Peter Hicks' Blog

Month: January 2011

  • Customer Service

    I wouldn’t mind if I could just ask a question and get a reply….
    UPDATE – I strolled in to a 3 store, asked “Do you sell the MiFi?”, and was told “Yes”. I bought one and was back on my way within five minutes – the way it should be!
    I want to get a 3 MiFi so I can get on the Internet for a semi-sane price (Orange charge a small fortune, and their 3G service rarely works on my phone, if I can actually get 3G that is) whilst I’m not at home. I choose the product on 3’s website and click ‘Support Chat’ to see if I can buy it in-store. Y’know, where you walk in to a store and buy something, and have the gratification of an instant purchase, as well as the product when you need it.
    Here’s our conversation…
    [Peter] Can I buy the MiFi PAYG + 3Gb product in-store?
    [Srinivas] Hi Peter.
    [Srinivas] Welcome to Three.
    [Srinivas] I’ll be glad to help you with the purchase of the deal query and thank you for choosing Three.
    (this is not answering my question)
    [Srinivas] I would not be able to comment on the store deals.
    [Srinivas] I can help you purchase this deal online with a free gift for today’s online purchase.
    (purchasing things on-line is beyond me, I find it reeeeally difficult)
    [Peter] I need it today
    [Srinivas] I’m sorry if y ou order now , you would get the delivery the day after tomorrow.
    (this it not ‘today’)
    [Peter] OK, I will find my nearest 3 store and ask in there
    [Srinivas] So would you like to go ahead with the order online?
    (……..)
    [Peter] NO! I need it today!
    [Peter] If I order online, I will have a free gift that I don’t want, and will have no means of Internet access for the next four days when I am away
    [Srinivas] You can check at the store .
    (Great, I can check in-store to see if they sell something in-store. Who’d have thought?)
    [Peter] I was hoping I could check with you now to save me a wasted trip in to town.
    [Peter] Thank you for your help – I will put some clothes on and find my nearest 3 store and ask in there instead.
    (I am fully-clothed actually, I just wanted to vent some frustration)
    [Peter] Have a good day, and thank you for your time
    [Srinivas] http://www.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Store_locator/ Click on this link to find the nearest store.
    (JEEZ, YOU THINK I’D JUST TAKE A RANDOM BUS AROUND LONDON AND STOP WHEN I SEE A 3 STORE?)
    [Srinivas] Anything else I can help you with?
    [Peter] No, that is all – thank you
    …so I’ve wasted 10 minutes chatting to him just to find myself in a situation no better than before.
    Grr.

  • Jobs

    I am now ‘between jobs’, as some unemployed people say. Or am I? I have some short contracts lined up – a few days here and there working on specific tasks. Is that really unemployed or not?
    To celebrate the occasion, I bought a MacBook Pro. I am mightily impressed, particularly at the sheer speed of the SSD and ease of use, but I have been a Mac user for the past four and a half years and only used Windows under duress or by requirement.
    One thing puzzles me – after hardly touching Microsoft Word for the best part of four years, why is it still largely the same as it was in the mid-90s? Are all the new features generally invisible? Are they so tightly integra… no, actually, I probably don’t need most of the features that are in there.