C&WC faces angry customers

Cable & Wireless Communications (C&WC) is once again in the firing line following accusations of poor customer service - this time from a leading software firm.

The UK arm of Great Plains Software, the US financial and human resources software company, in July asked C&WC to install 15 ISDN30 channels at its new premises in Poyle, Berkshire. Great Plains was told the work would take eight weeks, and started planning the move from its older premises.

However, barely a week before the move was due to take place, Great Plains was told that in spite of assurances over several weeks, the order had in fact never been received properly by C&WC due to a problem with the order input system.

Neil Robertson, Great Plains UK managing director, told Silicon.com: "It's been chaos. We're completely based on ebusiness, and all our systems are digital, so we need these services to operate."

Robertson said the country's largest cable operator admitted nine different departments involved in processing the order had experienced problems communicating with one another.

C&WC was officially formed in April 1997 when Cable and Wireless' Mercury Communications merged with Videotron, Bell Cablemedia and Nynex. One of the most publicised integration problems C&WC has faced is the creation of a mega-call centre, but other customer-related problems have been in and out of the press.

At this year's Telecoms Managers Association event C&WC chief executive Graham Wallace faced the music. He admitted: "I'd be lying if I said I was proud of our customer service. All the technology in the world is a waste of time unless you accompany it with good service."

The £1.8bn, ten-year outsourcing deal struck with IBM Global Services last month is intended to go a long way to resolving C&WC's internal problems. But despite the deal's record-breaking size, it is unlikely to solve all the cable company's problems, according to experts.

Robin Duke-Woolley, principal analyst at telecoms consultancy Schema, said: "Customer service is not concentrated on enough in the industry, but now we're getting into more complicated technologies such as IP services, it's good to see companies like C&WC realising there are problems."

C&WC declined to comment on the Great Plains case.