Virgin Media backtracks after customer email gaff
by Steven Mostyn - Jan 17 2012, 04:24
Image: Virgin Media.
A bout of sloppy emailing has this week seen Virgin Media giveth, Virgin Media taketh away, and Virgin Media giveth again—but without quite the same degree of barnstorming generosity.
More pointedly, Virgin Media UK customers attached to the online provider’s 30Mbps connection package yesterday received an official email notifying them of a free upgrade to the top-flight 120Mbps package.
However, that wondrous gift was promptly wrestled from their grasp after Virgin realized its gaff and issued another mail explaining that the free upgrade notification was only meant for customers signed up to the 100Mbps service. Feel the burn.
“We understand that some of you have received an email tonight mentioning that you currently receive 100Mb broadband, when you don’t,” wrote Virgin Media forum manager Mark Wilkin in an official apology for the hiccup.
“We’re sorry, but we sent this email in error to some of our customers and we apologize for the gremlins on our email system,” he added.
Said gremlin, in this particular case, is shaped like Virgin Media’s executive director of customer care, Mark Davidson, who’s apparently responsible for dispatching the flurry of rogue emails.
Although many 30Mbps package holders have been left disappointed, the blow has been lessened somewhat by news that their existing connection ceiling will be elevated to 60Mbps (for free) in the next few months.
Announced as part of Virgin Media’s drive to significantly improve some of its standard connection packages, the promotion will also result in customers on 50Mbps being pushed to 100Mbps, and then later nudged up to 120Mbps. Again, for free.
Comment on this Story