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Oonagh Reidy

‘Handle With Care’: How Vodafone Labels Disgruntled Users

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Troubled telco Vodafone are treading carefully after what has been a catastrophic period in customer relations. So much so that it is now categorising customers “handle with care” or “service recovery” on their user database.


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As I awaited my new plan sign on in a Sydney retail outlet yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice the new labels appear on the screen as a staff member talked me through the process.

The ‘handle with care’ label appears to speak for itself, while ‘service recovery’ is a bit more vague.

The chosen plan, a $35 SIM only deal, will see this Vodafone customer kiss goodbye to pre pay for now. Why?

Because a BlackBerry smartphone is about as useful as a broken kettle unless you sign on to a contract deal, unable to use any of the apps, Facebook, Twitter or additional features.

The only benefit of having a BlackBerry on prepay over a bog standard $59 Nokia handset would be the fast web browsing. Hence, the huge use by business customers, I guess.

But in fairness to Voda, their service was pretty clean, although various staff seemed to have a different answer to exactly the same question. (The existence of Skype app for BlackBerry Bold 9780 still requires a definite answer).

However, three separate people I have talked to in the last week alone have had only bad things to say about the red telco, who recently took over 3 mobile stores completely.

One disgruntled customer, having travelled over to New Zealand for a four day rugby trip arrived home to be slapped with a bill for a heart stopping AU$500.

 

The shocked user cancelled the direct debit and is demanding a full run down of charges, claiming the phone was “barely used” while away.

Although international roaming (even over the ditch) is never cheap, who would have thought it would be that extortionate.
Another ticked off Voda user claimed, she was overcharged by $90 on a bill, which appeared to be the telco charging her for her 1.5GB data usage rather than treating it as an allowance, as per her plan.

“It can just be me, the same thing could be happening to hundreds of other, they just don’t know about it,” the angry customer said. The telco also failed to offer any compensation, which also caused further outrage.

But this straw pole of Voda customers appear not to be on their own. Recent figures show 375,000 fled the network in the first six months of the year, which has been besieged with poor service coverage and bad customer service, to its rivals,  losing $78.2m.

So, why stay with Voda? Because when most of your contemporaries are on it, it makes sense to stay put for the sake of lighter phone bills.

It’s hard not to be sceptical but if Voda succeeds in making up for past sins, and it is currently in the middle of a network upgrade, replacing out dated towers with Huawei technology, introduced Infinite and All Time plans in a bid to keep angry customers sweet, it may even manage to reclaim some of its lost business.

 

By the end of the year, it expects upped coverage to extend to 1,000 new sites and upgrade a further 4,000 mobile base stations.

“VHA has moved quickly to fix the network issues and improve its customer service performance and we are confident that this will support VHA’s return to profitable growth,” the new customer friendly telco said in June.

Telstra 4G Hits Hong Kong @ High Speed

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Telstra 4G is roaming to Hong Kong.

Telstra 4G customers can now access high-speed services in Hong Kong.

A 4G international roaming agreement between Telstra and Hong Kong CSL was announced today, as the major telcos up the ante on 4G as its popularity catches up to 3G and 3G+ networks.

Telstra – who launched the first 4G LTE service in OZ eighteen months ago – already has one million customers using either mobile, tablet or 4G dongles and Wi-Fi 4G hotspots.

Telstra 4G customers travelling in Hong Kong will experience faster data speeds compared to 3G roaming service, said Mike Wright, Executive Director Networks and Access Technologies.

4G users will experience better service when video streaming, surfing the net or downloading large files on their mobile wherever CSL has 4G coverage, said Wright.

Telstra is the first local operator to offer 4G LTE international roaming.Pricing for 4G international roaming will remain the same as the current 3G offering.

Telstra is working on similar agreements with operators in other countries with compatible 4G networks, meaning the 4G service will be going much further afield, pretty soon.

“We’re pleased by this offering and the opportunities it presents for our customers,” said Telstra’s network boss.

“The 4G LTE International Roaming agreement with Telstra is a further step to 4G becoming a mature mobile network technology.”

Orange IT Shuts Stores, JB Hi-Fi Bites

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Orange IT appears to have closed retail stores as competition from JB HiFi and big retailers bite

AS one retailer closes….

As one electronics retailer closes…The Orange IT store in North Sydney closed its doors several weeks ago just JB HiFi opened a new store a few doors away in Walker St earlier this month. 

Inside the North Sydney Store all stock has been cleared, although there is no closing sign on the door. It appears the price friendly electronics retailer is shutting all its stores in Sydney, including Clarence St and Haymarket in Sydney CDB, according to IT consumers on Whirlpool.

The company could not be contacted for comment and is not answering calls on the phone numbers listed on its website and Facebook page, and appears to have gone underground.

The company has an address listed as T9 and T15, Level 1, 730 George St Sydney.

Orange IT has not updated its Facebook page since November, even though customers are contacting them with complaints and queries about products purchased.

Another opens….Jb Hi-Fi North Sydney

Whirlpool user ‘rickyt’ wrote on January 25: “Word to the wise, we normally use Orange IT on Clarence St in Sydney to sort out our PC’s in the office. Today they have advised that they cant deliver our order and they are closing… not sure if this is all stores but I suspect it is.”

The company, which sells everything from HP notebooks to PC accessories like Logitech speakers, Toshiba storage devices and Targus laptop bags, appears to be still selling online, however.

 

Orange IT’s eBay store is still alive and kicking and has listed products dated as recent as 20 February. They’re even offering free delivery on most goods.

Orange IT customers include “corporates, small business, government, students” according to its website.

“I like Orange IT however recently they haven’t had much in stock. It’s sad if the whole chain closed down,” another consumer wrote on the forum.

Gloom Haunts High St.

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July retail sales stumble almost 1% as doom and gloom return to haunt High St.
ABS latest retail trade figures show retail fell 0.8 percent in July.

This marks a U-turn from the positive trend seen in recent months following a rise of 1.2% in retail sales for June.

Department stores like Myer fell the most out of all retailers (-10.2%), disappointing for Bernie Brookes and Co after recording a strong rise the previous month.

Department stores also remain the weakest performing industry over the longer term (down 0.5% in trend terms), the Australian Bureau Statistics confirmed today.

This was followed by other retailers (-2.8%) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory also stumbled into negative growth territory (-0.9%).

Household goods retailing (2.4%), cafes, restaurants and takeaway foods (0.3%) and food retailing (0.1%) also showed modest increases in trade and is the strongest performing industry over the longer term.

Turnover fell in all states in July, but the largest was New South Wales (-0.8%) which recorded its first fall since February, Queensland (-1.1%), Victoria (-0.4%), Western Australia (-0.6%), South Australia (-0.7%), the Northern Territory (-2.6%), Tasmania (-1.4%) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.2%).

Resource rich Western Australia remains the strongest performing state (up 0.5% in trend terms) over the longer term.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the monthly decline confirmed retailers’ fears trade growth would drop after a short term spike driven by federal budget stimulus payments and cooler weather.

 

“Retailers saw consumer spending fizzle out in July as households began to grapple with the effects of the carbon tax, changes in health fund rules and health insurance rebates. ” said ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman.

“The heavy decline in Department stores was also is not surprising given discretionary spending is the first sacrifice consumers make when budgets are tightened.”

The retail body predicts 2012 will see “little to no sustained growth” for the retail sector, and is calling for assistance for retailers in employment relations, tenancy, training and lifting of planning and zoning restrictions

ARA is expecting retail trade figures to drop further from their artificially higher midyear levels as utility bills roll in and are impacted for the first time by increased levies and taxes.

Retail sales in the first six months of 2012 increased 2.8%, according to Deloittes Access Economics Retail research, also released today.

What A Turn Off! Google TVs Returned By Users

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Disgruntled Google TV users are returning sets in droves. Logitech International, which makes hardware running Google TV technology including Revue set-top box andl keyboard, recently announced revenue losses in the category, saying more units were returned than sold.


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This was “partly due to the fact that Google TV has not yet fully delivered to its own promises,” Logitech Chairman Guerrino De Luca, said in a conference call Thursday.

Logitech itself had promised “there’s no telling what your TV will be able to do” with its hardware running Google. 

Revue has a keyboard with integrated touch and directional pad, an HDMI cable and IR blaster. 

He also admitted his company has misjudged the smart TV market. It is now to slash the price of Reuve by 60% – from US$249 to just US$99. It was originally launched with an RRP of US $299.

“We launched Revue with the expectation that it would generate significant sales growth in spite of a relatively high price point and the newness of both the smart TV category and the underlying platform,” De Luca lamented. 

Sony were also said to be unhappy with the performance of its TVs running on Google Android, first launched in the US last September. 

However, despite the dissing, Google say Logitech’s complaints wouldn’t stop the giant chasing its TV dreams.

“It’s still early days for smart TVs and we’re investing to continue to bring innovation and progress for our partners and users,” a spokesperson said. 

The Android creators are also said to be working on a second version of Google TV, which will run You Tube movies and a stash of apps, to be delivered later this year.

Conroy: Tony Abbott “Mislead” On NBN

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Yesterday it was Malcolm Turnbull, now Steven Conroy is turning on Tony Abbott, accusing him of “wilfully” misleading the public on NBN.


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Steven Conroy on the attack.

Minister for Broadband, Senator Steven Conroy, has launched a verbal attack on Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, accusing him of wilfully misleading Australians with his remarks on the $36bn National Broadband Network in his Budget reply, yesterday.

Opposition leader Mr Abbott claimed in Parliament the cost to consumers of NBN services could be three times higher than  currently.

“That is just wrong. Prices for NBN plans released to date are cheaper than, or equivalent to, existing ADSL plans, but with much improved quality of service,” Senator Conroy said in a statement this afternoon.

“Skymesh is offering NBN services from $29.95 per month. Extel’s entry-level plan costs $35 per month. A number of other retail providers, including Optus, offer NBN services starting from $39.95 and $49.95 per month,” he added. 

“Thanks to the NBN, competition between retail providers is increasing,” Conroy insists in his second major attack on against the Opposition in just 24 hours. 

Conroy also said Tony Abbott should “check his facts” before delivering a national address to Parliament and claims Abbott “pretends” that investing in “affordable” broadband should be replaced by more spending on roads.

“Mr Abbott clearly doesn’t understand that the NBN is classified by international accounting standards as an equity investment rather than a budget expense. This is consistent with long-standing budget treatment applied by this and previous Australian Governments.”

This comes just a day after Conroy accused Liberal MP and Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, of being “lazy, financially illiterate, or both” after he accused Labor of a $400 million “blowout” on NBN.

 

The equity investment in the NBN cannot be shifted to pay for more roads, unless those roads are being run by a government business making a return, the Broadband and Communications Minister claims.

“In delivering its Budget surplus, Labor is investing in the NBN and Australia’s infrastructure.”

He also cited a $36 billion infrastructure and investment program, including $3.6 bn for the duplication of the Pacific Highway.

BlackBerry Messenger Fuel London Riots?

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Welcome to Generation Twitter, where a simple tweet and a seemingly innocent BlackBerry can fuel a revolution.

And that is just what appears to have happened on the streets of London over the weekend, several leading politicians and British Metropolitan Police believe.


The riots, which kicked off in the north London suburb of Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, following the mistaken shooting of a local youth by police, was followed by street protests against police, outside High Road police station. 

However, it quickly escalated into violence with shop looting, widespread public damage and setting fire to businesses quickly gaining currency among disgruntled Londoners. 
And the violence has now spread to areas south of the city on Monday – the latest London suburbs under siege are Croydon, Hackney and Lewisham. 

However, the link between the two events is somewhat unsubstantiated, considering the grim economic climate and public serivce cuts besieging Britain, at present. 

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) the instant messaging service was picked out as a particular tool of choice by rioters, which saw users communicate future riot locations to one another.
Twitter, Facebook also played their part, although the sheer beauty of BBM is that it can only be shared among users and not  within online public forums. 
Over one third of British youths own a BlackBerry smartphone. 
One BBM sent on Sunday, which called “everyone from all sides of London “to vandalise shops on Oxford street, according to Guardian reports. 

“Everyone from all sides of London meet up at the heart of London (central) OXFORD CIRCUS!!, Bare SHOPS are gonna get smashed up so come get some (free stuff!!!) fuck the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! >:O Dead the ends and colour war for now so if you see a brother… SALUT! if you see a fed… SHOOT!,” one BBM message said. 

The finger is also being pointed at Twitter users, with one of the top dogs in the Met, deputy assistant commissioner, Steve Kavanagh, hinting he would consider arresting users of the micro blogger who incited violence, BBC reports.

 


“Once someone starts posting on a BBM group or Twitter, a lot of young people try to follow the trend,” he told BBC News.

“They might not join the actual event, but they might talk about it or use the same hashtag which makes it sound like there is a lot more volume.”

However, The Guardian suggests Facebook users were also on the money, with 7500 joining an action group before 10.30pm on Saturday evening – just several hours after the initial Tottenham protest. 
BlackBerry UK said today they were assisting police with their enquiries. 


“We feel for those impacted by the riots in London. We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can,” BlackBerry UK tweeted earlier today. 


The troubled phone maker is already in the doldrums in its struggle against iPhone and Android, although the popularity of the BlackBerry among youths may a be a surprise to many (and could give the ailing brand gain some street cred, however unwelcome). 

Just recently the BlackBerry makers, Research In Motion, announced an update to its instant messaging service, BBM 6, and only last week announced in the coming months it was releasing five new smartphones globally, BlackBerry Bold and Torch models. 

Hello, Telstra? Telco Unleash Live Facebook Chat

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Telstra have gone social networking mad – opening 24/7 live chat allowing customers to stay in touch with the new kings of customer service…even at 4am.


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If Twitter wasn’t enough now Telstra have gone one step further with round the clock Facebook chat. 

And if you think David Thodey’s Telco has gone barmy, it insists some customers do have service issues well into the night. 

“Our social media support team is now available 24/7- so we can answer that niggling question you have about data usage in the middle of the night, albeit possibly in our pajamas.”

“Or you can get help when overseas, whatever the time zone,” Gerd Schenkel, Exec Director wrote on Telstra Exchange. 

“I know you might be wondering who would be talking to Telstra in the wee hours of the night but it just so happens that lots of our customers prefer that.”

And over 20% of tweets to @telstra are “after hours,” says Schenke. 

And it has also unleashed online CrowdSupport, where fellow Telstra users can contact each other – post questions and answers about products, services.

So if your Android is frustrating you then CrowdSupport might have the answer. 

 

“It’s all about “give and take” in this new community.Telstra service folks are on hand to help where needed, but often times the answer may well be the “wisdom of the customer (crowd)”.


The move is part of its image revamp, investing $1billion in ‘Project New’ makeover. 
And the plan is paying dividends, with major customer growth recorded in recent financial report:

Unprepared: How Dicks Sale Went (Horribly) Wrong

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You don’t plan to fail but you can fail to plan.


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That’s the lesson to be gained out of Dick Smith’s disastrous gaming sale, which kicked off on Monday last and left thousands of consumers sour faced-after the mammoth sale went horribly wrong.

Some were even branding the $7m clearance sale a “scam” after Dick’s website crashed with enthusiastic consumers wishing to get their hands on massive bargains including Sony’s PSP for $40 and Assassins Creed 2 for just $5, while others arrived instore to find out the sale goods were not even in stock.

A document leaked online which listed everything – including consoles, gaming titles that were to go on sale was part of the problem, a ‘mystery’ DS employee told Gizmodo.

Read: Scorned Customers Lash Out Over Dick Smith’s $7M Sale ‘Scam

The leaked list didn’t mean every item would be available in every store, the staffer added.

“To us staff, we can translate that document immediately to see what’s in stock and what isn’t, whereas anyone else would have looked at it and thought ‘EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!”

The leaked item list forced the retailer to fast forward the sale to April 02 – a full ten days before it was actually scheduled to take place on the 12th.

“We were meant to be given a week to price all the games and have it ready for sale come April 12th but due to the leak the entire thing was bumped up, giving us staff very little time to prepare for it,” the employee revealed.

And was it a way for Dick to flog gaming stock due to discontinuation of its gaming department?

No it was “just to clear out old gaming stock,” the mystery employee insists.

“Dick Smith is certainly continuing to sell games because no new games were put on sale and our system is still being actively stocked. I’d wager they’re trying to liquidate old stock as Woolworths do want to sell the business off.”

 

Dick Smith’s General Manger blamed “the unforseen popularity of Dick Smith gaming sale”  for customers leaving the store empty handed.

“We understand a certain amount of misinformation was published online last week that led some customers to believe certain products were on sale when they were not or they were a different discount.”