Bulldog: "You Deserve Better"

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It may be on the verge of launching a 20Mbps ADSL2+ connection, but UK ISP Bulldog has admitted there are fundamental troubles with its existing services.

In the last week it issued a blanket letter to all customers to address the well documented and wide ranging complaints it has received in the last 12 months. Bugbears include delayed connections, dropped lines, erratic billing and horrific waiting times for technical support.

In one of the most candid formal addresses I can remember, the ISP admitted it was “acutely aware that some Bulldog customers have been disappointed with the level of customer service they have received from us. Due to the huge demand for our services, we have not always been able to meet all our customers’ expectations, especially during the connection process”. It took a separate paragraph to simply write: “I am really sorry about that. You deserve better.”

Throughout the rest of the strongly worded apology the company repeatedly stated phrases such as “We are going to do better” and “we are working hard”, concluding “It will be get better. I promise you that”.

In one interesting line Bulldog states “In the next few weeks, our focus is going to be entirely on meeting your needs”. Which makes me think: Why not now? and What have you been focused on for the last 12 months? As a ex-Bulldog customer I can tell you waiting times of more than two hours were not uncommon, whilst Sales could always be contacted in under a minute. “Greed”, I think they call that?

All of which is a great shame. Bulldog was an excellent company with superb customer support and the first to usher 4Mbps speeds to the general public, but it appears to have lost its way since the takeover by Cable and Wireless. With the UK broadband arena skyrocketing it is easy for ISPs to forget the business practices which established them in the first place. We sincerely hope, following this letter, that Bulldog starts to remember theirs…

Update:
HomeChoice looks set to beat Bulldog by being the third UK provider to begin an ADSL2+ service. Bulldog had been rumoured to go live with its offering shortly behind first placed Be Unlimited and second placed UK Online.

Link:
Bulldog Broadband

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