I think the problems with their call centre is that they are geared up to talk the average user who has no real computer or engineering skills, as soon as you try to tell them whats wrong they just get totally confused.
and
They really need an 'experts' call centre
Indeed. And there is.
In the industry it's referred to as technical support "levels", and this is generally three levels deep.
Thus...unfortunate punter calls up "level 1" and talks to a script reading monkey.
The idea is that when monkey gets confused, it can run over to its handler on the "level 2" desk and ask for a second opinion.
If "level 2" concurs with "level 1" that it's something that needs more investigation, the issue is then escalated up to "level 3", which is where the wizards who actually have the power to fix stuff live.
Now, in terms of communications etiquette, it generally goes something along the following :
- Level 3 wizards are generally too self-important to ever speak to any mere mortal in the world outside of their employer. Thus all communications to L3 is via L2, and thus via L1 for your average Joe.
- Experts/"Partners" etc., can generally get hold of a direct line to the L2 desk, and thus bypass L1. This is the case with most ISPs I've had the opportunity to deal with, apart from BT Retail (well, it varies a little depending which BT Retail product) . And it generally works well, because the L2 desk is generally staffed by people who've "been around" and thus doesn't take much to demonstrate the existence of an issue. L1 on the other hand suffers from a high attrition rate, and hence they all sound like newbies reading off a script, because they are !
If you get a co-operative monkey on L1 (rare !), you can be direct and try to ask to be put through to level 2. If they pretend not to know what level 2 is, you can also try the alternative terminology of wanting to "escalate the call".
However, the problem with BT and the far-east, is that they (allegedly) penalise the L1 monkeys if they escalate a call back to the UK (home of L2/L3 desks). Hence you get the vicious circle where it's difficult to bypass the un-necessary script lip-service.
As a business customer, you can generally try to leverage your BT Retail Account manager to poke a few people if you're really suffering, particularly if you're managed by the internal corporate team rather than "local business" SME sales droids.
As a residential customer .... well, either persevere, or scribble a missive to the CEO's office if you've had enough.