To anyone considering signing up for a 2 Degrees contract,
 
My wife has recently left Vodafone as she was very disappointed, disgusted may be a better word, with their customer service.

I did a little research into alternatives and found that 2 Degrees had the best offers by far. For $59 a month she could get 210 mins call time, 1000 texts and 100mb of data + carry over minuets. Also 3 months free (after the first months bill is paid) and a free Ideos handset.

Now, there are usually bits in the small print that I might miss so I called the free phone number and checked. Just to be 100% I did this twice and both times the (very polite and helpful) people I spoke to assured me that I was correct but confirmed that these offers were only available in store. Being in Taupo this meant Dick Smiths or Warehouse Stationary. Off we went. The time was now just after 11:00am.

Dick Smiths first. The assistant instantly looked sceptical. He said he'd had the most basic training and didn't really know if he could help with a contract but he'd try. He couldn't log on and that was the end of it. Bear in mind that the shop was very busy so the guy wasn't inclined to go to any great lengths. They sent us to Warehouse Stationary, something he said he did with most potential 2 Degrees customers who wanted more than a SIM card or top-up.

There was only one woman in Warehouse Stationary that had had any training and she freely said she didn't know what to do and recommended that we go home and call 2 Degrees for help. Again the shop was very busy and she really didn't have time to be more helpful. We went home and I made the call, explaining that of the only two places in Taupo that sold 2 Degrees products, neither could help. We were again told that the offers were only available in store. The very helpful 2 Degrees assistant advised that we should get the in store assistant to call the telephone help line and that he was sure that things could be worked out that way.

Off we went back to town. The time was now around 1:00pm.

Back at Dick Smiths we waited for a customer service person and asked him to call 2 Degrees to assist him with his log-on problem. He did and we got started. After we'd filled in most of the details we got to a point where I mentioned the free handset. I should add that this was clearly advertised in the shop.
The guy helping us said he didn't know anything about the promotions so I related what I had been told by 2 Degrees over the phone. I pointed out the poster and the guy did agree that I should be able to get a free handset. However, there was no place in the online form to allow for a free phone to be issued. He asked the help line assistant about this and was told to ask his manager. He did so.

His manager also knew nothing about the free handset offer so he spoke to the telephone assistant himself and was told to contact his manager, which he did. His manager wasn't available and at this point the store manager refused to take the process further. His point was that he was being asked to give away a handset and had no means of debiting this from his stock. He recommended that we go back to Warehouse Stationary and try there. We did. It was now around 2:30pm.

We spoke to the same assistant as previously in Warehouse Stationary and she, though very busy, agreed to try to sort things out. As with Dick Smiths, she couldn't log on with the user name and password in her handbook so, at my prompting, she also called the help line. The 2 Degrees helpline assistant talked her through the entire process until we again reached the point where a means of 'costing' a free handset was required.

Again, the assistant was referred to her manager who, again, didn't know what to do. He took the pone and was referred to his manager, who couldn't help. At this point the 2 Degrees helpline assistant didn't know what to do so we could get no further. We were advised that it might be easier to go to Telecom, just around the corner.

We left the store and I called 2 Degrees (0800 022 022 then option 1) and, for the first time, I got someone who wasn't very helpful. I was told that I had to 'make' the shop assistants work things out or drive to another town. I was told again that promotions were only available in store, that I couldn't take out the 24 month contract and try to sort out the free handset or other bonuses at a later date and that they had to be done on the day. I'm not really sure just how I expected her to help but maybe something like "That's ridiculous. Please hold while I get my manager. I'm sure he'll ring the shop in Taupo and sort things out for you." No. Basically, it was my problem so, tough luck, go to Telecom. We did. It was now after 4:00pm.

We went into the Telecom shop and I timed this. 24 month plan (more expensive than 2 Degrees), no carry over minuets, got a free handset (very poor compared to the Ideos offered by 2 Degrees) and no free 3 months. In less than 7 minuets we left the shop with a working 3G phone.
 
To summarise, I think the call plans and offers 2 Degrees have are fantastic, better by far than any either Vodafone or Telecom but, what's the point when no-one can access you're products? My wife and I both spent over 5 hours on this, two trips to town and back, several (free) phone calls, interminable periods of explaining 2 Degrees offers to people who are supposed to be selling us 2 Degrees products and generally becoming mind numbingly frustrated.
 
My question is, why are the sales assistants in these stores so lacking in product knowledge? Why are these offers unavailable online or over the phone? This seems a glaring oversight in a country were so many people are so far removed from such stores, especially stores that seem to be unable to assist customers.

It seems doubly sad when (with the exception of the last tele sales person I spoke to, who seemed to think it was my fault for not living in Auckland) everyone we dealt with tried so very hard to make things work.

It was, quite literally, impossible. It's quite shocking to hear that sales representatives are sending away potential 2 Degrees customers, even recommending that they go to Telecom or Vodafone, on a daily basis! This is through no fault of their own, rather because they simply cannot help. They just don't know what to do. It's important to remember that these guys are working at a general sales counter, not a separate desk and are constantly having to field questions like, "Is this the right memory card for my camera? Will these headphones work on my Mac? Have you seen a small boy with a PSP and a runny nose?"

So, my wife is now tied into a Telecom 24 month contract that isn't what she really wanted. I was considering going onto 2 degrees myself but I obviously can't do so, whether I want to or not. Well, not if I want any of the bomus free stuff.
 
My thanks for you're reading through this saga. I hope this is just a Taupo thing but, I'm guessing it's not.