Eir, the biggest telecommunication provider in the State, seems adept at apologies, much as the scenario presented before a Dublin court suggests. However, the apology often appears to be for being busted rather than acknowledging consistent customer service shortfalls. Despite numerous apologies and promises to enhance its operations via system upgrades, new staff, among other upgrades, Eir’s standing among the State’s worst customer service providers remains unshaken.
A 2021 update to its complaints policy – prompted by increased complaints mostly due to the pandemic’s endless call waiting times – revealed some ‘interesting’ modifications. A Dublin district court learnt that the firm instituted new regulations that effectively curtailed customers’ ability to register complaints. Worse still, these complaints were seldom recorded or addressed.
Court proceedings disclosed that Eir’s parent company, Eircom, had issued its employees with manuals instructing them to disregard Irish regulations pertaining to customer complaints. These instructions, which anticipated disciplinary actions for non-compliance, went as far as denying customers access to the complaints hotline or webpage.
The company structure’s ambiguity has left unresolved the identities of those who composed and authorised the controversial manual. Similarly, the lack of pressure from the regulator, ComReg, to disclose such crucial information has left many puzzled, as this could have provided greater insights into the company’s problematic culture.
Last year’s statistics indicate that Eir’s primary owners – French tycoon Xavier Niel and two New York-based hedge funds, have over the past five years drawn dividends amounting to €1.85 billion from the organisation.
One can’t help but wonder if these owners deemed regulatory adherence costs to outweigh the penalties for contravention. One such penalty entailed a measly €750 fine for each of 10 charges to which the company pleaded guilty.
While Eir maintains that its practices have evolved and are now fully compliant with laws, the underlying concern is a repeated pattern of non-compliance.