Is it too much to expect these guys to get your name right!?

So at the start of the month I decided to upgrade to VDSL and also switch providers from Slingshot to 2degrees.. Should be a simple signup via the website I thought.. I go online to get it done but it turns out that my address here in Auckland isn't even in their database (Vodafone had me VDSL positive on their site btw)..  So I go to call them up and ask for a manual "prequal" to get my line tested for service. Two days later the result comes back and yes I'm able to get VDSL.. But since I still can't signup online I have to do it over the telephone the old fashioned way.

So I go through this half an hour song and dance with this lady while she figures out how to take someone's details down over the telephone for a manual signup. The usual details.. name, address, email, telephone, bank account, current ISP etc etc.. I asked for a Snap username and email address that starts the same as my current Gmail and iCloud accounts.. ie Tazim.Sinjal@snap.net.nz .Makes it nice'n'easy not to have to remember a thousand and one different login IDs every time. Just to ensure there was no confusion, I even used the phonetic alphabet for spelling around the complicated bits. My name was certainly spelled out multiple times.. First name, Last name, Email address, Bank account details, Snap login ID etc.

Anyways, before I got off the phone I was informed that I'd be able to login online after about a day. I'd also get a confirmation email to let me know how things were going, once all the details get entered into the system. So the next day, no email and I couldn't login to the customer care section with my new ID either. Each of the following three days, I get the same result. No email on Outlook.com (inc the spam folder), no login! About the 4th day I decided to call them up and suffer through the long queue to talk to someone again. Then I hear apparently my email address isn't correct as the email has bounced and the Direct Debit authority has also been denied! Turns out that according to Slingshot my last name is actually "Finjal" where actuality it's "Sinjal". So naturally all of the other processes that actually requires someone's proper name has failed also. ie email, bank acc, login id, the lot!

This means I had to go through another long conversation, reconfirming ALL my personal details and the details of the order, delivery dates etc. Just to ensure nothing is amiss this time around! Anyways, I was told that this new guy would change all the details except for the login. And that he'd have to make a request to someone higher up for the login. Fast forward another 4 days and my name, email address etc are fixed, and the bank account has been charged for the shipping ($15) but my login ID is still wrong. But by this stage this whole experience is starting to bug me.. The ID supposed to be my name and they can't even get that right! 

So today after another 3 (business) days of nothing changing and no communication, I decided to give them a call.. Cue the IVR hold music for half an hour, and another 6 minute conversation trying to explain to someone else the situation.. On hold for another 7-8 minutes while she talks to someone from "provisioning" and "management". The result? Apparently once it's created, short of cancelling the service and (re-signing in the future). It's "impossible" to change the login ID! And since the first payment (for shipping) has been made already, I'm apparently locked in for 12 month term now! 

My service doesn't even start for another 3 weeks (1st of October). I'm paid up for my Slingshot account till the 8th of October. And even though they've charged me the initial shipping price for the equipment, my first bill isn't due till the start of service early next month. But in the meantime I honestly don't see the difficulty in having to either rename the incorrect login ID or provisioning a new account with the correct details. Doesn't really sound like a great deal of trouble to rename a unused "virgin" account with no practical history/baggage. Getting the necessary details over to the new account should be a simple copy/paste job for someone now. Even if it's takes effort on 2degrees part, since the mistake is actually on them anyways I would've thought it's more than fair of me to ask for this simple fix.. The ID sounds like such a small thing, but it's also about the principle now. And I think getting ones name right is quite important at the start of a new relationship!

This whole experience has so far left me with a sour taste in my mouth! Their call centre response times are horrible compared to the likes of Powershop and Kiwibank. I've been through at least 6 separate conversations across 10 days over this "simple" signup. And wasted literally HOURS of my time on the phone listening to crappy IVR music, while trying to get to the front of the cue.. Not to mention the other times I've simply had to give up waiting and hang up because of the lack of response.. And then the cherry on the top is getting service like this at the end! And to think I was also considering switching over to one of their mobile on-account plans also in order to get the "total package"!!

So I've decided come over and ask the good folks here at Geekzone for advice :) Anyone else want to sound off about your experience with this "new" 2degrees? I've dealt with the Snap contact centre in ChCh before (about two years back) when I was last considering switching and came away impressed at the speedy response and knowledgeable staff on the line. But fast forward two years later and I'm just wondering what the HECK happened there!?

TazZ