Vodafone Call Centre Bungling continues

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Tobz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1381115 7-Sep-2015 13:32

I wouldn't normally bag out a telco like this, i know they are busy and things take time, however i just have no idea where to turn to anymore... here goes:

I moved into <address withheld> on the 25th August 2015 from overseas and signed up for a naked broadband account. This is in the middle of Auckland, one of New Zealand’s biggest cities and a far cry from a rural town or suburban development – not that geographical location should make too much of a difference, yet i accept there would be some.

It is now the 7th Sep 2015. I understand it hasn’t been 10 working days yet, however after seeing no signs of my account being connected i decided to call the help desk again and find out the status of my pending installation.

BTW: I was told on Friday last week (4 Sep 2015) that Vodafone would call me back within 24 hours with an update from the ‘provisioning team’ – no phone call.

Today i am told:

There is confusion between which phone line i want to use
- Do i want to add a second phone line for $183 (???)
My address was updated on the 1st September
- I added my email address into the form online and didn’t touch my physical address details
There was a temporary cancellation of my broadband installation – don’t know what this means?
It will be between 5 and 10 working days before i see any internet connection here as the provisioning team needed to check on which line to use

I don’t understand why the line wasn’t checked in the first lot of 5-10 working days.

I still have no firm date on when this will be done.

I have to work from home therefore need an internet connection to do my working duties. Currently i am having to use 3G internet which is very expensive and not all that reliable, causing frustration to my colleagues and superiors. Additionally, without a firm installation/connection date i have no idea whether i should buy 500MB of 3G data or 5GB.

Vodafone would not have been a choice had i known it would take this long to get connected.

I feel better for writing this down, and maybe that’s why i am posting. I just feel as though if i was talking to someone in New Zealand, they would realise that 15-20 business days is far too long for someone to wait for broadband internet and do something about it. The poor Filipino people i am talking to are just following a script and seem to have no control over other departments which aren’t their own. Seems like there is no escalation point and no one to talk to who will actually be able to help...

Sideface

9350 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1381129 7-Sep-2015 13:54

I presume that you have requested ADSL or VDSL, not fibre?

I suggest that you buy 5GB of data - it will keep if you don't use it all before the install.

Sideface

Tobz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1381137 7-Sep-2015 14:04

Yep... ADSL. Pretty straightforward installation i would have thought. Only told today (9 business days after signing up) that there is an active landline which needs to be disconnected and i need to give confirmation its not in use. They apologised for not calling me when the installation was cancelled because of this... FYI - there is no landline active through my accounts whatsoever!

Frustratingly i have already bought 5GB when we first moved in expecting some delays and an additional 1.5GB to keep going until the installation. I'm now being told its with the provisioning team and they cant tell when it will be done... not even a rough estimate!!!

Sideface

9350 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1381159 7-Sep-2015 14:36

Tobz: Yep... ADSL. Pretty straightforward installation i would have thought. Only told today (9 business days after signing up) that there is an active landline which needs to be disconnected and i need to give confirmation its not in use. They apologised for not calling me when the installation was cancelled because of this... FYI - there is no landline active through my accounts whatsoever! ...

If the previous owner / tenant has not yet canceled their connection, then no ISP can connect you. A line is still "active" if someone else is still paying for it. This happens more often than you might think.
Just a possibility to consider

Sideface

dylanp

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1381170 7-Sep-2015 14:46

Tobz: ... there is an active landline which needs to be disconnected and i need to give confirmation its not in use.

When a connection is ordered for a house that already has a connection, we need to confirm if the new connection should replace the existing connection if it was left from previous tenants (abandon the line), or install a new second phone line (which will have a wiring charge because a tech will need to attend to have a phone socket assigned to the new line).

If the line *is* to be abandoned, it's best if you can call us from that line or confirm the number there, we want to be certain that we're requesting the correct service is disconnected. :)

Tobz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1381203 7-Sep-2015 15:15

VodafoneDylan:

If the line *is* to be abandoned, it's best if you can call us from that line or confirm the number there, we want to be certain that we're requesting the correct service is disconnected. :)

Thanks for clearing that up, how long does that process usually take and shouldn't it have happened already either way?? Its looking like i will have to spend the equivalent of a tech rewiring the line anyway... :(

Given i am new to this apartment and do not have a home phone at my disposal what's the process for determining the line can be abandoned - I also have no history of the line details (like phone number) at this apartment either and this would be something id assume wouldn't be given out freely right?

dylanp

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1381236 7-Sep-2015 16:03

Tobz:
VodafoneDylan:

If the line *is* to be abandoned, it's best if you can call us from that line or confirm the number there, we want to be certain that we're requesting the correct service is disconnected. :)

Thanks for clearing that up, how long does that process usually take and shouldn't it have happened already either way?? Its looking like i will have to spend the equivalent of a tech rewiring the line anyway... :(

Given i am new to this apartment and do not have a home phone at my disposal what's the process for determining the line can be abandoned - I also have no history of the line details (like phone number) at this apartment either and this would be something id assume wouldn't be given out freely right?

Hi Tobz

I've chased this up with our team. It's a wonderfully complicated situation and so it has taken longer than normal, sorry for the delay.

Good news is they now have all the correct information to request the line showing as connected to your place is closed, and the new line is connected in it's place.

This is all in hand now but will still probably be a few days away. Please let me know if you haven't received an update by Wednesday and I'll find out what's happening for you.

Thanks again for your patience.

Dylan

Equinox IT

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scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1381257 7-Sep-2015 16:53

I can empathise with the OP. Up until just recently I would have sung the praises for VF to anyone who would have listened. Call centre easy to get hold of (relatively speaking), knowledgeable, helpful, efficient call takers who really seemed to know their stuff. That all changed when trying to update to UFB.

Things started out swimmingly, great communication, got a good deal, I knew roughly how the process worked so sat back and let the various contracts bounce back and forth until we were up and running. Even had a nice email thanks drafted up to post on GZ. Not without it's problems but that was nothing to do with VF. But it all turned to guano from there. Provisioning issues, billing faults, slow speeds, disconnected, all exacerbated by incompetent call takers who were incapable of grasping anything more complicated that 'please restart your modem' and countless hours lost on hold. It's as if the clever staff all went on holiday and diverted the phones to a kindergarten somewhere.

Thanks to a lot of yelling and screaming (SWMBO not me!) finally got hold of someone who had a few clues and the issues were eventually resolved. How quickly the bad outweighs the good.

Fingers crossed up and running now and no more issues. There are some good people around, sometimes it's just hard getting to them. And I don't particularly care where in the world they are, or what accent they have. Good competent staff is key.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Tobz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1383321 9-Sep-2015 11:48

VodafoneDylan:

This is all in hand now but will still probably be a few days away. Please let me know if you haven't received an update by Wednesday and I'll find out what's happening for you.

Dylan

Well... you were spot on Dylan - not sure what you did but thanks for your help! My connection is all sorted... except one thing - no modem!

So i call the philippines support centre again, placed on hold again, he gets back to me saying they are really sorry again, but the modem delivery was cancelled with your order and they didn't send another one in its place

Supposedly 3-5 business days wait for that lil guy too. Patience is wearing thin here...

I would think there are a few checks which should be done while dealing with a customer connection - some which are more obvious than others like, oh i dont know DOES THE CUSTOMER HAVE A MODEM SENT TO THEM???????

I think this highlights a point... where is the accountability of the staff working in the call centre? The best you get is a name of someone, if the call drops or you need to follow up in a few days time you have slim to no chance of getting the person who has dealt with all your problems. There seems to be no trouble ticket given for easy reference, the problem just needs to be explained over and over and over again... also no way to escalate.

Surely a red flag blaring on someone's account could be an idea. Where if the problem has been ongoing for a period of time, a more experienced operator who does all the checks deals with them and they don't end up writing on a forum like this...

Here is another idea, given the mess around during the past 11 working days to get just the connection sorted, maybe Vodafone could reach into their deep pockets and fork out for an EXPRESS courier

So, alas, i am playing the waiting game again - previously i would be sure i wouldn't have to wait the 3-5 days and figure it would come earlier but oh no no no, i'm not falling for that old trick.

Tobz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1383334 9-Sep-2015 12:01

Oh and here is the kicker:

I would still be sitting here with my clock in my hand if i hadn't made the numerous phone calls i have.

No-one told me my account was being cancelled due to line issues until i called and asked
No-one told me when i was going to be connected until i called and asked
No-one told me my modem hadn't been sent until i called and asked

I was asked about giving feedback to one 'Edward C' though... Not entirely sure he should bear the brunt of frustrations...

invisibleman18

1360 posts

Uber Geek

#1383446 9-Sep-2015 14:15

There's little point calling any call centres if it can be avoided these days. Can usually sort things out quickly via Facebook. I've had a couple of issues with Vodafone recently (one quite urgent as I was overseas and topped up my credit and got charged for add ons I'd cancelled before I left and needed the credit to make some calls over there) and sent messages to their Facebook page which were responded to and resolved very quickly.

r2b2

586 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1383449 9-Sep-2015 14:18

invisibleman18: There's little point calling any call centres if it can be avoided these days. Can usually sort things out quickly via Facebook. I've had a couple of issues with Vodafone recently (one quite urgent as I was overseas and topped up my credit and got charged for add ons I'd cancelled before I left and needed the credit to make some calls over there) and sent messages to their Facebook page which were responded to and resolved very quickly.

+1 for that - I upgrade from the 80gb plan to unlimited simply via Facebook and it was handled pretty promptly. Saved me the long wait time for the call center that's for sure...

dylanp

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1383455 9-Sep-2015 14:24

Good to hear the connection has gone through, from the situation it was in previously I was honestly expecting it to be longer. Sorry to hear the modem request wasn't kept active. Good news is they ship from Auckland so you'll probably have it within the next day. I received one last month before I got the email to say it was coming. :)

Batwing

672 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#1387112 14-Sep-2015 12:06

Can vodafone please stop calling in response to emails instead of replying to the emails, and if you call please actually leave a message so I have something to respond to. Also, when I call back the 0800 number please don't then tell me I should have called one of your other numbers, how am I meant to know if you don't leave a message? Thanks.

Salami

237 posts

Master Geek

#1387294 14-Sep-2015 16:23

Tobz:
VodafoneDylan:

If the line *is* to be abandoned, it's best if you can call us from that line or confirm the number there, we want to be certain that we're requesting the correct service is disconnected. :)

Thanks for clearing that up, how long does that process usually take and shouldn't it have happened already either way?? Its looking like i will have to spend the equivalent of a tech rewiring the line anyway... :(

Given i am new to this apartment and do not have a home phone at my disposal what's the process for determining the line can be abandoned - I also have no history of the line details (like phone number) at this apartment either and this would be something id assume wouldn't be given out freely right?

Usually takes a week to disconnect the existing line at the property

Customer calls in with the line thats connected at the house to the ISP ---> ISP sends a request to chorus to inform the ISP regarding the line ---> within 3 days the ISP needs to talk to the customer owning the line and if they are happy to have the line disconnected then chorus will do this for them.

If chorus doesn't receive a reply within 3 days from the ISP. Chorus will disconnect the line.

After which your connection will put off hold and depending it would take 2-3 days to get connected assuming a tech isnt needed.

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