and can barely see.

Another last week in a care home, increased confusion ? Urine infection GP declined to go. One of my palliative patients condition deteriorated, GP practice point blank refused to visit. Literally refused a dying man face to face care. This is not one GP practice but across the North side of a very large city. I have many many stories of GP failing their patients. How the hell are they still getting away with it? It is absolutely shocking.

@Sarahrellyboo1987

YABU and entitled.

It’s not an excuse it’s a genuine reason.

Bullshit

One of our neighbours died at home of sepsis from bedsores. Shit care because Covid.

@IrmaFayLear

The local council is just loving being able to offer limited public contact. Cases in my area are 0 so I am surprised to hear on the phone message that “due to our staff self-isolating, shielding and experiencing illness” you cannot make contact.... about just about anything.

Same!!

@TheKeatingFive

Time to get workers back to offices methinks.

Definitely! Last week I spoke to a bank employee. Every time I gave him an answer or asked a question it sounded like his mum was doing the work and telling him what to say and it definitely sounded like children were playing in the same area. He was definitely not on top of the query and it gave me no confidence regarding privacy.

Totally agree! Those of us who have been physically out working throughout as no other choice and trying to get through to anywhere during lunchbreaks etc has been bloody ridiculous! Surely those working from home would be more available as no commute, although I understand with children it's difficult of course, have done this as well. As for trying to speak to a doctor...can never get through on the phone, after 2 hours each time I give up, or the completely generic million question form to get in touch and days later still waiting for a response.

@Weebitawks

Well a lot of companies are still working their way through a backlog that was caused by being shut down or working from home. I know a lot of the agencies we work with are struggling to catch up. The work just didn't disappear because people were furloughed.

@Weebitawks If the work was there why were people furloughed? The furlough system was for businesses like restaurants that couldn’t open. The rules were wfh if you job allows but if not people could go in. Looks like another employer trying to save money.

It comes from the top.

Every disaster/corruption by this Govt. has the “it’s because of the pandemic” attached to it.

YANBU