WOW, Vodafone's customer service really has taken a dive!

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › WOW, Vodafone's customer service really has taken a dive!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

1585 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1162530 26-Oct-2014 19:14

gregmcc:
kawaii:
quickymart: Your account query should be handled by someone who deals with accounts, not faults. Like I said - there were more than enough faults to deal with (when I was there anyway) without adding billing/accounts inquiries onto the pile.

Having said that, the experience of Telstra Clear customer services at that time was really bad, their turnover was extremely high and they didn't ever really seem to have enough people answering the phones there. And that was just dealing with ex-Clear and ex-Telstra Saturn products. Add on all the Vodafone stuff now and I can't imagine working at Customer Services is much fun - I wouldn't ever want to work there again, nor would I wish it on anyone.

No disrespect to the TCL/Vodafone people on here - I'm sure you're all doing the best you can given the resources you have available to you.

But I'm not talking about faults - the fact that I get put through to accounts but that person only does accounts for mobile phones so then I'm shunted over to accounts for broadband only be told that I need to go to the accounts specifically for cable broadband in Wellington. Yes, keep the fault fixers over there and the accounting over there but if I have an account query, regardless of whether it is mobile, cable, adsl, vdsl or courier pigeon then anyone in accounts should be able to handle it.

Here is why there are different people who deal with accounts for mobile, broadband, or cable.

Way back when VF entered the country and brought the Bellsouth mobile network, so for a while all they had was mobile, So they then brought the Ihug internet provider and eventually dropped the name Ihug and rebranded it under Vodafone.

After a while they then brought the Telstra/Clear network. All well and good, they have a nice big mobile network, a nice big telco network and now a nice cable TV network, but what they don't have is a common billing platform.

This is why customers get passed around when there is a problem, be it a technical or billing.

It's a right royal PITA for customers, multiple bills to pay, different accounts to pay in to and different people to talk to when things go wrong.

Even so you'd think at this stage there would be a migration strategy - a new system where all new customers are signed up on that, then existing customers for renewal are migrated across then gradually bit-by-bit you migrate the existing customers to the point that everyone is migrated over within a couple of years. When I worked for an ISP in Aussie the company had bought around a dozen smaller players and did that migration strategy and by the time I finished working there everyone had moved to the new email server and billing system with no stress or fuss involved.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

Laptop: MacBook Air (Apple M2, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

Desktop: Apple Studio, Studio Display (Apple M1 Max, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

Phone: Nothing Phone (12GB RAM, 256GB Storage, Nothing OS 2.0.2), Google Workspace

Other: UniFi AP AC HD, UniFi Dream Machine, Apple TV 4K 128GB, Firefox

MyHeritage

Shop MyHeritage and uncover your origins and find new relatives with a simple DNA test. (affiliate link).

quickymart

11240 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1162611 26-Oct-2014 22:08

That's what should have happened. But it didn't. And it may still be that way today.

mattbush

784 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1162769 27-Oct-2014 09:32

VF have been using the same excuses for way to long now.

My guess is that they dont like their customers!!!!!

They are setting themselves up for a huge fall as UFB reaches more and more customers.

networkn

Networkn
30228 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1162799 27-Oct-2014 10:32

My guess is that they dont like their customers!!!!!

That's your guess? Wow. Perhaps you should get out of the guessing business consider learning to use common sense instead.

alasta

6242 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#1162812 27-Oct-2014 10:38

quickymart: That's what should have happened. But it didn't. And it may still be that way today.

My experience with these things is that corporate executives are often unwilling to commit to business cases for these large projects because they're terrible at quantifying the true cost of customer dissatisfaction and operational risk. They are also often spooked by the risk of the project running over budget, or elements of the cost not being able to be capitalised.

It's a good example of why you get this hopeless inertia in these large outfits which ultimately leads to customer churn, high staff turnover, lack of innovation, etc.

quickymart

11240 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1162866 27-Oct-2014 11:29

You just described the old Telstra Clear to a tee.

mattbush

784 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1163141 27-Oct-2014 19:23

networkn:

My guess is that they dont like their customers!!!!!

That's your guess? Wow. Perhaps you should get out of the guessing business consider learning to use common sense instead.

Since you are so smart maybe you should teach VF how to deal to their paying customers in a fashion that is better than what they are getting now. Since TCL have been out of business a long time can YOU say that customer service has improved?

Stop being such a fan boy and give grief where grief is deserved.

I also tend to agree with Alasta that the execs have no quantifiable clue as to what is going on. If they did know i am sure they would realise that their bonuses were at stake. Easier to stay blindfolded.

networkn

Networkn
30228 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1163142 27-Oct-2014 19:29

mattbush:
networkn:

My guess is that they dont like their customers!!!!!

That's your guess? Wow. Perhaps you should get out of the guessing business consider learning to use common sense instead.

Since you are so smart maybe you should teach VF how to deal to their paying customers in a fashion that is better than what they are getting now. Since TCL have been out of business a long time can YOU say that customer service has improved?

Stop being such a fan boy and give grief where grief is deserved.

What do you think is gained by such comments, both this and the original?

Provide your feedback by all means, but in reality if you had any idea on the logistics of merging two systems like this, or running a company this size and what's required to change even a relatively minor thing, you might show a little more restraint.

I have in the last 2 months as much reason to be pissed at VF given some of the nonsense I have tolerated, however, I have been around long enough to know that all companies this size go through periods where they both meet or exceed expectations, and times
they don't. I have seen similar threads for just about every ISP represented on GZ.

I am just trying to get you to understand that making such silly comments will mostly discredit you rather than help achieve the outcome you'd like.

mattbush

784 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1163143 27-Oct-2014 19:41

My comments are not silly. VF have had TCL for a long time now and the customer service has steadily got worse.

Whilst the technical performance/pricing etc of the cable network has remained relatively the same (same DNS issues as well) the customer service component has declined.

One would expect that prior to purchasing TCL funds/plans would have been incorporated into business plans to merge the systems or replace systems.

The VF staff who respond to these forums are to be commended for assisting where they can. Sadly though, this has become the norm. So I say again....if VF cared about their non corporate customer base they would have communicated issues/planned remedies well before now.

Just take a few days and read the past forum threads under Vodafone.

quickymart

11240 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1163164 27-Oct-2014 20:38

2 years isn't that long, really - and remember, when I was there the company had existed for 4 years (at the time I left) but they still hadn't got the billing systems merged.

Oh and I'm fairly sure the executive team are aware of the current issues, particularly with customer service.

gregmcc

2092 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1163184 27-Oct-2014 21:19

People could put up with the occasional long time on hold, but from my experience when I do call which is not very often at all it has always been very long on hold times, and each time it's been longer.

It does get frustrating when the VF staff who visit these forums say "ring from your mobile and select the call back feature" I do ring from my VF mobile and have *never* been offered the call back feature.

networkn

Networkn
30228 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1163186 27-Oct-2014 21:27

gregmcc: People could put up with the occasional long time on hold, but from my experience when I do call which is not very often at all it has always been very long on hold times, and each time it's been longer.

It does get frustrating when the VF staff who visit these forums say "ring from your mobile and select the call back feature" I do ring from my VF mobile and have *never* been offered the call back feature.

Not sure about why,I have about 20 calls to them in the last 2 months, more probably and never had an issue being offered it. The only times I am not offered is if I call from the landline.

Coil

6614 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1163191 27-Oct-2014 21:34

quickymart: 2 years isn't that long, really - and remember, when I was there the company had existed for 4 years (at the time I left) but they still hadn't got the billing systems merged.

Oh and I'm fairly sure the executive team are aware of the current issues, particularly with customer service.

Vodafone Group impose a head limit for Vodafone NZ. If im not mistaken they were above that or close to it. Hence no new staff and contractors. Some friends that work there have been off to Minilla to do some form of training new staff. My money lies on the fact they are getting more "useless" call takers on board.

MikeB4

18135 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1163200 27-Oct-2014 21:48

Well I rang Vodafone today to get a service changed (on Television) after listening to the IVR I waited about a minute and a half and was answered. The service was changed immediately and 100 percent correct. The whole process only took around 6 -8 minutes. That is excellent service in my book.

Unregistered

69 posts

Master Geek

#1163209 27-Oct-2014 22:07

Comments here are pretty much the same as on the VF FB page; quite depressing if you read long enough. My own past FB comments were also added with gnashing of teeth and grinding of keyboard...however:

I'm a 5yr+ off-contract VF customer that recently got an excellent deal from the retention team so now on a fresh, rosy smelling, 12mth contract (12 months will be over in no time). They not only bettered competitors unlimited plan by $25 but also chucked in a free modem which arrived a few days later - one of those 'made me happy outcomes'.

What I now understand is that VF will continue to be 'what it is'; that huge beast that will just as easily give you that all important 'internet fix' and the next, chew your hand off if you're not careful. Therefore, the beast needs to be tamed in order to get the most out of it...

I now approach every communication with VF from the 'if I play the game well enough , I'm more likely to get what I want sooner' perspective. Yes their customer service is one of the worst in the known universe but if you try these tips, your more likely to get that 'happy outcome' a lot sooner:

1 - think about the problem before you ring and try to guess what kind of response you're most likely to get (long term customers will understand what I mean). This way you can come up with a well thought out 'plan of attack' rather than just become even more frustrated when hearing the usual help-desk response

2 - always write their name down then as soon as you feel you are 'not being listened to', ask to speak to the supervisor (without being rude). This usually creates a 'more understanding attitude' that is sometimes missing...hehe

3 - after coming to some kind of 'agreement' (new deal, planned solution, dates, prices, etc), ask that the details of the conversation be emailed to you. This has saved my bacon more than once.

4 - Finally, pray that Zeus will show them the way. I did and then got an awesome deal!

Disclaimer: Approximately 1/2 a bottle of VOdkAr was consumed at time of writing...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7