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The
adage of the shoemaker’s children not having any shoes springs to mind when I’m on the receiving end of high-tech failure to communicate with customers. Virtual Card
Services (VCS) are meticulous in this respect. Even mweb, my ISP, let me know when server or other maintenance is likely to affect my e-mail access. But in this last
week Vodacom chose to effect an abortive 3G network modification of some sort and pissed off many people in the process.
I’ve written approvingly several times
about my notebook 3G card – the flexibility of which I love. Its aesthetically ugly little aerial is stuck (mit provided velcro) to my computer lid. I’ve lurched from
no signal to two bars, to halcyon days with three bars - which had me breaking out the cooking sherry - and back to no signal bars at all. Thursday last week I had to
abandon 3G and with muttered apologies for the curses I’d directed its way, revert to my ISDN line to maintain Internet comms. The 3G card access behaved erratically
and unreliably, if at all. I phoned Vodacom to find out if there was a problem with the 3G network or signal. Nyet! - all was well in the Motherland. OK – so one of my
3G program files had become corrupt thought I. That evening, I uninstalled and re-installed the software, rebooting with the expectation that all would be well. This
was not to be.
Come Friday I was bordering on mobile Internet-deprivation anxiety. I got hold of the Vodacom call centre again who now told me I needed some
firmware. Moi? More specifically, the 3G card did - although I guess if Vodacom could do something about my gravity attacked body - that would be one helluva value
added service. I was told that the only centre who could do the firmware upgrade was Vodaworld in Midrand. It couldn’t be downloaded off the ‘net because Vodacom seems
to think that people who regularly download firmware upgrades for other hardware peripherals, can’t be trusted to get it right with their 3G card. Disrupting my day
because I desperately needed the card to work at a conference over the weekend, I arrived at the misnamed Vodacom ‘customer care’ centre in Vodaworld. The counter
clerk told me they’d check my 3G PCMCIA card in to see if it was faulty. I told her I didn’t want it checked I just wanted the firmware upgraded.
At that point
she gave me a triumphant look and said, ‘Have you got proof of purchase?’ I responded tartly that I resented the implication that I was a 3G card thief and that ‘if
the bloody call centre had advised me to bring proof of purchase I might indeed have done so.’ She offered to call her supervisor. I projected my voice to engage the
maximum audience in the uncaring centre and demanded to see the manager, or to be put through to Alan Knott-Craig’s office immediately. In a flash, proof of purchase
necessity slipped off the radar screen and I was ushered through to the most incredibly helpful young techie named Carel. He and the other techies navigated my
irritation with politeness, empathy and constructive options. Carel promptly installed the firmware upgrade and with my arteries still intact I left for home. I wrote
on the complaints report that Carel should immediately be promoted and given lots more money.
Here’s the inside track gleaned from chatting with one of the
other techies: Vodafone’s ‘Option’ brand 3G card is a dog. It was the first card available in SA and in an attempt to get it to perform more reliably, a network tweak
was attempted last week. The result was too many frustrated people pitching to change their ‘faulty’ 3G cards. Even the techies weren’t warned about the supposed
‘upgrade.’ The chaos that resulted had Vodacom rolling back the tweak in order to allow poor sods like me some level of connectivity again.
Here’s the learning:
How nice if someone at Vodacom had thought to SMS or e-mail 3G users in advance to say that they were attempting to improve service for the Option-card-only 3G users -
and that there might well be glitches. Then I wouldn’t have uninstalled and re-installed software. I could have made other plans. I might have been forgiving and
understanding. But the sheer lack of foresight and communication led to me (and how many others?) wasting precious working hours of time over two days. I deeply resent
that. Someone’s backside deserves a sharp kick with a size ten Wellie!
Now, having suffered my final signal-drop irritation with this card, I took it back to
Vodashop in SandtonCity and they’re getting it swapped out for a Novatel or Nortel one, which according to a colleague of mine with experience of them, will work
perfectly.
Whatever the intention – even if it is to offer better product, service or signal – tell the bleedin’ customer before you start messing with anything! Or is that asking too much?
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