Terrible customer support with Sky Glass

[Jimbo23]

Has anybody else had the same issue that I have had today with Sky's customer support over Sky Glass.

I ordered a Medium Gen 2 model and had to wait a week for delivery. I took receipt of the order today but it was the wrong tv. Speaking to Sky they said I had to cancel my order, send the tv back, before reordering again.

However herein lies the issue...

I have been informed that I cannot reorder Sky Glass until I have returned the incorrect product which Sky sent by mistake, the earliest collection being 4 days from now, and then I have to wait 5-6 working days for them to check the product before they can mark the return as complete. Only then can I reorder Sky Glass and wait on yet another delivery of about a week.

This means that from placing my initial order, it is likely going to be approx 1 month before I actually receive the correct product.

I find it ludicrous that despite Sky acknowledging the mistake at their end that they cannot dispatch the correct model to be received at the same time they collect the incorrect one.

Ive been a Sky customer for over 12 years but I'm finding them harder to deal with as a company. If this was any other company I'd have a replacement sent out straightaway. 

One of the people I spoke to on the phone laughed and said this happens all the time!

[dino9898]

Welcome to the club of terrible Sky service! Last year ordered glass as didnt want sat dish on my new home. The home move was booked weeks in advance - they went and delivered to the wrong address - it ended up very messy. In the end got through to a team in Scotland who did sort evertyhing but it took over 10 days. I decided not to go with Glass in the end - which Im thankful for! And went with stream which is ok. But im using it less and less because pretty much everything I need is available through my Fire stick and Roku. Plus ongoing glitches make it painful. I wont be renewing come end of my contract next year. Standard sky customer support through the offshore call centres is truly terrible and I dread when I have to try call them. Stock answers with people who really dont have a clue what they are doing. But thats what you get when you try cut corners and look for cheap labour.

[Gavin+Noble]

I find that very odd. If your Glass needs replacing due to a fault as my first Gen Two did, then they simply brought a new set at the same time they took the faulty one away.

I would ring them back up tomorrow, mention this and ask why they can't do the same when they are the ones that messed up the order? 

[Jimbo23]

Thanks both for your replies.

I did ask them why they can't arrange delivery on the same day as collection and was told;

"because until we receive back the other tv, it won't let us add a new order without it being added to your account and you'll therefore be billed for 2 Sky Glass devices".

I tried to reason with them to issue a refund if that happened or do something with my account to prevent this happening, but everyone I spoke to said this wasn't possible.

I even tried speaking to a manager etc to see if they had the powers to do something but was told I couldn't speak to anyone and to email a complaint, which I have done.

I will try ringing them again tomorrow but after being on the phone for over an hour today and speaking to 4 different people with no joy, I'm not overly optimistic they'll do anything and I am instead facing a wait of approx 3 weeks for the return to be actioned, processed, reordered then delivered. 

[Gavin+Noble]

Good luck. Might be worth asking if they can process your delivered TV as being faulty instead of them marking it as you being sent the wrong one? That way they can do as they did with mine. You might not get anywhere but worth asking maybe? 

[Lawrence+cope]

Sky service used to be second to none...now it seems to be just none! I got shut of my TV contract some months ago after 24 years and now rely on Apple TV and a Fire stick through a TV with a six year guarantee. I utilise Now for the odd sky programme I can't get elsewhere but at least I can cancel without a long contract if I need to. Just check on Trustpilot if you need to see how far Sky has sunken to☹️.

[Jimbo23]

Spoke to Sky this morning..

Was told they cannot speed up the process of the return and replacement and cannot send out the correct model until after the other tv has been returned and graded.

They gave me a predicted turnaround time of approx 3 weeks.

I find this baffling. If I had purchased the tv from a high street electronics shop, I could have returned the item and has a new set within 24-48 hours. So why with Sky is it closer to 24 days, especially when the error was on their part not mine?

Not a happy customer! 

[Jimbo23]

Further to the above, forgot to add that I did mention them logging as faulty instead of a return but they refused to do this.

[2muchTV]

@Jimbo23 ...  my only suggestion is to consider voting with your feet/ wallet, as we have choices as to who provides our viewing and on which television set. 

If your heart is set on Sky Glass, fair enough, however,  for similar amounts of money to Sky Glass you might be able to get an even better TV by way of picture quality  e.g. my current 65"  OLED (incl soundbar & wireless subwoofer) was cheaper than the same size Glass.

Sky itself offers alternatives in the form of Stream and Now tv. 

Stream has been good, but when my contract is up in November, I will not be renewing as Now tv has what I need a little cheaper and without long contracts too. Now tv ultra boost (equivalent to Sky Whole Home) also means I can access  subscription channels  on any of the smart TVs around  my home home via an app.

[Gavin+Noble]

@Jimbo23 That really sucks. What a bizarre way to operate. Doesn't serve the customer at all. 

[Jimbo23]

Yeah I find it somewhat baffling that Sky operates in this way, especially as they pride themselves on their customer service and being a market leader. This seems like such a step backwards.

I have made a complaint to Sky and so hoping someone there may be able to do something when they call back, but I'm not hopeful.

I am contemplating cancelling the order altogether and buying a different TV altogether. My main reason for Sky Glass was the overall package and built in soundbar, is a pretty good deal for the price. 

[BenJoBanjo]

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@Jimbo23 wrote:

Yeah I find it somewhat baffling that Sky operates in this way, especially as they pride themselves on their customer service and being a market leader. This seems like such a step backwards.

I have made a complaint to Sky and so hoping someone there may be able to do something when they call back, but I'm not hopeful.

I am contemplating cancelling the order altogether and buying a different TV altogether. My main reason for Sky Glass was the overall package and built in soundbar, is a pretty good deal for the price. 

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Just make sure you fully understand what you're getting for the price. Glass may look and sound attractive but it is pretty restrictive if you decide to cancel the streaming TV subscription at any point in the future. It also only comes with a 2 year warranty. There are retailers which offer 5 and 6 year warranties for free on every TV they sell. Most proper smart TVs are much more flexible, allowing a choice of apps to be downloaded, most come with Freesat, Freeview or Freely built in. Some even allow you to record onto a USB flash drive.

If Glass is what you need then go for it - hopefully Sky will sort out your swap sooner rather than later and you don't suffer from the black screen issue that is currently plagueing many... 

Good luck! 

[Gavin+Noble]

@Jimbo23 I'm not going to disagree with @BenJoBanjo about exploring options. I do like Glass personally for the fact it meets my needs picture and sound wise. I like not having a separate soundbar - as we all know RV's generally come with pants speakers these days!

I would say try the Glass - you have 31 days to cool off I believe, so if you decide it's not for you then fair enough. Be aware though there would be a £25 collection fee to pay and you need to take lots of pictures and/or video before return in case of damage disputes. 

There is also an issue with some Glass TV's if both generations at the moment that we're awaiting a fix for. The issue is software/firmware related but there is no timescale for a fix. 

[Jimbo23]

@Gavin+Noble Thanks, that is my intention, to at least try it out before deciding. To be honest I'm not needing anything cutting edge, and so the Glass seems like a good compromise.

Reading online it's interesting to see such a mix bag of reviews. Some absolutely love it and others hate it. I guess the only way I'll know is when I finally receive one from Sky.

If I find it's not up to scratch though then I'll be sending it back and looking elsewhere. 

What are the issues you have run into with it? 

[Gavin+Noble]

@Jimbo23 On my Gen One the only issue I had was the one many had with speech going out of sync. That wasn't a problem on my Gen Two but for Gen One customers it was solved it seems by the last update. As I said though it does appear to have introduced a new problem with the screen going black at times - though the sound still plays. Sky are aware and are investigating. 

I and others have found that the stablest way to connect using via ethernet between the TV and router (turn off WiFi in settings if you do). On my old Gen One I lost connection multiple times using WiFi in the first week I had it. After getting an ethernet cable I've not had a problem with either TV. 

Glass met my needs at the time as I couldn't have Q installed how I wanted in my rental property. It's not an upgrade to Q, just a different beast. It has its pros and cons but I'm overall content with it. 

I understand why some dislike it and I'd never criticise anyone who does. All you can do is try it and if it's not for you then it's not for you!