# Is eir the worst company in Ireland for customer service?



## Thirsty

Anyone have suggestions?

Letters unacknowledged
No contact form on website
Webchat disabled
Facebook messaging unresponsive
On hold for a full hour on phone

Short of driving to City West and holding up a placard (and I'm tempted), has anyone got any ideas?


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## Jazz01

Twitter... they seem responsive on that..

Are you having issues with their service or looking for service? What I find with Eir is that is can be "hit or miss" (these days, it's mostly miss though  )


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## Thirsty

I don't have a twitter account - how do I send a message?


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## twofor1

Thirsty said:


> Anyone have suggestions?


Phone them on 1901.
I spoke with them on 2 occasions recently.
Both times I was on hold for about 30 minutes, I had the phone on speaker and just went about whatever I was doing until an agent became available.


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## Jazz01

Thirsty said:


> I don't have a twitter account


You will need to create a twitter account to send a message to them.


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## mathepac

In a business sector (communications!!) renowned for poor customer and after sales service eir are the worst. I've clocked up a total of 7 hours on hold to their stupid messages about what they claim you can achieve on their website.  The pits.


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## InfoSeeker

I would second what mathepac stated above, in years of dealing with support for any type of support, Eir were clearly the worst experience I had. If they offered me free broadband and mobile phone for life, I would not take them up on it.

About 18 months ago I bought a mobile in an eir shop and signed up for a 24 month contract, no mention of this putting me into a bundle as I had broadband with them at the time. Unknown to me, getting the mobile triggered a new contract for the broadband at double the rate. I spent 50+ hours trying to resolve this & got nowhere, in the end I paid a lump sum to just cancel on principle so I could move on. On cancelling the broadband it triggered a new contract for the mobile, felt like I was in an infinite loop.

I change electricity every 12 months, etc and keep up with those things so would see myself as reasonably good at managing things. I really think more vulnerable people would be trapped with them given how hard it is to contact them and how unclear it is that one action triggers new contracts.

All I learnt from it is never use Eir again.


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## roker

I waited 30 min and got a human that could not answer my question, contacting them on their website was impossible it kept rejecting all the new passwords I put in, the have now ignored 2 letters. I think the next move is Ofcom.
Maybe if I stop paying they will contact me


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## jpd

roker said:


> Maybe if I stop paying they will contact me


problem with that is that they may cut off your service ...


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## mathepac

Maybe if *everyone* stopped paying their bills it would get their attention.  I'm out of contract since May and their prices went up, I want out but can't leave!!!!


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## messyleo

Tried via email, web chat, writing etc to cancel my account - was told several times the only way to cancel was via phone and after several long (45 mins+) sessions on hold, still no answer and no closer to getting my contract ended. Lodged a compliant via comreg and the EIR comreg contact section and it got sorted in about 10 days or so. Like another poster, if they gave me free broadband I wouldn't take it!!


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## DeeKie

Thirsty said:


> Anyone have suggestions?
> 
> Letters unacknowledged
> No contact form on website
> Webchat disabled
> Facebook messaging unresponsive
> On hold for a full hour on phone
> 
> Short of driving to City West and holding up a placard (and I'm tempted), has anyone got any ideas?


Same issue. I want to switch to a cheaper rate


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## PM9999

I had a similar experience trying to cancel a mobile internet contract. Web chat, phone chat, physical eir shop visit, Boards.ie reps all tried, but I simply entered a Kafkaesque dystopian circle of hell with no cancellation forthcoming.

One email to Carolan Lennon and it was sorted quite promptly.


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## Steven Barrett

Jazz01 said:


> Twitter... they seem responsive on that..



Agree. The Customer care team on twitter is pretty responsive and will try to solve your problem. If you don't have an account, set one up. It will certainly take you less time than you are currently spending trying to contact them.


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## STEINER

Was trying to cancel my broadband account for several weeks. I couldn’t get through to speak to an agent. Complaints were not even acknowledged. I had enough and cancelled my bank direct debit.  This was just last week. Crazy thing was when I was considering upgrading two months ago with them, the sales agent couldn’t upgrade me as their system didn’t recognise my customer account number.  The fact that Eir invoice me monthly with my customer account number didn’t seem to help the agent who said I am not the same as normal Eir customers as I was in the batch of Meteor customers which Eir took over! After that I went with VM.


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## Gordon Gekko

They’re so bad.

They have me Dad driven demented trying to deal with them. And me as well because I’ve to listen to him. At one point I had to say “Dad, I don’t deal with these awful companies because I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with the rubbish...so why am I having to deal with yours?!”


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## Hooverfish

In 2018 it took strenuous efforts for four months to help an elderly neighbour of mine to escape from Eir's clutches. We got there in the end, including having her landline number, which she had since the 1970s, transferred to Sky. Eir had disconnected her landline as requested, but failed to transfer her number to Sky, and she was a vulnerable older person living in a rural area. We only succeeded I think because we sent registered post letters to Eir's registered address and then just kept ringing them, while keeping a Comreg complaint about the situation active. I would think it amounted to two to three days work by me in total and it all had to be done with the calls happening on a poor mobile signal at her house, so they could talk to her to confirm her identity each time. Even though she had written to them authorising me to deal on her behalf. Not an experience I wish to repeat - extremely inconvenient.


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## dishwasher

Our approach was to find the head of customer care on LinkedIn and message them.  It worked.

The worst is when you stay on hold for 45 mins and they hang up on you once you get through.


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## DeeKie

SBarrett said:


> Agree. The Customer care team on twitter is pretty responsive and will try to solve your problem. If you don't have an account, set one up. It will certainly take you less time than you are currently spending trying to contact them.


Nope. Have not found that.


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## MrEarl

* Eir
* Ticketmaster
* Ryanair

All three are a disgrace, when it comes to how they deal with their customers and yet, they continue to get away with it. 

There's only one way to force these companies to change their ways - stop doing business with them!


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## gianni

roker said:


> I waited 30 min and got a human that could not answer my question, contacting them on their website was impossible it kept rejecting all the new passwords I put in, the have now ignored 2 letters. I think the next move is Ofcom.
> Maybe if I stop paying they will contact me



I don't think Ofcom will do much for you!


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## joer

I would have to say that I think Eir are a good company but their customer service has been a problem for the last 20 years at least. For a communications company their communication is appalling.


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## SparkRite

gianni said:


> I don't think Ofcom will do much for you!


And in reality Comreg, even less.


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## odyssey06

SparkRite said:


> And in reality Comreg, even less.



If Eir are one of the worst companies it is because in ComReg we have one of the worst regulators.


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## mathepac

eir are the worst service company because we the customers allow them to maintain their low standards while charging top prices - existing customers pay top whack while new recruits get discounts. Why don't we fight back?  Who would be willing to fight back?


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## iamaspinner

odyssey06 said:


> If Eir are one of the worst companies it is because in ComReg we have one of the worst regulators.



*+*


mathepac said:


> eir are the worst service company because we the customers allow them to maintain their low standards while charging top prices



*= ...   *<--- fill here


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## joer

I have Eir for landline, broadband and mobile , for many years and find there service very good and their prices not bad . I ring them every year to haggle about renewing for another year and after waiting a long time waiting to get through I find them ok to deal with. Getting through to them is the worst of any company.


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## Gordon Gekko

They’re so bad because a succession of private equity owners have raped and pillaged the company to pay themselves big dividends.

They’re massively indebted with a focus on cost-cutting and underinvestment in their infrastructure.


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## Cervelo

Thirsty said:


> Anyone have suggestions?



Presuming you're out of contract can you not email them, change your provider and cancel the DD with the bank ??


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## Thirsty

Indeed you would think it was that simple!


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## torblednam

Gordon Gekko said:


> They’re so bad.
> 
> They have me Dad driven demented trying to deal with them. And me as well because I’ve to listen to him. At one point I had to say “Dad, I don’t deal with these awful companies because I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with the rubbish...so why am I having to deal with yours?!”



Oh Gordon, you never fail to live up to your username


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## Gordon Gekko

torblednam said:


> Oh Gordon, you never fail to live up to your username



I’m deadly serious. Imagine you knew XYZ Bank was the worst in Ireland so you didn’t deal with them only to have someone else talk to you about it all the time...


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## gianni

SparkRite said:


> And in reality Comreg, even less.


That was the point I was making... with subtlety


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## SparkRite

gianni said:


> That was the point I was making... with subtlety


I knew that, hence my also subtle reply.


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## Peanuts20

I'll throw Voadafone shop staff into the mix as an example (Help line very good though) and of course, Virgin Media. 

In fairness, I know most companies have struggled over recent weeks with staff working from home but you's like to think that a company like Eir would find it easier to enable home working for their staff then most.


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## Leper

One of my neighbours works for Eir. I put some of the questions here to him (although I already knew the answers). 

There is more than Eir in the same boat. Call Centres are nothing more that what they are "Call Centres." The staff are on written contract for a specific period of time. The staff of Call Centre staff have replaced staff that once had some semblance of personal responsibility. 

So you're working for say Eir. You're on a contract that will expire shortly. Call Centre staff get an enormous amount of abuse (something for which they are not paid). Show me the customer who'll remain quietly in a long queue in a bank and will be as patient waiting for Eir to answer his phonecall. The guy in the Call Centre has a bleeping clock nearby which gets louder and faster as the amount of customers call. 

The Team Leaders are working behind the workers like the guy calling the drum tempo in the slave galleys of the Romans. Even the personal responsibility of the Team Leaders is in question. All they want to do is get rid of the loud bleeping and keep everything looking good although it never looked as bad.

Call Centres save money but don't work.


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## joer

I retired from Eircom, as it was known then, 8 years ago. In the course of my work I had to call to very many houses and before the customer said anything about the problem with their service they would always complain about trying to get through to report their problem. That went on for many years before I retired. It was always highlighted at meetings but nothing was ever done. At that time the people in the call centers were Eircom staff. Now they are hired staff on short contracts and as you , Leper, say the clock is ticking from the time they answer to the time they hang up.  If I ring to report a fault on my landline or broadband , before fibre, for example 1901 and I know that the fault is not in my house I will be told to plug out the phone and after wasting time waiting for them to test the line and go through the motions they will say " we will send someone out ". The guys on the road are usually good and know their stuff. 
Having said all that I find their service quite good.


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## PaddyBloggit

joer said:


> Having said all that I find their service quite good.



The eir(com) guy in the van is great... easy to talk to and they know their stuff but without customer service there is no service.

You can't say that their service is good not to mind quite good when their customer service is appalling.

I left eircom about 6 years ago... my issue was the broadband was terrible. I had been a loyal customer for decades up until the time where customer service (and that was the time you could get through to them) kept giving me the run around.

I eventually left them and they actually refunded me the broadband side of the bill as the service had been non-existent.

Until such as time as people vote with their feet, the likes of eir, Ryanair etc. will keep getting away with it.


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## joer

My service is very good actually and I am about 5 km from my closest town which is where the exchange is that my service is coming from. If it was not good I would not hesitate in moving to another company. Trying to get through to Eir is their only problem , in my opinion but it is not that much different to most companies that I try to contact. Sky, Ryanair, Aviva , Ulsterbank  come to mind.


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## PaddyBloggit

eir are fine until you have a problem... it's when you have a problem, that's when you need a company to step up to the plate.

I left SKY too because of their poor customer service. Of course their charges for repeats turned me off too!

Vote with your feet is my policy.

As an aside, I was right on top of an exchange... about 1 km.... and I still couldn't get the service.


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## Purple

I wouldn't use Eir even if they were paying me. Their customer service was rubbish 20 years ago and it's rubbish now.
They are the worst and Sky are the best for customer service in their sector.


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## joer

I agree that Sky customer service is good but only after waiting a long time trying to get through.......and the same can be said  most services.


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## roker

gianni said:


> I don't think Ofcom will do much for you!


Or is it Comreg?


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## roker

PaddyBloggit said:


> The eir(com) guy in the van is great... easy to talk to and they know their stuff but without customer service there is no service.
> 
> You can't say that their service is good not to mind quite good when their customer service is appalling.
> 
> I left eircom about 6 years ago... my issue was the broadband was terrible. I had been a loyal customer for decades up until the time where customer service (and that was the time you could get through to them) kept giving me the run around.
> 
> I eventually left them and they actually refunded me the broadband side of the bill as the service had been non-existent.
> 
> Until such as time as people vote with their feet, the likes of eir, Ryanair etc. will keep getting away with it.


How do I give them notice when I cannot contact them?


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## mathepac

Write them a letter to their business offices, registering it if you feel you need to. Or fax it using your own software fax. Or address it  or email it to the Boss listed a few posts back as suggested by another poster.



PM9999 said:


> One email to Carolan Lennon and it was sorted quite promptly.


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## roker

mathepac said:


> Write them a letter to their business offices, registering it if you feel you need to. Or fax it using your own software fax. Or address it  or email it to the Boss listed a few posts back as suggested by another poster.


I already sent a letter to 2 different offices, they are very careful not to disclose email addresses. 
Who is Caroline Lennon?


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## Purple

joer said:


> I agree that Sky customer service is good but only after waiting a long time trying to get through.......and the same can be said  most services.


Really? I haven't needed to contact them since last year but I got through straight away.


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## joer

The last time that I rang Sky I was 15th in the queue. I got a reply after about 20 mins . Like I said , and its the same for most companies, when you do get through the people who answer  are very nice to deal with , even Eir staff, in my opinion, although I would be lucky to get through to them in 20 mins.


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## vandriver

Who is Caroline Lennon?

Carolan Lennon is the CEO of Eir.


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## JoeRoberts

I switched to them in April as they had a fantastic offer  - they sent me 2 modems and charged me for them both, got both refunded after about an hour on phone. Delivery guy laughed when he came with the 2nd modem and said he regularly delivers twice for new eircom customers. They must lose serious money by this that could be avoided by better investment in people/systems . I still have 2 modems.


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## STEINER

STEINER said:


> Was trying to cancel my broadband account for several weeks.



Eir confirmed cancellation today and thats after I asked Comreg to sort about 10 working days ago.
Glad to be free of them, hard to believe how bad their customer service is.


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## Jazz01

STEINER said:


> Eir confirmed cancellation today


Congrats for getting things sorted.

Did they ever accept cancellation call via 1901 or emails / online chat? How did you get Comreg involved - again just via email? Did you have a reference number from Eir to give to Comreg?

Just wondering if you got details of a "cancellation process" from Eir at the end of all that fun you went through - their website just references "1901 to cancel". Anything that could aid others in their quest to rid themselves of Eir?


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## Thirsty

I finally got to talk to a human being after 53 minutes on hold.

Was told I would get a call back - missed call on my phone, but when I go to ring back call cannot be connected.

Cancelled DD payment, wrote yet another letter & relative (on who's behalf & with agency have been acting), is now being pestered with text messages. 
..sigh...


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## mct1

roker said:


> I already sent a letter to 2 different offices, they are very careful not to disclose email addresses.
> Who is Caroline Lennon?


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## STEINER

Jazz01 said:


> 1 Did they ever accept cancellation call via 1901 or emails / online chat? 2 How did you get Comreg involved - again just via email? 3 Did you have a reference number from Eir to give to Comreg?
> 
> 4 Just wondering if you got details of a "cancellation process" from Eir at the end of all that fun you went through - their website just references "1901 to cancel". Anything that could aid others in their quest to rid themselves of Eir?


1 no, online chat agents gave me phone numbers and the automated phone system wouldn’t recognise my account number to allow me to get through to speak to a person in order to cancel my account.
2 emailed.
3 the Eir online complaints form submitted but didn’t give me a reference number or acknowledgement. I did this a second time a few days later and took a screenshot of the complaint successfully submitted message which I emailed to Comreg.
4 record your dates of contacting Eir. If they don’t cancel, complain using the online complaints form. If they don’t respond within 48 hours then email ComReg. This worked for me, just one or two emails between Comreg and me and Comreg emailed Eir who acted quickly after that or rather within the 10 days they have to deal with a complaint after Comreg get involved. Eir agent full of apology etc but no explanation other than to say my account is cancelled to the year 9999 which is good enough for me!


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## Jazz01

STEINER said:


> Eir agent full of apology etc but no explanation other than to say my account is *cancelled to the year 9999 *which is good enough for me!


Very strange to say to you 
Thanks for the follow up - will be of help to others that are trying to leave Eir. Glad you (eventually) got sorted out


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## Brendan Burgess

A piece by Conor Pope in today's Irish Times









						Eir customer woes: ‘Telecoms are designed to drive people demented’
					

Two customers try to cancel their contracts with Eir, but find getting a response next to impossible




					www.irishtimes.com
				




and









						Back with our old friends at eir – and nothing seems to have changed
					

Pricewatch: Overcharging and disconnecting as the price of bacon goes through the roof




					www.irishtimes.com


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## Cervelo

I see now on Sky's website you don't have to contact Eir anymore Sky will do it for you 

"If you’re joining from *Eir*, *Vodafone*, *Imagine*, *Pure*, or *Digiweb*, Sky will handle the switch over and you won’t need to cancel with your current provider"


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## Thirsty

That is the usual process, I don't believe it has changed.


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## Cervelo

I actually didn't know this, for some strange reason I thought that you had to cancel with your BB provider before you could change
I cant explain why I thought this when every other utility providers offers this service 
Well it's good to learn something new everyday and has put my mind to rest when my contract is up with Eir next March


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## roker

roker said:


> I waited 30 min and got a human that could not answer my question, contacting them on their website was impossible it kept rejecting all the new passwords I put in, the have now ignored 2 letters. I think the next move is Ofcom.
> Maybe if I stop paying they will contact me


After contacting comreg, Eircom finally contacted me and gave me my existing deal back dating it. The excuse for not replying to my 2 letters was they were working from home and did not receive them. Comreg think the problem is solved now but as I pointed out, I will have to go through the same process next year.


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## Thirsty

I have finally made a formal complaint to ComReg.

Edit to update: ComReg tried to tell me to complain to Eir; completely missing the bit where I told them I have been complaining for months!

Told CR I refused to get back on the Eir Merry-Go-Round and they needed to sort it.


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## Leper

. . . . just to add my tuppenceworth (again!!!) - I spent 4 days (min of 30 mins) waiting to talk to an Eircom official over the past three weeks. I keep saying it . . . Call Centres Do Not Work! - Just another telecommunications company that does not communicate. 

I know my contract expires in November - I'll be gone from them, yippppppeeeeeeeee! But, I'll miss my landline.


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## SparkRite

Thirsty said:


> ComReg tried to tell me to complain to Eir; completely missing the bit where I told them I have been complaining for months!



ComReg are worse than useless !
They fail time and time again to read what you send them and then ask questions that you have already answered if only they had read what you sent them in the first place.
I have found that if, say, a provider owed you €100, and that provider offered to re-pay you a €1 a week, then ComReg would look upon that as a resolution and close the case, effectively 'washing their hands of it'.
I have engaged with them on two occasions and they are nearly as bad to deal with as Eir.


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## Peanuts20

Probably not a good time to mention this then









						Staff at State communications regulator ComReg share €1m in bonus payments
					

Staff at the State-owned communications regulator, ComReg last year shared bonus payments of almost €1m.




					www.independent.ie
				




Note if you are complaining to Comreq, you need to provide the following



Your contact details.
The account name and account number in question.
Details of your complaint, including your service provider’s complaint reference number.
Details of any previous dealings with the service provider.
A clear idea of what you hope to achieve by raising your complaint.
Details of the service provider’s response to your complaint.


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## Thirsty

Update: finally got a call from Eir who agreed to do what I have been asking for since April.
Comregs email apparently confirming resolution is just confusing as its not clear if there is a refund being paid or not.
Wait and see!


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## mathepac

OK I finally bit the bullet last night and sent the following to eir's CEO by email. I'd already submitted the complaints form from their website.

A Chara, 

Internet download speeds dropping to 50/60Kbs all week-end and for some time now. Switching the modem on and off as per the DELL-like instructions resets the speeds temporarily. On the last reset I get "Welcome" on the blue bar at the bottom of the TV screen followed by the message "Network disconnected, channel unavailable".  All connections, power and signal, seem good at the set-top box and TV. I now have no TV service since about 6:30 pm Sunday 27/09/2020. The internet speed is so-so, in other words much, much slower than was promised.

New message on TV now "Connection Error.  It is not possible to connect to eir Vision [as if I didn't bleedin' know!!!!]. Your Set Top Box must be connected to the Broadband Connection for which it was registered."  This message is not elucidated or clarified let alone has it a fix listed on your useless web-site.

I want the problems fixed ASAP and permanently.  I have been trying to contact your so-called support and customer retention teams since May of this year as neither the service itself nor the customer service & so-called support in any way reflect the prices I am being charged. Top prices for a crappy hit-and-miss service and non existant support. "Oh it's COVID-19" the phone bots bleat when I ring. It's not, services and products were very bad to begin with, their true awfulness is only becoming apparent now. For proof,  look at my phone records.  The most frequently dialled number is 1901 and the longest calls are to that number. In other words I pay for my phone and my  telephone bills (BTW, my payments to eir are never, ever late) in order to keep your poxy services up to some useful level for me! Odd don’t you think?

I am a long-term member of Ireland’s premier consumer website (no ads, no corporates, no selling, heavily moderated). This year your company, its products and services have been voted the worst in Ireland, worse than the politicians, worse than civil and public servants (although the old public service thinking is still evident in eir, "Not my problem, ring someone else at this other number that may or may not be answered" ), worse than the banks, the HSE, County Councils, Gardai - take your pick, you’re at the bottom of the list. I knew you’d be happy to hear that; it must have taken huge effort on you and your colleagues’ parts to achieve that goal.

I want a decent chunk off my bill for on-going inconvenience and I want contract pricing that reflects the awfulness of your products and services.

Yours Sincerely

mathepac, one pissed-off puppy.

P.S. The stupid contact/complaints form [on their website] refuses to go and do its business unless I fill in the land-line number.  I had to consult my bill to find it (bills in abundance, products and services sorely lacking) Why don't I know my fixed line phone number? Simple, the reception is so bad (interference and crackling on the line) that an engineer would need to measure the noise to signal ratio, another example of what you charge for but cannot supply or support. Fix the phone or credit back what I've been charged for it; it's useless!

P.P.S. And just to state the blindingly bleedin’ obvious, don’t ring me on the land-line, it doesn’t work! Clear? Excellent!


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## mathepac

Is this a record? 09:50 hrs and I had a call from eir informing me that the line outside the house has a fault and they'd get it fixed today! Technician being dispatched as we spoke. I pointed out that this was not a once off and and my need for a permanent fix was urgent, none of the sellotape fixes I'd experienced heretofore. I know, poly-syllabic words with a phone helper, but she got my name wrong at the start of the call and my ire was up. 

As with my other dices with death in other parts of the forum, I'll keep the thread updated. Once the fix is in she'll (I didn't get her name) call me back and in the meantime, she has texted  me her personal mobile number.

More records please eir, 6 hours and counting, well done.

p.s. I've a new telly due today if the DHL guy gets past the slavering hounds of hell that patrol our grounds here. Laters


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## Jazz01

mathepac said:


> but she got my name wrong at the start of the call and my ire was up.


Did she call you @Purple - that why you were so upset? I know you both seem to be interchanging in recent posts / covering for each other - but I didn't think such goings on were outside AAM!



mathepac said:


> Once the fix is in she'll (I didn't get her name) call me back and in the meantime, she has texted me her personal mobile number.


Hmmm - is that number a "high charges number"? Never heard of such, but then again, I know I'm not @mathepac (or even @Purple) so maybe rules are different for some


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## Purple

Jazz01 said:


> Did she call you @Purple - that why you were so upset? I know you both seem to be interchanging in recent posts / covering for each other - but I didn't think such goings on were outside AAM!
> 
> 
> Hmmm - is that number a "high charges number"? Never heard of such, but then again, I know I'm not @mathepac (or even @Purple) so maybe rules are different for some


I feel insulted on behalf of mathepac that you could think we are the same person.


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## mathepac

PM9999 said:


> I had a similar experience trying to cancel a mobile internet contract. Web chat, phone chat, physical eir shop visit, Boards.ie reps all tried, but I simply entered a Kafkaesque dystopian circle of hell with no cancellation forthcoming.
> 
> One email to Carolan Lennon and it was sorted quite promptly.


Thanks for the heads up, it worked, I got their attention! Now let's see if they can fix the problems permanently.


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## mathepac

Purple said:


> I feel insulted on behalf of mathepac that you could think we are the same person.


I am more than one person but my doppleganger is not the Purple One (sorry Dude, for both of us!)


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## mathepac

Jazz01 said:


> Hmmm - is that number a "high charges number"? Never heard of such, but then again, I know I'm not @mathepac (or even @Purple) so maybe rules are different for some


No, your common or garden 085 mobile *and* I have her land-line number deep within the bowels of eircomland.


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## Jazz01

Purple said:


> I feel insulted on behalf of mathepac that you could think we are the same person.


No insult intended on my part and there was never a thought that you both were the one person, just more of an overlap in your ... actually I'll stop digging about here


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## roker

Jazz01 said:


> You will need to create a twitter account to send a message to them.


what's the point of having Twitter if you're complaining your network is down?


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## Jazz01

roker said:


> what's the point of having Twitter if you're complaining your network is down?


Who said anything at that stage of the conversation about the network being down?


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## roker

gianni said:


> I don't think Ofcom will do much for you!


I meant COMREG


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## roker

Jazz01 said:


> Who said anything at that stage of the conversation about the network being down?


It's still a complaint, what do you do if there is a technical problem,


----------



## Jazz01

@roker 

In the context of the opening post of the thread where it was asked for anything else that can be tried:
_Anyone have suggestions?
Letters unacknowledged
No contact form on website
Webchat disabled
Facebook messaging unresponsive
On hold for a full hour on phone _

It was recommended to try to use Twitter to make contact, as Eir, at times, are responsive on that platform. No one mentioned "technical problems" at that stage. Obviously if there is a technical problem, a LOT of the platforms for contact are not available.


----------



## mathepac

Nicole rang as I was about to feed the ravening hoards. Tomorrah, she said!! 

"Mais Nicole, ma cherie, 'ow can you do zis to me just a la commencement of our new adventure? Tomorrah is such an ugly word, so very Irish, so comment ca dit, eh final!" Tomorrah it is so and no new records set for responsiveness.

In the meantime my new Android-powered [rinses mouth out noisily and spits] Sony Bravia telly arrived. I've improved the look of my A******-powered telly by placing some Apple kit around it. It's looking better already, even switched off, sulking in the corner with no eir set-top box to feed it. To while away the hours I'm searching the net for macOS / iOS apps to work on it.  Impressive box of tricks if only Nicole would work overtime.


----------



## Páid

Hello Eir, is anybody there? Four unhappy customers complain
					

Four stories show how difficult it is to contact the uncommunicative communications firm




					www.irishtimes.com


----------



## joer

Only four ?


----------



## Purple

joer said:


> Only four ?


The other 40,000 didn't have the two days free required to call them.


----------



## joer

I forgot about those other few .....


----------



## dawall

They are the worst ever without exception. From line faults to billing, nothing but lies. 
I'm trying to cancel, I'm moving to the UK, it'll end up with me cancelling the direct debit. 
I just don't fancy having "unpaid" demands following me about.


----------



## mathepac

mathepac said:


> OK I finally bit the bullet last night and sent the following to eir's CEO by email. I'd already submitted the complaints form from their website.


eircom technician has just left the building having replaced my phone socket, repaired a wiring fault in the connection cabinet down the road, reset and retested all internal connections in the house and got me up & running for my night of quizzing on BBC2 tonight (Mastermind is back). I'll try to score higher than the dogs  . 

9 days in total having started at the very top, told all the problems were fixed when they weren't, but grateful to be back in action and looking forward to a fault-free future. 

I texted Nicole and thanked her for her help, thereby ending our relationship.


----------



## joer

So now you are a happy chappy....and have forgotten all the problems


----------



## mathepac

Time, as the fellah sez, will tell.


----------



## Brendan Burgess

Wow! It has been raised in the Dáil









						Minister warns Eir it will have to address ‘shocking poor’ customer service
					

In an unusual intervention in Dáil, the Ceann Comhairle asks of the regulator is ‘doing its job’




					www.irishtimes.com
				




_Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan had said ComReg would have to address the “shocking poor performance” of Eir in customer service.

Mr Ryan said their customer service was “totally unsatisfactory and something the company is going to have to address”._


----------



## Leper

Brendan Burgess said:


> Wow! It has been raised in the Dáil
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Minister warns Eir it will have to address ‘shocking poor’ customer service
> 
> 
> In an unusual intervention in Dáil, the Ceann Comhairle asks of the regulator is ‘doing its job’
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.irishtimes.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan had said ComReg would have to address the “shocking poor performance” of Eir in customer service.
> 
> Mr Ryan said their customer service was “totally unsatisfactory and something the company is going to have to address”._



. . . . . . . . . or what will he or Comreg do?


----------



## Thirsty

told ya I was an influencer!


----------



## joer

They have been promising good customer service for many years though...So what"s new


----------



## Brendan Burgess

What is new is that ComReg has been asked if they are doing their job by the Dáil. 

That is important because even if ComReg comes back and says that it's not their job, they will be pressurised into persuading eir to do something about it. 

Brendan


----------



## Leper

Brendan Burgess said:


> What is new is that ComReg has been asked if they are doing their job by the Dáil.
> 
> That is important because even if ComReg comes back and says that it's not their job, they will be pressurised into persuading eir to do something about it.
> 
> Brendan



. . . but don't hold your breath. Untrained, transient, non-caring staff staff of Eir or anyplace else will never give a whit.


----------



## Johnno75

I had an experience with Eir recently. My office broadband went down on a Friday morning. This was a disaster for me as all my IT and phone systems need fibre broadband to work. I tried calling their business helpline number. I was on hold for ages listening to a message tell me about how their workforce were working from home and that I should expect a waiting time of 50 minutes (or more!), but that I could go on to webchat. So I hung up and went on to webchat only to learn that that was down too. I then went onto Twitter and my DMs and tweets were ignored. It took all of the Friday going around in circles to get nowhere. Exasperated, I went in to the office on Saturday morning determined to sit on the phone and wait out the atrocious publicity advert messages and music. After about an hour I got speaking to a human. The issue was resolved within three business days. The moral of my story is wait it out on the phone and get speaking to a human.


----------



## joer

When I worked in the company we had meetings with management from time to time and the first topic for discussion was always customer service and it used to be very heated. It got to the stage that when the next meeting came up the first thing we were told NOT to talk about was customer service . It was not quite as bad as it is now though...


----------



## Leper

joer said:


> When I worked in the company we had meetings with management from time to time and the first topic for discussion was always customer service and it used to be very heated. It got to the stage that when the next meeting came up the first thing we were told NOT to talk about was customer service . It was not quite as bad as it is now though...


You called it right Joer. If the management doesn't give a whit; it's difficult to expect the staff to give a whit. Eir's problems (and those of its customers) are further up the line than down the line.


----------



## joer

Most if not all of the management that was there when I was with them have gone but the same problems keep going on and on .


----------



## MrEarl

Hello, 

The fact that ComReg have been questioned in the Dail, illustrates that ComReg are not doing a good job imho. 

The senor staff at ComReg should be fired and replaced by people who are prepared to take action. 

As for Eir - they should be heavily fined immediately, with further larger fines to follow every 30 days, until they get their house in order.


----------



## Brendan Burgess

MrEarl said:


> The fact that ComReg have been questioned in the Dail, illustrates that ComReg are not doing a good job imho.



I do not know if ComReg is doing a good job or not.  That is because I don't know what powers they have and what resources they have to enforce those powers. 

But the fact that TDs have raised it does not illustrate anything. 

Does ComReg have the power to fine people for poor service?  Presumably whatever rules exist, they must ensure fair procedure.

People should not be fired because TDs question them in the Dáil.
Companies should not be fined because TDs question them in the Dail.

Brendan


----------



## joer

But surely Comreg or someone should have the power to get companies to get their customer service in order. I know that the company , in this case Eir, should be responsible for their own problems. But when the Company is not doing it then someone should step in and deal with it . Customers are paying dearly to Companies without having to come up with this nonsense.


----------



## Brendan Burgess

Hi joer

Usually the market is what tells companies to get their affairs into order. 

I simply don't know if ComReg or anyone else has that power. 

Maybe they should. 

Brendan


----------



## jpd

The problem here is that the market does not work properly because the hold that Eir have over the physical network is such that many, many people (myself included) are very wary of moving to a different supplier.

Comreg have the power to loosen this hold but seem reluctant to use it - they issue bland statements from time to time asking Eir to treat every supplier equally when it comes to network access and repairs, but no more than that.

The physical network should NOT be part of Eir but owned separately, probably by the state, and then let the market forces work - as it does in the energy market where moving from one supplier to another is as easy and trouble-free as it could possibly be. Admittedly, more people should avail of the opportunity to move but given time they will.


----------



## MrEarl

Hello, 

As a starting point, ComReg state that they are responsible for protecting consumers here:






						What we do | Commission for Communications Regulation
					

ComReg have a wide range of responsibilities in telecommunications , post and spectrum management. We operate under Irish and EU Legislation in these areas.




					www.comreg.ie
				




Its very clear to me that they are not doing this, when we look at how Eir treats its retail customers.

So, if people are getting paid to do a job and are failing to do it on an ongoing basis, they should be fired, in my view. 

The legislation that establised and empowers ComReg, is also available on their website - here:






						Legislation | Commission for Communications Regulation
					






					www.comreg.ie
				




Clearly, there's a lot in it, so it'll take time to read, but over time, it may clarify some of the other questions raised by Mr Burgess and others, here.


----------



## mathepac

From the COMREG website linked to in @MrEarl's post above.

"Retail and Consumer Services are responsible for the following key organisational functions;

*Consumer Engagement*

The aim of the Consumer Engagement team is to protect and empower consumers to make informed choices by maximising the effectiveness of our consumer information and communication.  We also aim to promote the interests of users within the community.
*Consumer Policy*

The Consumer Policy Unit undertakes measures to ensure consumer protection in the marketplace; the universal provision of telecommunications services and certain retail pricing responsibilities.

*Consumer Care*
ComReg’s Consumer Care team provides information to all consumers on communication issues and escalates complaints to service providers (electronic communications, postal and premium rate service providers).

*Emergency Call Answering Service*
ComReg’s responsibilities in respect of Ireland’s Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) include two key functions – to monitor the quality of service provided by the ECAS provider and to review the maximum call handling fee charged by the ECAS provider to operators.

*Postal*
ComReg’s regulatory remit includes ensuring the sustainable provision of a universal postal service, while providing all postal service users (consumers, small businesses, and large organisations) with the choice, quality, and innovation offered by a liberalised postal market.

*Premium Rate Services*
The Premium Rate Service (PRS) Section is responsible for carrying out investigations relating to the provision, content and promotion of PRS with the objective of protecting the interests of end users of PRS.  The Section also develops and implements policies for the PRS sector including a Code of Practice and a Levy, which are relevant to licensed PRS providers."

This is Barbara Delaney's area of responsibility as director of Retail & Customer Services.

Please note the following waffle words:

"The aim ..." followed by more waffle. If they "aim" amd miss whatever targets are assigned, no fault no fee, they aimed and missed but did not fail.

Contrast this with giving them a "purpose" for existence. If they fail to miss any targets included in their purpose, a powerful, non-waffle word in OD terms, then they fail and must identify corrective actions. If they merely aim and miss, no corrective action is necessary.

Does having an "aim" as distinct from a "purpose" tie back into the supporting legislation?  This is a jobs-for-the-boys-and-girls set-up and I think we agree it is doing nothing for consumers, whether with eir or any other provider.


----------



## joer

Eir will not be the worst Company in Ireland  because Leo, (the other one,) has been tearing strips , sorry, talking to them........


----------



## Leo

joer said:


> Eir will not be the worst Company in Ireland  because Leo, (the other one,) has been tearing strips , sorry, talking to them........



I dunno, I suspect he's less pedantic, and that may not be a good thing dealing with them!


----------



## mathepac

mathepac said:


> Time, as the fellah sez, will tell.


Well that didn't last long!  Last Tuesday 17/11/2020 the eir supplied TV service disappeared and the broadband download speed fluctuated from a low of 200KB/s to in or around 3MB/s -  I usually get around 4MB/s.

I eventually got through to "Customer Care" on Wednesday afternoon and agreed to be available at home for a tech call-out between 08:30 and 12:30 on Friday 20/11/2020. Noone called to the house but I did get two calls on my mobile from an unidentified caller that morning. Like most of the rest of the world, I left these calls unanswered.

By some miracle I got through to "Customer Care" about 18:00 on Friday to ask about the no-show. I was first  told that that someone had called at the appointed time but no-one answered the door. I disputed this as I had waited for knocks or doorbells and heard none. I asked if the technician who had called noticed anything in response to his/her visit and was told "No".  I knew that was a lie as new callers to my home always notice the canine choir that sings from the back yard when they don't know the callers threatening their front door. I was then told no-one called because I didn't answer my phone to take the COVID-19 quiz from the technician, so they cancelled the call-out. I said this was the first mention of a COVID-19 quiz I'd heard about either from the web-site or from the talking head when I'd booked the call or when I received the text-message confirming the date and time. I was told they'd arrange another visit for Tuesday afternoon. I pointed out that would be the first visit and if nothing happened before Tuesday I'd be an ex-customer.  We agreed on Monday afternoon, today.

Just before the appointed time the broadband speed dropped to abysmally low levels so I could't even watch RTE lunch-time news on the web, then the phone rang. No caller-id. I rejected the call.  A few minutes later a big green eir van pulled up outside and the door-bell rang. Cue doggy operatic performances and no COVID-19 quiz from mask-wearing technician. I donned mine at the door after retrieving it from the car.

After about 40 mins swapping set-top boxes and plugging in diagnostic tools to my home network, the technician reinitialised the eir-branded home plugs from my modem/router and bingo! An update to the set-top box firmware started. TV service restored but since the tech left, the home plug downstairs  is acting up. The messages I get on the TV screen every hour or so say "set-top box disconnected from network"  and then almost immediately "connected via Ethernet" and service resumes again.  It's very annoying.  Through all of this Netflix on the Sony smart TV has continued to work flawlessly. More emails to eir CEO with demands for arrangements for credits and replacements for the home plugs that lose their minds and settings spontaneously, to the extent that they baffle techs who have seen their own home plugs fail.

I restarted the Mac Pro in the upstairs "office" and for the first time ever, it refused to boot as normal so I did an emergency startup from my USB key. Strangely, it showed a ROM date of 2/11/2020.  I reinitialised the eir home plug that it uses to connect to the  network and tried a regular restart and again bingo! It started up fine. So not alone can these defective eir branded and supplied devices wreck TV reception, they seem to mess with Mac firmware. Very annoying and very, very worrying.  All Huawei of course.


----------



## Brendan Burgess

Prime Time has just broadcast a report on it.

According to Com Reg, in the last three months(?), they have received the following complaints: 
Eir :1062
Vodafone: 183
Virgin:88 
Sky: 44 

eir claims that their average waiting time for answering the phone is 10 minutes, but it's longer on Mondays. The reporter called and it took 40 minutes to get through.

They made operating profits of €222m in the last quarter. 

The regulator was interviewed and said that ComReg can't fix it, only eir can fix it. 

The problem was caused by their efforts to bring the customer care inhouse.

The Central Bank, from time to time, stops brokers who can't handle their work, from taking on new customers. eir should do the same. No new customers until they have solved the problems of existing customers.

Brendan


----------



## Thirsty

I'm still getting bills for relative despite having closed account with Eir; and have written confirmation that its closed!


----------



## jim

I really hate Eir. Iv had a torrid year with them teying to sort things out at different times. In the end i managed to get shot of them...i think....its been 3 weeks so we ll see whether a bill or something hits me from out of nowhere.
Awful customer service, impossible to contact, they lie to you, their staff dont care either. 
If more and more people left them then they would have to sit up and take notice but in reality theu are CREAMING IT BABY


----------



## arbitron

They are one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. I've been with O2, Vodafone, Meteor, 3, NTL/UPC/Virgin over the years and while you would get the occasional bad service from them Eir is the only one that you would be guaranteed would raise your blood pressure.

As a student they took over €500 out of my account in error when they were supposed to have refunded me €350. I was broke as a result and it took me 3 months to get the €850 back during which time they inexplicably cut off my service but continued to bill me for it.

I gave them a chance again a few years ago but left a soon as the contract was up. They were still billing me for months after the account closed.

Don't get me started on how they treat older customers.


----------



## PaddyBloggit

They have made the news:

https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2020/1124/1180226-eir-customer-service-complaints-broadband-phone/

The sob story:

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/1124/1180275-eir-committee/


----------



## Leper

I  listened  to Carolan Lennon CEO of Eir on last night's Primetime television programme. Her advisors went to much trouble over the last 3 years to pin point problems at the "Customer Contact Centres." And from Tuesdays the waiting time for callers is less than 14 minutes, but there are spikes on Mondays which can have people waiting 40 minutes. Dr Goebbels couldn't have come up with better.

All Carolan had to do is read some of the posts here for more exact and truthful information. She is being duped and blames Covid for Eir falling down on the job. A new "Customer Contact Centre" was opened in Sligo in 2019 staffed by people with fresh attitudes many of whom were employed in retail in a previous life and consequently being Customer  focused before they even started. Of the 120 that started she said 100 are still with Eir.

Sorry, Carolan 40 mins waiting time on Mondays and 14 mins waiting time from Tuesdays. Your advisors appear to me to be not informing you of true facts. And Carolan, you sound sincere but I've seen nothing in your interview to fill me with confidence that Eir "Customer Contact Centres" will perform sufficiently well. going forward.

The overriding issue in that interview (to me) is that Carolan's management (I'm not talking call centre Team Leaders, I'm talking management from above that level) are nowhere near the mark where they should be. I wonder how many of the call centre operators ever even saw this level of management. Worse again, how many of this level of management ever saw the inside of a call centre?


----------



## Brendan Burgess

I thought that the name Carolan Lennon was familiar. She is a non-exec of AIB. Probably helping them with the Prevailing Rate redress programme. That is why it's so efficient. 

With such problems, the directors should not be doing any outside work.

Brendan


----------



## jim

Its a joke that she is blaming covid for eirs problems. An insult in fact.
Eir were as atrocious before covid as they are now. 
Either she is being duped and is misinformed or more likely imo she is trying to sugarcoat, lie, assign blame, deflect and effectively dupe us the public


----------



## Leper

Somehow I think Carolan Lennon probably will read the posts here. If she doesn't, things at Eir are worse than she said last night or even what we thought. No company is perfect, but a good place to start re improvement is Customer Service. Customer Service is mostly about listening to the customer, resolving the query or at least forwarding the query onwards if necessary and keeping the customer informed. Eir does none of that. But, I bet they're paying dearly for such advice and it's money wasted from where I sit.

Here is some advice for Carolan Lennon - a customer (the guy who's paying her wages):-
1. Listen to the customer's complaint. [Effective Training is of the essence here]
2. Give the customer the name of the Eir person who will see the complaint through to the end. [Customer Service Contact and Owner of the problem]
3. Advise the customer of the approximate length of time it will take to resolve the issue.
4. Resolve the issue. If there are delays, advise the customer.
5. Advise the customer after the issue is resolved.
6. There may be a refund of rental or refund of call charges or even some sort of compensation. Advise the customer accordingly and when the credit will appear on the bill.
7. Back up call to customer later  confirming that service is now good and refunds issued. This goes a long way in restoration of confidence in Eir's service.

Ms Lennon did say that the rate of pay for call centre operators was favourable compared to other such companies and that there is a pension scheme in place. Previously, I have invited anybody working in an Eir Call Centre to post here. Todate, |I've heard nothing. I think we deserve to hear the story from the Call Centre's Operator point-of-view. I bet Ms Lennon would too!


----------



## Seagull

I dream of 10 minutes on hold to eir. My experience has been anything from 30 minutes to over an hour. And that's not all on Mondays, either. And would they kindly get rid of that annoying noise they play while keeping you on hold.


----------



## mathepac

I had a phone call and two emails from eir before 9:00 this morning. One email from Carolan Lennon saying she'd referred my complaints to her complaints guru, Nicole.  The phone-call was from Nicole telling me they were sending me replacement home-pugs to fix my WiFi and set-top box problems and that she would follow up with a call to ensure they were working satisfactorily and arrange credit for the loss of service.  The second email was from Nicole with her full contact details, confirming the arrangements we discussed.

I subsequently got a text from eir fulfilment confirming a delivery in the next 24/48 hours.


----------



## Jazz01

mathepac said:


> I had a phone call and two emails from eir before 9:00 this morning. One email from Carolan Lennon saying she'd referred my complaints to her complaints guru, Nicole.


You too ??


----------



## joer

So they are back on track ?  And been paid 21,000 to 23,000 per year


----------



## Cervelo

Thirsty said:


> I'm still getting bills for relative despite having closed account with Eir; and have written confirmation that its closed!



I have the opposite problem, if you could call it a problem
I have an Eir business sim that I cancelled in 2017 but for some reason is still active
when I noticed it first I contacted Eir a few times informing them that the sim was still active but they informed me the account was closed
I called into an Eir shop and informed them of the issue and they told me it was impossible that the sim could be active on a closed account
I contacted Eir one final time and asked them if they didn't believe me that the sim was still active they could ring me to confirm
and the answer I got was "We are email channel we are not able to ring you."
So since November 17 I've had an unlimited mobile sim free of charge

I would like to point out before anybody accuses me of impropriety I don't use this sim as I have a GoMo account but I do take it with when traveling as a backup should there be a problem with the GoMo


----------



## Johnno75

Leper said:


> A new "Customer Contact Centre" was opened in Sligo in 2019 staffed by people with fresh attitudes many of whom were employed in retail in a previous life and consequently being Customer focused before they even started. Of the 120 that started she said 100 are still with Eir.



What is grossly offensive to me is that the CEO was flat-out blaming the Sligo staff for the call centre delays when the delays are a long standing issue with Eir. This typifies the attitude of senior management caught in the crosshairs - resort to blaming the staff down the line for a problem initiated by the senior management. The call centre staff didn’t make the decision to establish the call centre in Sligo and weren’t responsible for the management and training programs. This is reprehensible on the part of the CEO and unfair on the staff concerned. As our TDs pointed out in the Committee today, there are other call centres in the area who operate without issue. It’s high time the CEO and Eir management took responsibility and stop passing the buck down the line. It does nothing for the morale of the staff concerned.


----------



## losttheplot

It's possible those working in the call centre simply took jobs there to fix or cancel their own accounts.


----------



## mathepac

With respect to all posters above and in the eir call-centres, I think the call centre/staff training issue is just a waste of money, time, construction work and real estate. If I were a shareholder I'd be calling for heads to roll, lots of them.

First and foremost make the products and services supplied by eir the best available. Not just good or great but excellent, the best in class, best in the world.  Once that is achieved, there is no need for over-resourced complaints services, all that wasted energy and money can be directed on meeting new customer demand and product innovation.

Improving and building up the complaints service means eir is diverting much needed funding and attention to a non-profit making activity, also known as rework.  For years in the electronics industry wearing my OD hat I argued with engineers, technicians, cost & management accountants that testing was not a value-added activity but a cost-increasing one. "But we can't ship untested product" they said. "You can if you build it right the first time" was my permanent response.

Similarly with eir, do the job once, do it correctly and develop a sense of pride in being the best rather than being branded the worst. The CEO in front of the politicians and consumers apologising for her decisions and her staff's poor performance? That's no way to run a business.

"Where's your pride?" as Ciaran Fitzgerald Irish rugby captain was overheard to ask on the field in a famous match. Where is your pride eir?


----------



## Leo

Jayom75 said:


> What is grossly offensive to me is that the CEO was flat-out blaming the Sligo staff for the call centre delays when the delays are a long standing issue with Eir. This typifies the attitude of senior management caught in a the crosshairs - resort to blaming the staff down the line for a problem initiated by the senior management.



It typifies the attitude of very poor management! Good management never throw the team under the bus. How can they ever expect staff there to feel valued if that is the attitude from the top?

She now sounds like the school kid who forgot their homework and tries to blame everyone and everything else other than themselves.


----------



## Purple

Every problem in any organisation is a failure of management. Either they structured the organisation incorrectly, hired the wrong people, trained them badly or lost control of the organisation and allowed other forced to take control. When you get paid to make decisions you also get paid to take responsibility.


----------



## joer

It only took five minutes to get through this morning. They must have been trained well last night !


----------



## Leper

joer said:


> It only took five minutes to get through this morning. They must have been trained well last night !


Whatever Carolan Lennon is or isn't she is an able dealer and I reckon she was caught unawares on Primetime where the interviewer had his homework done well and probably had read some of the posts here.  Blaming Covid for a problem that existed long before showed that she neglected to do her homework or listened to the wrong people (probably her own management above the rank of Team Leader). Like somebody said she threw the Sligo staff under a minibus. but I think some of what she was saying was misunderstood by some viewers. When she realised her situation was grave she changed tack somewhat and her body language suggested that "Hey! There's a big problem here and I've been a subject of the mushroom syndrome by my own management."

Carolan faced a government committee yesterday and had to answer the same questions to appease our political representatives. I bet by now Carolan has called in her management team and replayed the Primetime segment where she participated. Furthermore, I bet she was asking questions of her management rather than the other way round. Whatever way you look at this Carolan Lennon was thrown under the bus too and a rickety double-decker to boot. If I were one of her management  I'd be watching my back from now on. Carolan is a wounded lioness and If I had been feeding her with tripe I'd be awaiting a reaction.


----------



## Leo

Leper said:


> Whatever way you look at this Carolan Lennon was thrown under the bus too and a rickety double-decker to boot. If I were one of her management I'd be watching my back from now on.



She's been with the company for over 10 years, and CEO since Feb 2018. She must have had her head buried in sand to be so unaware of customer service issues.


----------



## Johnno75

Leper said:


> but I think some of what she was saying was misunderstood by some viewers


Whilst that very well may be, she was absolutely clear in relation to what she said about the staff hired from Sligo and its environs (and indeed Sligo itself).

She said (and I’m paraphrasing) that developing the call centre in Sligo from scratch was “a mistake” because the staff there took longer to train because of their backgrounds in retail and hospitality, and there wasn’t any experience of call centres in Sligo. In other words she said that the good people of Sligo and surrounds comprising the local labour force just weren’t up to it, and this gave rise to the delays.

Remarkable.


----------



## Leper

Leo said:


> She's been with the company for over 10 years, and CEO since Feb 2018. She must have had her head buried in sand to be so unaware of customer service issues.


I don't think so Leo, but I am open to correction. I reckon she was out of touch with the staff that "do" and I think she believed (up to now) in her own popularity, a cornerstone where many a person failed. Worse again, she believed what her management  informed her. If I were giving her advice I'd be saying do what Fergal Quinn would have done and try some time in the shop floor. She'll learn much more from her call centre operators than she did from her management team who in her eyes are now found out.  Any GAA Banisteoir will inform you:- "Lose the Dressing Room and you're finished."  Ms Lennon has a little time to get her producing staff onside. If I were her, I wouldn't delay. Sligo would be my first port of call too.


----------



## Purple

Jayom75 said:


> Whilst that very well may be, she was absolutely clear in relation to what she said about the staff hired from Sligo and its environs (and indeed Sligo itself).
> 
> She said (and I’m paraphrasing) that developing the call centre in Sligo from scratch was “a mistake” because the staff there took longer to train because of their backgrounds in retail and hospitality, and there wasn’t any experience of call centres in Sligo. In other words she said that the good people of Sligo and surrounds comprising the local labour force just weren’t up to it, and this gave rise to the delays.
> 
> Remarkable.


Well that's a fair point so. It's not a reflection on the intellect or ability of the people of Sligo, rather it reflects badly on the company who decided to locate where there was no suitably trained or experienced workforce.


----------



## Leo

Leper said:


> I don't think so Leo, but I am open to correction. I reckon she was out of touch with the staff that "do" and I think she believed (up to now) in her own popularity, a cornerstone where many a person failed. Worse again, she believed what her management informed her.



Profile piece here. 

A wise man once advised me that good leaders trust but verify. It's hard to think that in over 10 years with the company she never encountered people who complained about customer service.


----------



## Johnno75

Purple said:


> Well that's a fair point so. It's not a reflection on the intellect or ability of the people of Sligo, rather it reflects badly on the company who decided to locate where there was no suitably trained or experienced workforce.


Except what she said is (unfortunately) a reflection of what she thinks about the abilities etc of Sligo workers. I’m based in the west and our workforce is just as able as any other workforce in the State. I don’t think the decision to locate to Sligo reflects badly on the company at all. Rather, what reflects badly is the seeming inability to properly manage and train a workforce.

What reflects really badly is a CEO specifically (and publicly) calling out a section of of her workforce in a particular region as not being fully competent or sufficiently able.


----------



## LS400

Im not with Eir, and Im pretty glad with that having read the horror stories. I do think though the CEO has an incredibility difficult task in running such a big company, and hopefully she can make the huge changes needed to win back the public's confidence.

But there is a part of me that also feels her pain, and likens the position as that of a Football Manager, they get some stick when their players have a disastrous game, the fans all want the head on a plate, but they can only do so much, the player is the one kicking the ball, but the Manager gets it in the neck when they mess up, but unfortunately, at this company is so poor with customer confidence,  management changes may be the only way to regain that confidence.  

I hope she can turn it round before its too late.


----------



## Gordon Gekko

I watched the interview and I didn’t think that Carolan Lennon was overly critical of Sligo people at all.

My recollection is of her saying that Eir opened a call centre in Sligo which, as an area, doesn’t have a big history of having call centres, so the people tended to come from sectors such as retail. So, as a result, the call centre didn’t hit the ground running and wasn’t up to speed as quickly as Eir had hoped.

I don’t see the grave offence caused there?


----------



## Leper

LS400 said:


> Im not with Eir, and Im pretty glad with that having read the horror stories. I do think though the CEO has an incredibility difficult task in running such a big company, and hopefully she can make the huge changes needed to win back the public's confidence.
> 
> But there is a part of me that also feels her pain, and likens the position as that of a Football Manager, they get some stick when their players have a disastrous game, the fans all want the head on a plate, but they can only do so much, the player is the one kicking the ball, but the Manager gets it in the neck when they mess up, but unfortunately, at this company is so poor with customer confidence,  management changes may be the only way to regain that confidence.
> 
> I hope she can turn it round before its too late.


LS400 is kind of right, but I don't think it's Ms Lennon's ground team that which she has her problems. It's her management team i.e. the people who do not have to deal first hand with the public. The call centre staff is customer facing albeit by telephone and in the Eir shops. they come into direct public contact We haven't heard from Eir's call centre staff here yet although I've extended several invitations. Are they afraid of something? Have they been warned to keep away from fora such as this?  If the Sligo staff are so offended why do we not hear from them?

Also, I agree 100% with Gordon Gekko's post. I don't think the people of Sligo or indeed the Sligo Eir staff were offended .


----------



## Purple

Gordon Gekko said:


> I watched the interview and I didn’t think that Carolan Lennon was overly critical of Sligo people at all.
> 
> My recollection is of her saying that Eir opened a call centre in Sligo which, as an area, doesn’t have a big history of having call centres, so the people tended to come from sectors such as retail. So, as a result, the call centre didn’t hit the ground running and wasn’t up to speed as quickly as Eir had hoped.
> 
> I don’t see the grave offence caused there?


exactly.


----------



## Purple

Jayom75 said:


> Except what she said is (unfortunately) a reflection of what she thinks about the abilities etc of Sligo workers. I’m based in the west and our workforce is just as able as any other workforce in the State. I don’t think the decision to locate to Sligo reflects badly on the company at all. Rather, what reflects badly is the seeming inability to properly manage and train a workforce.
> 
> What reflects really badly is a CEO specifically (and publicly) calling out a section of of her workforce in a particular region as not being fully competent or sufficiently able.


That sounds like the issue is the insecurity of some people who heard the comment rather than the comment itself.


----------



## Johnno75

Purple said:


> That sounds like the issue is the insecurity of some people who heard the comment rather


 I see what you did there.


----------



## Purple

Jayom75 said:


> I see what you did there.


Yea, I pointed out that she didn't say anything against the people of Sligo, she said that they set up a call centre in a place which did not have an existing suitably skilled workforce and so there was a delay while they trained that workforce. 

If I set up a carpentry business and find there are no carpenters in the area so I have to hire plumbers and train them to be carpenters that doesn't mean the plumbers I hired were thick. It means I was thick to set up the business in a place where there was no suitably skilled workforce.


----------



## Purple

To be clear I'm no fan of Eir. They are, by a comfortable margin, the worst company I have ever dealt with. They have shoddy products, shoddy customer service and a generally shoddy attitude and culture. It doesn't help that they've been bought over and asset stripped a few times wither. They are like the child of the worst of the public sector (sorry, "commercial" semi-state sector) and the worst of the private sector.


----------



## Leo

Gordon Gekko said:


> My recollection is of her saying that Eir opened a call centre in Sligo which, as an area, doesn’t have a big history of having call centres, so the people tended to come from sectors such as retail. So, as a result, the call centre didn’t hit the ground running and wasn’t up to speed as quickly as Eir had hoped.



She said it was a mistake to open there as the town didn't have the skills required (even though Abtran and others operate call centers in the area without the fuss). Regardless, they chose Sligo, did they not even carry out the most basic assessment of the local employment market before making that decision? The Sligo center opened in early 2019 I believe, should it really take this long to train some competent staff if lack of call center experience was really the issue?

When the angry local reaction startedin the media, she retracted those statements saying she accepted there were management failings and they had underestimated the difficulty of getting a contact center up and running in Sligo. She went on to say that they were hitting every target for customer care before the pandemic hit. Threads on here from that time suggest these problems didn't just start with the pandemic.


----------



## David_Dublin

I can't understand why Eir is being singled out. Or why numpties on an oirechtais committee think they have the knowledge, insight, experience or acumen to express views on how a particular private business should be run. the exerpts I heard were pathetic.

I'm not doubting there are serious problems with Eir customer service, but this is Joe Duffy type parish pump politics at its worst. Govern the bloody country, don't be wasting your time looking to get yourself in the meedja.

Oh for only a half hour wait on a support call!! I've spent upwards of 90 minutes with Virgin Media several times, and still no satisfaction. Should they be hauled up before a comittee too?


----------



## losttheplot

I'm not with Eir so only know what I've heard in the media and here. It all seems to be focused on the call centre now. But if the actual product was up to scratch, there would be little need to contact them in the first place. The fact that the call centre is busy just indicates there are problems elsewhere and their other systems aren't up to scratch.


----------



## Johnno75

David_Dublin said:


> I can't understand why Eir is being singled out. Or why numpties on an oirechtais committee think they have the knowledge, insight, experience or acumen to express views on how a particular private business should be run. the exerpts I heard were pathetic.
> 
> I'm not doubting there are serious problems with Eir customer service, but this is Joe Duffy type parish pump politics at its worst. Govern the bloody country, don't be wasting your time looking to get yourself in the meedja.
> 
> Oh for only a half hour wait on a support call!! I've spent upwards of 90 minutes with Virgin Media several times, and still no satisfaction. Should they be hauled up before a comittee too?


Eir is being singled out, because, as the CEO herself said, Eir own the network and are the biggest provider.

As I posted here before, when my business fibre broadband went down (affecting also my phones), it took Eir five days to come and resolve the issue. And that was after my having spent a number of hours over three days trying to get through to a human in Eir to report the problem (their Twitter and webchat facilities were of no use to me or were offline).

My business was closed down for a week over a simple junction box issue which was fixed in five minutes. And I had to pay several hundred euro to my IT service providers to rejig my systems which went awry as a result of the outage!

I, for one am glad the politicians got on board, as Comreg have demonstrated themselves incapable of fixing things (have you ever tried lodging a complaint with them? It’s as bad as dealing with Eir!).

If Virgin or Vodafone are falling short, haul them up too!


----------



## odyssey06

Jayom75 said:


> I, for one am glad the politicians got on board, as Comreg have demonstrated themselves incapable of fixing things (have you ever tried lodging a complaint with them? It’s as bad as dealing with Eir!).



The politicians should have been reading the riot act to Comreg aswell as if not instead of Eir.
That or giving Comreg the powers to read the riot act...


----------



## David_Dublin

Sorry to hear that @Jayom75 - but as Odyssey points out, it's ComReg that should be hammering Eir. The oireachtais committee asking about salaries, determining that this is why the customer experience is so poor - thats just nonsense. Suggesting that all pensioners should be offered a month's waiver etc, its in the realms of Healy Rae bs that does nobody any favours, and is very unlikely to do anything but get the squeakiest wheel some media attention and a better chance of re-election.


----------



## Leper

David_Dublin said:


> I can't understand why Eir is being singled out. Or why numpties on an oirechtais committee think they have the knowledge, insight, experience or acumen to express views on how a particular private business should be run. the exerpts I heard were pathetic.
> 
> I'm not doubting there are serious problems with Eir customer service, but this is Joe Duffy type parish pump politics at its worst. Govern the bloody country, don't be wasting your time looking to get yourself in the meedja.
> 
> Oh for only a half hour wait on a support call!! I've spent upwards of 90 minutes with Virgin Media several times, and still no satisfaction. Should they be hauled up before a comittee too?



Eir is not being singled out. The members of the Oireachtais are not numpties. They like most of us are fully aware that Eir is falling down on the job for a long time. 

1. This thread started over 5 months ago. It's not like we started shooting yesterday. My difficulties in contacting Eir go back nearly 12 months where to contact them was like landing a man on Saturn launched on a three wheeled push bike. I wrote long-hand to them too when everything else failed. Needless to say Eir didn't reply and still haven't although I gave them the options of my email address and mobile telephone number along with our land line.
2. Even after several hours of trying to contact an Eir call centre and on separate days  you were eventually answered by somebody who had little or no knowledge of (a) Good Customer Service and (b) Even scant knowledge of his/her job (c) Probably ill trained too.
3. There are similar complaints about Eir's call centre performance on other threads with  much earlier dates.
4. Eir is a telecommunications company with which there is much difficulty in communicating and things haven't improved in a long time. Have no doubt the fault lies with Eir. A telecommunications company should at least be able to communicate.
5. Then Eir's CEO comes on live television and informs us Eir's difficulties are post Covid. Who or what does she think we are? We're not fools but she takes us for fools. All she had to do is inform us that they've been getting things wrong for a long time and that she would ensure that Customer Service would be customer focused in future. But, instead she waffled on with an obvious unprepared tittle tattle that didn't reflect well on her or on Eir. She is with the company for 10 years; it's not like she inherited the problems recently.
6. Nobody from Eir management or call centre staff has come on here although invited on several occasions. There is only so much people will take and I for one am fed up with the way Eir has treated its customers.


----------



## Johnno75

Purple said:


> Yea, I pointed out that she didn't say anything against the people of Sligo, she said that they set up a call centre in a place which did not have an existing suitably skilled workforce and so there was a delay while they trained that workforce.


Yes.

But you also said that the offence some people (quite rightly) had taken at the comments of the Eir CEO was down to their own insecurities.


----------



## David_Dublin

I have very little regard for most politicians, hence my calling them numpties. Their observations, questions, suggestions and requests didn't change my mind.

Leper I can see you are furious, and with good reason. But what has their appearance in front of the committee achieved? What powers to the committee have? I think its akin to some sort of political virtue signalling.

I'll be delighted to be proven wrong. I am absolutely and utterly frustrated with Virgin myself. So much so I've chosen to watch This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language reception telly with a coat hangar aerial in the back of the telly, rather than continue to pay for their crap service. I know this is in now way akin to business struggling, no Internet etc.


----------



## mathepac

Jazz01 said:


> You too ??


Yes communications with the communicators are improving!! Delighted you got some kind of answer.

Replacement home-plugs arrived via courier at lunchtime. I installed them and got up and running quickly.  So far the strange "disconnected" and "Reconnected" messages have vanished, *but* this is only day one.

The replacement devices are TP-Link branded rather than the eir-branded ones I was supplied with originally.

Happy as Larry for a while until I looked at my new eir bill which includes a line item, c. €15, for "EXCESS BROADBAND USAGE"!!!! With the majority of my services knackered in the past few weeks how can I have "EXCESS USAGE" was my question for Nicole today.  I await her response with baited (no, that's not a misspelling) breath.


----------



## horusd

I thought the Eir response at the committee was cringeworthy and the TD McSharry rubbished it on the radio (Drivetime I think) but I sense that lousy service and a near impossibility in making contact with a Telecoms 'service' (sic) provider is par for the course. I'm with SKY - they've bumped up my TV & BB package nearly 50% and they are nigh impossible to make contact with. I had intended to get on, haggle to reduce the price and stay, but after 3/4 hours chasing around Twitter/webchat (incl. a 50 mins hold being transferred from the UK webchat to IRL)  and the like with no phone number available to contact them (I'm abroad at the minute) or even a service email, I've simply decided I'm leaving them at whatever price. I fired off a complaint  giving them notice I'm leaving (literally the only way to make contact - I suppose I should be grateful for that) The bottom line here for me has to be to vote with my feet.  What's equally galling about all these companies is that they attach a premium to new customers over and above the existing ones.


----------



## odyssey06

horusd said:


> I thought the Eir response at the committee was cringeworthy and the TD McSharry rubbished it on the radio (Drivetime I think) but I sense that lousy service and a near impossibility in making contact with a Telecoms 'service' (sic) provider is par for the course.



That's why it should have been the head of Comreg up before the Committee asking how public funds were being spent, why customer service is so bad in the sector under their remit, and what resources or powers they need to correct it.


----------



## Purple

Jayom75 said:


> Yes.
> 
> But you also said that the offence some people (quite rightly) had taken at the comments of the Eir CEO was down to their own insecurities.


Yes, I did.
There is much wrong with Eir but the excuses made by their CEO were not an attack on the people of Sligo.


----------



## horusd

I'm currently on hold for Laya- 35 minutes and counting, from 8:50 this morning. Hold message keeps trying to redirect you to website where you can get access to 'personalized member area - whatever that is.'  Is there no cop on that no one would willingly hold for ages if they could have gotten the required info from the website?  The message is interspersed with we appreciate your call..blah, blah blah.  They just don't appreciate it enough to adequately resource the phones unit.  I imagine the standard response to complaints is to blame COVID  - I suspect that if they are all equally bad they figure they will get away with it, and this applies to any sphere where there's an element of customer care and service. in a restricted market


----------



## Leo

David_Dublin said:


> I can't understand why Eir is being singled out.



Oireachtais committees regularly bring in representatives from private companies who are in receipt of state funding. This one is only making so many headlines because it happens to be a company that lots of people have had issues with over the years. She spoke of 200,000 faults they have resolved since April for their 1,000,000 customers. Can that be right? 1 in 5?

Eir have a public service obligations, they are answerable to the state on their performance against those obligations. Agreed it should be Comreg enforcing standards here, but that does not mean that Eir should not be forced to answer publicly.


----------



## Johnno75

David_Dublin said:


> t's ComReg that should be hammering Eir.


I agree entirely. But when you have the Chief of Comreg coming on to RTÉ stating that Eir’s problems are for Eir to fix, it doesn’t exactly instil confidence in the regulator. Maybe the regulator isn’t in possession of sufficient statutory powers but that’s another conversation.


----------



## Seagull

I'll give you another example of their daft systems. We had to move temporarily for pyrite remediation, so I moved the account to the new address. They don't seem to have the ability to just move it. They close the account at the old address and open a new one for the new address. This cues a load of emails 
"We're sorry to see you go"
"Welcome to eir"
and others that I can't recall offhand.

They also send a new router and tv box with every move, regardless how long it is since the last. So when we moved back home, the same thing happened again. So after 2 months we had another new router and tv box. And I can't just carry on using the old ones and send the new ones back unopened, because the new ones are now linked to the account.


----------



## Firefly

Big shout out to Alanis, but "isn't it ironic" that eir's customer support is so bad considering they effectively sell communications? 

I'm with Tesco mobile and find their customer support excellent. I've used the web chat multiple times this year. I haven't waiting more than 5 or 6 mins and the problem/query always resolved.

I think some companies are missing a trick really. I had an awful time trying to leave Three a number of years ago so I ignore any offers they have as a result. GoMo/48/etc would save me money but it's the customer service that keeps me with Tesco. I think most people are the same....not bothered not getting the _absolute _cheapest deal if life is easier.


----------



## joer

There seems to be a major improvement with Eir alright . I am on hold for 20 mins and counting. Where is this improvement they were promising ?.


----------



## mathepac

That is an improvement, Even the 57 mins that have elapsed since you posted this would be an improvement for some.


----------



## SparkRite

Firefly said:


> I've used the web chat multiple times this year.





Firefly said:


> GoMo/48/etc would save me money but it's the customer service that keeps me with Tesco.



It's a bit like a double edged sword, methinks.

I was with Tesco for years and never once needed to contact them, unlike yourself who needed to contact them 'multiple times this year', so I can only assume you were having problems with the service. To me, not a good incentive to either stay/switch to them.

I moved to GoMo upon its inception and like, when using TM have had no problems or any reason to contact their CS.

Whilst both of them operate a 30 day rolling contract, GoMo offer more.


----------



## joer

27 mins and 34 seconds to be exact . I said this to the very nice man that I was talking to . He said that other people were getting through in a few mins. I said that it must be just slow from my part of the country . 
I was only ringing to re- contract. But I will have to ring again in a week or so which, by the way is not their problem or mine just a timeline thing.


----------



## Purple

joer said:


> 27 mins and 34 seconds to be exact . I said this to the very nice man that I was talking to . He said that other people were getting through in a few mins. I said that it must be just slow from my part of the country .
> I was only ringing to re- contract. But I will have to ring again in a week or so which, by the way is not their problem or mine just a timeline thing.


Lightening fast... relatively.


----------



## Firefly

SparkRite said:


> It's a bit like a double edged sword, methinks.
> 
> I was with Tesco for years and never once needed to contact them, unlike yourself who needed to contact them 'multiple times this year', so I can only assume you were having problems with the service. To me, not a good incentive to either stay/switch to them.


Hi - no issues actually. I racked up very high data usage during the first month I was working from home and they knocked most of it off the bill. I also had questions relating to roaming charges in a non-EU country. Those types of contacts with them.


----------



## joer

I rang Eir yesterday. I got through in 3 mins and got exactly what I wanted in about 10 mins so I signed up for another year . 
So right now they are a great Company .....


----------



## Leper

My phone line has been giving intermittent trouble for weeks. Today (Sunday) I rang Eir on 1901 and after pressing a number of buttons and providing my account number and confirming I am the bill payer,  I finally got through to the faults answering service to be informed the service does not operate on Sundays. Why was I not informed much earlier that I was wasting my time waiting and listening to waffle? What great Eir executive came up with the wording and delay of that stupid device? God knows what would have happened to me if I were from Sligo!

Come on Eir, you're a telecommunications company please communicate.


----------



## mathepac

I got my Dec-Jan electronic eir bill on Christmas Day, goodwill to all etc. on the holiday.

I had raised a query about a charge on a previous bill for "Total Excess broadband usage" of €14.76 during a period when I had no TV service and poor phone reception. I never received an explanation for the excess charge nor did I receive a response from the CEO about credit for this charge other than to say it had been delegated to a minion to deal with.

On my Christmas Day bill, there is a "Charge query credit" of €34.98 with no further explanation. I think this might be the credit for breaks in service (TV internet & phone) during that billing period.

On this Christmas Day bill, there is a charge of €29.00 dated 25-Nov-20 for one "Home Plug Wireless Twin" that the eir technician who visited my home decided needed replacing to improve my home WiFi performance.  He also replaced the set-top box and remote control to improve TV reception and updated the firmware on this to the latest revision. These last two items are detailed on the bill as zero-cost items under Service Charges. If the technician decided the Home Plug Wireless Twin wifi expanders were faulty or of questionable utility they should have been a zero-cost replacement too.

I calculate I am owed further credits of €29.00 for equipment eir decided I needed and €14.76 for unexplained excess broadband usage from the previous bill, so €43.76 in refunds due to me or come down and take the lot out and cancel the contract immediately.  I'm sick to the back teeth of them staggering from one foul-up to the next.

I believe one of the reasons their bills are so messed up and unwieldy is they use a 3rd party accounting service like other utilities in Ireland.  Electric Ireland uses Fujitsu/Fuji in the UK, the same Fujitsu/Fuji responsible for producing erroneous accounting balances for Post Offices in the UK. Post Masters and Post Mistresses have been put out of business, lost their homes, been imprisoned, committed suicide when accused of stealing when it has now been proven the software was at fault.






						Post Office Horizon IT inquiry 2020: terms of reference
					






					www.gov.uk


----------



## horusd

As a by the by,  I see 'one big switch' are offering an EIR package for BB for 29.99 and a TV add on for 9.99. I'm tempted...but... some/most of the comments on here leave me wondering.


----------



## mathepac

I got a response just before midday today 29/12/2020 allowing me the €43.76  credit against my account. 

Super fast and as I had calculated but again no explanation as to why/how the charges were raised and no promise of "sinning no more".

They seem to be moving in the right direction but I had no TV service up to 8:30 pm last night. I don't know how long it was off-air. This is traditionally my brain workout night with 3 BBC quizzes in succession, Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge. The dogs were mesmerized as they were allowed unaccustomed couch time rather than being dismissed for the usual Monday night extended ablutions. As usual, winners and losers in life.


----------



## twofor1

My Eir landline was not working today so I phoned 1901 from the mobile.

I was told my waiting time would be 20 minutes so put the phone on speaker and went about my business. Maybe 3 minutes later an agent came on the line and asked a few questions then advised that yes he could see a fault on the line outside, and it would be resolved within a few days.

An hour later I got a text to say the fault had been repaired. 

A big improvement, or was I just incredibly lucky on this occasion.


----------



## joer

And was the fault cleared . If so that was fast,  both the answer to the phone call and the fault been repaired.


----------



## twofor1

Yes, the fault was cleared.

I have phoned Eir's loyalty team for the past few years and they have discounted my unlimited broadband  and unlimited anytime local / national landline from €69,98 monthly to €44.98 monthly.

If they do the same again in March, I will stay with them for another year.


----------



## joer

Even though I am always giving out about them, EIR ,their customer service contact service, I am with them . 
I find their products good. I rang them last Thursday , preparing for a long wait and was pleasantly surprised when I got an answer straight away. 
I needed a new Modem and he said it would be out in the next "few" days. I was expecting it to be Monday but I had it on Friday. I signed up for EIR TV on Monday and was told I would have my TV Modem within three working days and I had it yesterday, Tuesday. Very fast service. 
Now I have phone broadband, mobile and tv with them for 65 euro per month for 12 months. So depending on how good the TV is will be a case of whether I will stay with them next year . I will be saving 20 euro per month not having Sky. 
I must say that I am impressed with how fast Eir were in getting me sorted.


----------



## W200

twofor1 said:


> My Eir landline was not working today so I phoned 1901 from the mobile.
> 
> I was told my waiting time would be 20 minutes so put the phone on speaker and went about my business. Maybe 3 minutes later an agent came on the line and asked a few questions then advised that yes he could see a fault on the line outside, and it would be resolved within a few days.
> 
> An hour later I got a text to say the fault had been repaired.
> 
> A big improvement, or was I just incredibly lucky on this occasion.



By contrast I reported a fault on landline 20th December ( Clontarf area ). Nothing done until first days of January when workers appeared and dug a hole in the road . Since then on a daily basis workers arrive and peer into said hole . Still no phone . Contacted them Monday last and was assured that problem would be resolved on Tuesday last . Today Thursday ........ Still no phone .  Hopeless ,shoddy, useless service .


----------



## Leper

I reported our internet service died several times per hour since mid December. Still the service has not been fully restored. It's liking waiting for Godot.


----------



## W200

W200 said:


> By contrast I reported a fault on landline 20th December ( Clontarf area ). Nothing done until first days of January when workers appeared and dug a hole in the road . Since then on a daily basis workers arrive and peer into said hole . Still no phone . Contacted them Monday last and was assured that problem would be resolved on Tuesday last . Today Thursday ........ Still no phone .  Hopeless ,shoddy, useless service .



UPDATE .
Of course the fault was not repaired on Tuesday as promised so I rang again today . Was told cable needed to be replaced , that would require permission from council to dig up the road and they HOPED to start work on .......... 28th January .    Grrrrrrrrrrrr.


----------



## joer

That is not good at all . How many holes do they have to dig ? There used to be a case of , if your line was out of order for over two working days you could claim back line rental , I am not sure if this is still the case but it would be worth checking out. 
Keep a note as to how many days without service for proof.


----------



## Leper

*Our Log a fault form is currently unavailable*
Our log a fault form is currently unavailable. If you would like to report a fault, please call us on *1901*.

That what I've been getting from Eir for over a week while trying to report a fault online.


----------



## nedsmnr1

I have had a horrendous experience with EIR and their mobile BB service. Committed to a 12 month contract for mobile BB. Received the router and SIM card but could not get any coverage on it. Tried multiple times to contact tech support only to be sent to endless waits on lines that never got answered. Eventually decided I had enough of them and wanted to cancel in the 14 day cooling off period. Tried multiple routes to cancel but frustrated at every turn by EIR. No doubt in my mind a deliberate policy not to offer any cancellation but instead extort money by DD from customer account. Following advice on ComReg rang the EIR 1800 number listed there. Finally got through to cancellations team who told me they took all my details and logged the cancellation and would be through in 10 working days to collect the router. Needless to say it never happened. Then they stated by SMS text they would levy the DD on my account for a service they never provided. Called back their 1800 number after 10 days to demand cancellation but was told they had no record of my cancellation logged - this despite the fact on my fist call the person stated they had logged all details against my EIR customer number....but would give no reference number of the actual logged call. Then the person directed me back to the 1901 number again where as usual the call just ended automatically after a 20 minute wait. This is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to frustrate my attemps to cancel my account. And for sure someone of them might see this and ask to call their 1800 or 1901 numbers again...only to go through the exact same garbage i have gone through for 3 weeks.  I logged it again with ComReg and ask that they advise how i can escalate.  Still ongoing. Also called my bank who advised how to cancel the DD but only after it had gone through the 1st time, and subsequently how to reclaim a DD from EIR via the SEPA DD Refund Form. Also contacted my local TD on this matter. I am absolutely determined to follow this all the way to the court if needed. EIR must be made an example of because obviously being hauled before the Dail has not been sufficient to stop their gangster behaviour. they are a disgrace and a bad let down to the name of any Irish company. For sure Three and Sky are far better options than this shower. Please be warned!!


----------



## Leper

nedsmnr1 said:


> I have had a horrendous experience with EIR and their mobile BB service. Committed to a 12 month contract for mobile BB. Received the router and SIM card but could not get any coverage on it. Tried multiple times to contact tech support only to be sent to endless waits on lines that never got answered. Eventually decided I had enough of them and wanted to cancel in the 14 day cooling off period. Tried multiple routes to cancel but frustrated at every turn by EIR. No doubt in my mind a deliberate policy not to offer any cancellation but instead extort money by DD from customer account. Following advice on ComReg rang the EIR 1800 number listed there. Finally got through to cancellations team who told me they took all my details and logged the cancellation and would be through in 10 working days to collect the router. Needless to say it never happened. Then they stated by SMS text they would levy the DD on my account for a service they never provided. Called back their 1800 number after 10 days to demand cancellation but was told they had no record of my cancellation logged - this despite the fact on my fist call the person stated they had logged all details against my EIR customer number....but would give no reference number of the actual logged call. Then the person directed me back to the 1901 number again where as usual the call just ended automatically after a 20 minute wait. This is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to frustrate my attemps to cancel my account. And for sure someone of them might see this and ask to call their 1800 or 1901 numbers again...only to go through the exact same garbage i have gone through for 3 weeks.  I logged it again with ComReg and ask that they advise how i can escalate.  Still ongoing. Also called my bank who advised how to cancel the DD but only after it had gone through the 1st time, and subsequently how to reclaim a DD from EIR via the SEPA DD Refund Form. Also contacted my local TD on this matter. I am absolutely determined to follow this all the way to the court if needed. EIR must be made an example of because obviously being hauled before the Dail has not been sufficient to stop their gangster behaviour. they are a disgrace and a bad let down to the name of any Irish company. For sure Three and Sky are far better options than this shower. Please be warned!!


 Ned, with respect - I found it easier to read the last 100 pages of Ulysses (Nora's Dream). If you broke the piece into paragraphs the reader would get a better handle on the post.


----------



## Cricketer

Leper said:


> I found it easier to read the last 100 pages of Ulysses


"Hello Eir, will you fix it for me?" 
"Yes I said yes I will Yes."

Looks like he'll have a better chance of understanding Ulysses than getting his problem sorted.


----------



## joer

I always found it useful that when you get to talk to someone always get a Reference number which you can quote to them ,


----------



## mathepac

Will I ever learn? Just sent this to our worst favourite CEO

"Dear Carolan,

The improvements to the telephone support were transitory it seems. 36 minutes on hold today before the call was dropped by your exchange or by the poor mobile service you supply me with.

I wanted to ensure that the Amazon Prime Service gets deleted from my account before the free period ends sometime this month, Feb 2021.  I phoned back in January, the 26th to be precise about the same matter and disconnected the call myself after about 20 mins on hold.  Could you possibly get someone to delete the service from my account before it starts costing me?

The TV service is becoming patchy lately with transmissions stalling, pictures freezing and pixellating and audio dropping from time to time, certainly not what I'd hoped for after having the set-top box etc replaced so recently.

The broad-band data-connection is unpredictable too.  As a general rule, I get 2 to 3MB/sec download speeds but have observed speeds as high as 7 to 8MB/sec. However, late at night for no reason I can understand, I have recorded speeds as low as 70 or 80KB/s, good old-fashioned dial-up modem speeds.  I understand that the location I'm downloading from can throttle speeds at times, but this is extreme.

As before, any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Yours Sincerely,"

I forgot to mention to her that I'd prefer not to be told told about the enhanced services available on the web-site when I'm on hold at their telephone exchange.  If I could avail of the enhancements, I  a) wouldn't have tried phoning and b) wouldn't be writing to her AGAIN!!!!!!


----------



## STEINER

I have received a refund from Eir < €30 o/s from last summer.  It was an ordeal to cease service and the refund chase was a worthy sequel. Something has changed and it has proved easier in 2021 using their social media. An agent rang me earlier this week, took my details and the refund was paid to me today.  I am free of Eir now.


----------



## Thirsty

Still not seeing an improvement.

Three mins of recorded messages on 1901 this morning, two lots of menu choices, followed by a message that the call centre is closed and re-opens on Monday! Goodbye! 

Gordon Bennet!


----------



## mathepac

How difficult can it be 

If (day = Friday & time > 18:00) or 
(day = Saturday or Sunday) or 
(day = Monday & time < 09:00)
then play "Closed Message"
else
play "We're Open Message
end-if

Does someone want to send this to Carolan


----------



## joer

I rang Eir on Thursday to question my phone bill. I got through as soon as the usual mumbo- jumbo was finished , in about three mins. I was talking to a guy and everything was going well until about fifteen mins later I got cut off. There was no call back of course. Yesterday I rang and got through in about the same few mins. I told this other guy the story , he said who had been dealing with my query and would email him to ring me . I did not get any call back. I got the usual follow up survey to complete which I did and said that I was not at all happy but this , I am sure is deleted so I will have to wait until my next bill arrives to see if I need to ring again. 
So the customer service is still very poor despite the promise of an improvement.


----------



## fidelcastro

mathepac said:


> How difficult can it be
> 
> If (day = Friday & time > 18:00) or
> (day = Saturday or Sunday) or
> (day = Monday & time < 09:00)
> then play "Closed Message"
> else
> play "We're Open Message
> end-if
> 
> Does someone want to send this to Carolan


Think there is a bug in your if statement... should the call centre be open Mon 9oc to Fri 1800, day and night?


----------



## mathepac

In short yes to your question, or otherwise, you spotted my deliberate mistake / bug (we used to refer to them as "undocumented features" back in history)! No point in giving Carolyn ALL the answers, make her work for a living!


----------



## jpd

Some options on the automated call centre number might operate 24/7 ?


----------



## Thirsty

What makes it even more frustrating is that I was told via on line chat, that my issue could only be resolved by a call to 1901. 

So anyone cheerfully leaving voicemail messages for me won't get a reply till the issue is resolved; and I have little hope that will be soon.


----------



## Thirsty

jpd said:


> Some options on the automated call centre number might operate 24/7 ?


It's easy enough to update the auto answer to say, call centres are closed, but you can resolve XYZ issues via website or whatever.


----------



## mathepac

But this is eir @Thirsty,  you can't,  even getting the web-site to finish the log-in process (to my own account) is a struggle.  "Whatever" may in time work better than their phone lines or web-site, but I've never tried it.


----------



## Thirsty

@mathepac - for my original issue, which is when I started this thread, I had to complain to ComReg to get it (sort of) resolved.

Eir continued to send bills & ignored my letters; in the end, I put 'Return to Sender' on the envelope and put it back in the post. Haven't had any since.


----------



## Leper

I'm going to give Eir some credit:- In their recorded answering service they state "Our Call Centre . . . " This is the first time in the history of the state that a Call Centre called itself a Call Centre. It's a first!


----------



## Thirsty

It gets even better.

Calling 1901 this morning, 10 seconds of silence and then disconnects.


----------



## mathepac

My latest commuiqué with our comrade, Carolyn, CEO of eir.

"Dear Carolyn,

I see you managed to ignore my last communication about my free Amazon Prime Video trial subscription, activated via my eir account. 

I asked in my previous email to you that you cancel it before it became a chargeable item.  I can't say I was too surprised to see the €5.99 charge appear on my latest bill.  I mean this is eir after all and you are the CEO who criticised her own staff publicly for the poor customer service.

In a vain attempt to be helpful, I contacted Amazon as well to cancel the free trial subscription. Guess what - I was referred to eir, the one time amazon has disappointed me customer service-wise in years!.

Please cancel my subscription and refund me the charges for it in my current bill and confirm that you have done so.  Common business courtesy etc.

Thanks"

That was on Tuesday, 2 days ago. Today I got a call from a male on Carolyn's staff, apologising for their oversight and promising me €20 credit off my next bill.

Now if only they'd deal with the lack of 4G locally, the slow broadband speeds late at night and the TV package the freezes, pixellates, and loses sound regularly.  OH and stop sending 5G ads.


----------



## Ciru75

Credit where it's due the odd time it happens. I rang them yesterday because the broadband wasn't working and 10am today, a guy called out and fixed it.


----------



## MrEarl

Every time that I see this thread getting bumped up, with the question:

Is eir the worst company in Ireland for customer service?​
the word "Yes" immediately springs to mind.


----------



## joer

Yes, yes yes they are.....the worst company for customer service.


----------



## Wahaay

joer said:


> Yes, yes yes they are.....the worst company for customer service.



Worser even than Vodafone and they're pretty bad.
In a lifetime of dealing with service companies Eir has been the very worst by a country mile.
If they ever write a book on how to trash a company's reputation it would be right up there with Gerald Ratner.


----------



## peemac

Ciru75 said:


> Credit where it's due the odd time it happens. I rang them yesterday because the broadband wasn't working and 10am today, a guy called out and fixed it.


we want photographic proof  

I also advise you to buy a lotto ticket as you are obviously extremely lucky


----------



## Ciru75

peemac said:


> we want photographic proof
> 
> I also advise you to buy a lotto ticket as you are obviously extremely lucky


I managed to get online to do the post up there didn't I?


----------



## roker

when I tried to contact them after a wait, there was a meesage giving me their web address to contact them to report it was down, trouble was my broadband was down so couldn't contact them. Don't they think of these things


----------



## Johnno75

roker said:


> when I tried to contact them after a wait, there was a meesage giving me their web address to contact them to report it was down, trouble was my broadband was down so couldn't contact them. Don't they think of these things


Yes. A bit like the time my fibre internet was down last year and I was directed to their Livechat, which I did (via my phone) only to be informed that Livechat was down.


----------



## joer

Three times I had to ring 1901 this morning to try and sort out my complicated bill, It was a lot more than  what was agreed. When I got on to billing they were not helpful so I asked to be transferred to the loyalty dept. No, I would have to ring again and press the relevant options. I did and that was a complete waste of time as this guy was not at all helpful , useless in fact. I rang a third time and got through to a guy who explained the problem and assured me that my next bill would be as agreed when my contract was negotiated originally. 
I was the best part of an hour trying to sort out a problem. 
Eir customer service has not improved at all.


----------



## Inspiron

I tried to log a fault with Eir yesterday but when I clicked on "*Report a fault*" on their support page, I got the following screen error message:

Our Log a fault form is currently unavailable​Our log a fault form is currently unavailable. If you would like to report a fault, please call us on *1901*.



The Eir Log a fault form is still *unavailable *today (16-Mar-2021). That is one way to avoid having a backlog of Customer issues to resolve.

There is no support email address provided by Eir, where an email could be sent to clearly describe a fault, with attachments of relevant screen snapshots, error messages, etc.

The Eir "Support" is obviously designed to stop Customer communicating problems to their support team. If people are not willing to wait hours for some support person to answer the phone, then their frustrated *Customers *(the ones who provide the money to pay their salaries), will not bother them.


----------



## Stephanno

I just called 1901 and they answered within 10 minutes. Did I fix my billing problem? I believe not.

They started to charge my account of 5.99 for Amazon Prime Video after 12 months of my activation, but according to the T&C of the Amazon Prime Video Offer if you have also the eir TV package, prime video is included until further notice.



			https://www.eir.ie/opencms/export/sites/default/.content/pdf/terms/amazon_prime_video_offer_terms_and_conditions.pdf
		

*eir TV Customers*

1)  The Prime Video Offer is available to new and existing eligible eir TV customers.
2)  eir will make Prime Video available complimentary to eligible eir TV customers until further
notice.
3)  You will only be entitled to receive the Prime Video Offer if you have an existing eir TV plan that has not been terminated or suspended.
4)  eir reserves the right to withdraw the Prime Video Offer for eir TV customers upon 30 days’ notice to you.
5)  Prime Video is included as part of your eir TV plan upon activation by you the Customer. Prime Video must be activated from within “My eir”.
Yet the agent on the phone was adamant that it's free only for 12 month.


----------



## twofor1

My current contract with Eir is up soon. 

Today I phoned and was advised my wait time would be 10 minutes so put the phone on speaker and went about my chores. 35 minutes later an agent answered, I asked what was on offer to renew, she asked me to hold for a moment and came back 10 minutes later offering to reduce my Eir Complete Broadband & Phone package from €69.98 monthly to €49.98 monthly.

That's a  discount of €20, for the last few years I have been getting a €25 discount. Promotions change the agent said, €20 is the best available now.

A pain having to make that call every year but still worth it for the €240 annual saving.


----------



## Ceist Beag

Based on my recent, rather bizarre, experience I think Eir have competition in this regard! I opted to switch to Vodafone a month ago (from Eir). After almost 1 hour on the phone going through the switching process (during which time I was repeatedly given a hard sell to add on the TV package which I had no interest in) the order was finally placed. Within a few days I had the Vodafone Gigabox in my hands. All good - or so I thought. The next few weeks passed during which time I assumed it was just due to the 30 day notice period for switching from Eir. Today I contacted Vodafone to check on the status (online I could see a status of Cancelled on my order, dated 12th March which confused me). After some delay I was informed that my order was indeed cancelled by Vodafone as they decided the service was not available in my area. When I questioned what service they were referring to, as I already have the very service I was looking for, just with a different provider, I got a confused sounding agent who just said "they" decided it was not available for me. When I asked who "they" were he replied another department!
When I asked what to do with the Gigabox he said "they" will probably have it collected at some point!
Honestly, maybe it's a good thing I didn't switch if that is the level of competence...

I subsequently contacted Eir to see if they can improve my current offering. They said my account is "broken" and that they have raised a ticket to fix it so they cannot offer my anything until a week from now by which time they hope my account will be "fixed". In the meantime it's probably better I don't know what exactly any of that means. 
Maybe Sky can be an improvement on both of these clowns...


----------



## RedOnion

@Ceist Beag 
Sorry, I had to laugh reading your post.

I had a similar experience when I first tried to get broadband. I have fibre to the home, but when I was trying to shop around all the providers told me it wasn't available in my area. Although I saw the lines being installed a few months prior, and one if the neighbours had it. It just hadn't been updated on a computer system somewhere that my Eircode was covered. Eir eventually said I could get it.

I've tried changing provider since, but nobody could guarantee that I won't have a break in service (of up to 7 days!) while I switch. Ended up agreeing a discount with Eir which I'm happy with until the same conversation next year!


----------



## Cervelo

Funny I just switched to Vodafone from Eir and the same thing happen to us!!
Vodafone for some unknown reason sent the router, set up the DD but then cancelled the contract
Only found out because Eir sent me a bill that I wasn't expecting
Contacted Vodafone, who couldn't give a reason as to why the contract was cancelled but said they would process it now 
And of course they then sent me out another router but at least they offered me a free month BB to ease my pain


----------



## Susie2017

An elderly relative is trying to leave eir for vodafone. She called them twice last week to see if she is out of contract. Each time they wouldn't answer the question but said they would call her back within 24 hours. No phone calls returned. What is the best way to get an answer on this ? How do we cancel her landline ?


----------



## mathepac

Write directly to the CEO at this email address carolan.lennon@eir.ie


----------



## joer

If Eir say that they will call back then they are supposed to call you back,  especially if  a call breaks down while on to them .  Some people are not aware of this. 
Make sure and put this in your email to Carolan.


----------



## DublinMarket

Yes agree with posters - unfortunately Eir still has difficulties when you phone.

Was on phone for 4 hours last week. It cut me off after 45 minutes and I had to start again . I persisted - and following day spoke to a live agent. He was unable to assist , 

he refused to provide a complaints options - said no email - no post options due to pandemic.!

I complained to ccm@eir.ie and received resolution after 2 further emails. I’m a happy customer again and will star for another year !


----------



## Eeyore

DublinMarket said:


> Was on phone for 4 hours last week.





DublinMarket said:


> I’m a happy customer again and will star for another year !


Wow! I wouldn't be staying with them after that.


----------



## Gordon Gekko

DublinMarket said:


> I’m a happy customer again and will start for another year !


Hi Carolan,

Welcome to AAM.

Regards,

Gordon


----------



## DublinMarket

The offer is saving me 250 euro


----------



## RedOnion

DublinMarket said:


> The offer is saving me 250 euro


Compared to Eir's standard charges I assume? How much would you have saved by switching elsewhere?


----------



## DublinMarket

Ha ha. I laugh. Poor Carol Ann. She’s earning her keep. At least she’s honest about bad service.

I don’t want promote Eir per se.

How much should one pay for bb/ mobile / basic tv / hone phone per month ?


----------



## Cervelo

DublinMarket said:


> How much should one pay for bb/ mobile / basic tv / hone phone per month ?



Broadband: €30 pcm
Mobile: €9.99 pcm
Basic Tv: Free, depends on what you mean by basic??
Home phone: Do you really need one if your mobile is unlimited??


----------



## Purple

DublinMarket said:


> How much should one pay for bb/ mobile / basic tv / hone phone per month ?


How much is 4-6 hours of your life worth?
Ask yourself that when considering the "What happens if I have a problem and have to call them?" question.


----------



## candor

Having been through similar with Eir and Vodafone with regard to poor customer service, it's hard to know what companies are any better. I'm currently with Three mobile broadband for internet and they have been ok to deal with for the most part, though they aren't very good at giving estimates for when service will be resumed when there is an outage. Thankfully that is a rare event.

I suppose it's a bit like the banks in this country, limited competition and poor service as a result.


----------



## DublinMarket

4 hours of waiting on phone saved me 240 euro with Eir- compared to the next cheapest competitor . Happy days ...


----------



## RedOnion

DublinMarket said:


> 4 hours of waiting on phone saved me 240 euro with Eir- compared to the next cheapest competitor . Happy days ...


Cheaper than competitor? Would you get on outta that!!!

can you answer your own question; how much are you paying for the following:



DublinMarket said:


> How much should one pay for bb/ mobile / basic tv / hone phone per month ?



I'm an Eir customer.  I've no complaints about them. But I know for a fact they're not the cheapest.


----------



## Johnno75

DublinMarket said:


> 4 hours of waiting on phone saved me 240 euro with Eir- compared to the next cheapest competitor . Happy days ...


That being as it may, just wait until something goes wrong and you need Eir’s help to get your broadband up and running. That’s when the real fun starts. I’d happily pay a premium for the knowledge that I can get through to a human easily and quickly and that they will resolve my issue expeditiously. Such was not my experience last year. 100% the opposite in fact.


----------



## DublinMarket

Correct not the cheapest of you are not on an offer.  Have you checked some of had switcher cost conpare sites. 

It’s against AAM rules to promote a partiular offer ...


----------



## RedOnion

DublinMarket said:


> It’s against AAM rules to promote a partiular offer ...


No it's not. If there's a particularly good offer there's nothing wrong with pointing it out to people.

It is against the guidelines to promote the products of your employer without declaring conflict of interest.


----------



## DublinMarket

I don’t work for Eir or represent them.  Google will answer any offer questions you want in this area.


----------



## RedOnion

DublinMarket said:


> Google will answer any offer questions you want in this area.


Google confirms that there are better offers from other providers.

Thanks for your input.


----------



## Cervelo

I think even the Meercats know that Eir is one of the most expensive supplies if not the most expensive in Ireland
Yes sure they do some good introductory offers but their standard charges are well up there
Looking at their website BB,TV,HP and sim is on offer for €49.97 but goes up to €99.97 12 months later
So my package of €39.99 Pcm saves me €719.76 when compared to Eir's standard pricing
Add Prime to my package. I'll save a little less but I'm still cheaper then their introductory offer


----------



## RedOnion

Cervelo said:


> sure they do some good introductory offers but their standard charges are well up there


You should see their staff offers!!!


----------



## Leo

DublinMarket said:


> It’s against AAM rules to promote a partiular offer ...



Only for those we don't yet trust!


----------



## Leo

DublinMarket said:


> 4 hours of waiting on phone saved me 240 euro with Eir- compared to the next cheapest competitor . Happy days ...



60 seconds on Bonkers.ie confirmed Eir are 33% more expensive than the cheapest rate in my area for the first year and 40% more expansive after that. A phone call confirmed they wouldn't beat those prices. 

Can you confirm what area you are in and what rate you are paying?


----------



## Purple

DublinMarket said:


> 4 hours of waiting on phone saved me 240 euro with Eir- compared to the next cheapest competitor . Happy days ...


If they are happy to let you wait for 4 hours to take your money just imagine how long they'll ley you wait after they have your money and you need their help to fix a problem.

Here's a slogan they can use, "Eir; life is too short to use them."


----------



## DublinMarket

Bonkers is just one offer site. They promote whichever company pays a commission as far as I see.

 Have you checked the ‘offers’ page on here. This is not an offers post. I expect it’s updately regularly. 

Please confirm the rule that allows users here to promote sites/ offers...


----------



## Leo

DublinMarket said:


> Bonkers is just one offer site. They promote whichever company pays a commission as far as I see.
> 
> Have you checked the ‘offers’ page on here. This is not an offers post. I expect it’s updately regularly.
> 
> Please confirm the rule that allows users here to promote sites/ offers...



Can you please answer the question on rough location and rate you are paying?


----------



## DublinMarket

I’m in Dublin ..

I understand this is not the correct page for offers and i’m mindful of AAM rules ..
Is there a page with all the comparison sites for updates on offers / recommendations? 

My separate post ‘give Eir a second chance’ regarding customer service was closed by Brendan and sent here ..


----------



## RedOnion

Leo said:


> Can you please answer the question on rough location and rate you are paying?


I also refuse to say how much I'm paying.
I would prefer to post to a website with affiliate links. And tell everyone my provider is cheaper, but without saying how much I'm paying!


----------



## joer

There was no need for two forums on the same subject, to be fair.
But why not answer the question


----------



## jpd

I just got a credit in my latest EIR bill of € 34.79 - for EU Calls refund credit - no idea what that was for but, hey!


----------



## RedOnion

DublinMarket said:


> the Eir offer for unlimited fibre broadband is €25.85 per month - 1 year - new customers ...


Is this the offer you got? Even though you were an existing customer?

Because you said earlier that you saved 240 compared to the next cheapest. So you should be getting it for less than a tenner a month for that to be true...


----------



## DublinMarket

Red onion. Best wishes with your 120 a year offer. Share it please with rest of the forum ? Alas you refused to share your own offer details previously... as I said my bb is less than 26 euro / month...  which is unavailable from any other provider in 2020 or 2021... 

I don’t just have bb - but no point to bore you with the details as comparison will be more difficult as we all have different package requirements.


----------



## Cervelo

DublinMarket said:


> I don’t just have bb - but no point to bore you with the details as comparison will be more difficult as we all have different package requirements.


Well you were the one to ask


DublinMarket said:


> How much should one pay for bb/ mobile / basic tv / hone phone per month ?



I find it odd that someone would come onto a site like this and boast about a great deal that they got but won't provide any details ?????

But it does remind me of a holiday many years ago that we were on, we did one of those day tours visiting the local attractions
and as usual we stopped off at a gift, local crafts type shop, you know the type where you have to haggle to get the best deal
Somebody on the bus asked the tour guide what would be an acceptable discount to expect when haggling
The tour guide said around 25 to 30 % would be the normal but she followed up with a little bit of advise I've never forgotten
"Never ask another person how much they paid for something as they will always have paid less or got a better deal than you"


----------



## SparkRite

DublinMarket said:


> Alas you refused to share your own offer details previously...



I suspect the 'humor' of @RedOnion 's post above was totally lost on you.


----------



## Leo

DublinMarket said:


> as I said my bb is less than 26 euro / month... which is unavailable from any other provider in 2020 or 2021...



Funny, when I phoned Eir that price wasn't available to me. €29.99 was the best they'd do for new customer on 150 meg plan. That's also the cheapest plan that Eir themselves are advertising at the moment even for non-FTTH plans,  If not staff then family discount? Wait, are you talking pre-VAT prices????


----------



## RedOnion

Leo said:


> Funny, when I phoned Eir that price wasn't available to me. €29.99 was the best they'd do for new customer on 150 meg plan. That's also the cheapest plan that Eir themselves are advertising at the moment even for non-FTTH plans,  If not staff then family discount? Wait, are you talking pre-VAT prices????


Leo,

I suspect its not FTTH. They had an offer via a 3rd party, 29.99 with 50 euro cashback.
It's not unheard of for Eir to match this themselves,  which works out at that price.

Meanwhile, Vodafone are currently offering 500Mb FTTH, with no install costs, for 30 per month at the moment.


----------



## Leo

RedOnion said:


> Leo,
> 
> I suspect its not FTTH. They had an offer via a 3rd party, 29.99 with 50 euro cashback.
> It's not unheard of for Eir to match this themselves,  which works out at that price.



I did go through their site to get a quote for a DSL package, but they still quoted €29.99 for that. Bonkers doesn't show cashback offers as far as I know, so not sure why DublinMarket are so disparaging of them not doing so when Eir don't either.



RedOnion said:


> Meanwhile, Vodafone are currently offering 500Mb FTTH, with no install costs, for 30 per month at the moment.



Yep, that's what I'm on


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## RedOnion

Leo said:


> I did go through their site to get a quote for a DSL package, but they still quoted €29.99 for that.


Yes, the official pricing is 29.99.
The cashback is a short term special offer via an 'aggregation' website that make commission on the sales. 

It’s only energy products that are subject to rules on price comparison sites, and even then only if the site seejs accreditation from CRU. There's are lots of sites without accreditation making commission on promoting service providers.


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## Brendan Burgess

To answer the question in the thread title: Yes!









						‘Appalling’: Eir was worst company for customers during Covid, survey finds
					

Report outlines company winners and losers in terms of customer experience this year




					www.irishtimes.com


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## mathepac

Strap yourselves in and prepare to be horn-swaggled.  It's not that I deliberately chose to ignore my own advice or that of the knowledgeable contributors, but I emailed this today:

_"Dear Carolyn,

I know I've written to you in the past and you got the rough edge of my keyboard about eir's products and customer service as experienced by me.

Relax please, this is a different type of communication and I want to commend you and your staff for the changes you have made.

I rang customer services today and after a relatively short wait, got through to probably the best technical services contact person I've ever encountered.  Much to my shame, I missed her name as I switched my phone from the speaker back to earpiece.

The lady who took my call was relaxed, courteous (not in any contrived, cringy way, but like the capable Irish-woman she is).  She was knowledgeable, patient, and well prepared for the call.  She was able to tell me I had an old modem/router and arranged for a new one to be dispatched to me during the call to avail of my fiber-to-cabinet connection. Modem delivery promised for two days hence as there are crews in the area.

She got my Apple TV reset and up and running pronto and it was a pleasure dealing with someone of her calibre. How many callers to a tech support line would volunteer that information?

As I experienced during this call, we, Irish businesses and people, have the ability to build and supply the best customer experiences in the world, particularly in the post-sales phase, critical to customer retention.

Well done to your colleague and thanks,

mathepac
Tel: eir 4G since last week."_


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