"Push 0 to speak to an operator please...push 1 to confirm that you want to speak to an operator.This is just one message one gets when one calls Vodafone New Zealand. That is, after waiting through minutes of press this button if you want to talk to Abdul from accounts or stand on a chair with your arms in the air to speak to Zagrib from the "help desk".
If you are lucky one might get an operator whose first language is English, if you get connected to the right person or don't get cut off first. If you get your problem sorted out you would be as lucky and happy as some sort of pig in high quality mud but rarely does this ever happen.
"Someone will call you back" is a typical answer to your problem but rarely do they call you back and if they do you usually end up speaking to the knuckle dragger you first spoke to 30 minutes before, when you were still a human being and not some crazed homicidal maniac pushed to despair by Ranjeet in a smelly call center in outer Delhi somewhere.
I don't know why I have been with Vodafone so long, they have treated me like a smelly turd since joining them (they were OK when I first went with them 5 long years ago) after I ditched the hapless Telecom NZ [TEL.NZ] Mobile.
A long list of crimes (some of them absolute clangers) against the customer over the years finally led me to the novel notion that I really should think about giving Vodafone the big middle finger (like they have to me) and look for another mobile provider.
The clincher was a few days ago when I wondered to my good self why I wasn't getting a paper account.
Apparently they decided that customers didn't need them and they were binned 4 months ago.
That is sort of OK but when I called them to ask for paper copies to check their billing they told me they would charge $5 a statement (funny I didn't get a discount of $5 per month for NOT getting a paper account) and I said (with eyebrows arched for emphasis) that wasn't acceptable to me.
At the same time I wanted to provide them with a new credit card number so I could pay my account regularly, after asking two weeks ago for the correct (paper) form so I could do so, only to be told by the knuckle dragger a few days ago that we don't provide paper versions, only electronic ones. Didn't get either one even though they said they sent them.
Last time I had to change my credit card number it took a year (I kid you not - and yes I stayed with them, so more fool me) to sort it out.
Going back to a few days ago I asked to speak to a "supervisor" and she was worse than the first line of attack and then I asked to speak to her boss.
"This is the end of the line for you Mr Rickard, I cant let you do that, my bosses do not accept calls from customers."
A little voice in my head repeated "This is the end of the line Mr Rickard..."
It was, I have signed up with 2 Degrees Mobile, it was easy, quick, funny (in a good way) and it is cheaper to boot.
"Please press 0 to speak to a real person...this call maybe recorded so we can make the next one even better..."
That message is from 2 Degrees and you don't even have to wait!
Customer service in this country is bad with a capital S for Shite and the worst part of it is that people like me don't do anything about it. We sit back like sheep and take it well and truly up the bottom.
I recommend if you are getting poor service to bloody do something about it.
You might feel much better, like I do.
You might think that Vodafone would learn from their own history. As the mobile minnow back in the 1990s to Telecom's service, everyone thought they didn't have a chance. With superior service (yes the dreaded "s" word) Vodafone managed to claw the number one place in mobile in New Zealand. Now their feeble attempts at service will have the opposite effect in time and good companies like 2 Degrees are going to be there to take up the slack.
Footnote: On Saturday I received a credit card form in the mail. Nice touch but I called Vodafone Saturday morning to officially say good-buy.
Footnote 2 : I have received an account every month from Vodafone since April and I am no longer a customer - I apparently owe them $14.59 but they wont discuss what it is for so I wont pay it!! I have spent less than $40 with 2 Degrees since switching vs $300 it would have with Vodafone. 20/7/2010
Related @ Shareinvestor
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Vodafone NZ on Twitter
c Share Investor 2010
And you did not even mention the outrageous charges compared to 2degrees.
ReplyDeleteI made the swap from Vodafone to 2degress about 3 months ago and love it.
You also forgot to mention the extra credit you get for electronic top-ups online, and the number portability so you can take you vodafone number with you. Off memory I think they even gave me extra credit for bringing my old number over.
So many reasons to be with 2degrees than vodafone. Glad you caught up with the rest of us :-)
Soon you will be copying me and switching away from "Tip Top" and "Just Cuts" as well.
Didn't want to make it sound like an Advert for 2 Degrees. I thought I would let you do that my friend.
ReplyDeleteSo far I am very impressed with the company a & believe it is going to nip at the others heals, in terms of customer numbers,because of this.
Vodafone seems to have forgotten that they were once the minnow and beat Telecom Mobile because of better service.
They have very short memories and it will, and should, cost them for this sort of short term-ism (penny pinching) that destroys companies.
Focus on the bottom line for sure but don't do it at the expense of the customer and ultimately your business.
As soon as 2 Degrees offers a Best Mate type deal, myself & my partner would probably change over, no question. Vodafone NZs customer service is beyond belief at times!!!!
ReplyDeleteDont think I'd ever consider going to Telecom.
Even if they do not offer the Best Mates deal, it is still worth it. The rate comes down to 22 cents, instead of 88 cents !!!! And you get hundreds of free text messages. So you might as well just do it now.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/magic-top-up
I had best mates from Vodafone and gladly gave it up for more reasonable rates.
I can say that I call my partner and friends far more often with 2degrees than I ever did before.
ON TOP of all the above, I can use the data service without having to sign up for a subscription. If I am out somewhere and I need to access the internet on my phone, I just pull it out, use it as I wish, and then turn it off again. Paying just for what I use. No subscription or penalty charges.
VODAFONE and TELECOM. I hope you are reading this stuff, as you will not be getting me back as a customer unless you offer me a better service.
There is nothing like good word of mouth for a business. Money simply cannot buy that.
ReplyDeleteThe inverse is also true of course and Telecom and Vodafone know all about that.
Feel free to give your own provider a plug here, whether it is 2 Degrees or another provider.
If you are a happy Telecom or Vodafone customer, defend them.
Voda are still sending me monthly accounts for the same amount even though I am no longer a customer.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise to see recently they had a profit drop:
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/vodafone-nz-profit-plunges-131337
the 2 degrees mobile broadband stick for my portable computer was a complete waste of money!!! almost no coverage and top up cards ran out very quickly. friend had vodafhone stick which was the opposite experience.
ReplyDeleteloved NZ