Is tech support kept in the dark?

Question

I have had occasion to contact tech support several times in the last few months because my broadband connection kept dropping out.
Invariably there is a line test and I am told there is no fault and it must be something in my wiring or setup. On one occasion I was assured that my router was faulty and I needed a new one.
In fact, the problem has NEVER been a fault in my wiring or equipment and, every time, it has eventually been admitted that there was a fault in the connection to the exchange, with the server, or with engineers working on the line somewhere.
I have lost track of the time I have wasted running about the house connecting to different telephone points etc. or testing my router by connecting it to another computer on a second line. On one occasion I was without broadband for three weeks while BT pretended the fault lay with my equipment. As always, they eventually they had to put things right in their own equipment.
I have no complaint about the Indian support people - they are helpful, courteous and do their best in difficult circumstances. But why all this rigmarole every time? Why can't they get the real information first time and stop telling me everything is OK at the BT end when it never is?

Answer 1

Being in India, they only know what their computer tells them.  To make things worse, any problem is likely to be with either Openreach or BT Wholesale.  So they won't even have direct access to the people who would know what the fault is.
Also, like most call centre workers, they are rated on how quickly they deal with customers.  Making copius notes on what was tested and what the customer said the problem was is time consuming.  It's quicker just to tell the customer it'll be fixed in 48 hours, and then move on to the next caller.  If you say it in a believable voice, the customer won't know they have been duped until it's too late.