Better Support

[NDesai]

Not sure what PM thought, but to me there are lots of problems and issues that can only be looked into by PM itself. And since they only have email/community support, i think it's not good enough. 

Community support is good when issues people have are known and there is already a fix for that. I know there are some very active users who try their best to help, BUT payment issues, refund, plan change, account problems, network outage, etc. are all can only be taken care by PM itself. And through email it can take days for it to get resolved. Many users come here and first thing they say is that E-Mail support did not help. 

So, may be have more actve staff so they can quickly reply to emails or simply add phone/chat support. Lots can be done by Twitter messages too. 

Adding ticket system is not any different than email support. 

[makkahn28]

@NDesai,  PM has Twit and FB too. BUT, when tech support requires them access to one's account, FB and Twit are NOT the place for certain things. BUT, I DO AGREE, THEY NEED TO CRACK OPEN NEW WAYS OF SUPPORT, LIKE E-SUPPORT

[imm1304]

I agree.  At least one PM staff needs to be moderating these forums and intervene to quickly escalate issues to the tech support department, etc.  Maybe this moderator can ask the customer with a problem to inbox account info and get the ball rolling.   Let the community sort out simpler issues but moderator should get involved when its a problem that needs action from the PM office.  Speeding up response time and resolution time is the best way to keep customers. 

Also, e-mail requests for things like errors while registering a new account need to be dealt with promptly.  Can't have a new or potential customer wait 48 hours.. makes a bad first impression.  I am sure one person can quickly respond to all such emails on the same day with complicated problems getting a message saying that it will take a day or two more.  I hope Public Mobile are paying attention.. this is a really easy and effective customer service improvement to implement.   

[deltatux]

I think people forgot that Public Mobile is a no-frills basic service in a bid to lower monthly costs. The whole point of Public Mobile is to not have a lot of staff on hand to resolve issues and let the community take care of the bulk of the work since most of it can be resolved by the community anyways except when it comes to billing or network support.

If one needs better support, that's where Koodo Mobile (TELUS's main budget brand) is for, that brand has a call centre.

Does that mean Public Mobile doesn't need improvements? No, but they can resolve this issue by either shortening the reply guarantee from 48 hours to 24 hours or they should introduce live web chat to make the process better.

[Luddite]

I'm less sure about this because the whole concept is to minimize operating cost so we pay as little as possible for national service.

I would prefer a stronger caveat at the SIM order entry and activation points to the effect: "If Communty support fails, there is ONLY email tech support which will occur within 48 hours of email receipt. We strongly urge you to port your current number AFTER your account has been successfully activated."

[NDesai]

@makkahn28 If PM employees use Twitter support. It can work nicely. I have seen major compnies like Telus, Shaw, Microsoft provide any kind of support through DM. 

@Luddite You are looking at it like if they don't invest in support, we get to save on our bills. But think about customers who are in the problems and can't get it going. They will loose them and simply due to lack of support. 

To me PM plans are pretty good, but believe me we don't save alot. Many times i see offers from Fido, koodo, virgin that would be almost similer to what we pay here. 

So, support is the key to every business. 

[imm1304]

Guys, what I am suggesting is more of a constructive feedback to Public mobile, who are admittedly in beta.  I simply encourage PM to optimize and streamline the customer service with greater efficiency.. bottom line is that they are running a business and I think they would love to hear what the customers are thinking. 

Most of the very common problems (only a handful, really) repeating over and over again can be addressed by existing staff if focus is on adapting to the reality of what the customer is experiencing.  Aiming to resolve the most common issues within minutes to hours is really not asking for too much.  Investing in additional one or two employee(s), if needed, will in fact help generate a lot of new business in referrals from happy customers.  

[NDesai]

Since now they are out of invite only phase, i think better support is needed asap. Many users come here and first thing they say is that E-Mail support did not help. 

[makkhan28]

I do agree. E-Chat, Twit, FB should be All interused to enhance CS experience. Also, Use YT to describe more difficult Issues and how to Correct them. More like Webisodes Tutorials on Advanced technical troubleshoots.

[humzatariq]

While I understand they want to reduce their costs, I agree with what members have posted here, that PM should introduce some sort of e-chat, and reduce the maximum time wait to get a response to an e-mail sent.

[ausername]

Support via twitter.. love it!

go forth pm and open a twitter.