Archive for "Reviews"
Provider Wars: Part 2
Posted on August 18, 2010 by Brian under Reviews.
As promised, I am back to discuss the rate plans that are being provided by the big 4. That would be T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
I did extensive research and compared the family plans from all carriers, using my current plan as the base for comparison. To give you a little back ground. I have been with T-Mobile for over 10 years. I started out on just a simple single person rate plan and then about 6 years ago upgraded to the Family Plan and brought my wife’s phone into the mix. The plan we have right now is a 500 min (shared) family plan for $49.99, they don’t offer this any more and we have been very careful to not loose it. We don’t use that many minutes as everyone we know is on T-Mobile and we use Mobile-to-Mobile minutes more than anything. We added a Family Unlimited Text plan a few months after that for $9.99, this is also no longer available and we have been careful to keep this feature. If they were to ever discontinue this feature and force us to change, we would have to pay $9.99 per line instead of the current overall coverage for text messaging. The plan works for us and we have never gone over our minutes. We had data on our lines but only for 30 days as neither of our phones were really data friendly.
Since I had been having trouble getting what I wanted out of T-Mobile I decided to look elsewhere, in case I needed to change providers. I really didn’t want to change providers, like I said; everyone we know is on T-Mobile service. The Mobile-to-Mobile is a real benefit to us.
I started with Verizon. I get a 12% discount through my company on any Verizon account, so this was a perk. The family plan that I looked at was $99.99 for 700 Talk and (unlimited) Text minutes. I would then have to add unlimited data to the account for an additional $30.00 per line. In total with my discount my plan would have been around $150.00 before taxes. This was the lowest plan that they offered in the Family category. I was disappointed that they did not offer a Talk, Text and Data plan in the Family Plans. But looking at all the others this was shaping up to be the best.
Verizon also has the best coverage out of all of the carriers. Their data service is ranked highest amongst JD Power and Associates and due to the purchase of Alltel; they edged out AT&T for the top seat in the customer service category.
With the popularity of the Android market rising almost daily, Verizon offered a very large selection of these phones. The most popular being the HTC Incredible and the Motorola Droid X. Both were not available for purchase when we visited the store and we were told that it would be 24 to 48 hours before any would be in. However, we still felt that if we had to change providers this would be the smart option. As my wife told my friends “I will be a shame if we have to change providers because it means we will have to find new friends on the Verizon network so we can use the Mobile-to-Mobile again”.
The next carrier is AT&T. I am not fond of them ans the only thing they really have going for them is the iPhone. Without that, they would not be in the ranks at all. They were rated third in customer service by JD Power and they slipped in the ranks of customers thanks to Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel. Their coverage is only good in major cities and along major highways. Their data coverage is worse than their cell coverage and with the amount of people that use iPhones in any given city, the network is prone to frequent outages. The kicker though, the thing that I think will come back and bight AT&T in the ass is that they did away with their unlimited data plans. They now only offer 2Gig plans for customers that use data. This is not wise for smart phones that are perpetually connected to the internet like the iPhone. someone like my wife would go thorugh 2Gigs in a little over 2 weeks. You would not be able to stream things like Pandora or Slacker all the time because you would burn through your data too quickly. It’s no wonder that it was recently reported that the sales of the iPhone had recently dropped. Their 700 min Talk only plan was 69.99, I would have to add Unlimited Text for an additional $15.00 per line and then the 2Gig data plan for an additional $30.00 per line. In total it would be $150.00 for the service as well. But the coverage and the lack of anything other than an iPhone was very discouraging.
(Update: AT&T just released the Galaxy S to their line up. This adds another non iPhone option that is in my opinion much better. But with a lack of Unlimited Data, I don’t see this being a popular choice).
Last we have Sprint. Sprint’s appeal is their Unlimited Everything plan. This is unlimited calling to any phone, anywhere in the United States. Also unlimited Text and picture messaging and Unlimited Data. The family plan was $129.99 before taxes. This was very appealing. We would not have to worry about going over our min, we would still be able to keep our friends even though they were on a different carrier and we would not have to worry about data limitations. All in all this was looking to be the economical pick. However, we had the Sprint coverage issues and the fact that they have been in last place among the big 4 in customer service ratings for the last 5 years running. I have a few friends that are on Sprint and they have no problems, as long as they stay in Wichita. They leave the major city and it’s outsville for the coverage. Looking over the review on the web this seems to be the running story.
So looking over everything, I decided that Verizon would be the best choice. They had the best coverage, the best data, the best customer service. Simply the best all around. And with the discount it made it quite enticing.
Update: Since I started this post T-Mobile has finally offered me what I wanted. So we are staying with them for at least another 2 years. By then the iPhone will have been outof exclusivity, all the carries will have a version and with luck everyone will still have the unlimited data plans. If not then I will stay with T-Mo until the end of the world.
Which according to the Mayans, should happen about the time my contract ends.
(no really, that’s what the tablets say…”Flip’s contract ends and the world ends”)
Go figure.
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The War of the Providers!
Posted on August 17, 2010 by Brian under Reviews, Shopping, Wishlist.
Ok, let me start at the beginning.
Several weeks ago (before I left for Germany) my wife decided that she wanted the HTC HD2 that T-Mobile had just released. Unlike me, she did not do her research and find out if the phone was worth the buy. She has liked Windows phones since her first one and she refused to change even though all of the Windows phones that she has owned have failed her in some way.
So we looked and looked and suddenly like a beacon from heaven, Wal-Mart has the HD2 on sale for $50.00! Ching took this as a sign from God that she was meant to have this phone, ok not really but you could see the gears working in her head. I caved and let my baby have what she wanted. I did provide a small protest and point out that all of her other windows phones were crap, she replied with “but this one is different”. So, we made the buy and off we went. She was happy, I was happy that she was happy and for the next few days she set everything up and it looked like all was well.
I get back from Germany and my wife says “Something is wrong with my phone”. I knew this was going to happen. We look at it and then decide to call T-Mo for support. Their first reaction, “let’s do a factory reset, that usually fixes the problem”. I was not keen on this idea. They did this with one of my wife’s other Window’s phones and it screwed it up. We had to reload the whole OS, this was not a good idea. I protested a little but the tech assured me that this was the only solution. I reset the phone and the problem went away. However, a dozen other problems sprung up. After a little over a day, we realized that we were still in the buyers remorse period and we took the phone back, reversed the upgrade and moved on.
We cut to this Sunday. I convinced my wife to stop by the T-Mo store and take a look at the new Vibrant. It’s the latest and greatest that Samsung has produced and is shaping up to be the baddest on the market. The wife absolutely loved it. She was impressed with all of it’s features and was impressed with it’s operation. We left the store and she said. Lets see if we can get it cheaper than 199.99.
This is a great idea since We have been with them since 2000, ever since they were Voicestream. I have never wanted to cancel my service. Hell, everyone I know and talk to is on T-Mobile service. So I called and told them that I was interested in that phone. They quoted me the price and I said. “I’m not on a contract, I get a 12% discount through my company on Verizion, I should just go there”. Like the rep is supposed to I get sent to the retention department.
This rep asks me what I am looking for and I repeat the speech. I basically said, “I am not interested in special rate plans or discounts on service. I simply want a phone cheaper than what I can get from any other provider or from walking down to Wal-Mart” (Wal-Mart currently has the Vibrant for $150.00). She say, “let me see what I can do”. She comes back a few minutes later and says “I can give you that phone for $149.99 on each line but only if that phone stays in service for 30 days. Basically you will pay full price up front and then we will give you the $50.00 after 30 days to each line. Plus, I will lower your Data plan by $10.00 dollars per line for the life time of the account”. I sat there in silence. The rep did not listen to anything I had said. I had already told her about Wal-Mart. I had already told her that I could get two droids for free and that I was not asking for free, I was just asking for something better. Shortly after that, She began to argue with me about the merits of getting the data discount. I advised her that I was just going to go to Verizion (which I still think I am going to do) and she proceeded to tell me how much more it was going to cost me. She did not know that I already looked at the plans, calculated the costs and found that after the 12% discount I was going to actually save $5.00 a month. I pointed this out to her and she just sat in silence. After that I just told her to never mind, I would call back when I had another service provider. Instead of offering me something better, she said “OK, have a nice day” and disconnected.
I know they can offer better, I have a friend that just got one for $99.00 through T-Mo, and he didn’t even have to do anything. I don’t understand what their problem is. I know what they can offer, I know what I can get. Why do they have to play these stupid games with me over this crap.
I think tomorrow I will escalate to a supervisor. I am tired of all of these silly reindeer games. If I cant get satisfaction then it’s time for a change. If they are going to make me pay over $100.00 for a phone then I am going to go someplace else.
Stay tuned tomorrow boys and girls when I reveal who is the best service provider and who sucks big…Ok, I got a little carried away there. But seriously, Stay tuned, there is more.
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Customer Service Champs 2010
Posted on February 22, 2010 by Ching under Reviews, Travel.
L.L. Bean topped Business Week’s 2010 Customer Service Champs list. Not surprisingly, Apple and Nordstrom both made the list. I hear that Nordstrom customer service is legendary. I’ve only had experience shopping with them online, since we don’t have a Nordstrom store in Wichita so I’ve never really experienced shopping in their actual physical, brick-and-mortar store. I’ve heard nothing but good things, though.
Other notables: Four Seasons beat out The Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in the rankings. Barnes & Noble beat out Amazon. Panera and Starbucks both made the list. Ace Hardware beat out True Value. Southwest Airlines barely made the list at #24. I wonder if the lower rank had anything to do with Kevin Smith. Just kidding. I’m sure that had nothing to do with it, as the list was compiled several weeks before with specific methodology — celebrity gripes on Twitter not being one of them.
There were several repeats on the list. This speaks well of the brand. I’m thinking when I have some money and can afford some of these brands, then I’ll be sure to check them out just to see what it’s all about. LOL. There were several regular people brands on the list too, though. Don’t get me wrong.
I was disappointed that my favorite hotel chain, Marriott, didn’t make the list this year. They made it on the 2009 list and I feel they totally deserve being among the Customer Service Champs. I think out of all the mid-range (I could never afford to stay at a Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton. I might be able to stay at a Fairmont if I splurge on occasion.) hotel chains Marriott provides the best customer service.
For example, we’re staying at Courtyard Marriott right now located in Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. The employees at the concierge desk have been fantastic. They’re not just friendly, but they’re very helpful also. We asked for a recommendation of a good place to eat breakfast the other day. Not only did they tell us where to go or give us directions, Edward at the front desk actually clocked out and walked us over there. They ran out of the Joanie’s business cards (that entitles the bearer to a free fruit plate) so we walked us over there to make sure we got the special deal. While there he picked up some more business cards, too.
Yesterday Brian and I decided that we would go to the California Academy of Sciences. I got directions from Google, which involved taking a MUNI bus and a BART bus. We asked Edward at the desk for his recommendation and he gave us better directions which was much more economical because it didn’t involve having to take a BART bus (we don’t have an unlimited BART pass, our unlimited pass is only for MUNI vehicles — buses, trains, cable cars, etc.). He wrote us really good directions on a map he provided and showed us where our way would have dropped us off and where his way would drop us off. The Google way would have had us walking a longer distance. Doing it the way he recommended would drop us off directly in front of the CAS building. We’d still have to walk, but it was a shorter walk.
While I’m thinking about it, I’m going to have to track down a comment card and write a kudos for Edward before we leave. He has been super nice and helpful throughout our whole stay.
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Some Companies Just Don’t Get It
Posted on April 29, 2009 by Ching under Reviews.
I love this company, but I just have to share this. So I received a call from this place I have regular appointments because they have to reschedule the standing appointments I have for the rest of the year. After we decide the date to move my very next appointment, the rep offers to go ahead and schedule the rest of the appointments every three weeks until the end of the year and then mail the list to me.
I go, “Would it be possible for you to email that to me instead?”
Pause.
Her response, “Well, we could… But that would take longer.”
I’m like, “Email takes longer than regular mail?”
“It does because then we have to print it and then type it all in to email it.”
At this point, I was so befuddled I couldn’t help but relent. Regular mail it is.
Some companies just don’t get it. Email is so much more efficient. Plus, you save on postage. I’m sure I’m not the only client that they mail appointments to. I was thinking of how long it would take me to accomplish this task and I’m guessing it would take a couple of minutes tops.
When I think about it, though, I noticed that this company doesn’t do any kind of emarketing at all. They are very good at what they do, but they are horrible at marketing and do not take advantage of online tools and resources at all.
I get lots of newsletters and marketing promotions from their competitors. Other people are doing creative campaigns. For instance, a few months leading up to Valentines Day this other place we go to for massages was sending hint postcards for their clients. Basically, the client would complete the hint postcard and then they would mail it to the client’s designated recipient. This way the client got the massage or facial or whatever service they wanted, the person receiving the postcard didn’t have to rack their brain for a gift, and it’s revenue for the spa. The spa’s marketing rep told me that she realized 100% conversion on this campaign. Every single hint postcard that mailed out turned into a massage or facial or other service. Now that is good use of postage!
This other company seems to do really well, but sometimes I wonder about their primitive practices. I’m thinking that if the marketing rep for the other place worked for them then the company would be 10x better. At least!
Companies need to use all the resources available to promote their businesses. It doesn’t mean spending a lot of money on ads and traditional marketing. There are many creative ways to market and they don’t always have to cost a lot of money. Come on people! Start marketing effectively!
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Nokia and Backorder Hell
Posted on April 17, 2009 by Brian under Blog, Life, Reviews, Wishlist.
If you have not been following my Tweets then let me fill you in.
On April 3rd I ordered a new phone through Nokia. I had some difficulties through their web site previously but through the assistance of the Nokia customer service center I was able to resolve the issue and get the phone ordered properly. However, Nokia failed to mention that I would be in backorder hell and would possibly never receive my phone. Below is a letter that I just send to there web site.
Let me start by saying that I have been a faithful user of Nokia for over 10 years. I have had just about every Nokia phone ever released. I know this probably does not amount to much since there are several people in this world that are just like me, but I thought I would say it anyway.
I recently attempted to purchase a Nokia E71. Due to some confusion on your web site my order was messed up and rejected. Despite this Nokia held almost $800 on my credit card for a week before releasing the held funds. The rep that I called (Rob) helped sort out the situation and assisted me in placing another order for the phone I wanted. He also offered me a free headset due to my phone being on back order (it was originally in stock when this whole mess started). Overall, I was pleased with the resolution and was advised that the phone would be in within 2 weeks and should ship shortly after that. This was the end of the good customer service. Things all down hill from here.
I had been following the web site waiting for the backorder flag to fall. Sure enough it fell off about 2 weeks later just as I was advised. However, I did not receive a shipping confirmation. In an attempt to find out why my phone did not ship I called customer service and spoke to another rep. This rep did not speak English very well and I had difficulty understanding everything that he was saying. I did not even get his name. I asked what was holding up my order and he advised that the phone was in but they could not ship my order because the headset was now on backorder. I was frustrated by this and asked what could be done. The only thing that he could do was apologize, nothing was offered to make amends for the error. Nothing was done to appease me for the inconvenience. Nothing was done at all. To make matters worse, the rep tried to tell me that I was offered a special deal by the previous rep. I had to immediately stop him and advise that the phone price is the same that is offered to every person that orders through the web site. I went on to advise that the headset offer was the one that is currently being promoted on the web site as well and that the free shipping is something that is offered through your company if you order anything over $200.00. I stated that nothing that I received was any more special and it was something that any other customer would have received if they had placed the same order. He then apologized, he did not say what for, I can only assume it was for trying to mislead me and getting caught.
I called again the following day and requested a supervisor. I received Jessica, a floor supervisor. I have worked in Call Centers before, I know that a floor supervisor is not a TRUE supervisor; their authority is limited (which I found throughout the conversation with her to be true). However, I gave her a chance. The only thing that she could offer was to remove the headset and then the phone would ship. I don’t see how this benefits me as a customer. I have to sacrifice something in order to get something. So now I am stuck in backorder hell. I am supposed to receive a phone with a headset but I cannot receive the phone because the headset is back ordered, then there is no guarantee that I will even receive the phone when the headset comes in because the phone may be on backorder again. The only option I seem to have is that I will have to sacrifice a portion of my order in order to get my phone, thus making my devise only partially useful in my opinion.
I have purchased many devices over the years from numerous companies and I have never had this much difficulty getting a device as I have through your company. I advised the supervisor that I would give it another week. I am sorry to say that if I do not see any progress from your company in this week I am going to cancel my order. I am also going to make sure that everyone that I speak to (Twitter, Facebook, blog, forums, text or e-mail including everyone I know in Wichita), is made aware of the trouble that I have had with your company and advise against ordering any Nokia products in the future. As it stands, my wife now refuses to purchase the 5800 Express. I had her convinced that this would be a viable replacement for her T-Mobile Wing and she was going to purchase it as soon as I had received my phone (she wanted to look at mine first before deciding) she now does not wish to purchase anything and suggested a week ago that I should cancel my order. I am trying to give your company the opportunity to correct its mistakes, but at the moment I do not see that you care to fix your error or even care about the customer at all. You seem to feel that a simple apology will suffice regardless of the situation or circumstances.
With the upcoming expiration of the contract between Apple and AT&T, the iPhone will soon be the most sought after phone on the market (more than it is currently) leaving companies like yours clamoring for business in the handset market. Exceptional Customer Service and customer loyalty are going to be the only things that will save a company in near future. At the moment my loyalty is fading by the day and if things do not improve I have no choice but to seek a new cell phone manufacturer.
I hope that this does not fall on deaf ears and I hope that someone takes and interest in the actions that took place.
After sending the letter I was shown the following message.
Your e-mail has been submitted. A Nokia Customer Care representative will respond promptly. Your questions and comments are important to us.
Since I am not satisfied with the service to begin with, I found it comical that the letter would go to the very people that I am complaining about. I guess my last little statement at the bottom is true after all. Some little CSR at Nokia will look at this and decide that its not a good thing for the rest of the CS group and can it. Which means I will most certainly cancel my order by Friday if nothing happens.
Lack of customer service and a decline in customer loyalty must be why Nokia’s earnings have declined by 90% in the last year according to Gizmodo. Looks like I will become one of the many iPhone Sheeple soon.
All hail the iPhone.
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