Mystery Caller: Festival phone

Festival season is approaching and Mystery Caller is preparing for her trip to Glastonbury. Anticipating a wild weekend, she’s leaving her iPhone at home and taking something cheaper with a longer battery life

6: Vodafone

Martin wasn’t even trying to hide his unwillingness to help me

Manner – 2/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 15/30

5: Virgin

The CSA twice repeated ‘£50?’ to make sure I hadn’t had a knock to the head and actually meant £500

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

4: Orange

No wonder prepay numbers are in such decline – it seems anyone who is not on a contract is viewed as a weirdo these days

Manner – 3/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 17/30

3: Three

Peter was the only CSA to break down battery life according to technology generations, which was good as it makes a substantial difference

Manner – 3/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 20/30

2: T-Mobile

The unnamed CSA was the only one to ask whether the phone needed to withstand festival conditions such as rain and mud

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 2/5
Overall – 3/5
Total – 23/30

1: O2

Alice made up for her lack of knowledge by making good recommendations and showing enthusiasm for a sale

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 5/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 24/30

Summary

Poor battery life is a common complaint from consumers who use their smartphone for so much more than calling and texting.

For that reason, I though the networks would easily understand why I wanted a cheap alternative which would last me through the weekend. But I was met with confusion from Virgin and Orange, while Vodafone’s Martin didn’t seem too keen to help either.

The top three performers all listened to my requirements and suggested phones that would last me through a weekend of heavy usage. None more so than Alice at O2, who immediately understood what I was after. T-Mobile and Three also put in a good performance, although lacked attention to detail and knowledge respectively.

Full article in Mobile News issue 540 (June 3, 2013).

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