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Why are mobile phone companies so inflexible?

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  1. #1

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    Why are mobile phone companies so inflexible?

    This is not the first time I've encountered this in the six weeks since I've been here. My company got me a blackberry when I arrived here. I picked Model A and ended up getting Model B. It really didn't matter a whole lot so I didn't say anything. Now Smartone (the carrier we use) came out with a 3G blackberry. I travel to Japan quite often and having a 3G blackberry/phone will be most useful. I asked if I could upgrade to the 3G one from my six-week-old 2G one. Afterall, they did confirm the 3G one wasn't available when my company got my current one for me. I was told No unless the company pays all the penalty and start a new contract. The alternative is to find someone in my firm that would take over my contract. Isn't this this craziest thing? Afterall, I'd only be using way, way, way more minutes if I could use it in Japan and think about all the roaming fees! We have a corporate account with them and we just switched over from CSL, apparently. Like I mentioned, this is not the first time in six weeks that I've encountered how people stick with whatever they are given and don't think out of the box and adapt or accommodate. in the end, they would make more money off of me. So now, I'm going to sign up for a 3G plan on my personal phone since I'm with "3" and they've been calling me to ask me to upgrade. I'll just present all my personal phone bills and get reimbursed by my company (I confirmed they would do that).

    One of my HK Chinese friends said that she once called the cable operator and accidentally selected the English menu when she called customer service. She asked if the customer service rep spoke Cantonese and she said yes. My friend thought she could proceed with Cantonese but the rep refused simply because my friend pressed "2" for English by mistake.

    I'm originally from HK and grew up here. I don't recall people/businesses being so inflexible before. What happened???


  2. #2

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    That's why small companies can survive to big corporations. It's just a different approach.


  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by applefan:
    What happened???
    Er, there was a change of management in HK in 1997...

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Er, there was a change of management in HK in 1997...
    But business is soooo flexible in Mainland. I just don't see the link.

  5. #5

    HK is small. The sales numbers are tiny comparred to N America or Japan or Taiwan so the service attitude is very different.


  6. #6

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    I'm getting ticked of with these plans and stupid lock in gimicks that mobile phone companies use.

    I'd say, you call the company. Speak to a manager, get their name and tell them .. "You have the right to say no and I hope you have the ability to say yes".

    "Now listen carefully... I am terminating my contract and paying the penalty and there is no hope of getting any additional revenue from me."

    "Or you have the ability to make an exception and keep me as your customer for a long time, by helping me switch my contract and solve my problem".

    Please try and and post the name of that manager here and the result of the conversation. I'll make sure someone at Smartone finds this thread.

    Lock in gimicks from companies piss me off, specially when they do not have the ability to think laterally and go .. well .. if I lock her into another 18 months, this customer has stayed for 18 months and 6 weeks, as opposed to the 18 months and 1 day, which is the norm.


  7. #7

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    in singapore, when they lock u up, u can upgrade but you cannot downgrade in a plan... simple as that. 8-P


  8. #8

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    freeier : so, you can upgrade from a three month sentence to a life time plus three lashes?


  9. #9

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    I wish I could say "I'll pay the penalty and you'll never see me again" but I can't because it's my company's contract with them and they just switched everyone over to Smartone. Just as unfortunate, I can't just talk to Smartone directly, I have to go through the company's "purchasing dept". I'm sure you can all tell this is driving me nuts! I am going to find out which Smartone rep is handling our account!

    The irony of the whole thing is if you went to Smartone's website, they advertise the new 3G blackberry and it says "Switch Up"! I'd like them to explain to me how they expect me to switch up if I'm going to be hit with a gigantic penalty!

    KIA -- please make sure Smartone people find this thread.

    PDLM -- How does a change in government change people's ability to think and do business?


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by KnowItAll:
    freeier : so, you can upgrade from a three month sentence to a life time plus three lashes?

    LOL!!! Yes, I can understand why you'd want to prevent people from downgradeing but I acutally want to give them more money!

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