Companies Using "Because of COVID" As An Excuse For Poor Service

[duncanp]

I know someone who is elderly and needs to go into a care home due to Parkinson's disease and arthritis, amongst other issues.

The removal company Pickfords offer a "small moves" service which on the face of it seems ideal for her requirements.

Small Moves | Pickfords

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www.pickfords.co.uk

A Small Moves service by the day​

Our Small Moves service is ideal for smaller properties moving within 30 miles. We’ll provide you with the packing materials you need, delivered ahead of your move so you can pack your cartons yourself. The removals team and van will be yours for the day, so if you have access to both properties, you can make as many journeys between them as you need.

Best value for budget moves​

A Small Move is typically a one day move to keep your costs low. Making it an ideal option if you're trying to stick to a tight budget..

Professionally trained crews​

Our removal teams are professionally trained and qualified to handle your belongings with care.

Optional packing services​

If you would prefer Pickfords to pack for you, let us know. Your removals team will do this on your move day as part of the day's service.

Packing materials​

We can provide you with a range of professional packing materials to protect your items. If you wish to pack yourself these materials will be delivered to your home prior to collection date.

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The trusted name in removals​

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All seems fine, except that they won't come out to your house to survey the property in order to give you an accurate quote.

What they want you to do is a so called "video survey", which consists of you walking round the property with a smartphone in your hand showing some lazy ******* at the other end what it is you want moved. Oh, and you have to have a measuring tape handy just in case said lazy ******* wants to know how big your furniture is.

Here is what they send you

· Download the Pickfords Video Survey app from your App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android)
· Unlock your screen rotation as surveys are conducted in landscape, for iPhone this may require a restart
· Set your screen auto-lock to Never (iOS device) as this may interrupt the video - this can be found in Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock
· Verify that the mobile phone that you will be using for the Video Survey is charged, and connected to your Wi-Fi network
· Be prepared to open up all cupboards, cabinets and drawers (especially in the kitchen)
· Turn on all lights
· Have a torch handy for any poorly lit spaces
· Have a measuring tape handy for any items that may require custom crating

This is difficult if not impossible for someone in their 80s with Parkinson's, and would be quite annoying for most other people.

And if you haven't got the internet or a smartphone - well you can just go and foxtrot oscar.

They are using COVID and "working from home" as an excuse.

Utterly pathetic, but sadly becoming more common each day.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Homebase at Ewell, near Epsom, must join the list of shame.

Customer toilets are still not only closed but physically blocked off.

 

[seagull]

The BT "Universal Service Obligation" call centre staff are all working from home, and it really does cause some appallingly bad customer experiences.

As in the afternoon when, whichever home shirker kept getting my call, decided they didn't want to talk to anyone so hung up, repeatedly (could tell it was the same agent as the background noise was identical). After several attempts I got put through to a different one, which started off well enough but then got drowned out by the sound of dogs trying to kill each other.

Come back actual call centres, all is forgiven.

 

[Falcon1200]

In my experience the NRM do not enforce this.

Thanks. As it turns out the NRM, despite being the National and therefore premier Railway Museum in the country, is not open on Mondays or Tuesdays just now anyway, and I was planning to go on a Monday !

 

[DelayRepay]

In the clothing department of my local Sainsburys, the fitting rooms are still closed 'due to Covid'. Other clothes shops have had their fitting rooms open for months now. I wonder if they've calculated that the lost sales and cost of processing exchanges is less than the cost of staffing the clothing department?

 

[duncanp]

Thanks. As it turns out the NRM, despite being the National and therefore premier Railway Museum in the country, is not open on Mondays or Tuesdays just now anyway, and I was planning to go on a Monday !

Perfectly reasonable to be closed for two days.

After all, COVID only comes out on a Monday and Tuesday, so this is to "keep people safe"

This is no more ridiculous than some of the excuses I have heard over the past two years.

 

[WelshBluebird]

I had an interesting one last week. I called a telephone helpline and the recorded message said that, because all staff were working from home, it would take longer to connect the call to an 'agent'. Why? The claim wasn't that the agent may take longer to assist, but that the phone system would take longer to connect. The same system estimated that, because of the queue, my wait time would be a very precise 'approximately 1 minute and 34 seconds'! (It was actually about 3 minutes, but that was no problem, especially as it was a free number).

I suspect the reasoning is due to the way the system routes calls. I wouldn't be surprised if it still phoned the actual office and the system in the office then routed the call out.

The real question is: why are all staff still working from home?

Why shouldn't they be?

As in the afternoon when, whichever home shirker kept getting my call

With some of the attitudes in this thread, I'm not surprised some customer service staff don't want to talk to some people here!
Isn't it more likely that there was some issue that meant either they couldn't hear you, or that meant the call was disconnected?
Immediately jumping to the conclusion that they are "shirking" work somehow by just working from home is a bit much and if you had that attitude on the call then I'd have hung up on you too!

Perfectly reasonable to be closed for two days.

After all, COVID only comes out on a Monday and Tuesday, so this is to "keep people safe"

This is no more ridiculous than some of the excuses I have heard over the past two years.

Where do they say the two days they aren't open are because of COVID? Or is it more likely that it isn't to do with COVID directly, and is more likely either a staffing reason or something along those lines?

 

[greyman42]

Why shouldn't they be?

Because there is no need.

Isn't it more likely that there was some issue that meant either they couldn't hear you, or that meant the call was disconnected?

That is unlikely to happen if they were working in the office/call center.

Immediately jumping to the conclusion that they are "shirking" work somehow by just working from home is a bit much and if you had that attitude on the call then I'd have hung up on you too!

What makes you think that the caller had the wrong attitude?

 

[computerSaysNo]

The real question is: why are all staff still working from home?

If staff have the option to work from the office but prefer to work from home then I see no reason to force them into the office. The company just needs to either invest in proper equipment for them to use at home, or allow them to take the equipment from the office, home, to use for an agreed amount of time.

 

[Jimini]

If staff have the option to work from the office but prefer to work from home then I see no reason to force them into the office. The company just needs to either invest in proper equipment for them to use at home, or allow them to take the equipment from the office, home, to use for an agreed amount of time.

Indeed -- also to note that that particular transition was already underway in a lot of industries prior to March 2020 -- the pandemic merely accellerated the process.

*Disclaimer: I've been home based since 2015.

 

[seagull]

Isn't it more likely that there was some issue that meant either they couldn't hear you, or that meant the call was disconnected?
Immediately jumping to the conclusion that they are "shirking" work somehow by just working from home is a bit much and if you had that attitude on the call then I'd have hung up on you too!

Interestingly, you immediately jumped to the conclusion that I as the caller had "that attitude" - when I didn't get a chance to utter a single word so could not possibly have had any attitude. Nor would I have had, if the representative had answered. But dialling a number, having to listen to endless automated spiel, before finally getting routed to an advisor, and then being hung up on within seconds, repeatedly - that's good customer service? And yet despite that, when I did finally speak to a different person who did answer (and before the dog war broke out) he was very helpful indeed, and I had no reason to be anything but polite with him.

 

[nw1]

Why shouldn't they be?

If staff have the option to work from the office but prefer to work from home then I see no reason to force them into the office. The company just needs to either invest in proper equipment for them to use at home, or allow them to take the equipment from the office, home, to use for an agreed amount of time.

The point I was trying to make is that it seemed that customers were finding it hard to get through because of the technical limitations of working from home, so I was trying to make the argument that now Covid isn't so much an issue, people could return to the office.

However if the company can give its employees the correct equipment to work from home, then that's fair enough.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Because there is no need.

But there is no need for many employees to be in the office either.

That is unlikely to happen if they were working in the office/call center.

I mean because of course technical problems don't happen in the office either!
Infact, surely employees being remote means a customer service department has more resilience against technical issues? If everyone is in the office and technical issues occur, then it is possible everyone could be affected and so nobody could deal with calls. But in a remote setting its much more likely just one (or in the worst case like a storm that takes out power in a wide area - a few) would be affected and so the others could still take calls.

When I was 100% office based we had power cuts on more than one occasion that resulted in everybody just going to the local pub as there was nothing we could do whilst the power was out and we were all affected. Now I am mainly based at home, if I have a power cut, not only am I the only person affected but it is more than likely I'd take my laptop out with me and find a coffee shop or somewhere to work (obviously that isn't really applicable to people taking calls mind you).

What makes you think that the caller had the wrong attitude?

Sarcastically calling someone who was working from home a "home shirker" maybe?

 

[greyman42]

I mean because of course technical problems don't happen in the office either!
Infact, surely employees being remote means a customer service department has more resilience against technical issues?

So are there technical limitations to WFH that could make you less efficient?

 

[WelshBluebird]

So are there technical limitations to WFH that could make you less efficient?

Technical problems can occur wherever someone is based.
There are some that are unique to remote working, there are some that are unique to everyone working in the same office, there are some that exist wherever the setting.
The idea that technical issues are inherent to remote work and are totally avoided by the office that you are trying to peddle is simply wrong.

 

[Ediswan]

I suspect the reasoning is due to the way the system routes calls. I wouldn't be surprised if it still phoned the actual office and the system in the office then routed the call out.

It may be to do with what the system has to route calls to.

I was 'IT' for my employer when covid came along. The initial call always termined at the on-premises VoIP PBX. If the destination was not local, the call was routed back out.

VoIP physical desk phones worked flawlessly when used at home, exactly the same as in the office. Routing to mobile worked. The (cheapest) VoIP Windows and Android apps were ... unacceptable, so we didn't rely on those for anything customer facing. (That is the short version.)

 

[island]

Satisfaction with the NCS (National COVID Service) is at a 25-year low according to a survey by the King's Fund and Nuffield Trust.

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[Cdd89]

As an example of the opposite, EE continues not to impose the roaming fair use cap “for the duration of this pandemic”.

They introduced this in March 2020 as a short term concession, and I think they’ve backed themsleves into a corner. If they’re waiting for the WHO to declare it over, they may be waiting a long time.

 

[Crossover]

Perfectly reasonable to be closed for two days.

After all, COVID only comes out on a Monday and Tuesday, so this is to "keep people safe"

This is no more ridiculous than some of the excuses I have heard over the past two years.

I believe it was done originally for enhanced cleaning on the two closed days. Whether this still happens though, I don’t know

 

[Tom B]

I believe it was done originally for enhanced cleaning on the two closed days. Whether this still happens though, I don’t know

£££

Visitor numbers lower, hence fewer staff (many were made redundant).

 

[richw]

I believe it was done originally for enhanced cleaning on the two closed days. Whether this still happens though, I don’t know

That reasoning would put me off more. If it’s kept on top off each evening and throughout the day it won’t get to a state of needing two days enhanced cleaning every week!

 

[Crossover]

That reasoning would put me off more. If it’s kept on top off each evening and throughout the day it won’t get to a state of needing two days enhanced cleaning every week!

I would agree that now, particularly, it is a poor excuse and measures need to be taken to a more "normal" opening routine

 

[185143]

Irish Rail.

No catering is provided on any IE services at the moment, and hasn't been since March 2020. They were all Rail Gourmet staff, though the cross border Enterprise service uses a different agency, though that might just be for the NI based staff. IE will tell you that they haven't reintroduced catering "because Covid".

A guard on the Enterprise said when someone was asking about catering that "They haven't been open for 2 years". Which she challenged on the grounds that the NI staff are back in as she'd bought a coffee that morning! The guard then backtracked and said it was only available on some services, those crewed by NI staff. He then admitted to the next person who asked why that was, that the RG staff in the South were in dispute over pay...

 

[Falcon1200]

Further to earlier discussion regarding having to pre-book a specific time for the National Railway Museum; This still applies at York but has been discontinued by their sister location at Shildon ! Other locations still insist on the same practice too, eg the Great Western Society at Didcot. Unfortunately all this does is dissuade me from visiting.

(Apparently the reason is to 'control visitor numbers', but how does that work ? It would be safe I think to assume that most visitors won't spend the entire day at York or Didcot, so that as more people are allowed in, space for them is created by those leaving, but there is no guarantee or way of assuring that the numbers match).

 

[Bikeman78]

Further to earlier discussion regarding having to pre-book a specific time for the National Railway Museum; This still applies at York but has been discontinued by their sister location at Shildon ! Other locations still insist on the same practice too, eg the Great Western Society at Didcot. Unfortunately all this does is dissuade me from visiting.

(Apparently the reason is to 'control visitor numbers', but how does that work ? It would be safe I think to assume that most visitors won't spend the entire day at York or Didcot, so that as more people are allowed in, space for them is created by those leaving, but there is no guarantee or way of assuring that the numbers match).

Why the need to control visitor numbers in a country with no Covid rules? Trains around the country are often full and standing. Supermarkets are busy at weekends. What's the difference?

 

[Falcon1200]

Why the need to control visitor numbers in a country with no Covid rules?

I don't know, and that's why I find the continuing imposition of such visitor-unfriendly restrictions, which are not even applied uniformly in the case of the NRM, utterly baffling !

 

[pdeaves]

Hoverbus in Portsmouth (linked to Hovercraft, unsurprisingly) today still had the two seats immediately behind the driver's 'cubicle' blocked off for 'social distancing'. Yet, passengers mingle together and walk past the driver both entering and leaving the bus. The driver is firmly behind a screen. It looks a totally pointless blocking especially with standing passengers. At worst, the space could be used for a few suitcases.

 

[duncanp]

Article in The Telegraph today about British Airways using "because of COVID" as an excuse for delays, cancellations and staff shortages.

British Airways is the ultimate ‘because of Covid’ villain

Airline must stop blaming Covid and sort out flight delays – before its reputation is tarnished for good

www.telegraph.co.uk

British Airways is the ultimate ‘because of Covid’ villain​

Airline must stop blaming Covid and sort out flight delays – before its reputation is tarnished for good

Do you remember the glamour of air travel? The free magazines, space to stretch your legs – even a coaster for your Bloody Mary. It wasn’t that long ago when flying felt like a treat, that feeling of being a pampered customer rather than a hen in a battery farm.

It’s a far cry from the queues snaking for miles around England’s airports this week after more than 1,000 flights were cancelled. It was a meltdown of epic proportions as the Easter holidays began. There was such a breakdown that emergency services were called in to Manchester airport to maintain order, after which the managing director stepped down.

EasyJet and British Airways both cancelled flights after suffering difficulties with staffing as Covid infections forced workers to call in sick. Ah yes, it’s that old chestnut again: because of Covid.

With infection rates sky-high, you may be sympathetic to the airlines’ plight. But the numbers speak for themselves and Covid can no longer be a real reason for shoddy customer service.


All airlines have been scrambling to react to increased demand: Abta, the trade body, found that 57pc of people had a holiday abroad planned in the next 12 months, up from 44pc in October 2021.

As a result, British Airways has been increasing its flight schedules, but with fewer staff. When the pandemic wiped out air travel, BA fired about 13,000 people but has since said it plans to rehire only around 3,000 of them.

It is not just BA that has these problems. Martin Chalk of the pilots’ union Balpa said this kind of chaos would continue throughout the spring and summer because “airlines, laden with debt … have not yet rehired enough staff”. But we expect better of BA, rather than the cheap and cheerful flavour of easyJet.

It is our so-called flag carrier after all, promising “to fly, to serve” in its motto. It has even roped in national treasure Emma Raducanu to help promote itself as being the best of British. And it was the beneficiary of a £2bn state-backed loan early last year.

It really should be the John Lewis of the skies: sturdy, reliable and never knowingly undersold (although that has quietly been jettisoned too). Instead, it promises a lot but fails to deliver, while begging for forgiveness.

Previous bouts of flight cancellations that brought Heathrow’s terminal five to a halt were caused by IT meltdowns.

I was caught up in one such frenzy of cancellations in February, after which it sent a grovelling text – little comfort to those whose holidays were ruined. And don’t expect these cataclysms to end any time soon. Alex Cruz, BA’s former boss, said last year that “if you look at the underlying systems that all big airlines … rely on, it is 20, 30, 40, 50-year-old technology, it is amazing to see”.

Why can’t we rely on our national airline to really serve us?

It has succumbed to the current trend of companies blaming Covid for shoddy customer service taking place more than two years after the pandemic started.

The new boss, Sean Doyle, has said repairing BA’s reputation is one of his priorities. He’d better hurry up before its reputation is tarred forever.

 

[Broucek]

Land Registry

I’m a trustee of a small charity that owns a property. We recently moved to a new structure with all assets and liabilities transferred. Except it’s taken the LR a year and counting to transfer the property. We are therefore having to keep the old charity open, prepare accounts, get them inspected and so on…

WTF is wrong with these people? It’s easy to throw rocks at the public sector, but I can’t help but think that any private sector organisation that behaved like this would be out of business and rightly so

 

[Silver Cobra]

I know this isn't a company, but I noticed today that the public toilets in my hometown have finally reopened after being closed since March 2020 'due to Covid'. It's taken nearly 28 months to finally decide that it's safe for them to be reopened.