I’m going to tell you about the worst customer service experience I’ve ever encountered, with huge errors and then an inability – and in some cases unwillingness – to fix the cock-up. Step forward, Sky.
I’ve written previously about appalling service from Sky, but here’s a horror show with my Sky Q TV service on another level. I’d be interested to know in the comments section below if you’ve had a similar experience.
It took six weeks to fix what turned out to be a basic problem after one engineer moved a box that connects the signal to my flat, presumably to cable up another apartment in my block. It only got fixed because Sky knew I was going to write this blog.
In all, I made or received more than 20 calls on the matter, and had four engineer visits to the property. The fact it took so many shows how, in my experience, Sky’s processes mean it struggles to deal with much outside of the norm.
It’s not just about process, it’s about common sense. One engineer who was due to visit my flat on a weekend didn’t even bother to tell me he’d come to only inspect the communal system – he’d actually come at midday and never told me, meaning I waited in all afternoon for no reason.
A key problem is my relationship is with Sky, yet it employs a third party called Love Digital which is in charge of installing and fixing the communal system in my block. When things went wrong with Love Digital, it became apparent that Sky did not always have the power to fix things, despite it ultimately being a Sky service.
I got to the end of my tether when one of the planned appointments was cancelled at late notice – I’d taken the day off work to be in for it.
Sky told me it could not arrange for a replacement engineer from Love Digital who specialises in communal systems to visit because a previous engineer from Sky had not tagged my account in its computer system as being a communal system – even though Sky knew from previous visits and from my original application that I used a communal dish. It made no sense.
I was told it would first need to send the wrong engineer round (someone from Sky who installed individual dishes) to re-tag my account before it could organise the correct Love Digital engineer round again. Baffling.
At this point, after six weeks of waiting, calling and getting annoyed I decided to write a blog to tell my story. So I emailed Sky’s press office to let it know this blog was coming so it had a right of reply.
That’s when it got escalated. I emailed Sky’s press office on a Thursday night. By Friday, an appointment was set for the following Monday, when it was fixed – showing what can be done when someone uses common sense. Yet this wouldn’t have happened so quickly had I not worked for MoneySavingExpert.com.
Sky has apologised to me for the problems and its official statement says: “We’re working closely with Love Digital to improve the experience to ensure this does not happen for other customers. Our customers are very important to us and we will continue to work hard to get it right for them.”
I really like the Sky Q technology – it’s a superb service. I just hope my tale is not the norm. If it is, I suggest management at Sky sort out its relationship with Love Digital and employ processes that allow its staff to put things right when they go wrong.
