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

I have friends who work in a local council. They've now been working at home for over a year and won't go back to the office before the Autumn. Quite honestly, they hardly worked before the pandemic and now they're at home they do very little. They've been honest about this and can't believe their luck.

I'm not for one minute saying this is the case for all civil servants, but they say that the whole covid thing has become a complete piss take.

I would be wary of blaming the few people who may be skiving whilst they are working from home, would be more likely to blame management. We have had huge round of redundancies with our workload staying the same. We are all now expected to do 3 times the work!
Our doctors have been wonderful with telephone consultations and centralised local surgery that deals with all of the physical examinations and blood tests. I can't comment on hospital appointment times though as we haven't needed them.

With regard to people complaining about nail clips at the vets, this is difficult to manage as a typical nurse clinic would involve the owner holding the pet and the nurse clipping the nails. This is difficult as it would mean a nurse having to get very close to a client 20+ times a day, we have vulnerable/pregnant staff (and many elderly clients) so this is not ideal (neither is having to close due to staff self isolating or having to call clients and telling them to isolate for 10 days because that staff member tests positive). So instead two nurses do the clinic (one holding the animal, one clipping the nails) so throughput is reduced. Rinse and repeat for every in-person consultation, but the wage bill remains the same. Hence why routine health club checks are delayed to prioritise sick animals who get better and more prompt treatment than at the GP, and vets and vet nurses have had to work throughout the pandemic despite not being given key worker childcare spaces or any sort of priority for vaccinations.

@6Helen7 I only have one friend who works for the local council organising social care. The team she is in has been cut and she is run off her feet. She is working from home but can't do the work in the allotted time and is not well-paid.
I can believe it may be different in central government e.g. people working under Boris Johnson. But local government is cut to the bone.

Also dh tried to get food last weekend in our local town. It is a tourist town and was lovely out, obviously everyone eating outside. Sign on door states food served 9am -4pm it was 3.10pm at the time - waitress informed us they stopped serving food at 3pm when asked why she said "you know, because of Covid". Holy shit the restaurants have been closed for months, its hot, plenty of people about and they are closing earlier - does Covid only kill after 3pm then? It wasnt the only place shutting earlier either.

Another small independent homeware shop is now only opening 11am-2pm Mon / Wed / Fri and then its click and collect. I do wonder if people actually want our money?

Fiheka I don't for one minute think everyone in local government is acting like my friends. They work in non critical services, like waste permits etc. I know there must be others in a very different situation. But they are an example of 'computer says no' mentality, and quite happy about it. It makes me cross.

Totally agree OP.

And if a woman dares to say "actually I'd like to not have this shit service I pay good money for" then she's labelled a Karen.

@Supersimkin2

The worst reckoning will be when the UK realises the NHS has saved Senile Sid, 99 and incontinent, but his granddaughter, Solicitor Sally, 43, 3 kids , died in terror and pain from untreated cancer.

Cos Covid.

What is also terrifying is that there are people (plenty on MN) who seem to want us all in lockdown until COVID rate is zero because every life is precious - but only in relation to COVID. Fuck all the people suffering and dying due to cancer, domestic abuse, MH issues...their lives aren't precious, they should be thankful they don't have COVID (even though 99% of people survive it)

I have also had some shitty customer service experience with a few companies lately. I think it’s time for a lot of these companies to pull the plug on workers working from home and get them back into the workplace. Many people are getting back to normal now, going to the gym, shopping booking holidays . It may be more productive in some occupations but customer service isn’t one of them. My partner was on the phone the other week to enquire about his pension. Only to speak to someone with a crying child in the background, he ended up hanging up.

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.

Please explain how Google will reactivate a debit card that has been incorrectly blocked by Lloyds.

The best company I've spoken to during the pandemic has been Virgin Money. I had fraudulent transactions on my credit card and got through almost straight away each time I had to phone them.

I have been waiting a year to see the neurologist. So I’m not holding on to any hope I will any time soon.

It seems a pandemic has given people a false sense of authority and a self entitled right to be rude and ignorant to others, whether it be in retail, call centre, public facing and on any human level. I try to avoid dealing with people where possible. It’s just a headache expecting people to be polite and helpful like normal human beings should be.

@Piccalily19

YANBU. Doctor told me I needed to email her a blood pressure reading before I’m allowed my next batch of contraceptives. Told me she couldn’t do it “because of Covid” and phone appointments only etc. I even offered to have it done quickly at my babies in person check up (as yano, both of us would be there...). She said no and to go to the chemist. Chemist has also said no chemists in the area are doing BP “because of Covid” and recommended I buy my own kit?! I only need one sodding reading, tempted to make it up to be honest!

I swapped to ordering contraceptives online years ago. So much easier (you just have to fill in an online questionnaire) and worth any extra charges.

Payroll messed up my pay and I couldn’t call them due to the pandemic as they were working from home without phones (over a year in you’d think they would have managed to buy 4 cheap mobiles for the staff in the dept). I emailed and received a bounce back saying due to working from home they will not be able to meet the usual demand or level of service... we, why? Dh works from home and he’s working to a very high standard and I work from home 2 days a week (in the hospital 3 days) and work bloody hard so what is the external payroll team doing? Watching daytime TV? They’re not even home schooling now!

My adopted daughter has spinal problems and in pain at times, she still cannot get a Dr appointment, I had pluresy during lockdown 2 the Dr said he couldn't see me and to take paracetamol. Virgin media cannot be contacted but they still want my money. These call centres are a joke it's about time everyone of them returned to the office. I've worked through both lock downs 12hr shifts processing everyone's orders at Next !!!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango yep we called to book a pub table for drinks at 3pm (after lunch rush) and the guy was totally grumpy and rude saying oh but we’re busy so by then we’ll be winding down. We only planned to order one round of drinks. He ummd and ahhhd until Dh said okay, don’t worry then, bye! We’d have happily been flexible re the time.

The NHS/private thing annoys me.

DS and I have been seeing a private dentist. MIL uses our old NHS one, who I luckily gave up on 2 years ago, and has not been able to get an appointment.

I feel this.
I bought a new house and informed the council. They sent a final notice for the council tax, but no bill, and the amount was way off what it should be - also, only addressed to my husband. I called them and was told to email. I emailed them and waited for a reply. I phoned a month later and was told to email, said I had emailed and was told to wait for a response. A month after that, I received a court summons for non-payment of council tax (for both me and my husband, even though they'd refused to acknowledge my existence). I phoned the council, they said to email, I said I had, they said to wait for a response - and I said no, speak to me now because I've been waiting for months for a response. They said the best thing to do is pay the bill in full (including fees) and I would be reimbursed when they sorted the mess out. So I paid in full. Then, the day before the court hearing, I phoned the court to check the council had dropped it - they hadn't. I phoned the council, they said to email, I said no. They then said they hadn't dropped the case because they were too busy because of Covid and hadn't got around to it - so I went to court. I said all of this but courts automatically grant payment orders in council tax disputes so the judgement was made against me - so I had to pay in full AGAIN. I phoned up the council a week later to find out when my refund would be issued and the woman on the phone had the cheek to tell me that I needed to be more understanding of their struggles due to Covid. If I could've slapped someone through the phone then I would have.

@SonnyWinds how can a court make you pay again for something you already paid you should have friend you, said "I paid it in full, here's the evidence' and they should have sent you on your way.. and they definitely don't automatically grant payment orders especially if the bill has already been settled in full

I'm fed up of this as well ..yes a year ago l agree it could be forgiven.
I had a pension query on old pension in January.
Tracked down who it has been transferred to had a very nice chat to a man working from home. He had to call me back three times because his phone kept cutting our...not his fault l suppose.
Said he would email new providers as it's been transferred again and they would send me a statement.
Never heard anything...phoned again last week and they have no record of my call due to pandemic...well l have a bloody phone record of a 40 min call.
Why can't they just at say I'm sorry we messed up instead of blaming covid.

@jonnob call centres are less likely to have people doing that!
In my job I am available unless I am on lunch, break or in "personal" so going to the toilet which is kept to under 10 mins a day. My hoss can see exactly what I am doing, whether I'm on a call or available, my screen records my calls both audio and computer
There is absolutely no way to skive if I wanted to and most call centres are the same

[quote FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop]@SonnyWinds how can a court make you pay again for something you already paid you should have friend you, said "I paid it in full, here's the evidence' and they should have sent you on your way.. and they definitely don't automatically grant payment orders especially if the bill has already been settled in full[/quote]
Apparently courts automatically make payment orders for council tax because there's a separate appeals system set up for incorrect council tax or something that has nothing to do with the court so if I disagree then I need to make an application to the other system. I was outraged/baffled too.
We're very lucky that we had the cash flow to pay over two years of council tax in one go because a lot of people wouldn't have had the funds. I made a complaint to the council but haven't had a response (shock!).

YANBU - the usual suspects have been delighted to keep customers at barge pole length, whilst putting their feet up and scaling down services.

GP surgeries
Local Authorities
Private companies when it comes to customer enquiries

I understand that it must have been hard at first and during lockdowns, but how can they all still be in crisis mode?

I've got some sympathy with GPs because of the Covid-19 vaccination queries.

But local authorities have literally no excuse for stuff like closing parks that they did.

I get where you’re coming from but for every shop, bank, service provider that would previously have seen a proportion of their customers go in to a store/location to obtain help they’re seeing almost all contact coming via phones and online. Even doubling or tripling customer service teams hasn’t helped with the sheer number of contacts.