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If you are wondering why your service with VOOM may have not been a pleasent one here's why:

Why Customer service Represenatives (CSA) aren't very smart.
VOOM subcontracts itself to three call centers in the US, 2 in Spokane (Customer service), and one in San Antonio (Sales). When VOOM started there was a big to do and all the Customer service represenatives were trained by VOOM, Motorola, and Convergys (The company who created the software your account is on). Later classes were taught by people who were on the service floor (regular CSA's) and so on. You do know after a while what happens when you make a copy of a copy of a copy. One of the latest classes failed and only a few were able to barely pass to go on the floor.


What happens on the VOOM floor
What the main Clients of VOOM does not know is that a regular CSA does not get treated very well. A regular CSA gets paid $7.50 an hour no commision. All that got taken away because San Antonio would lie just to get that $5 per sale bonus. We do happen to get a bonus, but it is based on Quality Assurance scores. Things like "must say customers name twice" and must ask "Did I take the right steps towards a resolution for your concerns today?" You also have to resovel all things in a timely matter, in other words do what you can to get the customer off your phone. This next one is hillarious because the computers we work on oare slower than molassess in January. You must wrap your call in a certain amount of time "select all the screens to close call like 5 or 6, fill in your customer comments, close work order screens etc... On a busy day this is impossible since you want to make sure you have done everything within West's (the call center) guidelines before you complete a call. One Quality assurance score just below the average and you lose your whole bonus for that whole pay period. That is also where you get CSA who don't care, they already lost their bonus. If you do happen to get a bonus they raise the standard so you wont get one next week.

The different Channel providers sends mini gifts and prizes for the CSA's to take home. We barely see them. The call centers Program managers horde them in their offices and the el cheapo prizes may end up getting handed out.

Program managers best thing to do is make sure a call center employee is either stressed out or bored out of their skull. 4 out of 5 times their answer is to blow off the customer. Mostly since we are not provided the right information to tell customers, because the client does not want us to tell the customers, so we don't know what to do or say, or they don't know and don't want to look dumb. These are the people who you do not want to request for a supervisor call. If you are caught talking to your neighbor or watching one of the many TV's on the floor, they will come over and ask one of many break up what your doing questions like, "What's going on here?" Then later your team leader will come over and talk to the team with a new you can no longer do this rule. When the clients come to visit and ask questions. The program managers will ask the CSA's who are so far up the program managers heiney to talk to the clients to hide what the regular CSA feels. The program manager does not care who you are, escpecially the one who is yonger than most of the agents on the floor, and normally resorts to some sort of buisness lingo script like "we would like to keep you as a valued employee."

There is not enough agents on the floor. They either get fired for not knowing what they are supposed to be doing, Quality Assurance scores, Being so frustrated at their team leader/ program manager they act out, or they quit. Mostly the latter. West doesn't feel it need to add that much more agents to the floor. There is never a real promotion most people are not there long enough, and there isnt any raises. Before January 2004 we were being paid $8.50, a dollar more than this year. Being so, I hear complaints from the other departments, escallations, emails, and such for being dragged off from what they are doing so that there are more floor support. on top that they make us, including escallations and emails, do so many side projects for the comapny, like now with the cutting off service and calling those with rejected payments. Thank whoever finally decided to allow customers to send in checks now.

Supervisor calls are useless. Supervisors have the same amount of power as the CSA does to solve an issue. They can not press your service call any faster. the software does not allow it. The only reasons CSA's ask them for advice on credits because certain CSA's got fired for giving $300 in one day. If you need to be resched because some installer never show up you will not be given any more than $25 credit which will go to your account. No credits will be refunded to customers, so if you cancel that credit disappears. The only beneficial thing about a Sup call is if you order the equipment on EBAY. if you did let the CSA go through their little schpeal about we cannot accept any hardware... then ask for a supervisor. More than not they will escallate your issue and you may get installed, but don't count on it

By the way The program managers say there is no real problem with firmware 726. They will not escallate your issue. That is a load


When ordering VOOM

The best thing to do is order online. this way you know what you are getting.
Never beleive anything San Antonio promises you unless it is on the website. VOOM Never promises the reception of local channels. They must be in digital. It is received by an off air antenna and scanning software. you cannot hook cable into the receiver. You cannot use existing hardware from another provider. Keep in mind SALES DEPARTMENT they will still lie to get you signed up however some of it may not be lies. They are either non intelligent enough because they will call and ask Customer support easily answerable questions or too stupid to look it up in the informational program "VOICE" by hitting search.

VOOM has no plans at this time to provide your local channels throgh satellite. to do so is more than flipping a switch. it takes a long time to get a contract signed to pick up any channel. Including adding ABC NBC CBS east and west coast feeds. When you go to request any other channel do no call, write or email VOOM. You will be talking to deaf ears and your request is not kept on file AND will be thrown away or forgotten. Even if we have a channel like Nickelodeon it is not like we have Nicktoons waiting on the back burner. VOOM may of not been able to negotiate for that channel. Remember it costs both sides just to broadcast that channel. VOOM is doing just fine and is gathering enough customers with or without such and such channel or feature you request or require, so saying you are losing customers and more customers would sign up if..... will be heard by deaf ears.

Never order for the 21 exclusive channel's movies VOOM is still growing and it takes a while to aquision new material especiallly in HD. If you want movies order one of the pluspacks. VOOM does not have al la carte programming where you choose only a certain specific channels you want. and will not buy in your old equipment or discount on anything that is not in the special offers.

Never use a debit card. VOOM does not have the contracts to accept debit cards correctly. It will appear as a double charge. Do not bother calling VOOM, they do not have that double charge nor can they refund it back to you or have your bank release the holds on the funds for that second charge. It is only a hold and will roll back into your bank account. It is an inconvenience but VOOM states do not use a debit card. Even if it has a Visa or Master card logo on it if it is teid to your bank account it is not a credit card.

Installers suck. VOOM goes through Installs Inc, voted the third worst installation subcontractors. Always try and set up on a day you have off because there has been many times where an installer does not show and the customer took time off from work. Don't expect to be installed that week it may take 7 days it may take 3 weeks especially since it is the holidays. If it was you who signed up you must be there, not your child, spouse, baby sitter, neighbor, etc or you will get rescheduled another 7 days or further. Do not sign anything until you know the system is working. if the installer wants to take off really quick, or states "this is my first VOOM install" make sure it is working. There are many funny and scary install horror stories but out of respect for the customer I will refrain from saying it here.

never ask sales how many customers VOOM has it is a lie because, due to security and priacy VOOM will not tell it's customers how many customers VOOM has. No CSA at VOOM has a timeline or price for the new DVR if you are given one you have been lied to. The DVR will be advertized before the VOOM CSA will get the correct information. All thanks to the program managers.

VOOM Email

This Is a following set of complaints I have heard by the supposed Email and Chat team. VOOM's Clients want them, however The program managers don't. They are bean counters and they cannot tract the email team's production correctly. so they do what they can do to disrupt them from doing their job take them away from doing emails and chats. pile them with many other side projects and regular calls. Yes, they are being paid $7.50 just like the rest of us. Email and chats used to be one team in Spokane but split into 3. The first Spokane team was again taught how to write an email and how to use the system correctly by the people who wrote the software. Once again San anotnio does not have a clue what they are doing. their emails are blocky incorrect and they bug the Spokane team with a barage of simple questions. The Spokane team cannot touch sales emails anymore those were taken away, so were sales chats. The Spokane team complains that they had enough work to do but then they gave away their work to two other stations. San Antonio plays ping pong with emails that are non customers because they dont know the answers. They are promptly sent back to sales. If you are a customer your best bet is to email Spokane than to call in unless you are having a technical problem or anything that requires them to call you. The program managers are more worried about the phones than chats, so you may have long waiting times with chat or not talk to anyone at all. They stuck The Spokane team on slow computers that don't work correctly for the work that they do since their team leader is away. I haven't heard more complaints about their job from those three teams than anything else on VOOM.

There is a lot more I will add in the near future but for now here's a taste of why you may get non inteligible, surly, non answer canned responses from contacting the call centers that represent VOOM....

I still work for them but not for long I had enough of being on the phones getting paid to do three times what I signed up for. I have not seen anyone from my VOOM training class in a long time (they've been recycled out) West feels that It doesn't matter what happens to you or how you feel or how long you've worked there. There is always someone else who they can pull off the street to do your job, even if they do not get the training you did.