What is it like being with Spark mobile??

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › What is it like being with Spark mobile??

Rangus

14 posts

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#262176 8-Jan-2020 22:00

Hello Geekzone members.

I’m not sure whether I should join Spark mobile but I made some inquiries regarding what they have to offer and I’m quite impressed what they have to offer in mobile plans and buying interested free smart phones.
The plan that has grab my attention is the group unlimited plan for $100.00 and extra family members for $30.00 each. I have done some negotiating and can get $10.00 savings for the main plan plus each family members.

So I like what they have to offer and keen to join soon. What I like to know is what do you think mainly people who have joined recently but really anyone really whether it’s been a good experience or a bloody terrible experience. I understand everyone has different points of view about things but I would like to know am I making a mistake by joining Spark.

Thanks very much. Keen to hear your experiences.

michaelmurfy

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#2387698 8-Jan-2020 23:48

I have not tried the unlimited plan but in general have found Spark to be pretty good - the frustrating thing is Spark have not been too competitive in this space for quite a while (look at their plans compared to the other players). I manage my parents Spark account and coverage is excellent, after sales service is good (not great) but I just simply can't justify the price difference compared to the other 2 players in terms of their plan offerings and the fact they limit the amount of rollover data you can possibly get even if you get free Spotify (I just use the family Spotify plan which works out cheaper).

I'm personally with 2degrees and find them excellent. Their plans are priced well, service is excellent and coverage is getting better by the day and WiFi calling is great to have. They basically offer the same, for cheaper and don't take away any unused data meaning you could potentially save money by being on a cheaper plan and sharing data instead.

How I personally do it is have the 25gb ($70) plan. Since I have a family member in the defense force I save $10.50/mo (https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/mobile/pay-monthly/kiwi-hero-plan/). I have a $25 share with my partner and allocate her half my data each month. Any data she doesn't use over the month goes back to my rollover but it just means that I don't get a nasty surprise. I have a number of prepay sims that simply have data sharing to them (portable hotspot in the car, a few phones etc) which is free for 5 devices. Currently I have nearly 80gb of data rolled over (and I do often use this with tethering). You also get (currently) 2hrs of free unlimited data each day, for each device on a plan.

I also have 2degrees for my broadband and save $10/mo off that plan. All up my total telecommunications bill is relatively cheap because of this.

I'm not specifically steering you away from Spark but just letting you know of another viable contender to what you're wanting to do as depending on the amount of people you want to add - it could be better value for you.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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snnet

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#2387699 9-Jan-2020 00:04

I find Spark great all around really. I've been with a few different providers in the past for all my communications needs and, although they aren't always the cheapest, I went with them because I got sick of the run around I got with other providers when things went wrong. Admittedly I haven't tried 2degrees, they weren't around when I changed my mobile from Vodafone.

Any issues I've had have been fixed promptly (it's only been issues with fixed line broadband and phone really, and it's always been an issue on Chorus' end but at least Spark got the wheels moving with getting things repaired rather than leaving me waiting for months on end like the previous provider) and for me running a home business that's what I really care about.

hio77

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#2387701 9-Jan-2020 00:36

grain of salt given my employer and all. but i personally opt for spark for my mobile carrier.

Key things for me is solid throughput (less than 100mbit i consider fairly slow for a decent LTE-A network), rural coverage and density.

Quite honestly, for the mobile services consumed on my account i could go to a competitor and pay less.

i'm a avid cellmapper user and genuinely take interest in the networks, i feel like 2d put the most effort into their network for their size.

spark having such a strong fixed wireless product, simply means that it's damnd likely the towers are well kitted.

i carry active sims for each network though and have my primary number on vf for coverage (suresignal)

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Handle9

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#2387720 9-Jan-2020 07:21

In my experience Spark have the best overall network, closely followed by Vodafone. 2degrees are a very distant 3rd place but if the coverage works where you go their offerings are well priced.

Spark also provide the most consistent customer experience IMO. Their mobile plans aren't cheap but their sub-brand, Skinny, is very competitive and uses the Spark network.

andrew027

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#2387744 9-Jan-2020 08:24

I was with Telecom as a mobile service provider for years before I went to live in Australia in the late 1980s and I've been with Telecom/Spark since coming back to New Zealand in the early 2000s. But I qualify the following comments by saying that these are my experiences and opinions only - not intended to represent Spark as a whole, or the experience any other customer has had/is getting/might get.

I find other carriers often have better deals "out of the box" but Spark have always been open to offering discounts or sweeteners to make their offerings more competitive. They have also contacted me (unsolicited) a couple of times to tell me that the plan I'm on is an old one and that there's a new plan that offers similar (or better) features for less money. I know this is likely because it's in their interest to "turn off" old plans they no longer offer to new customers, but I'm always happy when someone tells me I can have a little more and pay a little less.
I travel around New Zealand quite a bit and find coverage and signal strength excellent everywhere I've been (except at my in-laws' house in a valley at the back end of Wainuiomata in Wellington, where I can never get a single bar, but it's still 1965 in that house, so what are ya gunna do?). I qualify this by saying I've been from the far North to the deep South, and to many islands in the Hauraki Gulf, but never to Rakiura/Stewart Island or Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands so can offer no opinion on coverage there, if it's important to you.
Sometimes things have gone wrong (a couple of examples: twice I have bought a new handset with the deal where you pay for it on your phone bill over 24 months with no interest, only to find the next bill was about $1,500 because it included the full price of the handset all at once; also, on a recent overseas trip, despite following all the instructions in texts received from Spark about setting up roaming when we arrived in different countries, we were hit with a bill with huge data charges when we got home as the roaming packs weren't set up properly). However, every time I have had to complain about something it has been fixed promptly, and to my satisfaction. One time they even offered a 50% refund of charges after I admitted I was at fault.
Contacting Spark is often a nightmare. Wait times on the phone can be horrendous. And if you contact someone via email it seems they are based off-shore and English is not their first language, which has meant that a couple of times it has taken three of four emails just to get the person to understand what the actual problem is. As mentioned in the previous point however, they do seem good at getting things fixed once they know what the problem is. And, as a separate but related note, more often than not I can't find information that I'm looking for on their website. I don't know whether this is because it's not there, or whether the information architecture is so poor that it's buried in some obscure place no-one would think to look.

Rangus

14 posts

Geek

#2387819 9-Jan-2020 09:24

Thank you to the last reply. Really appreciate the input and to the others who have provided there stories as well. Thank you.
Has there been anyone added broadband eg fibre, VDSL, ADSL or wireless to there mobile plan with one bill.

At the present moment my mobile is with Vodafone and broadband with NOW and being Weighing things up and wondering will it be a right move or not.
I have in recent time’s dealing with them have found them very Frustrating with this organisation but on the other hand when I had to called VF and talked the right person and they do understand and have looked after me and given some great discounts which I have really appreciated and in return have given them great feedback.

I have tried 2degrees and there network is not as flash to compare to Vodafone but yea I’m looking at Spark and as I said they look really good especially there mobile network.

Thank an appreciated your comments.

dfnt

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#2387821 9-Jan-2020 09:31

In Wellington I've found Spark's 4G coverage superior to Vodafone

Unfortunately I've had to switch to Vodafone, for work, however my wife is with Spark and in areas where she has 4G coverage I'm on 3G