Customer waits nine days for Sky TV repair, generic email warns of five-day delays

Access denied: The error message that derailed the Auckland customer's Sky decoder, sparking his nine-day bid to get it resolved.

A long-time customer was left without Sky TV for nine days after a delayed customer helpdesk response - which involved an email warning of delays due to the high number of help requests.

Sky said a typical response would be next-day, but also acknowledged that the rollout of its new Sky Box had increased the number of calls to its helpdesk.

The customer, who lives in Auckland, says he emailed Sky TV after his decoder’s hard drive failed - and received an email saying “We are experiencing higher than normal volumes. We’re working through queries as fast as we can, but it may take longer than usual (up to 5 working days) to get back to you ... chat services are also impacted.”

In the event, it took almost twice that long. Sky dispatched a technician to the customer’s home on the ninth day, after a query from the Herald.

A response from Sky to the Herald referenced the broadcaster’s new Sky Box, which suffered several glitches during its initial rollout. Sky kept its upgrade programme low-key to give it breathing space to address bugs with software upgrades. With the Sky Box now match-fit, the firm had begun actively promoting the new hardware to all its customers.

“This is increasing the volume of queries to our call centre as new and existing customers get set up and familiarise themselves with how to navigate the new system and make the most of its features.”

“The good news is that we are finding we are now able to support customers to effectively enjoy their new Sky Box.”

The spokeswoman said that if the Auckland customer had called Sky’s helpline, he should have got through in about three minutes - the current average wait time. A technician could have been sent the following day.

The customer said he had been given the impression Sky preferred that he contact the helpdesk by email. He forwarded the Herald an email from Sky that read, in part: “We are experiencing higher than normal volumes ... As our phone line and chat services are also impacted, we’d really appreciate you keeping those lines of contact free for urgent queries.”

In March last year, Sky confirmed it was cutting 80 local customer care roles (and 170 NZ-based roles overall) as it offshored positions to the Philippines and India.

The firm said the restructure would see a net gain in its helpdesk operation as 200 new roles are created in the Philippines and 100 support roles (from the former 180) were retained in NZ to deal with more complex queries.

The Auckland customer, who has been a Sky customer for more than 15 years, said he was considering cancelling his subscription due to his struggle to get a response. But he said he was ultimately impressed by how fast Sky addressed his issue once it was finally on the firm’s radar. He received a refund on his monthly bill for his lost screen time. He said he was now happy to stick with Sky.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.