Turning off voicemail in 2degrees

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Turning off voicemail in 2degrees

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#2885958 14-Mar-2022 13:00

Linux:

cokemaster: I’m sorry, but how is turning voice mail on and off, a “huge competitive opportunity”?

Things like plans-pricing, coverage (eg. 5G, 4G, moran) and customer experience (eg. Stores and contact centres) surely would rank above such a niche feature.

I was thinking the same thing!

Wait, are you guys both suggesting that 2Degrees can only solve one problem at a time? Are you saying that, they can either work on coverage OR plans OR pricing OR stores OR customer service OR the mobile app? The OP was asking for a better way to control an aspect of their connection. This responsibility/functionality will live within a team somewhere that can potentially fix the issue. The hard part is convincing the stakeholders that it is worth developing out a solution to that problem. Only if you can save money or make money will it likely pass the smell test. In this case, regularly reviewing and implementing self-service options can reduce customer service volumes which is a win for the organisation and the customer, and in some cases, depending on everyone else's wait times and capability: a competitive advantage.

richms

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#2885960 14-Mar-2022 13:01

Telcos need to stop including voicemail as a feature unless people opt in to having it. Noone I know wants it. They just endure it because its there by default and getting rid of it is too hard with most telcos. Only skinny have the option to not let people leave messages which is IMO what it should default to if they insist on having the service.

Its not the 90s anymore. People can just SMS if they want to leave a message and dont have an email address.

Richard rich.ms

SaltyNZ

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#2885962 14-Mar-2022 13:02

premiumtouring:

The competitive advantage I'm suggesting is to continue investing heavily in the native mobile experience and to turn a real problem (wait times) into a selling point via self service.

You can already go into voicemail and turn off recordings - have always been able to. Then you can set a message that says "Hi, I never listen to voicemail, send me a text" and it hangs up.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

premiumtouring

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#2885968 14-Mar-2022 13:14

SaltyNZ:

premiumtouring:

The competitive advantage I'm suggesting is to continue investing heavily in the native mobile experience and to turn a real problem (wait times) into a selling point via self service.

You can already go into voicemail and turn off recordings - have always been able to. Then you can set a message that says "Hi, I never listen to voicemail, send me a text" and it hangs up.

Yes, and given there are no wait times to call Voicemail your solution works for configuring Voicemail. But, just to reiterate my point was to review and improve most self-service features and lean heavily into the mobile-first experience. So, for example, re: Voicemail, if you're the manager of a group of devices and plans, like I am, would toggling Voicemail via each profile's settings be convenient for me since I don't have physical access to the devices and their lines? Hell yes. Saves a 30 minute call to 2D, too.

Again, the point I'm trying to make here is that 2D has always been cost effective, and relatively innovative with their service offerings.. I want to let them know that continuing to put effort into self-service via the mobile app could really improve customer relations... and that voicemail control is just one of the many features they could start with.

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#2885975 14-Mar-2022 13:20

@premiumtouring - I'm not suggesting that [insert telco name here] can only do one thing at a time, I am stating that there are limited resources in terms of money and effort (people).
You have to do a cost benefit analysis and prioritise.

Eg.

If we spend $200m* building out 5G, we can capture $500m* in revenue.

If we spend $25m* implementing MoRAN, we can reduce $100m* in domestic roaming costs.

If we offer endless data, we can retain $200m* in existing revenue and attract $150m from other Telcos.

If we enhance the app by spending $100K*, we can attract $5K* of additional revenue.

Note: * Completely made up numbers

The point I'm trying to make is that whilst your feature request may be an improvement, its a relatively small fish relative to the challenges-growth plans that [insert telco name here] is facing.
I don't work for any Telco - I'm approaching this from purely a commercial perspective.

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asjl

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#2885979 14-Mar-2022 13:24

I still don't think some of you are getting my point. What I wanted was the ability not to have any voicemail of any sort as part of my connection. Not talking about having a recorded message saying "I don't listen to voicemail". And I can get the service I want IFF I'm prepared to ring up and wait and wait and then explain and.....

I'm talking about the customer service aspect of all this. If it was my business and I realised I could replace a sixteen minute customer interaction on the phone (I checked!) using a simple shortcode call I'd be considering it.

And I'm sure this isn't an problem exclusive to 2degrees - I'm pretty satisfied with their service!

I've no skin in the game with giffgaff in the UK other than that I use their service when I'm in the UK but consider this:

https://www.giffgaff.io/press-office/giffgaff-tops-customer-satisfaction-in-the-ofcom-survey

They do that with NO phone support - go figure!

richms

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#2885982 14-Mar-2022 13:29

They could also while they are fixing things, fix it so that if you have no voicemail and reject a call, they don't get a busy signal, but a message that says your call was rejected or something. Too many people with minimal phone etiquette will ring straight back when you reject it when it is not urgent because they get confused with the busy signal.

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SaltyNZ

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#2885989 14-Mar-2022 13:37

richms:

They could also while they are fixing things, fix it so that if you have no voicemail and reject a call, they don't get a busy signal, but a message that says your call was rejected or something. Too many people with minimal phone etiquette will ring straight back when you reject it when it is not urgent because they get confused with the busy signal.

When default call forward is disabled I believe you get an announcement for unanswered (i.e. ring out) but not for busy. It is certainly possible to do, but it would require a frankly unbelievable amount of money in licenses while earning nothing.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

ANglEAUT

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#2886010 14-Mar-2022 14:45

asjl: ... Switching your voicemail on/off ...

To change your voicemail settings, you need to use a few 'USSD codes'/ Shortcodes, which are short codes / numbers that you simply dial on your mobile and hit the SEND key (they don't cost anything to use).

Switch on: Short code is '1616' - Alternatively dial *004# then press the SEND key

Switch off: Short code is '1626' - Alternatively dial #004# then press the SEND key
...
andy

2degreesCare: Hi there

We don't have USSD codes to control Voicemail and no plans at this stage to implement it. You can turn it off by calling 202, option 3, option 8. ...

Your question was answered in 2014 already.

Calling 202, option 3, option 8 is the way to disable your voicemail with 2D
It would take me longer to search the 2D website for the USSD codes than pressing & holding 1 to call voicemail & stepping through those options
Please also realise that NZ is not a place where USSD codes are heavily promoted or used. There is practically no demand from the consumer in NZ for these codes.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

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#2886068 14-Mar-2022 16:35

@asjl - this will be my last post on the matter but it all comes down to platforms, implementation and licensing. 2 Talk allows me to provision IVR's, ring multiple lines at the same time, play caller tunes, play music on hold (all from a webpage)... doesn't mean that its going to be an easy change to bring all of these to 2 Degrees mobile.
They have bigger fish to fry.

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Ge0rge

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#2886072 14-Mar-2022 16:47

ANglEAUT:

2degreesCare: Hi there

We don't have USSD codes to control Voicemail and no plans at this stage to implement it. You can turn it off by calling 202, option 3, option 8. ...

Your question was answered in 2014 already.

Calling 202, option 3, option 8 is the way to disable your voicemail with 2D
It would take me longer to search the 2D website for the USSD codes than pressing & holding 1 to call voicemail & stepping through those options
Please also realise that NZ is not a place where USSD codes are heavily promoted or used. There is practically no demand from the consumer in NZ for these codes.

I'd argue not quite though. For instance, I have an automatic gate with a sim card. When you ring it, it uses caller ID to match your number to a list of numbers allowed access. A match results in the gate being opened and the call being dropped. With 2D, and using the answer above, the caller still gets transferred to voicemail, to be told that I have disabled voicemail, and then the call is dropped - and the caller gets charged for the call.

If it truly was disabled, there would be no connection made once the gate refused the call.

KiwiSurfer

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#2886175 14-Mar-2022 19:19

So you want a free lunch from 2degrees?

Ge0rge

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#2886182 14-Mar-2022 19:49

KiwiSurfer:
So you want a free lunch from 2degrees?

I pay to keep the sim card alive, yet it never makes a call or sends a txt - each year I top it up without using a cent. I'd hardly call that a free lunch.

Shadowfoot

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#2886188 14-Mar-2022 20:17

asjl:

And seven and a bit years later, there's been no change in the advice about ringing "Customer Hindrance" on 200.

Ah well....

it looks like the cost to implement this is greater than the cost to support the few users who want voicemail removed.

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#2886189 14-Mar-2022 20:18

Shadowfoot:
asjl:

And seven and a bit years later, there's been no change in the advice about ringing "Customer Hindrance" on 200.

Ah well....

it looks like the cost to implement this is greater than the cost to support the few users who want voicemail removed.

100% correct

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