thinking of swapping our mobiles over to vodafone but...

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › thinking of swapping our mobiles over to vodafone but...

hamish225

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#290534 17-Nov-2021 19:53

So I'm on 2degrees right now and find their coverage patchy and i keep getting shunted back onto 3G, which is annoying and the mobile data speeds are quite slow, even when im on 4G they're not particularly fast.

I'm considering going on the 'you plus the crew' plan and bringing mine and my husbands mobile numbers over, however i had a very strange conversation with one of the vodafone chat people just now.

I asked if I could pop to countdown and buy the sim cards and if they could use those to provision for the share plans and port our numbers onto and got this response:

are Vodafone saying that their customer service ends when I buy a sim card from a shop? that seems a bit ridiculous? Is this person just confused?

it can't be that tricky for me to give them the brand new Vodafone sim card numbers and to port our existing numbers onto them. then our mobile numbers are with vodafone and therefore anyone who works at vodafone can see my account, That's how it worked at the mobile provider I worked for in the UK.

Thanks in advance!

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#2814860 17-Nov-2021 20:23

Countdown don't carry blank SIM cards. They only stock prepay SIM cards.

Vodafone will provision services onto new blank SIM cards for On Account plans.

hamish225

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#2814862 17-Nov-2021 20:28

sbiddle:

Countdown don't carry blank SIM cards. They only stock prepay SIM cards.

Vodafone will provision services onto new blank SIM cards for On Account plans.

ah okay, so then onto my next question, why is the online chat not saying "yeah sure pop into one of our stores or give us a call and someone will help you" what it sounds like they're implying is that if you get your sim card from a vodafone store, only that store can help you. just seems a bit strange

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Linux

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#2814882 17-Nov-2021 20:51

2degrees is currently upgrading its Core network and RAN to the latest Ericsson hardware which is going to double capacity of 4G and 5G coming early next year

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#2814883 17-Nov-2021 20:53

@hamish225 Are you seeing 3G more often over the last 2 - 3 weeks?

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#2814887 17-Nov-2021 21:08

Actual stores are the only ones that can sign you to On Account as ID and credit check is required

cokemaster

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#2814918 17-Nov-2021 21:32

Definitely incorrect advice given by the agent. It is possible to do prepaid --> On Account over the phone, although the port request is done via their online site.

Usually its a lot easier to do the whole thing via the store or have the SIM shipped out via the contact centre/chat.

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hamish225

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#2814919 17-Nov-2021 21:33

Linux: @hamish225 Are you seeing 3G more often over the last 2 - 3 weeks?

I'd say so, as we've been out and about around the south island in the weekends rather than sat at home because of the nicer weather so I suppose so. however, I was on 2degrees when they first launched 4G and eventually swapped off them due to slow mobile data speeds... I'm just disappointed that their speeds even on 4G (when I have it) are still slow.

This has been us giving them another chance. Them being cheap certainly helped but you get what you pay for I guess!

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tanivula

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#2814927 17-Nov-2021 21:59

Any reason you are only considering VF at this stage? Why not Skinny/Spark or Kogan even?

quickymart

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#2814935 17-Nov-2021 22:32

You've already seen what Vodafone's customer service can be like. They are trying to improve it but they have a long way to go...and it probably won't be improved by the time you change over (if you're thinking about it).

My experience is that their mobile network is actually very good in my area, just their customer service line is absolutely shocking.

gmball

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#2814940 17-Nov-2021 22:51

The response you received is why I would suggest you seriously reconsider whether to switch your mobiles to Vodafone. The response from the Vodafone rep looks like it's written by someone who's drunk. The fact you had to come on Geekzone and ask, reflects the quality of the customer service you received.

I cant for the life of me understand why after all this time, Vodafone haven't brought their customer service functions back on shore. I get that there is a cost saving in outsourcing this to another country, but where its to the detriment of your brand, and a major frustration for your customers, surely there is long term value created in offering genuinely good customer service from local staff even when it costs you significantly more as a business.

I can imagine it must be extremely frustrating for Vodafone management when they are trying so hard to get things right, but the basics like customer service are so wrong.

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#2814979 18-Nov-2021 07:30

Last I heard several months ago (via CEO Jason on here) was that they had started the process, but apparently coronavirus slowed everything down/brought it all to a halt.

jjnz1

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#2814989 18-Nov-2021 08:11

Vodafone is the same as spark and 2D in terms of customer experience IMO.

Have low expectations and you'll be fine.

I am with VF and my business mobiles are with VF and they provide very good value/discounts.

Spark has better coverage due to VFs old CEO not prioritising their infrastructure build out, but they seem to be catching up now that they have someone different at the helm

Switching to VF on account is very easy - via store or online. In store is faster and they will give you an exact time when your new vodafone SIM will be active with your existing number - normally within 24 hours. (They give a time like 205pm).

In the past I have purchased a prepaid sim card from the dairy and received a discount when changing to on account:
1. Purchase prepaid sim and add prepaid plan
2. upgrade your prepaid plan to an on account plan using your app
3. Vf offered up to $20 off an on account plan per month for life if you switched from Prepaid when done via the iPhone/android app
4. port number after you get discount

(I have a 100gb plan for $80 for example)

This was a few months ago, but it appeared a standard promo they do - i have shifted 2 plans using this discount. If you do go down this prepaid route, and you can't find the promo, give them a ring.

Good luck

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#2815030 18-Nov-2021 09:22

I have to echo @jjnz1.

I have used all three and found the customer service not particularly outstanding. In saying that, Vodafone has definitely been on the mend lately so they’ve won a lot of my business that would otherwise be with 2D or Spark.

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quickymart

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#2815054 18-Nov-2021 09:47

How have they been "on the mend"? This thread on its own says otherwise.

Plus I thought 2degrees had great customer service (note that I haven't used them personally, just going on comments I see here).

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#2815083 18-Nov-2021 10:44

quickymart:

How have they been "on the mend"? This thread on its own says otherwise.

When I moved house three months ago I seriously considered changing telcos because I thought it would be too painful to go through this process with Vodafone. As it turned out Vodafone managed the house move professionally and did everything they said they would do.

I don't doubt that some people are still having terrible experiences and there is still a lot of work to do, but Jason is not sitting on his hands doing nothing.

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