Vodafone's Incompetent Sales Team

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sang7

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#293830 15-Feb-2022 23:35

I have been looking into available Fibre plans over the last few days since I'm moving to a new place next week. My current flat uses Vodafone Fibre, so I decided to start there - cheapest plan $79 per month with BYO modem.

I then looked into their main competitor - Spark. The cheapest Fibre plan is $70 with BYO modem (Everyday Fibre plan). I was thinking how come there is such a big difference being the main competitor. I know it's only $10 per month, but over a year it's $120 saving.

Out of curiosity, I went to the Vodafone Sales team chat and I requested them to do a price match with Spark - I was responded with a straight NO by their overseas sales team. I then sent a message on the Vodafone Facebook page, no response whatsoever. I was trying so hard on Vodafone, because I currently have a prepaid mobile plan with them and they have been good so far and I wanted to give them a chance, hoping that having both the services with the same provider will open up future discounts for me.

In contrast, after seeing the plan offered by Spark, I had a few questions. I sent them a message on Facebook and expected a similar response as Vodafone. It took only 2 hours - they responded and answered all my questions pleasantly. After seeing how nice they were, I have been looking at Spark's mobile prepaid plans and thinking of switching that too.

I just wanted to share my experience mainly because I was looking for an explanation how Vodafone and Spark being direct competitors, but product pricing vary so much and their customer service is so different.

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freitasm

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#2869284 15-Feb-2022 23:43

I think the word incompetent is misused in the subject. It is not incompetence if they have to follow policy.

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sang7

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#2869287 15-Feb-2022 23:45

freitasm: I think the word incompetent is misused in the subject. It is not incompetence if they have to follow policy.

Is not responding to the messages on Facebook considered following the policy?

freitasm

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#2869289 15-Feb-2022 23:47

I am referring to the main point, not being able to price match.

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sang7

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#2869290 15-Feb-2022 23:51

freitasm: I am referring to the main point, not being able to price match.

Oh I understand now. But it's the overseas team - I bet they can't provide any discounts and such because of the policy, which is the reason why I wanted to communicate with someone based in NZ or maybe someone from the retention team, but no luck.

michaelmurfy

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#2869293 16-Feb-2022 00:14

They don't have to have you as a customer. They don't have to price match. They don't have to do anything here. This doesn't make them incompetent.

You're also comparing a plan with Spark which is 50Mbit down, 10Mbit up to a plan that Vodafone provide which is 300Mbit down, 100Mbit up. They're 2 offerings. I'd be giving you a blatant no here too as $10/mo is fully justified for 6x the download speed and 10x the upload speed.

Protip. Don't cheap out on broadband, ever. There is a reason why there is a price difference and to be honest for most households I'll recommend going with the 300/100Mbit plans.

Lastly, Skinny is a good provider and also have 4mo free currently and even provide a very good wireless router: https://skinny.co.nz

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Handle9

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#2869295 16-Feb-2022 00:27

sang7:

freitasm: I am referring to the main point, not being able to price match.

Oh I understand now. But it's the overseas team - I bet they can't provide any discounts and such because of the policy, which is the reason why I wanted to communicate with someone based in NZ or maybe someone from the retention team, but no luck.

A customer who doesn't generate a profit isn't worthwhile for any company. If you want the cheapest deal out there I'd be wishing you bon voyage as well.

sang7

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#2869302 16-Feb-2022 00:54

michaelmurfy:

They don't have to have you as a customer. They don't have to price match. They don't have to do anything here. This doesn't make them incompetent.

You're also comparing a plan with Spark which is 50Mbit down, 10Mbit up to a plan that Vodafone provide which is 300Mbit down, 100Mbit up. They're 2 offerings. I'd be giving you a blatant no here too as $10/mo is fully justified for 6x the download speed and 10x the upload speed.

Protip. Don't cheap out on broadband, ever. There is a reason why there is a price difference and to be honest for most households I'll recommend going with the 300/100Mbit plans.

Lastly, Skinny is a good provider and also have 4mo free currently and even provide a very good wireless router: https://skinny.co.nz

I know they are 2 different offerings. I'm pointing out the fact that they are being direct competitors and don't have a comparable product. 6x or 10x speed doesn't make sense for a single household. I will be living by myself and doesn't make sense having a 300mb down plan. Then the wireless options are not reliable since they drop out so often. I agree if I was living with a family or sharing with others, 300/100Mbit would totally make sense.

Also, Vodafone just increased prices of their lower end plan - my current flat used to have that plan and pay only $72 (this is with the modem charge). I can't remember what the speed was, but it was more than enough for everything we did. They just increased the price out of nowhere. This isn't just me - I have seen several people commenting on their posts saying they experienced the same. The rest of the world is working on to provide the best deal for customers by increasing speed and adding plans that suits different household needs, while Vodafone is toying with 2 Fibre plans - if this isn't called incompetence, I don't know what it is.

insane

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#2869308 16-Feb-2022 02:08

I'm guessing if they pointed you to their $55 wireless unlimited broadband you'd be unhappy that while even cheaper than Spark it's potentially slower.

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/home-wireless-broadband/abv1/

It's eligible for superwifi so that takes care of your poor wifi coverage concerns.

eracode

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#2869309 16-Feb-2022 02:15

sang7:

Vodafone is toying with 2 Fibre plans - if this isn't called incompetence, I don't know what it is.

Incompetence means lacking the skills or knowledge to do something correctly or to a satisfactory standard. VF may, in your view, have a flawed product offering strategy - but that doesn’t make them incompetent. They know exactly what they’re doing and actually doing it well and by choice. It’s not incompetence just because you don’t like their strategy.

You’re not comparing apples and apples - and expecting them to provide you with a better product than a competitor for the same lower price as that competitor. That’s unreasonable. If you don’t like VF’s offering, go with Spark. You get what you pay for.

VF have received some pretty heavy and justified criticism here on GZ for some of their support services. However IMO it’s not fair to try to include your situation and your view in the pile-on - it’s a different thing.

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HamishVF

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#2869390 16-Feb-2022 09:15

Hi sang7

Apologies for the delay responding to the private message. Since the cyclone we have been working through a larger number of messages than usual, so haven’t been able to respond as quickly as we’d like.

As michaelmurfy mentioned there is a massive difference in speed for $10 more.

With us you can also get SuperWifi! It works with two mesh nodes to create a dynamic Wifi network that delivers great service wall-to-wall. Vodafone gives you mesh Wifi6 technology valued at $449 RRP, for the standard price of our broadband plan. NO upfront costs for the units. NO rental charges. Just stay on any eligible Vodafone broadband plan for 24 months and we'll cover the cost. More details about this can be found here.

Kind regards,

Hamish

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invisibleman18

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#2869599 16-Feb-2022 12:53

Fully recommend SuperWifi too. With my router being placed in the front left corner of the house (ie, where the Chorus box is), wifi in the bedroom at back right corner was very poor and often non existent due to being a bit far from the router. The bedroom also seems to be in a spot where I get poor mobile coverage compared to the front of the house so never been able to use data there either. SuperWifi with one of the devices placed in the bedroom now provides perfect wifi throughout the house. Depending where you would be placing your router, this might be a perfect option which fully justifies the extra $10.

wratterus

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#2869617 16-Feb-2022 13:23

I think calling the response you got incompetent is pretty harsh in this situation.

As has been mentioned, if you are a light user a fixed wireless option may be best if you want the 'cheapest' solution. Of course it's not going to be as stable as a Fibre connection, but you may well not notice if you're just browsing and streaming.