230 quid a month on Vodafone and 191 aren’t that helpful

I listened in sympathy to Steve O’Donnell, Data Centre and Infrastructure Guru over at The Hot Aisle. He was talking to me from Frankfurt.

“I’ve been trying to change my price plan,” he says, “Using Vodafone UK’s online billing interface.”

Ah.

Let me mentally stop you there, Steve. I listened on, though. Filled with dread. Another mobile operator customer who’s spending bucketloads and not necessarily getting the right service level.

If you’re knocking 20 quid a month over to Vodafone, sure. I think they should give you an OK service. Spend 250 quid a month and I think you’re entitled to a certain level of attention.

“They, er, you’re not classed as a business customer with four handsets?” I asked him.

“No, it’s a personal account?” He replies, “I phoned up. They put me through to somebody. Who then put me through to someone else. Who then hung up on me. This is happening multiple times!”

Steve is one of those who have slipped through the net. He’s already considering his options with 3 phones already out of contract. There’s no need to panic though.

“Relax, they’ve got a Forum Intervention Team,” I tell him, “They’ll sort it out for you tomorrow.”

Such is the level of performance from Vodafone’s FIT team, I’m delighted to recommend the Vodafone service. Recommending stuff is always a potential arse because you can look like a total unmitigated twwwwwwwaaaaidiot if the company in question screws up.

My experience with Vodafone has been broadly positive. And it’s not just because there’s 250,000 readers at the end of the keyboard. If you’ve got a problem — and, to paraphrase the A-team voice over — if no one else can help, FIT will come to your rescue. If you need connected to them, drop me a note or post here or on the Vodafone eForum (145 users online at the moment). The FIT team is still bound by corporate reality. Don’t expect free handsets galore, bucketloads of credit or the like. But count on being able to speak to a reasonable human being who free of the usual call centre machinations, with the zeal to help.

So despite Steve being wound up no end, I told him — confidently — that he’ll have a resolution to his issue tomorrow, or just as soon as he can speak to one of the FIT chaps.

He only wants a price plan changed. Heh. But for some reason whenever he’s called, he’s been hung-up on, or encountered a call-centre challenge.

People fall through gaps. But that’s why the FIT is there. To plug the holes — to retain and generate customer goodwill.

Kudos to Orange’s Customer Services also — who appear to have begun operating a similar policy. It’s about time and most, most welcome.