Mystery Caller: Phablets

Mystery Caller has grown tired of straining her eyes looking at content on her five-inch phone and wants something bigger. With a number of phablets now on the market, can the networks help?

6: Virgin

Being ignored by the CSA was the final straw… this happens to me quite a lot with Virgin

Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 14/30

5: Vodafone

I wondered why the CSA insisted on selling me the Galaxy S4 when Vodafone offers the Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet

Manner – 3/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 16/30

4: T-Mobile

Miles began by telling me ‘phablets are a bit underground’ – a clever way of saying the operator’s range is limited

Manner – 3/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 18/30

3: O2

The CSA placed me on hold before telling me he had spoken to his managers and they had said I should go into an O2 store

Manner – 2/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 19/30

2: Orange

Claire was just as clueless as the other CSAs, saying: ‘I do not know what that is. Is Phablet a brand?’

Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 21/30

1: Three

Despite relying on me to confirm whether his suggestions were a phablet or not, Scott did well – and had a very good manner

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 23/30

Summary

Only one of the CSAs knew what a phablet was, with several wondering why I would need anything larger than a Samsung Galaxy S4.

Virgin’s CSA, Arvin, seemed the least keen to offer me what I was after, with James from Vodafone almost equally reluctant to sell me anything but the Samsung Galaxy S4.

T-Mobile and O2’s CSAs had to be prompted throughout the call because they didn’t seem to know what to offer me either, while Orange’s Claire tried to put me off buying a phablet.

The only CSA to accept the fact I wanted a phablet was Three’s Scott, who came out with a number of refreshing recommendations and was the most pleasant.

Full article in Mobile News issue 551 (November 4, 2013).

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