The Daily Novel

It is now a week since I wrote my last blog. I have been dealing with giant companies who do not seem very sensitive to my needs. The big advantage of the free market is that it offers consumers a choice. But what I am impressed by is the sameness of big companies. Both www.bt.com and www.npower.co.uk tell me that ‘Your call is important to us.’ And then they keep me hanging on for hours, listening to automated messages. When I send emails of complaint they send me automated responses telling me my complaint is being dealt with. BT tells me it is their policy to deal with complaints in two working days. But it is well over two weeks since I wrote my first email of complaint to BT.

And they still have not connected my telephone line in London, ordered on 12 July for delivery on 1st August.

Worse than that they have not given me any explanation as to why they have not connected the line in my London flat, which is a BT line.

Yesterday afternoon I thought that I was at least getting somewhere with npower.co.uk. After doggedly hanging on from my mobile I got through to a human being. And kept them talking about why they were making a second threat to cut off my gas supplies. They still insisted, as they had done six weeks ago, that they could not trace the payments I had made to them, because they had so many bank accounts. They said I would have to talk to my bank and give them the details.

Happily I only had to listen to three responses from Smile, before I got a human being, who gave me a few numbers. I rang npower back and miraculously got through to another human being. Who told me at last that they could now verify my payments, but that before they withdrew their threat I would need to run downstairs and find the number of my gas meter. By that time I was at my daughter’s house and ringing from there. But I promised to do it as soon as I got home. Which I did and was kept hanging on for 35 minutes of automated responses before their closing time of 6 PM. (Yes, I did try their oft repeated offer to ring me back. But it does not work with mobile numbers!)

But what was finally admitted by npower yesterday is that they are trying to charge me for two flats at my new address in London. So yet another company is involved, www.parkheath.com, the estate agents who are responsible for managing the flat I am renting. So I still do not know whether the supply npower is threatening to turn off is for my flat, or another flat in the building. I alerted Parkheath to this problem way back in May.

Neither of these companies is guiltless. And I intend to pursue my complaints to each of them, until these matters are sorted out.

But tonight I realise that there is an even graver problem. Many, perhaps most, big companies, are slavishly following the curruntly accepted norms of how companies should deal with their customers.

Lots of soft soap, like ‘Your call is important to us.’ but a total failure to put things right.

What is even worse is that these values and practices are spreading to the university sector. Today I had to go in for a meeting at City University. It related to a consultation exercise. (The message to staff is your views are important to us. In fact university staff are punch drunk with consultation exercises. And this particular document reversed all the essential features of a similar exercise three years ago, which many staff opposed, but the management implemented.)

So www.city.ac.uk should take note of this. And particularly the new vice-chancellor, Professor Malcolm Gillies. He will have to take note of the views of the large companies who provide some funding. But he will also need to consider whether a decent university should slavishly follow these current corporate fashions.