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Communications company Eir has blamed remote work, downsizing and IT challenges for disrupting its customer service operations.
During the pandemic, some customers complained of having to wait for periods of more than an hour to speak with customer service personnel.
Last week, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan met with Eir and Vodafone to express their dissatisfaction with the customer service of both companies.
Eir will appear today before the Oireachtas Communications Networks Committee.
Executive Director Carolan Lennon will tell TDs that Eir experienced several challenges during the pandemic.
For many staff members, working remotely proved problematic.
Working from a shared apartment, dorm, kitchen, or busy home with young children wasn’t what they signed up for, according to the CEO.
As a result, between March and July this year, Eir lost 80 employees, who, according to the company, could not be replaced due to restrictions.
Remote working meant that problems with staff computers couldn’t be resolved quickly, and teams often had to be sent by courier to their IT teams.
Average call wait times reached half an hour for customers who called Eir. This compares with waiting times of five minutes before the pandemic.
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Eir’s customers ‘stranded in the cold’ as complaints rise
In her opening statement, Ms. Lennon says that the company is working to resolve these issues.
It has hired 120 employees since restrictions eased after the first wave of Covid-19 and average call wait times are now ten minutes.
A committee member has said he will seek an explanation as to why there has been “such a poor response to inquiries to Eir.”
Clare Senator Timmy Dooley said he has heard from voters who, after contacting the company regarding an issue, “have not heard from them.”
Mr. Dooley said that this situation has been totally unacceptable.
Some rural villagers have also told him that while they are located close to Eir’s broadband services, in some cases less than 30 meters from a connection point, “Eir has no plans to connect these people.”
Senator Dooley said we really need to find out why they haven’t and why they can’t.
In her opening statement, Ms. Lennon says she would like Eir to be able to connect these clients, but “the witness has turned himself in to NBI [National Broadband Ireland]”.
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