I've Just Had The Most Amazing Experience...

[Tony.London Suburbs]

I simply HAD to share so please forgive and humour me.

I rang Thanet District Council and got the usual "all calls are monitored" comment and then, obviously, waited for the delay which, eventually, leads to the inevitable endless series of "options" that lead to more "options" that lead to an aotomated message etc...when the following happened and I did NOT imagine it....

A lovely, pleasant HUMAN BEING ( a lovely Lady actually ) answered the phone immediately and dealt with my query and additional request, promptly and efficiently in a really friendly way and thanked me for my call.....wtf????

Am I STILL in a Time Warp?....it was all over in as little time as possible.

Could this catch on???

p.s. Yes I KNOW "Thanet District Council" is quieter than any London Borough equivalent but still..weird,uh???

[Brendan]

Are they are obviously behind the times and not operating on a proper, profit driven business model. Perhaps they need a One Design One System Modern Management Platform. I have just received an e-mail about these lads and apparently:

The diagram on the left below shows the business automation via connections of fragmented systems. 8thManage is a modern management platform that organizes functionality into a "One Design One System". The key is not one single system or a few systems to perform the automation, but consistency of application throughout all. Technically, the "One Design One system" approach doesn't have the (a) information latency and loss and (b) inefficiency problems because of inconsistent application and data models. The obvious benefits of "One Design One System" are: 1) speed of implementation; 2) ease and efficiency of operation; and 3) lower cost of ownership.

Further more

The greatest benefit to "One Design One System" is the increase of participants' effectiveness and performance. Very few people have experienced "One Design One System" since the current state-of-the-practice still involves fragmented systems. But the people who have experienced the "One Design One System" know that this new system helps to manage performance in the appropriate business context. People don't need to see the details of the things that they don't need to know, but they do need to see the cause-and-effect relationship of their work.

I don?t know what?s more frightening. That people actually come up with this shit or that they think they can sell it.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Thats fabulous Brendan(tu)

[Tony.London Suburbs]

"Are they are obviously behind the times "

Behind the times??? Its positively antequated!

For a brief moment I was transported back to a time where people answered your calls ................and Police gave the local villains a friendly "dig" on their way to the Cells a la "Gene Hunt-Ashes To Ashes".....and The Sun always shone, particularly in '76.....;-)

[SeanMacGabhann]

you don't bank with first direct do you Tone...

[Tony.London Suburbs]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> you don't bank with first direct do you Tone...

Do you mean the "award winning internet bank and the UK's most recommended bank.".....

Nah!:)).......used to be Midland/HSBC since '71 but now with Lloyds who have an excellent friendly Local Branch 7 mins. walk away.

Go on, whats the vibe about 1st Direct Sean?;-)

[SeanMacGabhann]

15 years with them, never once had an automated message. A person everytime... usually within one or two rings

It is great but I wouldn't say it's the "most amazing experience"

[Tony.London Suburbs]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

It is great but I wouldn't say it's the "most amazing experience"

It is when you are used to dealing with a large number of organisations, all or nearly all of whom, have all the latest phone paraphenalia complete with state-of-the-art "Bells and Whistles" and you spend ages actually getting thru' to the person that you want to, or never, in the case of BT, unless you are a new,potential customer..

[Tony.London Suburbs]

In fact, if you are a new, potential customer with many Firms or Organisations you can actually get thru' with almost indecent haste....

[PeckhamRose]

My parents live in Thanet and I grew up there.

I am amazed at this story and it has warmed me hugely.

I hope it continues to be the case.

Such a shame what Thanet Council let happen to the heart of Margate and Ramsgate!

Hoorah for human beings!

[Xena Worried prince]

Brendan Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Are they are obviously behind the times and not

> operating on a proper, profit driven business

> model. Perhaps they need a One Design One System

> Modern Management Platform. I have just received

> an e-mail about these lads and apparently:

Brendan

Please tell me you were being funny here, I don't think I have come across any Council that is operating, what, we in the real world call, a "Propper profit driven business model"

If councils were private businesses they would have gone bankrupt in the 60's, 70's, 80's 90's and again every year since !!!

[Brendan]

It was a deeply sarcastic statement alluding to the calamitous attempts by management consultants to modernise public services.

[Xena Worried prince]

Now being a management consultant working with a council to do just that sounds like a job for Life to me... :)

[Tony.London Suburbs]

PeckhamRose Wrote:

My parents live in Thanet and I grew up there. Hoorah for human beings!

Indeed PR! Used to go for lovely walks along The Thanet Way near Seasalter, which is where I acquired my life-long love of Bluebells and Wild Primroses.

Today, in fact I went for a long walk in the Footscray Meadows where I walked thru' a magical carpet of Bluebells.

It was quite enchanting, one must say.

[louisiana]

Brendan Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Are they are obviously behind the times and not

> operating on a proper, profit driven business

> model. Perhaps they need a One Design One System

> Modern Management Platform. I have just received

> an e-mail about these lads and apparently:

>

> The diagram on the left below shows the business

> automation via connections of fragmented systems.

> 8thManage is a modern management platform that

> organizes functionality into a "One Design One

> System". The key is not one single system or a few

> systems to perform the automation, but consistency

> of application throughout all. Technically, the

> "One Design One system" approach doesn't have the

> (a) information latency and loss and (b)

> inefficiency problems because of inconsistent

> application and data models. The obvious benefits

> of "One Design One System" are: 1) speed of

> implementation; 2) ease and efficiency of

> operation; and 3) lower cost of ownership.

>

> Further more

>

> The greatest benefit to "One Design One System" is

> the increase of participants' effectiveness and

> performance. Very few people have experienced "One

> Design One System" since the current

> state-of-the-practice still involves fragmented

> systems. But the people who have experienced the

> "One Design One System" know that this new system

> helps to manage performance in the appropriate

> business context. People don't need to see the

> details of the things that they don't need to

> know, but they do need to see the cause-and-effect

> relationship of their work.

>

> I don?t know what?s more frightening. That people

> actually come up with this shit or that they think

> they can sell it.

What's more frightening is that people buy it.

[LostThePlot]

I had to call Southwark today as my rent is in arrears due to swapping bank accounts for the payment and one being missed.

I made the call, there was no Automated system!

I explained that I wanted to pay money, and the lady asked me to hold.

2 minutes later she took me off hold, but the phone was obviously left on the desk, as I spent the next 5 mins trying to get her attention by whistling, while they chatted about banal TV from last night.

Utterly useless.....

[louisiana]

LostThePlot, I have before now spent more than an hour on hold to SC, only to have the call automatically dumped when the hold went past their teatime, being told to 'call back tomorrow'. It reminded me of queueing for sausages in eastern Europe in the 1980s... So, it could be worse. :-S

See my post today on Modern Life Is Rubbish. I didn't include the public sector as going on any longer would have bored people into their graves.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Either I am psychic or there is some substance in what I am saying:

Loiusiana: 5.36 PM...... call BT fault reporting. This too is 0800 only. Same story. I stupidly make choice '1' on the menu tree, which is for 'I cannot make or receive calls' (I cannot make or receive calls and there is no carrier signal). Little did I know that this is a cul-de-sac where it is impossible to speak to a human being, only to pre-recorded material. At premium rates. It takes me some time to figure out that to speak to a human, I have to lie and say my phone is working. Go figure.

I finally get through to a human

[char1ie]

Try First Direct 08456 100 100. A human generally answers by the second ring.

Charlie

[louisiana]

First Direct are the best. I was one of their first ever customers, and still am. But bank insiders tell me that it costs too much and couldn't be rolled out to the rest of the HSBC universe. Which neatly returns us to the cost/price versus value issue.

[skidmarks]

I rang nationwide for the first time the other day and a human answered the phone without any options. It caught me completly unaware and unprepared

[giggirl]

Last week I phoned a call centre in Manchester and the call was picked up after one ring and there was a human voice on the end of the phone. It took me a few seconds to realise that I was speaking to an actual person. When the penny dropped I gushed something like "oh you're real, not a recording, how wonderful". Bet she thought I was barking but it's so rare nowadays and most refreshing.

I've been with First Direct for 17 years and they are very good. I've only ever had one recorded message in all that time.

[PeckhamRose]

I had a recorded message when I rang 999 once. Seriously. It was answered about 10 seconds later. I was in shock so they thought I was wasting their time.

[red devil]

I bank with Nat West and I'm able to call my local branch oop north as and when...maybe some of the banks are finally realising you can't beat the personal touch...

[indiepanda]

First Direct are the best bank ever. I wouldn't dream of banking elsewhere - been with them over 14 years. The web site is a doddle to use, I like my text message statements and the staff are well trained and friendly. And you still get to use HSBC branch counter services if you need them.

However, if anyone is thinking of joining them, these days they have a minimum of ?1,500 deposit per month on new accounts or you have to pay ?10 per month to bank with them - sounds like HBSC want them to make a profit not just be popular.