Virgin Media O2 sets up specialist team for difficult customer care issues as part of service overhaul

Virgin Media O2 has launched a dedicated UK-based customer service team to handle its complex support cases (file pic).

This follows Ofcom’s investigation into the hijgh level of customer complainst about Virgin Media O2 customer care and which last month announced a plan to double its investment in customer service.

The company increased the number of call agents to 9,000 and provided additional training, aiming to resolve issues more efficiently. They reported that, as of December, complaints had reached their lowest levels since 2017, with 92 per cet of complaints resolved within 24 hours.

The new team, based in Manchester, is made up of more than 500 agents, including 250 new hires and 280 existing staff who have undergone additional specialist training. The team has been tasked with managing critical and sensitive customer needs from bereavement support to telecare services and cases involving vulnerable customers across Virgin Media’s broadband, landline and TV services, and O2’s mobile network.

The move is part of the operator’s strategy to overhaul customer service, announced last month. The strategy focuses on simplifying systems and processes, investing in training and technology, and addressing recurring customer pain points.

The team will be operational seven days a week –8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 6pm on weekends and will handle customer issues across all contact channels, including phone and digital, covering both brands in a single interaction. Early results average call wait times of under a minute.

Virgin Media O2 has faced significant customer service performance issues. According to Ofcom’s report covering July to September 2023, Virgin Media was the most complained-about broadband provider, with approximately 32 complaints per 100,000 customers nearly double that of the next provider, NOW Broadband, which had 18 complaints per 100,000 customers.

Virgin Media topped the list for landline and pay-TV complaints during the same period. The primary issues were difficulties customers faced when attempting to cancel services.

Alan Stott, Director of Customer Contact at Virgin Media O2, said:

“We’re committed to improving customer service, and while the vast majority of our customers are satisfied, we won’t be satisfied until we’re delivering consistently exceptional, market-leading service. The launch of this new dedicated team is a key milestone, with over 500 multi-skilled and fully converged agents backed by the latest technology delivering tailored customer service in some of the most challenging cases. This team will become a blueprint for customer support across the company.”