O2 Chat, how to lose customers and disillusion people

[Anonymous]

Ok, a bit of background here, I've been an O2 customer since 1991 when it was Cellnet and Motorola 8500x brick phones. Now when we changed address 7 years ago reception at the new place has always been pretty bad and we've continually been fobbed off with mast repairs/upgrades or promised that it will be resolved. Anyhow, just of late it's become worse and with my contact coming up in the next couple of months looked around at different providers, there is at least one with excellent coverage here and for that matter cheaper.

Now I'm kind of brand loyal, hence being a customer for 22 years, so rather than jump ship, which anyone normal should have done years ago I thought I'd try and get something/anything resolved, so on Saturday morning I got on the chat with one intention, that was to be able to remain a customer and perhaps get something resolved.

So, chat 1 I explain the problem and get put through to a contract renewals who don't seem interested in what I'm saying and want me to upgrade and take on another 2 year contract.

Chat 2, explain the problem and they mention TUgo, this sounds like a perfect solution but before I can get any details the chat disconnects for no reason.

Chat 3, takes an absolute eternity to connect, in the meantime I download TUgo and try to get the activation code but it doesn't arrive and for that matter I couldn't get the activation text until today and it's actually useless as you cant answer calls (but that's another story).

Finally someone comes on chat, I explain the situation, they mention TUgo then put me through to renewals for an upgrade.

Chat 4, explain situation, put through to upgrades. Decide I'll talk to the guy at upgrades regardless, all he keeps saying is talk to the network support team and giving me a number to call, explained I must have done this hundreds of times over the last 7 years and wasn't doing it again. While I'm on I figure I'll ask him about various upgrade options when I'm due (I still had every intention of staying with o2 despite the useless chat). He kept mentioning a 'fast track upgrade', which I had no idea about so asked and was told this-

Burman: fast track upgrade is that upgrade in which you have to pay early upgrade fee if you upgrade
before standard upgrade date, but as I have checked you don't have you pay any upgrade fee.

I assumed this was some kind of sweetener as I still have 2 1/2 months on my current contract and should have paid an early upgrade fee but said I didn't want to commit to another 2 years and needed to sort something out re signal quality.

So now I'm sat at home and there's the offer of a shiny new phone, so I think what the hell, I'll get this TUgo thing to work.

Chat 5, direct to the upgrades department. I want to upgrade blah blah blah, explain the earlier conversation about a no charge upgrade and am met with 'no problem, that will be £40'. Explain that isn't going to happen and that 'Burman' has promised a no charge upgrade. The guy then puts me through to 'Burman' who says I do have to pay and that he made a mistake.

So, the incompetence of the chat department managed to take someone (who's probably one of the longest standing o2 customers) who was 100% intent on staying a customer and turning them into someone who absolutely cant wait to get away from them, to the point I'm considering paying the fee to end my contract early.

[Bambino]

Live Chat is very hit or miss. Usually the latter. O2 doesn't recognise loyalty any more. New and old customers are treated the same. I've been a customer for as long as you have. TuGo isn't particularly reliable either. If you have found a network with better coverage, go for it. 

[Anonymous]

That's the way I'm going to have to go I'm afraid. It's just so infuriating that I put effort into making o2 work for me and they couldn't care less. I know all companies are the same these days but o2 loves to sing its own praises yet the pay people to drive customers away lol

[Bambino]

O2's Live Chat is now also outsourced, which usually complicates matters even more. Ultimately, your decision should be based on the coverage you're getting, which from what you've said isn't good at the moment. Moving to another provider after all this time is probably difficult, but it sounds as if you don't have much choice. Good luck.

[perksie]

Have you tested with other sim cards to see if you can get a better signal?

Yours from O2 should improve over the next two years as they have to cover 98% of the population with indoor coverage by then.

So you could be lucky and be upgraded quickly but you won't know when it will happen, if you can get a good signal elsewhere I would move.

[jonsie]

I'm shocked that you have stayed loyal to O2 all these years with no/weak signal. I would have been off like a shot and I have been with O2 since the Cellnet days. It makes having a mobile totally useless with no signal and if, as you say, there is another network which has good coverage, then for goodness sake go with them.

If you upgrade you will get nothing in return except knowing that you have helped the adviser to boost his monthly salary and who will promptly forget all about you and could worry less about your lack of reception.

It's a no-brainer to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Orange, T mobile and 3 all work here. 3 isnt an option as I travel up and down the country, highlands to the south coast, so it looks like it will have to be EE. 

[jonsie]

Go for it, it's the most sensible solution.

[Anonymous]

Hi.


You could try switching to 2g from 3g to see if it improves your services.

Before you do leave request for your phone to be unlocked to all Networks.

It's free for Contract Customers.

Then it's a spare phone or if you sell it the unlocked tag increases its street value.

https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help?qid=1&q1=2&route=unlocking&case=Handset%20Unlocking%...

[Anonymous]

2g or 3g makes no difference, we get partial service in one corner of the house, other than that it's just no service. We had the phones unlocked last week for that very reason.