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I would assume this data was collated during the debacle that was 'Leeds Opening' for Plusnet. It was supposed to alleviate some of the call times for Sheffield, but actually caused a huge increase in calls as people had to call back due to incorrect advice etc.
Still, 988 seconds is awful.
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16-1/2 minutes doesn't sound quite as bad as 988 seconds, alternatively 0.274 hours and only 0.0114 days, perhaps Plusnet should log their waiting times using a calendar rather than a stopwatch! 
Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jun-15 14:03:39)
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From the report at http://broadbandrating.com/news/call-answer-times/
"This post details average call waiting times to ISPs over a two week period at the end of May." So very recent.
Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jun-15 12:06:47)
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The number could have potentially be much higher if not for the test criteria (taken from the same report):
"Our longest call answer times from all types of providers come from PlusNet. When we call an ISP we �max out� at 15 minutes. In other words we aren�t prepared to wait longer than 15 minutes for someone to answer the phone."
Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jun-15 12:06:16)
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Ouch, so its completely down to the fact they pulled in too many customers in a short space of time and didn't put enough well trained bodies on the phones.
Plusnet training is brilliant, don't get me wrong., its just not long enough and doesn't focus on getting it right, just getting the call ended quickly. (Although not quick enough)
Also, the new Webchat system has taken some very well established techies away from the phones.
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No, it was just as bad yday, I waited 16 mins although system forecast 15 mins. However my service is adequate for my needs, it has been reliable after early problems last year, and in fairness it's good value for money.
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I did get a very quick and helpful response from their online chat last month. I only had to wait a minute.
---
Andrue Cope
Brackley, UK
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And someone got this experience from Chat. 
I wish Plusnet well, it is my provider after all. The folks on their forums are very helpful and their best asset maybe, the price is good.
However certain recent signs are worrying (call waiting times, gateway issue, peak time speed) and we need to understand what is going on. The free broadband plus cashback offers flying non-stop from Plusnet clearly have an impact down the line and, to be honest, smack of desperation.
I don't know whether it's BT playing games with the market at the Plusnet's expense.
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I too have found online chat very useful, I used it a number of times to request a static IP, change the reverse DNS, and sort out a phone issue. Only needed to wait a couple of minutes and the issues were dealt with straight away.
As far as phone waiting times are concerned it is noticeable that Plusnet's online customer service stats show very little waiting time for business customers as opposed to residential. I would definitely consider paying more to Plusnet if it meant better customer service response times.
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I did both of your first two items there through the Member Centre with no trouble whatsoever .
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I don't know whether it's BT playing games with the market at the Plusnet's expense.
Plusnet are BTs only way of competing directly with Sky/TalkTalk etc.
Unfortunately, this has lead to a situation where there just are not enough bodies on the phones to cope any longer.
As fast as recruitment is done, more are needed. Hence the opening of Leeds, and the unmitigated disaster that followed. (I have a few stories about that place , but thats for a different thread, lol)
Plusnet will get it sorted, how long it will take and how much of the 'old' Plusnet we all loved will still be there is yet to be seen.
Personally, I can see it becoming "BT Value" in all but name quite soon. 
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Agree with what you said, and personally, I had mostly solid service from Plusnet.
This particularly issue, with call waiting times, is unfortunately a reminder of the service I had when I joined Plusnet 18 months ago and after hearing all these promises for many months about the new call centre, bla-bla-bla, is extremely disappointing. That's all really.
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The trouble (wrt the call centres) could be that they still seem to be gaining customers at quite a rate. Now over 851,000. Chasing their tail with call centre recruitment and training.
(I'm not excusing them, just pointing out the fact).
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Quite correct.
Gaining customers, throwing inadequately trained staff onto the phones to try and sort it. And unfortunately causing callbacks because incorrect ifo etc has been given out.
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Like you, I joined about 18 months ago (maybe a month or two earlier). With hindsight, it looks like I joined them at their peak and they have been going downhill since then. I used to be with Zen once and I thought Plusnet were like Zen, another small, northern England company who'd give a great service. Oops.
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another small, northern England company who'd give a great service.
They were... Then BT arrived.
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I am sure you are right but how do TalkTalk with more than 4m customers manage to answer phones under 2 minutes?
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Much, MUCH bigger call centre.
And a LOT more staff.
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So, TalkTalk being a budget ISP similar to Plusnet can afford it and Plusnet cannot or don't want?
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So, TalkTalk being a budget ISP similar to Plusnet can afford it and Plusnet cannot or don't want?
Plusnet want to, BT dont..
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Naughty. Naughty BT.
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What I wonder about is if the service deliver is good then why are people calling in the first place.. ?
I also wonder how many people are calling in.. since the summary of the data is just average wait time which is of course useful to know but having more data would help understand if this is because they have an massive increase in people calling or just very low numbers of support staff.. or both if you see the point I am trying to make.
And.. I wonder if there is some correlation between ISP's who proactively manage customers service (assuming they do) and those that have low wait times.. i.e. less problems, less calls, lower wait times.
Regards PGre
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So, TalkTalk being a budget ISP similar to Plusnet can afford it and Plusnet cannot or don't want?
Indian call centre staff come a lot cheaper than British staff.
Oliver.
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Smaller UK Broadband ISPs Faster to Pick-up the Phone � Big Ones Slow - article from ISPReview
That PlusNet time is disgusting!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A.K.A: Chrisszzyy
Telewest (2004-2006): 256Kbps -> 512Kbps
University of Portsmouth's Horrible Network (2013 - 2014) - Supposedly 100/100Mbps
BT (2006 - Present): 8128/448 -> 22494/1211 -> 79987/20000Kbps (BT Infinity 2 on Huawei Cab)
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That may be but them being far more useless due to difficulties in translation and lack of knowledge surely leads to more time needing to be spent on calls? And more calls in general? That must cost a lot of money - I'd love to one day see a breakdown of the overall cost of a UK Callcenter vs one in India when taking these kind of factors into account.
Edit: Sorry for the double post, not sure what happened there 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A.K.A: Chrisszzyy
Telewest (2004-2006): 256Kbps -> 512Kbps
University of Portsmouth's Horrible Network (2013 - 2014) - Supposedly 100/100Mbps
BT (2006 - Present): 8128/448 -> 22494/1211 -> 79987/20000Kbps (BT Infinity 2 on Huawei Cab)
Edited by chris6273 (Fri 05-Jun-15 20:12:17)
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Hard to pay for any staff, never mind British, with free broadband plus cashback offers, isn't it? I am not quite sure what Plusnet's business model is now, and I doubt Plusnet know it themselves.
They might be ready for a full takeover by BT, as sad it might sound. The story of O2 comes to mind.
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They might be ready for a full takeover by BT, as sad it might sound. Plusnet are wholly owned by BT.
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But they continue to operate as a separate business.
What I meant is that there will come a moment when Plusnet users would have to choose to either migrate to BT or move somewhere else, as O2 users did with Sky. I believe this might happen sooner rather than later. Of course, I could be wrong, but that's how I feel.
It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but might upset some folks. All good things come to an end.
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I still feel BT need a presence in the budget end of the market against the likes of TalkTalk and Sky, so I don't see Plusnet going anywhere for now.
Oliver.
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That is understandable and makes sense. But are Plusnet being starved of finance by BT, as that's what all those niggling issues with waiting times and some others might point at. And if so, then why?
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To keep the prices down, which is what Plusnet is there to do. Whether the customer services issues are affecting sales at this point is debatable, but I suspect it's minimal. And with Plusnet launching TV services it doesn't seem like an imminent demise is likely.
Oliver.
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Let's hope so. I am all up for more good ISPs in the market with reasonable product pricing.
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if I am been brutally honest, one doesnt need to read a report to know plusnets waiting times are extremely bad.
Virgin media, ukonline, BT (yes even BT), aaisp, falconnet (forgot name but entanet reseller, guy never slept always answered phone), freeserve, AOL. Previous isps I have all used, I have never had waiting times even close to plusnet, the majority answer within a few rings, BT I think sometimes I had to wait, but the wait would be not even in the same league as plusnet.
Of course a clear difference between VM, BT and plusnet, is that plusnet staff is UK based, so I expect what has happened is the tech support budget is the same but because UK staff get paid more there is a lot less of them. If you ring plusnet, then in my view the support is superior to VM and BT to the point it saves having to call back whilst with VM and BT one would have to repeatedly call back as incompetant overseas staff rigidly following scripts, tickets have clearly gone downhill tho, waiting 5 days for one sentence replies.
Edited by Chrysalis (Sat 06-Jun-15 08:19:28)
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What I wonder about is if the service deliver is good then why are people calling in the first place.. ?
I also wonder how many people are calling in.. since the summary of the data is just average wait time which is of course useful to know but having more data would help understand if this is because they have an massive increase in people calling or just very low numbers of support staff.. or both if you see the point I am trying to make.
And.. I wonder if there is some correlation between ISP's who proactively manage customers service (assuming they do) and those that have low wait times.. i.e. less problems, less calls, lower wait times.
Various reasons, but they sell xDSL based services which are then subject to all the performance, reliability issues that come with trying to shove high speed data down an aging infrastructure that was never meant to take it.
Then of course you'll get the people calling in because they can't remember their wireless password, or they've got a 3 story townhouse and the Wi-Fi doesn't work in the upstairs bedroom (with the router no doubt being at the furthest possible point from that).
Also things like housemoves and bill queries.
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If you run enough TV ads you will pull in new customers at a regular rate. Then you can rely on inertia and the difficulty of getting through to your call centre to get a MAC code to keep lots of those customers. It's a bit like a restaurant in a tourist spot which has rubbish food and service but knows there's always new people walking past who will come in and order. It's not a good business model but it can be a very profitable one.
I wonder how things will change when the new Ofcom regime comes in, which will allow people to change ISPs without having to ring up the existing ISP.
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People don't appear to be leaving en masse though.
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As we know there are users who have complained continually but will not move as they keep getting cheap deals by complaining.
Was Eclipse Home Option 1, VM 2Mb & O2 Standard
Now Utility Warehouse (up to 16mbps) via Talk Talk
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People don't appear to be leaving en masse though.
And for people insistent on keeping their lines on WLR3 the alternative options are very limited anyway.
Oliver.
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People don't appear to be leaving en masse though. How do you know this is the case? You seriously cannot go by what is published on forums as there will be lots of people /customers who don't read/post on them
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In terms of the major ISPs, and therefore price, yes. Though there are some cheap small players emerging.
There are also large numbers of users who don't need unlimited - though given the marketing push behind catch-up TV many of those could soon find themselves needing it.
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