Spark's Latest Marketing ploy!

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msukiwi

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#249331 6-May-2019 13:56

Spark just sent a friend (Who is a Spark customer) a pack stating there is a wireless modem etc coming to him shortly and his copper will be cut off!

If you don't contact Spark immediately, they will ship it and cut off the copper!

He does not use the Internet!

He has previously told them not to annoy him with their wireless offers!

He has told them again!

He lives in Christchurch about 2 blocks from the University.

I wonder how many they will "sucker" this time?!

Sheesh!

1 | 2

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
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#2231639 6-May-2019 14:12

Return it and ask Spark for an official notification letter of whats going on.

My FIL had his copper cut and ONT etc installed and he dosent use internet - but was caught up in a "trial" area where they roll out fiber to whole street regardless.

Being "forced" onto wireless does not sound ideal - do they have a landline ? Is Spark supplying a VoIP connection and porting the number ?

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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msukiwi

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#2231664 6-May-2019 14:19

He has a landline and a mobile with Spark. (He is elderly)

Talkiet

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#2231699 6-May-2019 15:04

I will respond in 10 mins when I have the story from the correct person..

Please put the pitchforks away for a few minutes :-)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#2231702 6-May-2019 15:13

Ok... I have the info now.

This is a program to start the process of migrating voice customers from copper to wireless voice. As we all know here, copper's days are numbered. This is NOT a compulsory migration but yes, it is opt out. It is a pretty sweet deal though.

- There's a UPS included (free)

- Modem is free

- Two free phone handsets included in the offer

- Better price than current copper lines. (Most customers will see a $5-$10 per month saving)

If your friend wants to discuss this, there is a specialised helpdesk which is familiar with the offer and program - 0800 159159.

Cheers - N

[edit: I put this reply together very quickly with the product team on the phone to me - but if I have made any mistakes with the details I will update the post and note what I have changed]

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

nathan

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#2231708 6-May-2019 15:29

thanks for the info. my elderly was under the impression it was compulsory

msukiwi

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#2231714 6-May-2019 15:33

nathan:

thanks for the info. my elderly was under the impression it was compulsory

Which is what my friend was told by the call center initially when he called!

michaelmurfy

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#2231717 6-May-2019 15:39

If it helps, I did this exact migration with my Nana who has been on wireless voice for around 2 years now. She is saving around $20/mo and voice quality is just as good (I am told). She also said that she knows who is calling now so there must be free Caller ID provided also.

She gets free national calls, cheap mobile calling etc. Still not as cheap as a mobile, but I've tried (and failed) to get her to use a mobile.

I've had not one single complaint from her about it. I would recommend anyone moving as it is a good service. Also, as a bonus I believe you get 5gb of mobile broadband on this which is very handy for me as I bought my Nana a Nixplay photo frame (https://www.nixplay.com/) allowing us family members to upload photos to it from anywhere (otherwise, she has no need for internet).

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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gareth41

742 posts

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#2231721 6-May-2019 15:45

Talkiet:

Ok... I have the info now.

This is a program to start the process of migrating voice customers from copper to wireless voice. As we all know here, copper's days are numbered. This is NOT a compulsory migration but yes, it is opt out. It is a pretty sweet deal though.

- There's a UPS included (free)

- Modem is free

- Two free phone handsets included in the offer

- Better price than current copper lines. (Most customers will see a $5-$10 per month saving)

If your friend wants to discuss this, there is a specialised helpdesk which is familiar with the offer and program - 0800 159159.

Cheers - N

[edit: I put this reply together very quickly with the product team on the phone to me - but if I have made any mistakes with the details I will update the post and note what I have changed]

May I suggest to proceed with caution offering this to Spark customers located at Glinks Gully on an "opt-out" scheme, it might be worth making whoever is responsible at Spark aware (they should already know anyway) that Glinks is one of the last complete black spots for mobile reception and there is a waiting list the because there are no where near enough lines to service the 70+ dwellings in this small west coast settlement. There are elderly who live here and depend on old copper lines because there is no other option apart from expensive Satellite.

msukiwi

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#2231725 6-May-2019 15:48

It may well be "The best offer since sliced bread" and good value!

BUT it is the way the offer is presented as "you'll be cut off if you don't accept it"!

(His interpretation of the offer)

alasta

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#2231729 6-May-2019 15:50

It seems ironic that people who don't want wireless are being forced onto it, yet down in Island Bay copper is still the only thing that Spark can offer.

Talkiet

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#2231730 6-May-2019 15:51

gareth41:

May I suggest to proceed with caution offering this to Spark customers located at Glinks Gully on an "opt-out" scheme, it might be worth making whoever is responsible at Spark aware (they should already know anyway) that Glinks is one of the last complete black spots for mobile reception and there is a waiting list the because there are no where near enough lines to service the 70+ dwellings in this small west coast settlement. There are elderly who live here and depend on old copper lines because there is no other option apart from expensive Satellite.

If you are aware of customers there that have been offered this option and have terrible mobile coverage, it would be worth feeding that back to the 0800 number I listed above. The context around the particular piece of work is that we are trying to focus on customers that should be pretty simple to move and have a good experience. (Voice only, good coverage, no complex requirements like fax or medic alarms).

We also won't know about every specific customer in every case so please feedback if we've messed up. It's not feasible to try and take all anecdotal bad coverage locations and feed them into an existing process sorry.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

quickymart

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#2231861 6-May-2019 18:32

I thought in areas where fibre is not being rolled out there was no push to get people off copper? (Glinks Gully included - sounds like their only connection there).