You would think I was making this story up, or at the very least elaborating, for the purposes of writing this, but sadly it is all true.
This is what I posted on Thursday- “Just called my network provider to complain about the iPhone 4 proximity sensor issues I have been experiencing. Before I could go into detail, the advisor told me to take it back to the store I got it from and that “the replacement would not have the same problem.” I asked how he could guarantee that and he just repeated that “the problem will be resolved with a replacement.”
So, I drove to town today to exchange my iPhone 4 for one that worked and this is what happened as best as I can remember it.
Me- “Hi there, I phoned your customer services and they said I could exchange this iPhone for one that worked.”
Advisor- “Hold on.” He then walked out the back and I waited. After 5 minutes he returned.
Advisor- “Can’t do that.”
Me- “Why not?”
Advisor- “You give us the phone and we send it off for repair.”
Me- “How would you repair it?”
Advisor- “Dunno.”
Me- “How long would it take to repair?”
Advisor- “Not long.”
Me- “How long is not long?”
Advisor- “Between 5 and 10 days.”
Me- “Do I get a loan phone?”
Advisor- “Ain’t got none at the moment.”
Me- “OK, so why was I told I could exchange it?”
Advisor- “Dunno, we only have 32GB iPhones in stock.”
Me- “OK, I will take one of those and pay the difference.”
Advisor- “Can’t do that. You ‘must’ stay with the exact same phone.”
Me- “Right. So I have had a phone that cuts off calls almost every time for 2 weeks and now I have to be without any phone at all for a further 5-10 days. You are then going to fix the phone even though Apple say they are looking into the particular problem I have and even they have no answer at the moment. How is that acceptable or logical?”
Advisor- “That’s the process.”
Me- “Could you be less helpful?”
Advisor- “If you are rude to me again Sir you will be asked to leave the store.”
Me- “I wasn’t rude.”
Advisor- “Are you going to leave the phone in the store Sir?”
Me- “No, because there’s no point. You can’t fix it and you won’t give me a replacement. It won’t solve anything”
He then walked away without a word and started serving someone else. I am following this up at the moment, but this is one of the worst examples of customer service I have ever experienced.
That has got to be Vodafone. You didnt say who it was.
Could be any of them in my experience
They are all pretty bad, but I’ve had both vodafone and three give me bad customer service recently. The three salesman accused me of lying about a web offer I’d seen, and Vodafone were incredibly unhelpful once I’d insisted on ending a contract and gave me the wrong address to send a letter to. They also refused point blank to put me on a web offer. In retrospect, apart from only offering the best phones to new customers, Orange weren’t that bad in terms of being polite.
Shaun, after we spoke, I did another call I had an issue with the sensor. Later I spoke to customer services 191, and was told to ring an 0844 number to arrange for an exchange. I was held for 40 minutes and lady told me they could only do this for online orders. I had got mine from Vodafone Plymouth store and had to go back to the store. I asked if she had the number for the store, so I could check if they had any new stock. She only had 191.
I then asked, is the 0844 number chargeable. She said yes. So I asked how do I get cost refunded. She said I had to write a letter, a letter to complaints. I thanked her. Called 191, cancellations department. Less than 2 minutes, refund done for call and note on account that exchange agreed.
Went to local store. All the staff there are excellent – Mark, Kieran, Tom etc . Kieran told me they had no stock, took my details and said they would call me when stock due in.
The guys there are really friendly and helpful. They knew I had travelled from my rural home address 20 miles to the store so appreciated that I had made a special trip. In fact on the 24th June I ended up chatting whilst waiting in the queue with the staff and shared some teckie stuff.
I went to Starbucks, had a coffee and donut. Went to WHSmith and they called. They had just had the delivery of new stock (new batch). I went back and did an effortless exchange. Tom and Mark who served me said that they hoped they had caught me before I had left the area. Very thoughtful.
They then asked me loads of questions on the iPhone 4.
For me, Vodafone telephone support is crap. The store locally in Plymouth, Devon , totally ace and deserve a big thanks.
@Gavin, glad to hear about your good news. Like others I have had poor service in all shops (O2, Vodafone & Phones4U). Orange and T-mobile seem a little better, except Organge will not let you return a phone if bought from a shop if you decide you don’t like it (unlike all other network stores).
“Ain’t got none at the moment.”“Dunno, we only have 32GB iPhones in stock.”
He’s the one being rude with unhelpful comments like those….I bet he had a Justin Bawbag hairstyle
@Gavin. I had no idea you were having proximity sensor issues. Sorry to hear that.
I’d be inclined to use the Sale of Goods act here and reject the phone as faulty, demand a refund and cancel your contract. A letter to the network explaining why you’ll be moving to a competitor should help to convince them to improve the performance of their retail front line staff…
I would add that when I walked in, one of the guys instantly recognised me, ushered me to the front counter too, so that I got served ahead of the masses.
It pays to get to know the staff
I was lucky although in Devon and Cornwall everyone seems friendlier.
I would have knocked him down and made tinkle on his forehead.