Is 3's customer service really that bad?

Spooky1666

Hi guys. Ok so heres the Jiz. This morning a bought a 3 sim went home and wanted to port my number over so I rang their customer service. When I finally got connected to India he took my name, num all that standard stuff and said he would ring me back on the num I wanted to port over. 30 mins later no sign of him! I rang them back and spoke to a lady who apologized for the incident only to tell me my sim card, the sim card I was only after buying 3 hours ago, was already registered to someone else!!!!! and that she can't port it over until they connect to the guy who owns the sim!!! Which is me!! The imaginary guy who owns my sim doesn't exist!! so I will never be able to port over my num!!! ever!!
This is just plain stupid! What a rubbish network!! This was just a sign for me not to go with them. Now I'm just gona go with Meteor. I just have to say anybody how was drawn in by three's great offer BEWARE. Anybody else experience bad customer service with them as well?

evolutionqy7

oh yeah...its as good as the smell of cow ****e in d country side

drunkmonkey

Just get an unregistered sim, you can pick one up for free in any store, they'll port your number there and then. It's simple you must have just ended up with a sim registered to someone else.

evolutionqy7

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Just get an unregistered sim, you can pick one up for free in any store, they'll port your number there and then. It's simple you must have just ended up with a sim registered to someone else.

they actually charge you 10 euro for sim card

Spooky1666

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Just get an unregistered sim, you can pick one up for free in any store, they'll port your number there and then. It's simple you must have just ended up with a sim registered to someone else.

I already did!!!!!! I spent 5 euro to buy A SUPPOSEDLY NEW SIM from the three store that morning. The package looked new, it had its special seal on, which when you tear of leaves special writing on it saying void, so I would have known if someone had opened it before!

drunkmonkey

You should have just taken in back and got another sim, all sims are registered before they leave the store, i'm a bit baffled as to how that happend if the sold you a brand new one, the system would not allow them to sell a previously registered sim.

Spooky1666

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You should have just taken in back and got another sim, all sims are registered before they leave the store, i'm a bit baffled as to how that happend if the sold you a brand new one, the system would not allow them to sell a previously registered sim.

I know I was baffled as well. Thanks for the advice but Im just forgetting the whole incident. Am on o2 now since most of my family is on it and they can ring me for free so I agreed to go with them.

drunkmonkey

lol, I done the opposite and my family followed.

paulm17781

3 was the worst customer support experience I've had in my life. I was with them about 2 years (most of which I've shared here). The simplest of problems were impossible to sort out with "Power off the phone" being given too often. I left and went to O2 (as did GF) and we couldn't be happier (with mobile communications).

Kristopherus

Well I had a completely different experience with them. As for O2, they are rip-off merchants, just like Sky:rolleyes:

Spooky1666

Kristopherus wrote: »

Well I had a completely different experience with them. As for O2, they are rip-off merchants, just like Sky:rolleyes:

Really? Why do you think that? Their prices are pretty much exactly as Meteor and Vodafone and that's quite good. Plus great service with coverage and customer service.( They are Irish based and not Indian based ) and as far as sky r concerned they provide better value and more channels then upc thats for sure. I can't wait to move back to them. As I always say, a happy medium is the best place to be

drunkmonkey

Who's an indian business and how do you make out Vodafone and meteor have a better network and service? Go check out some coverage maps and google Hutchinson!

Spooky1666

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Who's an indian business and how do you make out Vodafone and meteor have a better network and service? Go check out some coverage maps and google Hutchinson!

No i didn't mean Meteor and Vodafone have a better network and service. I just meant that o2's service is good. The guy was complaining o2 was a rip off and I was just pointing out that the price plans between them are nearly identical. And I didn't mean Hutchinson Whompoa are Indian I meant that there call centre is Indian based while o2's in Limerick.

Ardent

I had a contract with 3 for a 12 months. Over that period I had to contact customer support (outsourced to India) a handul of times. I had no major problems with support, I think a lot of time people on here are simply xenophobic.

Aside from that, the only problem I had with 3 is their crap 3G coverage outside of urban areas. I went up north recently and purchased two 3 prepaid sims (£2 each btw) for the duration of my stay up there - one of them wouldn't spark up at all and 3G coverage on the other one was ****e for the most part.

The problem isn't the support staff, it's more the company/network.

Spooky1666

Ardent wrote: »

The problem isn't the support staff, it's more the company/network.

TBH I think the problem with three is everything

Cutie18Ireland

Had awful trouble with 3. Moved from Meteor to them for the new 3pay offer, free mins and skype... Ported my number over all was fine for 2/3 months then all of a sudden i couldnt receive international text messages, got onto 3 they said they would sort it was waiting 3 weeks with nothing from them, then the ones i was sending werent getting received either, while still being charged.. so went and ported back to meteor.. their customer service were hopeless and half the time had no idea what i was talking about..

Walkman

International text messages depend on what networks 3 have agreements with. this is the same for all networks

drunkmonkey

Should have used gocall.ie for international it's a lot lot cheaper than texting.

decskelligs

I am with three just 6 months now and have had nothing but trouble with them. Myself and my OH and switching to one of the other networks once she is out of contract with them.
I had international roaming switched on for holiday to Vegas and New York in January but when i got there i could not pick up any signal in either city
they first said it was my handset (A N95 8GB) so then they said their partners may not have signals in the areas. I asked them for confirmation that their network providers/ partners in the states do not cover Manhattan and Las Vegas as these are the two most densely populated areas in the States. The only response i have got is an email stating that Three have no responsibility for their Network Partners Network Coverage.

evolutionqy7

decskelligs wrote: »

The only response i have got is an email stating that Three have no responsibility for their Network Partners Network Coverage.

well it isnt their fault is it??? they only have a contract with w/e network they are partners and they cant controll their partners coverage!!

Spooky1666

decskelligs wrote: »

I am with three just 6 months now and have had nothing but trouble with them. Myself and my OH and switching to one of the other networks once she is out of contract with them.
I had international roaming switched on for holiday to Vegas and New York in January but when i got there i could not pick up any signal in either city
they first said it was my handset (A N95 8GB) so then they said their partners may not have signals in the areas. I asked them for confirmation that their network providers/ partners in the states do not cover Manhattan and Las Vegas as these are the two most densely populated areas in the States. The only response i have got is an email stating that Three have no responsibility for their Network Partners Network Coverage.

It is Three's fault here. There is no such thing as no network coverage in these cities there are only black spots. Since you couldn't pick up any signal whatsoever that means that the 3 sim card couldn't connect to any of the American networks. There sure was coverage over there its just your three phone couldn't connect to it. If you roam alot I recommend o2. They have the most roaming agreements out of any network in Ireland and usually multiple roaming agreements in single country meaning you can pick which network you want when you get there, your not just tied to one

harbinger1

Spooky1666 wrote: »

Hi guys. Ok so heres the Jiz. This morning a bought a 3 sim went home and wanted to port my number over so I rang their customer service. When I finally got connected to India he took my name, num all that standard stuff and said he would ring me back on the num I wanted to port over. 30 mins later no sign of him! I rang them back and spoke to a lady who apologized for the incident only to tell me my sim card, the sim card I was only after buying 3 hours ago, was already registered to someone else!!!!! and that she can't port it over until they connect to the guy who owns the sim!!! Which is me!! The imaginary guy who owns my sim doesn't exist!! so I will never be able to port over my num!!! ever!!
This is just plain stupid! What a rubbish network!! This was just a sign for me not to go with them. Now I'm just gona go with Meteor. I just have to say anybody how was drawn in by three's great offer BEWARE. Anybody else experience bad customer service with them as well?

Here’s what I have painfully learned concerning 3 Ireland: while, in general, the competence of their customer ‘’service’’ staff is pathetic and their attitude is total indifference (i.e. they don’t give a s***e), they have been extremely well trained to fob you off by blaming your hardware, your software, your e-mail client or by asserting that ‘’unfortunately’’ reception at your location is marginal (even when you have five bars and direct line of sight to the mast (only a couple of Kilometres away))!
I have the good fortune/misfortune of living in a rural area where, realistically, 3 Ireland is the only game in town for ‘’broadband’’ access. On the other hand, I am lucky in that I work part-time, and so have been able to afford to spend endless hours on the phone, calling 3’s bluff at every turn.
I had a critical problem – no matter what I did, I could not access my POP3 e-mail in MS Outlook (using 3 as my ISP, that is). However, when I used a Vodafone dongle, even though the reception was lousy, I was able to access my POP3 email (albeit painfully slowly) without a problem. Regardless, multiple 3 representatives used the above tactics to get me off the phone. I was using a (3-supplied) Huawei B260a modem and, no matter what the settings were changed to, kept hitting a brick wall. Then I had a brainwave! I took the SIM card out of my modem and installed it in a (3) Huawei E122 dongle modem. Email access was perfect! This was little consolation to me however (as I needed the Ethernet connectivity of the B260a modem).
When I persisted with customer service, they eventually insisted that the B260a modem must be faulty. Reluctantly, I agreed to make the eight hour round-trip to one of their third-party service centres (in Dublin) in order to have it tested. Guess what? – as I had predicted, it was found to be working perfectly! (i.e. per the manufactures specification). Furthermore, when I went online in Dublin, POP3 access was also perfect!
Back in Donegal, however, I had the same old, same old problem. However, I was now able to insist with 3 that there was obviously a problem with the ‘provisioning’ of their service (with respect to the compatibility of its settings with the B260a modem) at my local mast. Naturally, they vehemently denied that this could even be a possibility. However, they did agree to ‘escalate’ the problem and assured me that they would call me back with a status update within 48 hours. I never did receive that call (actually, based on prior experience with them, I never actually expected it). Miraculously though, within 24 hours, the problem was resolved. This is typical of 3’s approach – making you jump through hoops, while at the same time denying absolutely the possibility of any deficiency on their part. Btw, this is the condensed version of an intense three-month experience. The moral is that, while 3’s customer service is abysmal, if you are able/prepared to spend the time, it is possible to get issues resolved (even if, like me, you are not a midband expert yourself, though I am fortunate to have a background in general trouble-shooting).
That said, my comments above are not meant to, in any way, excuse the contempt with which 3 Ireland treats its customers.

stick-dan

Their customer service is perhaps the worst I have come across. I had mobile broadband with them two years ago and to be honest I was disgusted with their overall performance and conduct. Their turnaround times on their calls with regards to solutions to your problem is really bad and that is if you are "fortunate" enough to get through to a competent person to talk to.

They also blame you for absolutely everything even though it is 100% their fault for an error which occurs. I have been incorrectly billed, told I cannot leave my expired contract and both my sister and past boss have received solicitor letters for measly amounts of 17c and 22c respectively for terminated contracts due to lack of adequate services. Absolute Joke of a "service"

focusowner

I have to agree with all the negative comments posted so far

I became a 3 customer for 24 hours and due to lack of coverage in my area i got out of contract

First evening i had to ring india because they hadnt ported my number over , had to laugh at the menu saying to remove sim and put it back in phone as this fixes 90% of issues ( or similar)

To be honest the woman i got had very good english and helped get it sorted

Unfortunately it was the following day before i managed to get testibg the phone on the network and coverage was very poor so rang up to say i wasnt happy as id ported from o2 which had very decent coverage but a pitiful data package, my first customer care person took my details and told me to try turning the phone off then back on which was a waste of time then told me to go home to where i had the signal trouble and to ring off an alternative number so they could do some tests

Went home at dinner time and called again different person this time i said why i had been told to call to test signal " have you tried turning ur phone off " ? God help me i thought il never get this resolved she said that it was my house being in a built up area that was causing lack of signal , i told her i lived in the country with nobody living near by no trees etc and its a bungalow , only reception i had was if i walked up the field " ah so u do have coverage if u walk up the field " i said yeah but i dont intend doing that each time i get a call

Brain dead is a good description of them anyway after trying to get me to do a manual search for networks on the phone and having only meteor and o2 appear she finally said i could cancel my contract she would make note of it on my account and the shop would cancel upon receipt of the phone

Brought the phone back at half 5 cancelled everything and rang 3 at 7 to look for my deposit back which i had been asked for in respect of the phone i had bought " you cannot get ur deposit back until after 6 months have passed , " i said im out of contract my phone and sim have been returned to the shop , there is no record of that on the system she said >:(

So i was put on hold for ten mins while she looked into it before saying i would have my deposit of 150 euro returned in approx 50 days

50 days is far too long to hold onto a deposit for somethin you dont own

Anyway from my 24 hour experience id never deal again , il stick with providers that provide irish jobs

Spooky1666

focusowner wrote: »

I have to agree with all the negative comments posted so far

I became a 3 customer for 24 hours and due to lack of coverage in my area i got out of contract

First evening i had to ring india because they hadnt ported my number over , had to laugh at the menu saying to remove sim and put it back in phone as this fixes 90% of issues ( or similar)

To be honest the woman i got had very good english and helped get it sorted

Unfortunately it was the following day before i managed to get testibg the phone on the network and coverage was very poor so rang up to say i wasnt happy as id ported from o2 which had very decent coverage but a pitiful data package, my first customer care person took my details and told me to try turning the phone off then back on which was a waste of time then told me to go home to where i had the signal trouble and to ring off an alternative number so they could do some tests

Went home at dinner time and called again different person this time i said why i had been told to call to test signal " have you tried turning ur phone off " ? God help me i thought il never get this resolved she said that it was my house being in a built up area that was causing lack of signal , i told her i lived in the country with nobody living near by no trees etc and its a bungalow , only reception i had was if i walked up the field " ah so u do have coverage if u walk up the field " i said yeah but i dont intend doing that each time i get a call

Brain dead is a good description of them anyway after trying to get me to do a manual search for networks on the phone and having only meteor and o2 appear she finally said i could cancel my contract she would make note of it on my account and the shop would cancel upon receipt of the phone

Brought the phone back at half 5 cancelled everything and rang 3 at 7 to look for my deposit back which i had been asked for in respect of the phone i had bought " you cannot get ur deposit back until after 6 months have passed , " i said im out of contract my phone and sim have been returned to the shop , there is no record of that on the system she said >:(

So i was put on hold for ten mins while she looked into it before saying i would have my deposit of 150 euro returned in approx 50 days

50 days is far too long to hold onto a deposit for somethin you dont own

Anyway from my 24 hour experience id never deal again , il stick with providers that provide irish jobs

Yup O2 aren't half bad but their pricing especial for bill pay is a complete joke. Meteor are miles cheaper and better value for money. Since you have coverage with them I would recommend them because of their great value smart phone plans especially if your not getting a new phone.
http://www.meteor.ie/plans/bill_pay/smart/#plans-tab
But since you live in the country I would recommend if you could to order a free meteor sim on line and pop it into a phone to see what coverage you're really getting as meteor coming up on the manual search doesn't mean you have full bars. You could only have one. Hope this helps

focusowner

To be honest we live in a bad are for reception for whatever the reason , we have hills around us that might be the case but so far O2 has best coverage 2 bars on edge network is better than nothing , as much as i hate the thoughts of paying even more to vodafone their sure signal seems to be the only answer for where i live !


I have tried
Tesco mobile 2bars edge
Vodafone. 0 bars
Meteor. 2 bars at best 1 bar most of the time
O2 2-4 bars edge or gprs never 3g
Three. 2 bars outside in the field nothing indoors

Spooky1666

Hmm yes well if you want to go for the extra value Meteor would be good but it depends if using your mobile at home is important of not? ( I mean of course its important but some people might use it more in their workplace or out and about) if you really need it at home voda sure signal would be good but that means you have fixed broadband in your home? Unfortunately in your case it seems it's either value or quality.

focusowner

Well at the min im paying 60 per month to vodafone and im now on a 3 day week at work so spend more time at home where i have no reception so for past year ive been using an o2 prepay for texting from home as i had no other way of doing it which amounts to 80 per month and im only getting partial use from my vodafone texts etc of which all vodafone texts are free as are my vodafone calls but i cant use them

focusowner

Thats 80 in total ( minimum spend) not 60+80

focusowner

Anyway back on topic , out of all network providers ive been with 3 have been by far the worst

bd250110

I wonder if some posters are on a different 3 network to myself?

The network is blazing fast (faster than my home broadband, average 1Mb/Sec in Cork).
They allow you to use your data how you want, no need for extras. (Meteor do too)
Coverage is excellent, coverage in West Cork is problematic for 2G carriers, 3 have good/excellent 3G coverage all over.
Price plans make o2 look like highway bandits, Vodafone expensive and Meteor competitive.
3-like-home is a great offer for those who can make use of it.

Customer service is spotty, you just have to be patient. I think a lot of people hear an indian accent and assume that the reps on the end of the phone are 'stupid'. This is not the case, they are highly educated but like most call centre systems they are forced through troubleshooting steps. The system will not let them progress through without those steps. Bear in mind that your own accent may not be very easy for them to understand, either.
There are issues switching between Vodafone and 3, which is a pain. I think iPhone users are mainly effected. Others not so much.

There are positives with 3 as well, no one comes even close to offering me what they do. All my needs (including voice/text/data/roaming) for 19EUR a month. I can't complain at that.