Three Store refusing to take my money rant...

Badger_Lady

Rant time again!

I nearly burst into tears this afternoon from shear frustration (I didn't though).

Thought I should copy you guys into my saga of trying to become a Three Mobile customer!

I'm shocked and appauled at your SALES service. I've never found it so difficult to give someone my money! How many customers are you losing on a daily basis through your acquisition channel, purely due to ineptitude?

I placed an order online for a SIM-only PAYG last week. It was declined, I assume because I paid for it with my credit card and my postal address, but with my Mother's christian name because she will be using it.

I therefore went back to the site and ordered again, using my own first name instead of my mother's. I received email confirmation, then another email saying that the order was processed and my SIM would arrive on 27th May.
My Mother sat at my house all day, waiting for her new SIM card which never arrived. I called your customer service line and was told that the second order had also been cancelled - without notification and without known reason.

I placed a third order online. Some hours later this was declined. This time I can only guess it's because I put down my usual first name of "Sarah" whereas my credit card has the full name "Louise-Sarah".

I placed another order online (my fourth). I quickly received confirmation that the order was processed and I could expect delivery on Friday 30th May. Also, that my "price plan cost" is £10 a month. For a PAYG SIM with no bolt-ons????

I called your call centre to clarify this and was told, after a lengthy wait on hold, that they couldn't access my order. They couldn't put me through to the team who can, and the only number I could call is an 0870 number. Since I'm at work and could be sacked for calling a premium rate number from my work phone, I'm stuck.

Above all this is the time delay caused. My parents are travelling to France this week and need to take the new SIM with them. It will be their primary phone number, and before they leave the country they need to set up a divert from it to their French mobile.

They were due to leave today (one day after I was promised courier delivery of my SIM).

You are now asking them to wait until after some unknown time on Friday (three days later).

This is simply not good enough, and certainly does not bode well for our supplier/customer relationship in the future!

I don't expect a speedy or comprehensive response to this email - if I did I would ask you to please accelerate delivery of my order so that it could be received tomorrow (Thursday 29th May). Or I would at least ask for a geographical phone number to call to sort this issue out.

However, since by the time you actually read this message and consider responding to it, my parents will be on their boat somewhere in Europe, that won't be much help.

The only option your sales channel gives me is to vent, both here and on blogs / web forums, and to hope (perhaps vanely) that you take some of my comments on board when reviewing the services you offer prospective customers.

Thanks for all your help
^ sarcasm

(the names above have been changed to protect me identity )

dragonsoup

This does beg the question of why you still want to be their customer?

superscaper

You may want to change "appauled" and "vanely".

Badger_Lady

dragonsoup wrote: »

This does beg the question of why you still want to be their customer?

Unfortunately, it's the only network that will do a divert on a PAYG phone, so not much choice in the matter...

Cheers Scaper, I did write it in a bit of a mad rage to get it off my chest before driving home... don't expect whoever reads it will have English as their first language anyway

chocolatechipcookies

The thing I just cannot wrap my brain around is the fact that you tried 4 times to order it online, why not after the second time, did you not just go to the shop or call the shop direct?

fudgeukraine

Please don't tell me you sent that to them? If you did, that'll end up in the nutter notice board and sent around the internal e-mail I'm afraid. A person gets about 75 e-mails a day, yours won't faze them in the slightest (I, for my sins, did an ISP 'customer support' in between uni, your e-mail is what many were like, they normally just got a bog standard response/apology I'm afraid)

Why don't they just get a french SIM when on holiday If it's only for a couple of weeks?

Badger_Lady

chocolatechipcookies wrote: »

The thing I just cannot wrap my brain around is the fact that you tried 4 times to order it online, why not after the second time, did you not just go to the shop or call the shop direct?

I did try - I was told it can only be ordered online, because "SIM only" is web exclusive.

It's not just for a couple of weeks - my parents live there most of the year. They normally pay £30 a month for a contract that they hardly use, this runs out on 6th June so they're replacing it with the new 3 PAYG. When they leave to go on their boat today, I won't see them again until October.

Yes, I did send it, and last night at 6:15 I had a phonecall apologising and offering to help me with the situation. I certainly don't see how it makes me a "nutter". The funny thing was, they called me, then spent 20 minutes asking what my postcode was because they couldn't find me on the system :rotfl: .

Anyway, long and short is that I'm to call back this morning and obtain details of the courier's office where I can pick it up today.

uktim29

Badger_Lady wrote: »

The only option your sales channel gives me is to vent, both here and on blogs / web forums, and to hope (perhaps vanely) that you take some of my comments on board when reviewing the services you offer prospective customers.

That bit makes you look like a nutter.

The how many customers are you losing just makes you irritating. The system is designed to prevent fraud and will save them far more than it will loose them.

You're going on about them loosing customers, no-one who reads this will be financially effected by your assumptions anyway. I say assumptions because what you've written won't put 99.9% of people off. I only write 99.9% instead of 100% because if I do that someone just for the hell of it will then say "well I won't buy from them" just for the sake of it.

So yes, it wasn't the best complaint letter ever written!

timnicebutdim_2

Before I buy anything on the internet i do a quick google search of the item to compare price and i also put the word 'review' next to the item to see what people have to say about the company and the product involved. I take each opinion with a pinch of salt but if a pattern starts to emerge e.g. product faulty, keeps breaking down etc then that would put me off. I have done this many times and am glad not to have bought the said item or dealt with the company.

So sometimes maybe opinions and reviews can be damaging to sales if posted on the net, although i do agree that in this case it sounds like the op has had a one off and been unlucky.

Badger_Lady

It wasn't exactly a composed letter of complaint - it was an email sent through the website in a moment of complete frustration at not being able to contact anyone at the company :rolleyes:

I am a Senior Manager at a large corporation - if I receive a complaint like this, I take it very seriously. If I found out that staff in my call centre were laughing at customers, believe me, heads would roll! Customer feedback is key to improving our services.

And yes, I do know all about the balance between "preventing fraud" and "continuing to acquire customers". In my limited experience, 3 have not found that balance. And I certainly don't see how a system that:

- Rejects an order for no apparent reason and sends an email to the customer saying, "yes, your order is accepted and is on its way now";
- Sends a confirmation email with completely inaccurate information like "this will cost you £10 a month" when it in fact won't cost anything other than calls made;
- Restricts the order process to online-only so that a failed attempt can't be rectified over the phone;
- Doesn't allow transfer from one department to another;
- Only provides expensive 0870 numbers;
- etc

... prevents fraud?

I've come on to the "Consumer Vent" board to have a good old-fashioned rant and that's exactly what I've done. The email I sent 3 got a good response and resolved my issues. Why pull it apart?

superscaper

timnicebutdim wrote: »

although i do agree that in this case it sounds like the op has had a one off and been unlucky.

I agree, I've only just moved to Three myself last month. New phone, porting number from old network etc, ordering online, negotiating voucher. Didn't come across a single problem really and dispatched quicker than expected and it came exactly when they said it would. No complaints myself. It's unfortunate this has happened to the OP. I'm just glad it isn't company wide (or doesn't seem to be).