jamesvini: It is my understanding that if you call up 777 and have a Legitimate problem they will refund you the $1 if you ask.
Its to stop people calling up the call center and asking what the weather is like.
i know when i worked in a call center i use to get people calling up and telling me about the craziest things most of them having nothing to do with my job. one guy called up and wanted to know my birthday nothing else just my birthday not my name or where i was.
So i can see why voda would want to charge $1.

quickymart:

jamesvini: It is my understanding that if you call up 777 and have a Legitimate problem they will refund you the $1 if you ask.
Its to stop people calling up the call center and asking what the weather is like.
i know when i worked in a call center i use to get people calling up and telling me about the craziest things most of them having nothing to do with my job. one guy called up and wanted to know my birthday nothing else just my birthday not my name or where i was.
So i can see why voda would want to charge $1.

I've worked in a call centre too, and it's a very small minority of people who do that sort of thing. I certainly wouldn't think it would be enough to warrant charging for calls to customer service. The charging was probably added because of something else, altho your idea may be part of the reason.

ahmad: Getting $1 bank is truly like pulling teeth.

Asked for refund of the dollar and was pit on hold and then cut off going to a supervisor.

Phoned back on landline an had a good old disagreement with the supervisor before he told me in a smug kind of way that my dollar had already been refunded by him due to the circumstances.

But not after a huge phone-call-go-round.

As much as I dislike overseas call centres at least the Filipina call centre for Telecom is free and I don't get the attitude.

quickymart: I've worked in a call centre too, and it's a very small minority of people who do that sort of thing. I certainly wouldn't think it would be enough to warrant charging for calls to customer service. The charging was probably added because of something else, altho your idea may be part of the reason.

ahmad: I find the Vodafone/First Mibile situation highly unusual. Not sure of this happens everywhere but the 2 First Mobile stores in Dunedin have ONLY "Vodafone" branding on the outside of the stores. It was only hen I saw First Mobile in the staff uniforms that I realized.



I am unsure why Vodafone would let a "partner" give the perception of being a 1st party retail store. Is it to increase the perceived "store presence" around the country? I would actually be a little miffed if an agent stuffed me around and I had thought they were a real deal Vodafone store.

ahmad: This borders on racist but I get this feeling of some Egyptian call centre staff having a misguided sense of self importance while the Filipina guys seem to be there to serve.

Have definitely not experienced "attitude" from CSRs or supervisors at either the Telecom or Xbox call centres which I believe are both Manila based.

ArranH: As for the call centres, I've been with Vodafone for about 13 years, all of those on plans. Yet in the past month I've had to argue to have Vodafone's mistakes fixed on one occasion while on another I had a supervisor there trying to explain me the common law in NZ, and doing it very very badly. That was over about $5 I believe I was overcharged at Vodafone's fault, yet it was one of the final straws that will make me leave them after 13 years.

I would have moved already but now I've found out that somehow I was put back on a one year contract in April, despite being on that plan for years, never signing anything and finding that Vodafone stores aren't actually Vodafone stores but FirstMobile so I'm trying to work out what to do as I really don't want to have to call up the call centre as they will just tell me that I signed a contract, even though I know I didn't.

Hmm Fair Go maybe?

exportgoldman:
Call up Vodafone, or go into their head office in Quay street and ask for a copy of your contract you signed a year ago with your signature on it if Vodafone believe you have resigned.

I've both caught Vodafone out before where I didn't resign, and also been mistaken where I had signed a two year instead of a 1 year contract.

I've had them put me on a resigned contract when I changed my plan on the call centre from memory a few years ago. It was around the disasterous six week 'pit stop' migration to the new Sibel accounting system.

ArranH:
Yeah, I went in this morning and asked for just that. I was told that I would need to go to where I signed it as it wasn't with Vodafone. My argument that I had never signed a contract finally got through so they said that I would need to call 777. After a few minutes he agreed that it would be pointless as the 777 service is now terrible, so he is getting his manager to call me tomorrow.

I then received a call soon after from the store. I had mentioned I was interested in an iphone so they said they could transfer my contract to an iphone contract. I pointed out that I didn't have a contract and that I already had an iphone I had purchased at full price, that I was originally looking to upgrade to a 3GS, but after it all I think I've had enough with Vodafone. So I'm getting a call tomorrow from the manager there.