Alan Oakes

UK call centre makes all the difference for Zen customer

When asked about his experience with a previous broadband supplier, Alan Oakes gets straight to the point. “They were rubbish,” he proclaims.

And that frustration comes largely from difficulties in communicating with his supplier. “I had a problem with my emails,” says Alan. “I rang customer services and was put through to an overseas call centre. The problem was I couldn’t understand them, and they couldn’t understand me. I had a frustrating call where they weren’t interested in helping me. They just read from a script and tried to sell me an upgrade.”

“They finally passed me through to someone else, but it was difficult to get them to understand what I was saying too.”

“I Googled the ‘best’ internet suppliers,”

he says, “and that’s when Zen’s name came up. When I researched it became clear that their staff were based in Rochdale, and that’s what really swung it for me. I’ve never regretted making the switch.”

Finding a UK-based broadband supplier, with real technical experts at the end of the phone has made all the difference for Alan. “I’ll never switch to anyone else now”, he says, “however cheap they are”.

“They’re easy to understand, they have proper technical knowledge, and they don’t read from scripts.”

With Alan admitting to not being much of an internet expert, the improved service experience from Zen really is key. “I’m more of a photographer, I’m not an expert with the internet, so Zen’s service is really reassuring. I know their people can sort out any problems I might have.”

And while Alan has had little need to test that service over his five years with Zen, his recent experience has vindicated his decision. “I’ve hardly had any need to contact Zen until a few months back. At my last renewal, they lowered the price and sent me a new router. I couldn’t get the router set up properly, so I rang Zen and was told by the chap on technical support ‘our servers have gone down’. I said ‘no problem, I’ll try again tomorrow’, but he said ‘no… we’ll set things up manually for you’, and within five minutes it was up and running again. I just thought that was brilliant.

Summarising his experience with Zen, Alan has an interesting take.

“I used to have a Windows PC”, he explains. “But I had no end of trouble with it. I finally switched to Mac and have never looked back, and it’s like that with Zen. When I switched to Zen – once I found something really reliable – I never want to change again. Once you upgrade there’s no going back, but it’s not until you’ve experienced the bad that you really appreciate the good.”

As a keen photographer, Alan’s Zen connection is important to him. From updating software to streaming live photographic webinars and video tutorials, as well as using his connection to research new purchases, Alan simply says “I’ve never had a problem.”

But the thing he really stresses, the stand-out feature for Zen from his point of view, is the UK call centre.

“Whenever someone mentions that their internet provider is rubbish, I always recommend Zen. Even if it’s a few pounds more than what you’re paying, it’s worth it. Plus, you’re supporting a fully UK-based business and employees. I always try to buy local at the shops, even if it costs me a few pounds more, and while people can be easily sucked in by social media and TV adverts, I’ve just had a better experience with Zen.”

“Having someone there to help me when something goes wrong is all I’ve ever asked for. It was a total contrast with my previous experience.”