Skinny Launch - Is it the worst ever launch of a mobile company in NZ?

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tritex

145 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 95581 8-Jan-2012 19:41
Heres my reasoning: Unlimited minutes Skinny to Skinny become 1000 min although fair use policy doesn't particularly state a maximum. People on the Skinny Facebook page receive conflicting reports of how many combos you can purchase a week and how they work - also the website doesn't particularly give you that information. Also the same with regards to other add ons. The websites useless. No MMS operating. They've missed the point that Kiwis want more Data and alot of Texts primarily (i think) They cut the opening hours in the first day of their call centre to a lousy 9 - 5.30 Everything seems to be in testing stage. Most stores don't yet have Skinny Handsets & Sim Cards in stock. If they sort that all out they might be halfway there.

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Reply # 566219 8-Jan-2012 19:51
I just looked at its Facebook page and by the looks of things it's not "Skinny" on the confusion.

freitasm

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Reply # 566221 8-Jan-2012 19:59
tritex: They've missed the point that Kiwis want more Data and alot of Texts primarily (i think) As you said "i think", meaning this is what YOU want... Perhaps they did some research and found out that current operators already offer data packages that meet a certain customer segmant demand, so they decided to pick their battle and go for a segment that actually wants cheap voice and SMS, not data. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

wanghou168

358 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 566223 8-Jan-2012 20:02
I believe the website is still in a beta stage? And there will be another website?? They have not fully launched too, this is just a soft launch. Cheapest Online Bookstore Free Worldwide Delivery http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/?a_aid=lhou021 MOBILE: Motorola Defy (Quarx JB 4.1.2) TABLET: Samsung Galaxy tablet OTHER: Asus laptop + Samsung ChromeBook

freitasm

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Reply # 566231 8-Jan-2012 20:18
It's correct. The company have not "launched" yet. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

Cloudmelon

165 posts

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Reply # 566247 8-Jan-2012 20:55
tritex: Heres my reasoning: Most stores don't yet have Skinny Handsets & Sim Cards in stock. http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/offer/skinnymobile

codyc1515

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Reply # 566266 8-Jan-2012 21:32
Cloudmelon: tritex: Heres my reasoning: Most stores don't yet have Skinny Handsets & Sim Cards in stock. http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/offer/skinnymobile Thats an online store, not exactly a physical store.

codyc1515

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Reply # 566275 8-Jan-2012 21:48
And the phones are locked "to?get a discount on a good quality mobile". They may be "good quality" but they are very minimally cheaper (without an unlock, http://www.electronicmegastore.com/huawei-u8650-sonic-black/)?164.45 USD in NZD is $210 vs. $199 from Skinny (+$30 for unlocking) = $229 = $10 more on Skinny (of course I didn't factor in shipping, gst, etc.).

freitasm

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Reply # 566277 8-Jan-2012 21:51
codyc1515: And the phones are locked "to?get a discount on a good quality mobile". They may be "good quality" but they are very minimally cheaper (without an unlock, http://www.electronicmegastore.com/huawei-u8650-sonic-black/)?164.45 USD in NZD is $210 vs. $199 from Skinny (+$30 for unlocking) = $229 = $10 more on Skinny (of course I didn't factor in shipping, gst, etc.). This is a simplistic view. You are not adding shipping, currency conversion there. Also local retailer need to add GST, which you won't pay when importing a single handset. Apples with apples, otherwise is just noise. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

codyc1515

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Reply # 566284 8-Jan-2012 22:08
freitasm: codyc1515: And the phones are locked "to?get a discount on a good quality mobile". They may be "good quality" but they are very minimally cheaper (without an unlock, http://www.electronicmegastore.com/huawei-u8650-sonic-black/)?164.45 USD in NZD is $210 vs. $199 from Skinny (+$30 for unlocking) = $229 = $10 more on Skinny (of course I didn't factor in shipping, gst, etc.). This is a simplistic view. You are not adding shipping, currency conversion there. Also local retailer need to add GST, which you won't pay when importing a single handset. Apples with apples, otherwise is just noise. I did mention that at the end but still they would get some kind of bulk discount vs. me buying retail. My point is that the phones are not incredibly cheaper, though, with a $30 unlock fee they can't really afford for them to be that much cheaper.

nickb800

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Reply # 566289 8-Jan-2012 22:22
The need for data is a red herring, Skinny seems to be an attempt by Telecom to wean the stubborn last few (million?) customers off CDMA, the ones that only txt or call, and thus havent been enticed by the faster data speeds of XT. And I believe the key phrase here is 'soft launch'

codyc1515

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Reply # 566290 8-Jan-2012 22:24
Let me quote straight from the first paragraph of the homepage: "We're in beta".

LivingSkinny

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Reply # 566301 8-Jan-2012 23:05
tritex: Heres my reasoning: Unlimited minutes Skinny to Skinny become 1000 min although fair use policy doesn't particularly state a maximum. People on the Skinny Facebook page receive conflicting reports of how many combos you can purchase a week and how they work - also the website doesn't particularly give you that information. Also the same with regards to other add ons. The websites useless. No MMS operating. They've missed the point that Kiwis want more Data and alot of Texts primarily (i think) They cut the opening hours in the first day of their call centre to a lousy 9 - 5.30 Everything seems to be in testing stage. Most stores don't yet have Skinny Handsets & Sim Cards in stock. If they sort that all out they might be halfway there. Hi Can you tell me where you get the 1000 mins from please? To deliver this promotion we have loaded customers that purchase a Combo plan with 10,000 free skinny to skinny minutes. You can check this on the Skinny Mobile Menu by calling 8882*1# and checking your Free NZ Skinny Mins. Based on feedback on Facebook we have today been re-writing content to explain how the combo plans work. It will go up on the website tomorrow. We are in Beta and have soft launched with a core service. We are still finalising build on our website, MMS and Data Roaming but considered these very carefully and decided not to hold the soft launch up for them. We spent a lot of time talking to our target market and think we have developed plans that appeal, and to date have had a lot of very positive feedback. However we will of course be listening to what people want. Because of feedback here on Geekzone we are already reviewing our data offering. The website had the wrong customer support hours on it so we corrected them as soon as we found out. We are a small team and not perfect (unfortunately) which is a good reason to have the Beta launch. We're finding that the community of early adopters are very happy to help us to identify the issues and that is just great - keep them coming and we will work to fix them. Not everything is in testing stage. We have spent a lot of time making sure the core service is robust and now we are working on the final areas I highlighted above. It takes a while to merchandise stores. We did over 50 Warehouse Stationary stores this week and next week we start on Dick Smiths. Both of those stores have their online sites up though so there is an opportunity to purchase from around the country. To compensate we have also been sending out free SIMS to anyone who calls in just as fast as our envelope lickers can pack them. I hope we can fill in all the gaps for you soon. Cheers Paul

AndrewTD

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Reply # 566306 8-Jan-2012 23:16
Nice answer LivingSkinny/Paul. kind regards Andrew TD

codyc1515

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Reply # 566307 8-Jan-2012 23:17
AndrewTD: Nice answer LivingSkinny/Paul. Yes, I agree thanks LivingSkinny/Paul. The communication on here has been very good, haven't looked on Facebook, etc., to be honest.

JarrodM

153 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 566309 8-Jan-2012 23:25
LivingSkinny/Paul you may want to inform the Warehouse Stationery people that nowhere in the product descriptions on the website does it say the phones are locked like it does on the Dick Smith site.

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