Prior to the Visit
1. As part of an order we requested on-site contact details. These are an important contact for any engineer, not least if they are struggling to locate you. It’s imperative that this contact is on-site and that they can answer the phone straight away. Where engineers are directed to a switchboard or IVR (press 1 for…) they may not necessarily know who to turn to. As such only direct dial numbers or mobiles are recommended. If you believe the on-site details to be unsuitable tell us ASAP to amend them.
2. Make as many people as possible aware of the visit, including reception. Far too many engineer visits are terminated because the engineer attends and those who greet them weren’t aware of the visit and who is looking after it. Don’t fall foul of this as abortive engineers will delay the installation / fault fix and incur additional charges.
3. If your building is difficult to locate, then make us aware of this. We can place additional notes for the visiting engineer to reference.
4. Keep an eye out for Openreach engineers and approach any engineers who seem lost. Your guidance may ensure that their visit isn’t aborted.
5. Make sure that parking is available. Your engineer will attend in a van, so making the process of locating a parking space will be appreciated.
6. Make sure you know where the phone line needs to be located. The engineer needs to be told this when they arrive.
7. Clear any furniture that may obstruct the engineer completing their work.
8. Engineers have a limited time per install. Business broadband ONT install is restricted to 1 hour. If you can guesstimate that the time taken to reach the installation location line may involve more than 2 hours work (eg the length of the line is quite a distance, or walls need to be drilled) then make sure you tell us in advance. We can be sure to warn you of any potential additional costs, but more importantly we can authorise additional hours for the engineer to complete their work.
Guide to Openreach Engineer Visits
1. Don’t necessarily trust what they say. Some engineers have a habit of telling you what you want to hear and can’t substantiate their claims. If in doubt, quiz them or call us whilst the engineer is on-site.
2. If an engineer claims to have completed work – test it prior to allowing them to leave, don’t just take their word.
3. If you feel that the engineer is brushing you off, or you are unhappy with their responses, put them on the phone to us. We can have a technical conversation with them and we will persuade them to reconsider if necessary. Once they have left, there is nothing we can do to get them back, short of booking another engineer visit.
4. Offer them a cup of tea. Keeping an engineer happy is sometimes a good way to ensure a professional service is delivered. Sadly there are some that want to complete their jobs as quickly as possible. Keeping them on-site longer can be a good way to ensure a full service is delivered correctly.
5. Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask what they have done.
6. NEVER leave them unsupervised.
7. Unhappy with their work and attitude? Ask them for their name, and note their vehicle registration number. We can reference this in any complaints that we raise and ensure that poor performances are referenced.
