News - A third of Brits switch network due to bad customer service

[HEXUS]

Also a quarter of mobile users are planning to switch networks soon.

Read more.

[McEwin]

My GF recently switch to 3 after some appalling customer service from Orange/EE. She had been with them for 13 years! They were very rude about her leaving too - the cheek!

[badsyntax]

I left Orange after 9 years in 2013 - a total shower for a while before I moved. Dinged my credit rating after I left until I got that nonsense sorted out.

[virtuo]

Unless the "bad customer service" is the network not matching a rival's plan/price offering, I find it hard to believe that customer service is such a big factor in moving. I'd say the average user has no need to contact customer services, I certainly haven't had a reason to (other that trying to squeeze a better deal at upgrade time, but I'm usually set on leaving anyway if it gets to that).

For me, it's always price, coverage and inclusive data. In that order. If I have to chat to a call centre in India or Birmingham once every 4 years, I'll accept that.

[CK_1985]

Deends what you classify as 'customer service' though - does it include apps and websites? For example, I haven't used their customer service per se but the EE website is the worst, most frustrating and utterly useless pile of garbage I have ever had the misfortune to encounter.

I've had to use EE for mobile broadband over the last few months and my experience with their website has been so bad that I have completely ruled them out for my next phone contract provider.

[sykobee]

Three are the worst for customer service in my experience. Moved from them because of that.

[Odeas]

The EE/orange website never works, very few of their services that show information regarding your account seem to work except for the sms texts ('bundles' & 'balance' to 150).

I would probably leave EE/orange pretty quickly if I could do, their data allowances are very poor, although thats the main reason I'd switch for more data.
The only reason I've not left is that most of my friends and family are on EE/orange and I can use magic numbers to not use all of mine/their minutes up and I get by on wifi for the most part.

The few times I've delt with their customers services its been very hit and miss.
At times they'll be able to answer a question or fix a problem very quickly, but for the most part they've not a clue or actually cause more problems (such as mucking up my online account for over a week when I switched from PAYG to monthly).

[crossy]

Unless the "bad customer service" is the network not matching a rival's plan/price offering, I find it hard to believe that customer service is such a big factor in moving. I'd say the average user has no need to contact customer services, I certainly haven't had a reason to (other that trying to squeeze a better deal at upgrade time, but I'm usually set on leaving anyway if it gets to that). For me, it's always price, coverage and inclusive data. In that order. If I have to chat to a call centre in India or Birmingham once every 4 years, I'll accept that.

You'll say that C S isn't important, up until you get into that situation where you're talking to someone obviously reading from a script who has obviously got their team lead breathing down their neck to "ditch the bozo" and get the next caller on.

At least, I thought, if you pick one of the big players then you can use the local shops as 1st line. My experiences there were that Orange = awful, pre-EE T-Mobile = good, Three = depends. Two examples:
1. Tried to see if I could move to a "better" deal with Three and the phone "support" folks were "refer to our website, goodbye". Local shop were useless - too busy doing makeup and nails and the attitude was "eff off, we're busy". Result - didn't renew my contract and cancelled the other Three contract.

2. uFix SIM for one of my kids. Had more than six attempts to get it to recognise that a SIM for an Android phone needs a data allowance (which I was paying for). Result - cancelled the uFix in favour of someone else's (cheaper!) monthly SIM, then later moved two other phones to the same provider.

3.Leaving experience with Three was traumatic - very lengthy and a pain. Leaving T-Mobile on the other hand was easy and very quick. Perversely that fact would make me more inclined to rejoin T-Mobile at some future point ... assuming that they can do a deal at a price I like.

Personally, I think these days most of the providers are about the same (Voda has less data, Three a lot more), so the "customer experience" is becoming more important. In which case, EE might be well advised to unbundle themselves back into Orange and T-Mobile.

By the way "Textronix Communications" - don't tell me the old 'sillyscope (and printer and graphics VDU) maker has a new opinion research division?

[jimbouk]

I was with T-mobile, walked into a EE shop and said I needed a new sim card as I'd bought a Moto G, £10 charge. I explained I was out of contract, spoke to the manager, no change. Thanks but no thanks, switched to Giff Gaff. Really surprised they were willing to lose a customer for a £10 one off charge, but just towing the company line rather than being allowed to think for themselves.

G/f on Orange walks into a different EE shop, they hand her a new sim card, wtf?!? Although they were meant to call customer services and they ended up having to post her another sim card (for free).

Maybe change network again due to coverage (O2 aren't great round here), but wouldn't pick EE again quickly.

[DemonHighwayman]

Regarding the headline, is that unusual ? in the UK it is standard practice to leave a company because of bad service. In the EU it seems to be a different picture, whereby people standby there choices, so they don't look stupid... I'd imagine.

The way I see it is that once the companies are reeling in your 'hard earned' they don't give a cr*p, and that seems to be world wide occurrence, not just the EU or UK.

Money FIRST, Opinions/Complaints after.

[Biscuit]

I have been on all the major networks in one form or another over the past 5 years and they are all as bad as each other once you weigh up positives and negatives. I dont spend too much time worrying about customer service and such anymore, i just accept that they are all crap and try and get the best price i can. Probably going to go month by month sim only from now on and switch/change whenever they try the whole 'inflation rise' rubbish.

[cheesemp]

I count on one hand the number of times I've contacted customer services to do anything other leave. Not a big decider for me but if I do have a bad experience I definitely wouldn't renew. I do however take note of how they treat me when I leave. If they try and hang on to my business I sometimes do stay (and if not always consider them next time). If they just let me go I say goodbye and very rarely go back to them. Lets you know if you matter to them or not....

[Attila the Bun]

Just moved from 3 to Virgin following a 2 month period of 3 being utterly pants.

Without warning both my girlfriend's and my phone signal dropped to zero at our house. Some checking showed that it was anywhere within our signal cell. Absolutely no problems anywhere else.
We waited the weekend to see if it would come back as we have had 1 day outages before. No joy.
Phoned 3 from work (got Michael...from Mumbai...yeah right!) and explained the situation.
Told him we have different phones and have no problems anywhere else other than home and surrounding area.
"I'll have to put you on hold while I go and check Sir!"..."Ok Mike."...phone goes dead, I've been disconnected.
Try again...get Sally (also from Mumbai)...explain the situation again...get disconnected again. Give up and decide to visit the 3 shop in Bath.
2 days later I meet a very helpful woman who tells me the transmitter in our area is down for maintenance..."Really! Any reason why we weren't told? You have no trouble texting us with ads why couldn't you text us with this info as it was obviously planned? Anyway when will it be fixed?"..."I don't know sir it doesn't say...but if you have unlimited broadband we could give you a Signal Enhancer that plugs into the router. All you need to do is phone this (premium rate) number and arrange it."
...So I tracked down an alternative on saynoto0870 and gave it a call..."Oh hello there Tracy from Mumbai".
I explained the situation to her...3 times.
Finally, she says she hasn't got the authority to issue hardware (Why am I talking to you then?) and is going to pass me up the line.
I get a bloke this time (who doesn't give me a name but could be from Mumbai). He needs 3 attempts to understand the situation before saying he can't help and is going to pass me to the Level 3 technical help.
I've been on the phone for about 40 minutes by now and beginning to get a tad irritated.
3rd time lucky maybe...Nope...another bout of multiple explanations until the guy says
"We can't give you a signal booster until the transmitter is fixed and we can check the strength of the signal!"...It was at this point that I lost it and many things were said about 3 and it's business practices / customer service / general incompetence before putting the phone down and telling the girlfriend that she better take over from this point.

By the way I don't have any problem with Indian call centres (Britian based help is just as bad) but giving all their operatives English names isn't fooling anybody.

She goes back to the shop and talks to the women again. She phones head office and arranges for them to contact us, on our Home phone, concerning the problem...wait 2 days, no response...back to the shop.
Women emails HO this time...still nothing.
We give up and resolve to leave 3 at the soonest opportunity. We swap over to a couple of really cheap PAYG sims and let everyone know to phone the temporary numbers for the meantime.
2 weeks later we get an email from 3 saying that as we haven't responded to the voicemails they left us on our Mobiles (that don't get any signal) they are shutting the call.

6 weeks after the signal first disappeared it comes back along with all out missed calls.
No warnings, no apologies, still no promised rebate and to add insult to...errr...all the other insults, when we phoned up to get Unlock / PAC codes etc the guy tried to keep us from leaving by offering a free signal booster.

[benegerton1985]

I'm with Tesco Mobile, would thoroughly recommend. Phone developed a fault took it in to my local supermarket they did all the work by calling the relevant people for me and arranged for my phone to be fixed as it was still under warranty. The next day(!) received a pre paid pack in the post to send them my phone, took it to the post office and one week later got a working phone back again. Considering I'm on a rolling monthly contract for £10 a month cannot complain in the slightest.

[crossy]

Regarding the headline, is that unusual ? in the UK it is standard practice to leave a company because of bad service. In the EU it seems to be a different picture, whereby people standby there choices, so they don't look stupid... I'd imagine. The way I see it is that once the companies are reeling in your 'hard earned' they don't give a cr*p, and that seems to be world wide occurrence, not just the EU or UK. Money FIRST, Opinions/Complaints after.

Hmm, what gets me is that I understood it to be an economic truth that it was cheaper/easier to retain existing customers than strive to get new ones. From the way the consumer's treated though it seems to be the reverse that's the case, and once you get 3+ months into a contract the carriers regard you as an increasingly annoying liability. I can forsee a big backlash against this, with en-masse defections from the companies with poor CS to one's with a better reputation.

Like Biscuit, they'd have to do a LOT to convince me into ANY contract longer than 12 months. At the moment I'm on a 30-day rolling one with Virgin, which is suiting me fine. And I've found their (Virgin's) customer service - both in-shop and over the phone - to be excellent. So I'm quids in, and getting a better service.

Then again, from what I'm hearing mobile phone companies are way better than mobile phone recyclers. Judging on the opinions in MSE and elsewhere, these recyclers seem to be staffed entirely by those too psychotic to be accepted as sellers of either double glazing or second-hand cars!

[Apex]

I was with T-mobile, walked into a EE shop and said I needed a new sim card as I'd bought a Moto G, £10 charge. I explained I was out of contract, spoke to the manager, no change. Thanks but no thanks, switched to Giff Gaff. Really surprised they were willing to lose a customer for a £10 one off charge, but just towing the company line rather than being allowed to think for themselves.

G/f on Orange walks into a different EE shop, they hand her a new sim card, wtf?!? Although they were meant to call customer services and they ended up having to post her another sim card (for free).

Maybe change network again due to coverage (O2 aren't great round here), but wouldn't pick EE again quickly.

O2 almost lost me when i went to get a new phone [XperiaM] they wanted me to pay another tenner on top for the sim card; walked out the shop went online and orded the phone with new sim at no extra cost and just to rub it in the stores face i had the phone sent to the shop for pick up......their face was a peach.