Not only Telecom is hard to contact - now its Vodafone

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Posted Thu 11 February 2010 @ 3:32 p.m. by Ernie Newman

With ripples from the XT outage still spreading and detailed explanations still elusive, it seems Vodafone are experiencing some gremlins as well.

Last Sunday afternoon it seems, Vodafone customers nationwide were unable to download data over either the 3g or 2g networks. The outage lasted more than an hour. (So much for 3g/2g redundancy!)

Then on Monday I heard of an outage on their mobile network in part of South Auckland.

And yesterday a TUANZ staff member reported loss of both landline and internet on the North Shore due to a cable cut from about 1.30pm. She received a text at 10am this morning to advise that all services had been restored. She says she can "live" with the outage, but she's upset with the system in place to report faults - hence her response to Vodafone below!

"I am extremely disappointed with the system in place for customers to report faults with Vodafone landline and broadband services . In the event of the Internet or lines being down, a usual source to obtain a contact number would be the old fashioned telephone directory. The North Shore directory has an 0800 number listed that asks for a pin number. If this is not entered the call disconnects after repeating this message. There is NO 0800 listed for landline or broadband queries.

"Another option listed is dialling 777 from my Vodafone mobile, which is the option I used. Of course, if I want to speak to a consultant, I have to accept the $1 service charge. When I explained that I was reporting an outage and asked that the $1 fee be reversed, I was told unsympathetically that it was charged automatically even though all the person did was transfer me to the relevant department. I was also advised that the numbers were on the Internet (which I could not access!!).

How can Vodafone (a) not list a number to call to report faults in the phone directory, and (b) charge customers to log a fault? This system definitely need to be improved!!"

Paul - I know you're listening! Response?

Categories: Wireless carriers

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13 comments

• Paul Brislen says:

  Hi Ernie, we're quite easy to contact. You can call us on 777, you can call me (my number's on the website), you can call reception, you can fax us, you can email us (our addresses tend to be firstname.lastname@vodafone.com). You can twitter us @vodafonenz, you can find us on Facebook. You can write us a letter. You can post a comment at forum.vodafone.co.nz. Prepay customers, however, do pay one dollar to speak to an operator because we had far too many customers calling to ask things like "what time is it?" and "how do I charge up my phone?" and even "what's the weather like where you are?" All too often this meant customers who really did need to speak to an operator were stuck on hold for up to 45 minutes. The volume of calls that could be handled by self service channels was too great and we had to do something. So we did - and immediately call volumes dropped by 70%. Today the wait time should be around 5 minutes at most - typically calls are answered straight away. For me, and for most of our customers, that's a win. Nearly everything a customer wants to do can be done without speaking to an operator and now most Prepay customers do just that. Cheers Paul

  Added: 11 February 2010, 7:25 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Alan says:

  Paul,with respect, but Telecom and 2 Degrees prepay customers do not pay to call the helpdesk. I realise in 2D's case being that they have only recently launched call volumes will be a lot lighter. Surely similar questions are asked by your competitors customers when calling a helpdesk operator. As you are also aware Vodafone tried to introduce a helpdesk calling charge to post paid customers but due to customer outcry Vodafone promptly abandoned that idea. So I cannot see Vfone prepay customers being overly happy being coerced to pay this charge. Have a good day. Cheers.

  Added: 11 February 2010, 10:58 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• TUANZ Staff member says:

  Hi Paul
  Thank you for your comments. However, most of your contact methods involve the internet or a phone line (which I did not have!) and I surely can't imagine anyone writing a letter to report that their service was down!!
  As for calling reception and waiting a minimum of 5 minutes, most prepaid customers have no guarantees that their talktime would not run out after logging the call.
  I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person so usually check the time or weather without calling anyone. Actually, I cannot recall the last time I needed to contact Vodafone customer services prior to this. However, I can appreciate that others may not do the same.
  I think you are missing the point here. All, I am asking is for an 0800 number for landline and broadband services to be listed in my phone directory AND for your staff to be able to distinguish a "what time is it?" call from a genuine one to log a fault.

  Added: 12 February 2010, 9:00 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Paul Brislen says:

  Alan, I don't know quite where you get your information but it's wrong. Vodafone has never introduced a helpdesk charge for on account customers. Anonymous TUANZ staff member - I understand your points. My point is that taking a call and then determining that it's an unnecessary one doesn't stop the massive volume of calls in the first place. Making customers think twice before calling does stop the massive volume of calls.

  Added: 12 February 2010, 11:41 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Analyst says:

  Alan, I think you are getting confused with the charge for getting a paper bill which is what I think Vodafone backed down on.

  Added: 12 February 2010, 5:17 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Alan says:

  Paul, thanks for the reply. With respect, you have misread my previous post. Vodafone tried to introduce a helpdesk charge to postpaid customers two years or so ago but due to strong opposition abandoned this idea. Cheers.

  Added: 12 February 2010, 6:05 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Alan says:

  Paul, I apologise, thank you to Analyst for reminding me that there was a protest against vodafone trying to introduce a charge for sending out a paper bill to postpaid customers. Cheers.

  Added: 13 February 2010, 6:15 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Paul Brislen says:

  No worries, Alan. Done that myself on this blog. Cheers, Paul

  Added: 14 February 2010, 7:29 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• John says:

  Hi Guys. You can call 0800800021 (which is the number listed in the Yellow Pages) and press 3 (for fixed line and broadband) and then 4 to speak to one of our technical support team and that will get you through to report the fault. There is no requirement to enter a pin. The only caveat is that if you call this number from your mobile, you will be automatically diverted to the relevant IVR service (i.e. Prepay or On Account) and will need to follow the instructions from there. You can also call our Fixed Line and Broadband Team directly on 0800438448. Cheers, John

  Added: 22 February 2010, 2:22 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Grant says:

  @ John - The issues discussed on this thread are related to Mobile, not Fixed Line & Broadband, so your comment, whilst helpful, is not relevant to the topic.

  Added: 23 February 2010, 7:36 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Clunking Fist says:

  "And yesterday a TUANZ staff member reported loss of both landline and internet on the North Shore due to a cable cut from about 1.30pm."
  
  'you sure, Grant?

  Added: 1 March 2010, 3:51 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

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  Added: 20 January 2012, 11:57 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

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  Added: 26 January 2012, 7:18 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

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