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The Golden Rule of Customer Services & Great Customer Service from 3
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TLDR: The golden rule of dealing with customer services is simple. You are talking to a fellow human being who spends significant time every day subjected to blame, abuse, and tantrums that are due to circumstances entirely beyond their control, that they are not in any way responsible for.
Before you contact them, think about that, no matter how angry you might be at the company they are taking calls for that day. Wait a day to calm down and reflect on that before you call them if you can.
If you were on their side of the line, how would you feel at being told that "YOU ARE STEALING MY MONEY! I'M GOING TO BRING YOUR COMPANY DOWN YOU SCUMBAGS!". You would'nt like it, right? So don't do it. Simple.
STORY: I contacted 3 back in October to cancel my contract as I wanted to migrate to Lyca using the MSE exclusive deal. At the time, I made it clear I would not be staying with 3 as there was no way they could match that deal, and despite their best efforts to retain me, they couldn't in fact match it. Very close! I got a truly great offer, but it would mean a 48month contract. I was tempted, as I had recieved great customer service from them before, and there was a lot of discussion on the forums that this could not be said for Lyca.
Now, when I read all that about Lyca CS, I took it with a grain of salt, as I've never ever had a bad experience with customer services when I have been reasonable and treated them as I would like to be treated if I was doing their job. This also proved to be true with Lyca CS when I indeed did run into some issues that were a little difficult and unexpected, but were resolved amicably with politeness and persistance.
That was where the problem started, and it took me over 3 months to notice. If you cancel with your existing provider and you are out of contract, you can do so, and you will loose your existing number. Most people want to Port Access Code their number so all their friends and family don't have to update their phone contacts unnecessarily. That was my intital plan. I liked my new number tho, and thought nothing more of it.
Yesterday, I happened to be checking online banking as I got a notice to cancel a direct debit from a different company entirely or I would be overcharged. I then noticed at the top of the statement that 3 Hutchinson had debited my account for what would have been my old contract cost. I was surprised! I started to look up if Lyca were a subsidiary of 3 or something as I was quite confused, and I was not paying Lyca by DD so 3 were the only mobile company listed under my Direct Debits.
I started scrolling back through the previous months. A single one off payment to Lyca for the promotional months, and every month since I "cancelled", 3 had still been billing me!
Initially, as most people would feel, I was quite annoyed. I thought I could not have made it any clearer in my chats with 3 that I would be leaving them and they would not be able to keep my custom purely on price point and no other factor. I felt a little cheated, as I had been paying a significant monthly fee for a service that I believed I had terminated.
Their contact centre was closed for the day, so I appreciated I would have some time to reflect on the matter, and remember my own golden rule of customer services. Yeah, I was irate, so it was better indeed to wake up with a clear head and call in the morning.
When I did, I explained the issue and my hoped for outcome right away, and was told I could be passed to the cancellations department to end my contract. That's the point where I could have, and if I had not known better, felt very frustrated and maybe expressed that in a way that was unsympathetic to the staff and company *ahem*.
I had pretty much expected they would have to transfer me to cancellations, but I also had previous experience with 3 CS that was very positive, so I thanked the agent for their help, said I knew it wasn't their fault, and asked what I would have to do.
They asked me to please give them a moment, and five or ten minutes later they were back on the chat, I presume they had themselves contacted the cancellations department I would typically have been passed to, but that is only a guess. The agent you first contact is called "Tier 1", and they typically have very limited powers to help. It's not a slight against you to pass you to "Tier 2" and a more experienced agent. They are not "palming you off", it's what they are trained and told to do. Remember that, if you can. So that agent went out of their way to help me there. Just saying!
When they returned to the chat I was informed that as a gesture of good will, they would cancel the contract immediately, and rebate all the previous charges from when I had first called to cancel, and explained that because I didn't use the PAC code the contract automatically continued. That's just how the system works. I would be better if that aspect were much more clearly explained when you do get a PAC, and that would improve the system and result in less confused and unhappy customers.
Just pointing out, the agent did not have to do that for me, but I was polite and understanding, and so were they. I'm sure tier 2 would have resolved the issue too, but it saved a bit of time and being passed around having to explain everything twice to have the first agent provide exceptional help. Every time I've contacted 3, or any customer services actually, I tend to get great service and an amicable result. I suspect it has something to do with the fact I don't start steaming at the ears and spitting chips of fury when things don't promptly and pefectly go the way I believe they should.
Just saying. It works for me. Have a lovely day, and thanks for reading.
Before you contact them, think about that, no matter how angry you might be at the company they are taking calls for that day. Wait a day to calm down and reflect on that before you call them if you can.
If you were on their side of the line, how would you feel at being told that "YOU ARE STEALING MY MONEY! I'M GOING TO BRING YOUR COMPANY DOWN YOU SCUMBAGS!". You would'nt like it, right? So don't do it. Simple.
STORY: I contacted 3 back in October to cancel my contract as I wanted to migrate to Lyca using the MSE exclusive deal. At the time, I made it clear I would not be staying with 3 as there was no way they could match that deal, and despite their best efforts to retain me, they couldn't in fact match it. Very close! I got a truly great offer, but it would mean a 48month contract. I was tempted, as I had recieved great customer service from them before, and there was a lot of discussion on the forums that this could not be said for Lyca.
Now, when I read all that about Lyca CS, I took it with a grain of salt, as I've never ever had a bad experience with customer services when I have been reasonable and treated them as I would like to be treated if I was doing their job. This also proved to be true with Lyca CS when I indeed did run into some issues that were a little difficult and unexpected, but were resolved amicably with politeness and persistance.
I consider myself fairly well able to navigate the perils of contracts and the occassional sub-optimal practices all businesses suffer from, so decided I would give Lyca a shot. I was out of contract with 3, and told my final bill would be Zero if I migrated within 30 days. I had my Lyca sim in hand, so simply swapped it out, discarded my 3 sim and when I saw the new number was really cool and memorable I thought "You know....I like that number better! I'm not going to use that PAC code. Oh well, that was great with 3, so I'm on Lyca now I guess."
That was where the problem started, and it took me over 3 months to notice. If you cancel with your existing provider and you are out of contract, you can do so, and you will loose your existing number. Most people want to Port Access Code their number so all their friends and family don't have to update their phone contacts unnecessarily. That was my intital plan. I liked my new number tho, and thought nothing more of it.
Yesterday, I happened to be checking online banking as I got a notice to cancel a direct debit from a different company entirely or I would be overcharged. I then noticed at the top of the statement that 3 Hutchinson had debited my account for what would have been my old contract cost. I was surprised! I started to look up if Lyca were a subsidiary of 3 or something as I was quite confused, and I was not paying Lyca by DD so 3 were the only mobile company listed under my Direct Debits.
I started scrolling back through the previous months. A single one off payment to Lyca for the promotional months, and every month since I "cancelled", 3 had still been billing me!
Initially, as most people would feel, I was quite annoyed. I thought I could not have made it any clearer in my chats with 3 that I would be leaving them and they would not be able to keep my custom purely on price point and no other factor. I felt a little cheated, as I had been paying a significant monthly fee for a service that I believed I had terminated.
Their contact centre was closed for the day, so I appreciated I would have some time to reflect on the matter, and remember my own golden rule of customer services. Yeah, I was irate, so it was better indeed to wake up with a clear head and call in the morning.
When I did, I explained the issue and my hoped for outcome right away, and was told I could be passed to the cancellations department to end my contract. That's the point where I could have, and if I had not known better, felt very frustrated and maybe expressed that in a way that was unsympathetic to the staff and company *ahem*.
I had pretty much expected they would have to transfer me to cancellations, but I also had previous experience with 3 CS that was very positive, so I thanked the agent for their help, said I knew it wasn't their fault, and asked what I would have to do.
They asked me to please give them a moment, and five or ten minutes later they were back on the chat, I presume they had themselves contacted the cancellations department I would typically have been passed to, but that is only a guess. The agent you first contact is called "Tier 1", and they typically have very limited powers to help. It's not a slight against you to pass you to "Tier 2" and a more experienced agent. They are not "palming you off", it's what they are trained and told to do. Remember that, if you can. So that agent went out of their way to help me there. Just saying!
When they returned to the chat I was informed that as a gesture of good will, they would cancel the contract immediately, and rebate all the previous charges from when I had first called to cancel, and explained that because I didn't use the PAC code the contract automatically continued. That's just how the system works. I would be better if that aspect were much more clearly explained when you do get a PAC, and that would improve the system and result in less confused and unhappy customers.
Just pointing out, the agent did not have to do that for me, but I was polite and understanding, and so were they. I'm sure tier 2 would have resolved the issue too, but it saved a bit of time and being passed around having to explain everything twice to have the first agent provide exceptional help. Every time I've contacted 3, or any customer services actually, I tend to get great service and an amicable result. I suspect it has something to do with the fact I don't start steaming at the ears and spitting chips of fury when things don't promptly and pefectly go the way I believe they should.
Just saying. It works for me. Have a lovely day, and thanks for reading.
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Comments
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You work for Three don't you.1
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flaneurs_lobster said:You work for Three don't you.
Brilliant! I admire your wit. Just in case that was a serious question tho, no, I do not work for 3. Classic.
You perhaps posted similarly obvious and helpful advice and were accused of working for which company? I think we have both seen those posts on here a number of times considering your post count.
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You make some good points that others would be wise to consider. Treating the person on the end of the phone like a human can pay dividends as well as being the right thing to do, as you have found.NeilJung said:flaneurs_lobster said:You work for Three don't you.
Brilliant! I admire your wit. Just in case that was a serious question tho, no, I do not work for 3. Classic.
You perhaps posted similarly obvious and helpful advice and were accused of working for which company? I think we have both seen those posts on here a number of times considering your post count.Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.2 -
Aha! I have now read your other forum posts and... you work for Lyca, don't you?! I should have guessed.... Shills! Shills everywhere!!!flaneurs_lobster said:You work for Three don't you.
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Thanks for your post. Some useful reminders, requesting a pac does not automatically end your contract, it has to be given to another network within 30 days. And be prepared for it to be your mistake too. In fairness they should have said your contract will end once your number is ported. although it is a little complicated as you are not entitled to a refund of advance charges paid for the month.0
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48 month contract? Not possible.I spent 25 years in the mobile industry, from 1994 to 2019. Worked for indies as well as the big networks, in their stores also in contact centres. I also hold a degree in telecoms engineering so I like to think I know what I’m talking about 😂0
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I have to admit your original post was so ridiculously long I couldn't be bothered to read it - but at least you split it into paragraphs!!1
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