I’ve been harassing mobile phone providers recently.
I was with Optus for years and had the problem that I live in a dead zone and have bugger all mobile service at home. Although access does improve if I grab a metal window frame before answering the call. Which does present the problem of running out of hands if you need to take notes, and I can’t believe that acting as a mobile phone antenna is terribly healthy in the long term. The lack of service allowed me to wangle a really good deal with the only drawback that it lasts nine months and then I have to remind Optus that service in my area still sucks before they reinstate the deal.
I just hit the end of my current deal and I finished the term of my contract a while back. My mobile is mostly used for incoming calls and I don’t make enough outgoing calls to warrant paying even the minimum monthly rate. So I decided to stuff the contract for a joke and go pre-paid.
Phonechoice is a pretty good resource for comparing current rates. So I had a look around their site and narrowed it down to two providers. I then gathered some info to take with me to have a wee chat with the phone shop humans.
I have to admit that Optus Mobile customer service rocks, especially compared to the customer service of the bulk of their divisions. The reason for this is that Optus Mobile is a different entity to the rest of Optus.
As a bit of a background, during the Optus sell off, Cable and Wireless kept the mobile division and run all customer service in house. The rest of Optus is owned by SingTel who, aside from being clueless in general, insist on outsourcing their customer service. They have had a massive increase in customer complaints because the outsource team seems to consist of the neurotic, the insane and a fun combination of both. I’m yet to find anyone who has had any joy dealing with them.
Unfortunately great Optus Mobile customer service has been countered by rude, arrogant and ignorant service from their stores. I have had nothing but trouble when dealing with them in the past. So I was expecting the usual level of ineptitude when I hit an Optus store first.
There were two staff members on duty; one was dealing with a customer and the other one was screwing around on a computer with her back to me. After indicating to computer chick that I was indeed looking for service, she reluctantly pried herself off her machine and came to my assistance.
I wasn’t too happy that the cheapest pre-paid deal is $30 and it only lasts six months — I did know this from my Phonechoice research, but it never hurts to ask. I don’t know how long it will take to use up $30 worth of credit, but I’d like to see first before I decide to get a higher value card later.
On top of the lack of lower end phone cards, sullen computer chick wouldn’t even allow me to buy a pre-paid card. I was told to go home, notify Optus that I wanted to transfer from contract to pre-paid and then to come back to buy a card. I wasn’t even offered the use of a phone, or even the customer service number, to arrange this in store. Needless to say, I left.
Almost directly opposite Optus is the Vodafone store, so they were my next mission. The two laid back staff members couldn’t have been more helpful. It was explained that because I’m swapping providers, I’d need a new SIM card. They have a starter pack for $29.95 including $20 of call credit and it lasts for a year. This is more than enough time to figure out what sort of card I’ll need for future use, plus the call rates are lower than Optus.
Recently my mother enquired with Optus about swapping handsets, was told of the different SIM card sizes between her old phone and the one she was considering and told that she would lose all of her phone data. I don’t know why this concerned her as she gets me to program her mobile anyway, but she wasn’t impressed by the news. Because of my new SIM card, any data on my old SIM would be wiped. I knew this and was quite prepared to reprogram the mobile. Vodafone are either more technically savvy than Optus stores, or at least train their staff, because my old SIM card got plugged into a computer and the data written to the new card. Took a few minutes, no hassle, yay Vodafone.
All I had to do then was give Vodafone a call on their free number and let them know I was good to go. That done, they transferred me through to the portability people who organised for my old mobile number to be transferred to my new Vodafone SIM card. I was informed that there was a backlog and the change would take about 24 hours. Rather than leave me hanging, they suggested I use my old SIM card until the change was finalised. When the provider name vanished from my mobile, I could than swap to my new SIM and be good to go. The change came through in twelve hours.
I then had a chat to Vodafone customer service — who have, so far, proven themselves to be as chirpy and co-operative as Optus Mobile — about setting up the usual security bars and I was done.
So now I’m a happy Vodafone customer who had a pleasant customer experience both in store and on the phone. Optus stores have a lot to learn.
Community Service Announcement: If you’ve got serious issues with your phone service provider that you have been unable to resolve, it would be well worth your while to have a chat to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Published Epinions — 30.05.2003
RSS – Posts
Michelle
23 October 2003 at 2.38 pm
Sorry, but one bad customer service experience with Optus doesn’t mean that all Optus Staff are like that. I myself work for Optus and we have customers coming back to our store 2 years after signing wanting to renew their contracts. They tell us that they love our customer service and will always shop with us… we have people that have recommended friends and family to us…. Why then would this happen if our customer service was of a low level???
Red Wolf
24 October 2003 at 8.55 am
If you work at an Optus store that values customer service, more power to you. But the poor service I received while looking for a pre-paid deal was not an isolated incident. I have encountered rude and incompetent employees at four different Optus stores. With any luck the customers they put off may end up with you, otherwise their behaviour is costing Optus customers
lucie
24 October 2003 at 8.57 am
There are always going to be exceptions. My experience with taking my mobile number over to Optus has been shocking. Due to shop staff mistakes it took almost 2 weeks to connect me, something I was reassured by said staff should take 24 hours at the most. The guy even bungled up the change of ownership and I had to wait until my next bill until I could do so. Further to that, when I went in there to sort it out, the store was unable to log into their systems, so that too would have to wait for another couple of days. About a week ago I recieved an sms from Optus stating that the change of ownership has been actioned.
Michelle, I have previously heard good things about Optus customer service, but my experience has been anything but. My incident number or whatever it is you guys call it is 1405 if you want to check it out
sbszine
24 October 2003 at 4.49 pm
I’ve found the Optus call centre service to be pretty good, but my two local shops to be woeful. Perhaps the shops are franchises not held accountable to the head orifice, as with Holden etc?
Ken
5 April 2004 at 8.10 pm
I had a problem logging onto the net through Optus connection which then I asked the technical department to locate what the problem was, they suggested to have a technician out here and advised that there would be a charge of $99 IF they located the problem at my end eg. loose cable connection, faulty equipment etc……..
Next day the technician arrived to trouble shoot, he was unable to locate the problem or explain to me what the exact problem was not only that he had no way of testing the modem to see if it was functioning correctly(which was repsonding to their pinging signal when I rang up). He then went ahead and changed the modem = extra $89 on top of the $99 outcall charge, plus few calls to the exchange later very conveniently the connection worked hours later after the modem $wap over.
I am now left with the extra $189 bill which I thought I was agreed only to have the technician coming out here to locate the problem, the symptom with my connection was that it only allowed me to log on at different time.
After reading your article, I feel very sceptical about the way Optus runs their business and the ways they can set up their customers to maximise profit.
Since then I have then spoken to their technical support to see if there is any way to test the modem, since I don’t want to be charged for a new modem which I might not need and the tech outcall if it was something wrong with their network.
They then wanted to charge me another $99 for the technician callout if I want to use the old modem again to test, insisting it was the problem with my modem to justify the bill of $189 modem $wap over and ultilising the scare tactic of additional $99 outcall charge to dismiss the query.
I am feeling very ripped off and was wondering if there is an easy way to test my modem to see if in fact it there was actually something wrong with it, the tech insisted that he had no way of testing the cable modem even with his $10K mobile spectrum analyser. Isn’t there a way to monitor the output of the cable modem through the spectrum analyser for testing when I launch my browser to log onto the net?
How hard would it be for Optus to mess with your connection randomly and pull this sort of $189 scam on any given day to raise their profit? Especially when the tech with a $10K spectrum analyser telling you they have no way of testing the modem whatsoever to see if it is working correctly, just needed to make a few phone calls to the exchange and make every OK again after the modem $wap over?
Optus Stooge
2 September 2004 at 5.17 pm
You are an idiot Optus mobile is owned by singtel nor cable and wireless, get your facts straight, what part has been out sourced?? Get you facts right idiot
Red Wolf
2 September 2004 at 6.42 pm
While it’s likely to have changed since. When this post was written Cable & Wireless had sold the bulk of Optus off to Singtel but still retained the mobile division.
The Singtel chunk of Optus has outsourced customer service for a good couple of years now. This would be blindingly obvious to anyone who has ever had the misfortune to attempt to deal with them.
So next time, before you spout off like the fucking moron you obviously are, I suggest you get your facts straight
Optus Stooge
29 October 2004 at 4.44 pm
i think you have it all wrong cable sold mobile to singtel first and out sourced none of it, it is all done in adelaide all by optus employees wrong wrong wrong
Red Wolf
30 October 2004 at 1.00 pm
Our clueless Optus Stooge is back. Still hasn’t managed to figure out simple things like dates or even show any indication that it read the article in entirety and obviously still hasn’t had the misfortune to deal with the horror that is Optus outsourced customer service. But then what can you expect from someone battling to find the Shift bar on their keyboard
Unknown Idiot
2 March 2005 at 10.59 pm
Whilst this is rather old, I stumbled across this thread and had to add my 2 cents, first of all “it is all done in adelaide all by optus employees” this is incorrect, I personally work for the Optus mobile activation centre (MAC) alongside Optus prepaid customer service and activations, I work in an outsourced call centre by the name of “SITEL” which is based in northern tasmania. While I mostly deal with the optus store dealers, not with the general public, I do consider my customer service ethic good, as do my fellow employees.
macca
4 June 2005 at 9.41 pm
i agree with comments regarding optus ..l copped the same ignorant attitude from our store in port macquarie ,and he was the boss and l got slugged with a $25-00 charge for returning a new phone cause l opened the instruction book ! thanks for answering a long sort after answer to my phone bill problem
kindest Regards
Macca/Gordon
Optus Chick
30 June 2005 at 8.53 pm
I work in an Optus World store and I must agree that there are a lot of rude sales staff floating around Optus, (I myself have had to work with quite a few) but not all are that bad. I went from one franchise to another and the people I work for now are fantastic. You have to give some of some credit. Just because there are a lot of jerks out there working for Optus doesn’t mean we’re all like that. (by the way you guys rock at the MAC)
Solutions
9 July 2005 at 5.37 pm
Stumbling on this thread, I decided to add my comments. I myself work for Optus, and find them quite good. Although I do come across a few complaints, I strive to have the customer at least happy with the level of service I can provide. Near my optusworld store is the V boys in red, who I must admit are quite good at providing good CS. If you think Optus CS is bad, sign up with Telstra and then realise what mess you can get yourslef in. If in need of a good store to visit, go to Optus in Doncaster or Greensborough VIC to get all the help you need. 😉
Farai
29 July 2005 at 1.55 am
Came across this thread via a Google search for mobile providers in Oz and thank God I did. I’m emigrating from the UK in September and I think that Optus and Telstra will not be on my shortlist. The smart money is on Vodaphone.
Thanks guys.
All you good guys at Optus…defect to Vodaphone and take the MAC guys with you – or even better set up on your own {;o).
lucie
29 July 2005 at 11.25 am
My Optus mobile contract is up next month so I’ve been doing a little research. At the moment I’m thinking of going with Virgin Mobile (who use the same network as Optus, so there shouldn’t be any/huge difference with coverage), I know a few people who are with them and they are all very happy campers.
Red Wolf
29 July 2005 at 11.39 am
The only drawback, as you mentioned, is that if Optus screw up you’re still stuffed. But at least you won’t have to deal with their customer service any more.
It’s much like most Australian ISPs having little choice but to resell a Telstra product. The good news there is that the bigger competitors are now putting their own infrastructure. Hopefully more mobile companies will get big enough to do the same and offer us more choice. Or a mobile VoIP solution arrives to scare the crap out of the dinosaurs
Brett
24 September 2005 at 3.58 pm
Optus do have nice deals But vodafone have best coverage around my area not only tha
there call rates are a little cheaper to
Anonymous Coward
26 October 2005 at 8.43 pm
Optus store staff have no idea, singtel are not interested in australians, they are interested in outsourcing as much work to india as possible, but then again most companies do, pity australians are happy to sell their souls to save a few dollars
Anonymous Coward
26 October 2005 at 8.48 pm
Singtel are outsourcing dial up , broadband dsl, local access resale and all mobile support within weeks
isobel nikoloff
4 January 2006 at 12.40 pm
During early 2005 I requested disconncection from an OPTUS business line. I even yelled at Customer Service staff to at least put me through to ‘someone’ who could disconnect … well months later I have yet another account to pay. I cannot believe that the words “disconnect please” have no currency. They are NOT recognised by customer service staff, at least.
AT THIS TIME early 2006, despite repeated requests during 2005 for disconnection from an empty building from where I now no longer do business, I wonder IF I am still regarded as an OPTUS customer – and following (their) Court action to recover unpaid monies WILL I be again billed…???
Matt (Special, like the Olympics)
19 January 2006 at 5.36 pm
I think you people are a bunch of sooks. I mean, to complain because you have to pay $30 for 6 months while you work out how much credit you need, what a wanker. Why does it take you 6 months to work that out, you are just being a tool mate.
Did you stop to consider that you are not the only one that matters.
“Singtel are outsourcing dial up , broadband dsl, local access resale and all mobile support within weeks — posted by Anonymous Coward “…….. this is simply not true, and why would you think it matters to you anyway, if you are not a happy optus customer, dont be their customer at all, as an optus salesperson, it helps me a lot more if whingeing whineing, sooking bloody people like you lot are not customers anyway, because i dont have to wipe your ass for you. I can’t believe how many people have a cry over pathetic bullcrap like this stuff you are sooking about. Red wolf should also note, that voip is not the future and never will be, much better systems are already being put in place by telco’s in australia, and as if the system you choose to use should be the one everyone uses anyway. Why assume that your way is the best way, you have no technical background or professional understand of the real system. I can assure you that 98% of customer service issues in store are caused by customers that want to order and buy services over the phone or internet and then return to a store for service and complaints. Im sorry, but I dont come to work each day to put up with that crap, why should I, if i buy a car and then go to a different car yard do they give me warranty service, NO, and why should they. If you deal with a store from scratch and look after them, they will look after you, as we do for many of our customers, but some people come into our store abusing us for things we have had nothing to do with, wake up and smell the cheese, we dont have to help you, and we wont if you carry on like 3 year olds.
Red Wolf
19 January 2006 at 5.55 pm
Matt appears to be yet another mindless Optus apologist who is obviously too stupid to grasp that it’s people like him who drive customers to their competitors.
If he’d bothered to read any of the comments he would have seen that attitudes like his are exactly why his company is losing business.
He has offered no help or information, blames everyone else, appears to live in a fantasy land where everything revolves around himself and has come across as nothing but a whingeing tosser. What a way to prove the point of everyone who has ever run up against poor service from Optus, an example of their dodginess wanders in and drools on their keyboard
Matt (Special, like the Olympics)
20 January 2006 at 10.48 am
The only whingeing tosser is you redwolf, why would anybody bother to set up a forum like this, because they are a whinger that is why. My customers get first class treatment because they dont want to be bullshitted and they dont bullshit us either, those that do, go back out the front door and we are happy to let them bullshit and carry on with someone else. You say I blame someone else, but i never blamed anybody, thats just how it is. Those that want to carry on can carry on with as much rubbish as they want, but I wont be standing here listening to it when they are finished. You people need to realise that when you walk into an optus shop, the people you talk to might sell optus products, but they are not optus, and optus doesn’t pay our wages. As if i would offer you help or information, I have been doing this for 5 years now and their is probably no question you can ask that i dont have the answer to, but NO, i will not offer you help or information, because all you want to do is carry on like 3 year olds and go around looking for things to cry about. Companies like mine are not losing business, we are gaining business because people are sick and tired of having to fight through the bullshit to get the right answer, they come to me and get what they need first go, no hassles. And I am more than happy to keep them on air. I hope you enjoy vodafone, and fighting your way through the crap everytime you want to change something.
Red Wolf
20 January 2006 at 11.27 am
Yet again, Matt provides proof of the kind of people that drive customers away.
What Matt fails to comprehend is that the while there may be some good Optus shops, as evidenced by some of the polite, coherent and less dribbling comments, there seem to be a great many poor shops.
The general public has no way of differentiating between fully branded Optus shops that owned and staffed by Optus and those that are owned by franchisees. If it says Optus on the shop, the only thing they have to go on is that the shop is Optus. If the shop is owned by ill-mannered, untrained monkeys; people will blame Optus, such is the nature of franchises and out-sourcing.
If a customer has a bad experience with an Optus shop, that colours their perception of Optus as a whole. They won’t consider trying the Optus shop in the next suburb that may be staffed by the best people in the world, because the cowboys have scared them off. They’ll go to a competitor.
I have since dealt with some fantastically helpful and knowledgeable people in Optus shops, unfortunately, I have encountered far more rude, arrogant and just plain disinterested Optus staff and that reflects badly on Optus.
If Matt’s whingeing, childish tantrum is anything to go on, it’s pretty easy to see which camp he falls into
TMAC
13 March 2006 at 2.02 pm
I agree with Matts comment, you can provide an exceptional customer experience within your store or stores, but it is very difficult with a large company to consistantly maintain a particular level with every store. Though I do not work for Optus, I do work with another major player as a corporate state manager. And no Vodafone IS NOT a major player in the market. (Check the figures to support only a small increase in Voda prepaid and a decrease overall in voda postpaid.) Yes Matt is correct, the future isnot voip…….. but that would be telling. And I agree why should we deal with issues from the different area. Do you buy a holden and take it to ford to honor the warranty. No. You make the sale YOU have the obligation. Why should my company lose upto $500 for a repair when we made no gross profit in the first place. Absolutely. As far as our customer retention, our company has grown from 1 to 230 stores in under 10 years. In that time we have wone every major telecomminucations award possible with some back to back. My store in particular has increased is operational pure profit by 312% in the last 8 months. That is selling Telstra products. You need to ask the question why Voda uk is contributing towards voda oz staying afloat. I have a detailed document that I would be happy to share from Voda upper oz management. I am not appologising not sticking up for Matt, but there is merrit to what he is saying. Another example is Telstra and Telstra dealers, the consumer can differentiate between dealers, reputation for uselessness vs highly specialised. We are a business, we are in it to make money. So people I suggest that before you go on an optus or telstra witch hunt, I suggest you should actually get the facts. I am happy to supply these facts and figures on request.
Ricardo k
24 March 2006 at 6.05 pm
i went to A vodafone store at parramatta today hopeing to get mobile connection for three phones for my new company to use at the warehouse (business connection)infront of me was a gentle man queering staff about a 30 dollars monthly plan and another customer about a free phone update or something in that order, anyway im waiting there with my friend wanting assistance waiting ,waiting,waiting i think you get the picture after the fact there was three other staff members doing practicaly nothing waisting time while im in need of assistance then i got a staff member his name aarlan a asian boy to serve me at first he didnt look very inffusiastic WHAT SORT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE ARE THEY GETTING TAUGHT THERE MAN I HAVE THE NERV TO GET HIS LEGS BROKEN THESE DAYS ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE WRONG ATTITUDE AT WORK AND TREAT OTHERS WITH DISSRESPECT how ironic or moronic man if that boy see’s the sort of people i know he will shit his pants anyway back to whats happend he doesnt give much help doesnt offer us any deals or prices or show us products instead reffers (offloads) us too a lady by the name joe contact number 0415316957 i put my trust and in his efforts and he even tells me that he shouldnt be giving her as a refferal he shouldnt be doing this or that before i know it im out the door with this ladys number i ring her couple of hours later see if i can get an appointment to see her for assistance i explained who i am and why im calling her she was just laughing while i was trying to explain myself each time i tried she laughed more to the point she didnt sound original she put me off my efforts i dont know if staff get away with things like that it was like i had been played for a fool all i wanted to do was set a date and get my mobile phones connected buy the company i trusted the most and was proud to do business with i didnt go anyware else because i put my trust in vodaphone i would like someone to address the issue and give vodaphone parramatta shoping center a fucken crash course in customer service im so cut i think ill go there with my cousins and give them hell
Anonymous Coward
28 July 2006 at 6.43 am
OK, I know this a very old thread and I’ve now read it word for word so hopefully my few cents might hepl you better understand…
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Optus are outsourcing there call centres? YES! Why? Not to save a few dollars… To save huge dollars! We all know the average wage ratio of aus to india is only about lets say… 25:1 but hey, For every dollar optus/telstra/voda or which ever provider your with saves you by giving you $500 credit on a $79 cap plan or free calls or free sms, They too have to save themselves that money. How? Cheaper wages/running costs… voda have done this by getting cheaper handsets striking up contracts with manufacturers to brand and sometimes lock there phones, telstra have done this by simply having 3 people at there call centre and only selling possibly the worst handsets on the market, Agreed? and Optus have taken the outsourcing route. Not only with call centres but franchisees, sub contractors for tech support etc. I work at an Optus World store in Sydney and all my customers are priority, They are friendly accepting understading people. Saying that, I have been in cases where we’ve have had to turn down customers due to the guidelines we have no choice but TO follow and things have gone from bad to worse. I think its time the public open their eyes and realise that YOU ARE THE REASON! Your attitude towards the salesperson serving you DOES affect the way he/she treats you. KEEP IN MIND these people literelly serve hundreds of people day in day out, solving problems you never thought existed, Being screamed at, harrassed, threatened and so on. How far CAN you bend a stick before it snaps? Then theres the phones calls. Why do people insist on calling stores for support? There are almost 16 dedicated numbers, all routing to different call centers depending on what your query is and which service you require AND whether you are a personal,business or prepaid customer. Everyone DOES get the equal amount of courtesy and respect provided they call the right people! Theres no point of screaming at a home phone customer service rep if they arent trained in mobile tech support… Yes? I thought so… Understand this… Call a store if you need to know about a particular phone being in stock, If you need to query a contract you signed in that particular store… Stores are NOT linked and CAN NOT access your account… PERIOD! They are simply there, trained as sales personnel to assist you whilst you are buying a phone/home service or internet connection! If you have an enquiry on your billing, Call billing enquiries… If you have a query on your account, Call customer service… HOW MUCH SIMPLER COULD IT BE?
HANDSET ISSUES: Stores are not obliged, Under ANY circumstances to refund a handset for change of mind… Even if you didnt know the phone didnt have an FM radio… These are the things you should look for and research BEFORE buying a phone, Not after. You cant buy a Holden Commodore and take it back a week later because its seat has the “Wrong kind of groove” This is something the consumer must research, Not a sales person. As a sales person they MUST answer you correctly and give you the correct information, If not, THEN and ONLY THEN they MUST refund/exchange the phone… After all, you, the consumer, have been mislead!
WARRANTY: Telecommunication stores DO have guidelines. These are set by account managers for the particular prvider you’re with. eg:- Vodafone deal exclusivley with NEC and Sharp. They Swap phones, send phones away for repair, heck, even upgrade the phone, Provided they have authorisation! On the other hand, Optus dont have an “exclusive” contract with any particular manufacturer, Hence the reason that they are the ONLY provider that sell phones that havent been branded or modified in ANY way. Here’s a simple breakdown of warranty guidelines.
All handsets come with a 1 Year warranty. That warranty is broken down into 3 categories.
1. DOA otherwise known as Dead/Defective On Arrival = If the handset is faulty out of the box, it must be replaced there and then by the store you have purchased it from BUT ONLY if it is recognised at the time of sale. Another reason you should let the sales person set your phone up for you!
2. ELF otherwise known as Early Life Failure = All manufacturers have a 14 day no questions asked swap period, Sony Ericsson have 30 days. HOWEVER! The handset MUST be returned to the manufacturer for assesment and replacement. NOT SWAPPED IN STORE! Do not hassle store assistants as they CAN NOT give you a new phone, GET OVER IT! Once the manufacturer have assesed the phone they will send out a replacement straight away provided it hasnt been physically damaged by the End User. DO NOT BOTHER calling the manufacturers call centre to complain that the store hasnt issued you a replacement as they have no say, ONCE AGAIN this is all up to the agreement that the account manager for that company has given optus, call centres have no clue!
3. Warranty Repair (remainder of 12 months)= Provided you have a proof of purchase, The store (or other stores within that brand eg:- optus world) MUST send away your phone to a service centre. The phone will be assesed by a professional technician and one of three things will take place. If repairable the handset will be repaired and sent back a.s.a.p. If it Must have parts replaced the parts will be ordered from the manufacturer and on arrival the handset will be repaired and sent back to store. In the case of physical damage, liquid ingression, write off (too expensive to repair) the phone will be sent back unrepaired and a detailed note should be attached. IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO GET A SECOND OPINION! However it is then required that you call the manufacturer about this as it IS them who control and have authority over the warranty.
There is no point of screaming and shouting at store staff as they are on the same boat as you! If there phone stops working the ARE looking at the same time period as an end user! And in most cases, Staff are treated worse as customers ARE first priority! DO NOT BOTHER calling the manufacturers call centre to complain that the store hasnt issued you a replacement as they have no say, ONCE AGAIN this is all up to the agreement that the account manager for that company has given optus, call centres have no clue!
LOAN/COURTESY PHONES: All stores DO have loan phones, On average between 50-70 each! HOWEVER this does not mean they all work! Customers DO destroy these phones, they do misuse and damage them. This is nothing your provider controls! These handsets do NOT have warranty hence the reason they never get fixed! The store i work at currently has 49 and counting damaged loan phones with about 15ish in circulation. And yes, getting a courtesy phone off a customer isnt as easy as it seems. I HAVE HAD A LOAN PHONE THROWN AT MY FACE just because the “customer” didnt like the ringtone, little did he know there were 25 other tones to choose from! Do you now understand where I’m coming from?
Would i come to your workplace at for example, a law firm and throw a 3000 page law book at your face? I DONT THINK SO!
NUMBER TRANSFERS: When porting a phone number from provider to provider keep in mind that it may take 48 hours. This isnt decided by either carrier, it is simply a system issue! I am not bagging vodafone/telstra/optus at all, It is the porting system that needs a little TLC but its not something your provider can speed up!
QUE TIMES: Everyone in the store in front of you DOES have something they need, They are not standing there simply to look pretty! Associates are only human, They ARE sometimes sick, They DO need a 5 minute break, They DO need to go to the toilet. Have YOU ever held yourself 9 hours straight?
Having said all this i do not mean to completely bad mouth the consumers and defend the retailers, I have been in the industry for 6 years and have worked with the nicest, kindest, passionate people (My current team for example) but on the other hand, I have also worked with the stupidest, rudest, dumbest most careless people as well. And trust me, Unless YOU make the manager aware DISCREETLY, Nothing will change as it will go unseen… We don’t hire people like this because we dont want people like this so PLEASE next time you have an issue with a particular salesperson and it is GENUINELY there fault, Let there manager know… We do need you, the consumers to let us know of these things so we can fix the problem a.s.a.p as it does affect the owner/manager of the business as much as it affects you.
If i have missed anything please reply as i am willing to answer all your questions (when i have time) for the sake of hopefully changing your mind on the industry as a whole.
Kind Regards.
6YITG
Kim
17 August 2006 at 7.44 pm
Optus is the bomb! best customer service, great staff, good deals and quality – the meaning of business
Appu
9 November 2009 at 12.24 pm
Yes.. optus stores offer very rude service if we ask detailed information, they feel like they are not there for giving information and as we r asking them the things not related to them. They even dont look at u when u enterd the store.