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.