Comments on: How to Kill the Apple Brand with a Single Keyword: Movistar http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/ A blog about Knowledge Management, Communities, Collaboration, Learning, Social Computing and Work/Life Balance Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:56:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Social Media at Work http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1519869 E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Social Media at Work Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:14:37 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1519869 [...] to be fixed, because I know if I were to complain I wouldn’t be getting any kind of response, like I never did back in October 2009. And it looks like today things are back to normal somewhat, which means, I am back to normal, too! [...] [...] to be fixed, because I know if I were to complain I wouldn’t be getting any kind of response, like I never did back in October 2009. And it looks like today things are back to normal somewhat, which means, I am back to normal, too! [...]

]]> By: E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Barriers of Social Software Adoption within the Enterprise: It Will Cost You More than You Think! http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1155021 E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Barriers of Social Software Adoption within the Enterprise: It Will Cost You More than You Think! Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:07:46 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1155021 [...] Internet connection (40€ per month with the wonderful service provided by Movistar… NOT!!!). Plus you would have to add the hundreds of euros that I have been spending to pay for WiFi at [...] [...] Internet connection (40€ per month with the wonderful service provided by Movistar… NOT!!!). Plus you would have to add the hundreds of euros that I have been spending to pay for WiFi at [...]

]]> By: Archie_V http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1145010 Archie_V Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:31:49 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1145010 My current Movistar "journey" is as Kafkaesque as Luis's, although it may point towards something more sinister and offensive than mere rank incompetence and 19th-century red tape - although it's got that in spades, too. Four days ago, I went to a Movistar shop (an actual owned-by-Telefónica shop, not a franchise or associated dealership) to upgrade my wonky old prepaid Motorola to a contract for an spanking new 32-gig iPhone 3GS. Yes, they'd arrived at last, after a mere three-month wait (as mentioned above). I was armed with everything required: multiple ID, bank details, SIM card, the works. All was well until the very end of the 25-minute form-filling, photocopying and key-tapping procedure, when the shop assistant looked up from her screen, shrugged, and said, "'Transaction unauthorised', it says here." "Er, sorry? I'm offering to give you €239 in cash right now and commit, in the middle of a recession, by means of a legally binding contract, to at least a further €700 over the next 18 months in flatrate fees and charges, and you're <i>not interested?</i> Why, pray, why?" I beseeched the shop assistant (perhaps not in those exact words). "I'm not allowed to know," was her reply, so sheepish that all the local dogs started growling. Apparently I would have to wait for a call from the "Traffic Department", who would explain the problem and how it might be solved. So I waited. And waited. No call from the Traffic Department, so I called them (via nine calls to a call centre in Honduras, as you do). It turns out they wanted a €150 deposit, returnable in six months, provided I was up to date with my monthly fees and charges. "Is this because of the 'X' at the beginning of my ID-card number, by any chance? Because I'm not a Spanish citizen and therefore not to be trusted to pay my bills?" "No, no. It's just that it's not quite as easy to buy an iPhone as it used to be." "So everyone who wants to buy one has to spend half an hour filling in all the forms only to be told that they'll have to wait for a call from you that never comes so they have to phone Honduras nine times to find out that you expect a deposit? That's your system for selling iPhones, is it? Across the board?" "Er...(a pause so pregnant its waters were breaking)... yes." He was lying. I could <i>hear</i> his eyes flicking away to the left and his foot twitching to stub out an imaginary cigarette end as he said it. I really, really want an iPhone, so I just sighed and asked how I should go about paying the deposit. He gave me an account number to pay the €150 into. Oh, but I couldn't do it via bank transfer over the Internet; it had to be done in person at a specific physical bank. Oh, and the specific physical bank had to stamp the receipt legibly - very important that. Oh, and I then had to fax (fax!) the receipt to a number that he gave me. Then, and only then, would I be able to buy my iPhone. The following morning I went to the specific physical bank, €150 in cash akimbo, to make the required deposit. The cashier laughed in my face. "Did Movistar give you this account number?" he asked me. "Er, yes... and?" "It was a temporary account. It's been closed for months. It doesn't exist. Sorry." So I took the most radical, most dramatic action that was open to me: I called Honduras nine times again. Eventually (a word that will forever be associated with the Telefónica group the world over), they gave me an account number that they assured me does indeed exist, and this morning I went to specific physical bank No. 2 to try again. The cashier laughed in my face. "Cash deposits can only be made into this account between the 10th and 20th of every month. Oh, and only before 10:30 a.m." Eventually (there goes that word again), I managed to send them the money in accordance with their terms by driving 15 miles to my own branch and doing a transfer from there. Having now spent an entire afternoon and an entire morning trying to buy an iPhone, I will apparently be able to complete the transaction next Tuesday, because the "system" will take 48 hours to approve the operation. That's provided the fax number he gave me was correct, it arrived, it was legible and it had its very-important-that stamp duly in place. The upshot is that Movistar discriminate against immigrants, which is illegal. There; I've said it. Let them sue me if they dare. My advice? Go to Vodafone or Orange and buy a sodding BlackBerry. Or if you really, really, <i>really</i> want an iPhone, take out Spanish citizenship. It's easier. My current Movistar “journey” is as Kafkaesque as Luis’s, although it may point towards something more sinister and offensive than mere rank incompetence and 19th-century red tape – although it’s got that in spades, too.

Four days ago, I went to a Movistar shop (an actual owned-by-Telefónica shop, not a franchise or associated dealership) to upgrade my wonky old prepaid Motorola to a contract for an spanking new 32-gig iPhone 3GS. Yes, they’d arrived at last, after a mere three-month wait (as mentioned above). I was armed with everything required: multiple ID, bank details, SIM card, the works. All was well until the very end of the 25-minute form-filling, photocopying and key-tapping procedure, when the shop assistant looked up from her screen, shrugged, and said, “‘Transaction unauthorised’, it says here.”

“Er, sorry? I’m offering to give you €239 in cash right now and commit, in the middle of a recession, by means of a legally binding contract, to at least a further €700 over the next 18 months in flatrate fees and charges, and you’re not interested? Why, pray, why?” I beseeched the shop assistant (perhaps not in those exact words).

“I’m not allowed to know,” was her reply, so sheepish that all the local dogs started growling. Apparently I would have to wait for a call from the “Traffic Department”, who would explain the problem and how it might be solved.

So I waited. And waited. No call from the Traffic Department, so I called them (via nine calls to a call centre in Honduras, as you do). It turns out they wanted a €150 deposit, returnable in six months, provided I was up to date with my monthly fees and charges.

“Is this because of the ‘X’ at the beginning of my ID-card number, by any chance? Because I’m not a Spanish citizen and therefore not to be trusted to pay my bills?”

“No, no. It’s just that it’s not quite as easy to buy an iPhone as it used to be.”

“So everyone who wants to buy one has to spend half an hour filling in all the forms only to be told that they’ll have to wait for a call from you that never comes so they have to phone Honduras nine times to find out that you expect a deposit? That’s your system for selling iPhones, is it? Across the board?”

“Er…(a pause so pregnant its waters were breaking)… yes.”

He was lying. I could hear his eyes flicking away to the left and his foot twitching to stub out an imaginary cigarette end as he said it.

I really, really want an iPhone, so I just sighed and asked how I should go about paying the deposit. He gave me an account number to pay the €150 into. Oh, but I couldn’t do it via bank transfer over the Internet; it had to be done in person at a specific physical bank. Oh, and the specific physical bank had to stamp the receipt legibly – very important that. Oh, and I then had to fax (fax!) the receipt to a number that he gave me. Then, and only then, would I be able to buy my iPhone.

The following morning I went to the specific physical bank, €150 in cash akimbo, to make the required deposit. The cashier laughed in my face. “Did Movistar give you this account number?” he asked me.

“Er, yes… and?”

“It was a temporary account. It’s been closed for months. It doesn’t exist. Sorry.”

So I took the most radical, most dramatic action that was open to me: I called Honduras nine times again. Eventually (a word that will forever be associated with the Telefónica group the world over), they gave me an account number that they assured me does indeed exist, and this morning I went to specific physical bank No. 2 to try again. The cashier laughed in my face. “Cash deposits can only be made into this account between the 10th and 20th of every month. Oh, and only before 10:30 a.m.”

Eventually (there goes that word again), I managed to send them the money in accordance with their terms by driving 15 miles to my own branch and doing a transfer from there. Having now spent an entire afternoon and an entire morning trying to buy an iPhone, I will apparently be able to complete the transaction next Tuesday, because the “system” will take 48 hours to approve the operation. That’s provided the fax number he gave me was correct, it arrived, it was legible and it had its very-important-that stamp duly in place.

The upshot is that Movistar discriminate against immigrants, which is illegal. There; I’ve said it. Let them sue me if they dare.

My advice? Go to Vodafone or Orange and buy a sodding BlackBerry. Or if you really, really, really want an iPhone, take out Spanish citizenship. It’s easier.

]]> By: E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Excellent Customer Support Summarised in a Single Word: ScreenFlow http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1141225 E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez » Excellent Customer Support Summarised in a Single Word: ScreenFlow Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:28:32 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1141225 [...] few days back you would remember how, in a recent blog post, I stated that nowadays it seems it is becoming more and more difficult, and rare!, to find [...] [...] few days back you would remember how, in a recent blog post, I stated that nowadays it seems it is becoming more and more difficult, and rare!, to find [...]

]]> By: Brian O'Donovan http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1140140 Brian O'Donovan Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:07:34 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1140140 Luis, I wish this story was unusual but it is rather typical of telecom service providers. This makes me wonder why equipment vendors like Apple sign exclusive deals with any service provider. Many years ago I had a bad experience with a bad experience with Eircom (the legacy telecom provider in Ireland). When I applied for a line in the apartment where I stayed while in University they told me that as a personal customer I was only allowed to have one line and I would have to give up service at home. Eventually I managed to work around the rule by getting service in my brother's name, but now several decades later I still implement a policy of avoiding getting any services from Eircom whenever possible. Brian Luis,

I wish this story was unusual but it is rather typical of telecom service providers. This makes me wonder why equipment vendors like Apple sign exclusive deals with any service provider.

Many years ago I had a bad experience with a bad experience with Eircom (the legacy telecom provider in Ireland). When I applied for a line in the apartment where I stayed while in University they told me that as a personal customer I was only allowed to have one line and I would have to give up service at home.

Eventually I managed to work around the rule by getting service in my brother’s name, but now several decades later I still implement a policy of avoiding getting any services from Eircom whenever possible.

Brian

]]> By: Albert Buendia http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1139953 Albert Buendia Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:30:24 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1139953 Hombre Luis, me he reído un buen rato con un tu entrada. ¿Pero como sigues todavía con Vomistar o Robafone? Yo fui hace años cliente de Vomistar, luego de Vodafone y ahora un feliz cliente de Simyo. Por cierto, hace unos días vino por aquí un BP con un iPhone libre funcionando con Robafone. ¿Es que no conoces http://www.emancipatumovil.es ? quizás haga una entrada sobre este arisco tema en el ESLUG. ¿Nos visitas alguna vez? Un Saludo, Albert. Hombre Luis, me he reído un buen rato con un tu entrada. ¿Pero como sigues todavía con Vomistar o Robafone? Yo fui hace años cliente de Vomistar, luego de Vodafone y ahora un feliz cliente de Simyo. Por cierto, hace unos días vino por aquí un BP con un iPhone libre funcionando con Robafone. ¿Es que no conoces http://www.emancipatumovil.es ? quizás haga una entrada sobre este arisco tema en el ESLUG. ¿Nos visitas alguna vez? Un Saludo, Albert.

]]> By: Mike Eisenman http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1139902 Mike Eisenman Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:09:27 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1139902 Man, sorry to hear (or read) that. I must say, my experience has been the complete opposite. Apple has worked with me on my iPhone battery issue twice. Even AT&T was helpful. So far the machines have not had a problem (although I will steer clear of the old Time Capsule!) Man, sorry to hear (or read) that. I must say, my experience has been the complete opposite. Apple has worked with me on my iPhone battery issue twice. Even AT&T was helpful. So far the machines have not had a problem (although I will steer clear of the old Time Capsule!)

]]> By: Dan Pontefract http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1139897 Dan Pontefract Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:44:05 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1139897 Nice post - it's similar to my bane with the airlines - when will they get it? Maybe you can try the storm 2 or you can move to Canada and we at TELUS will treat you well!! ;-) Nice post – it’s similar to my bane with the airlines – when will they get it? Maybe you can try the storm 2 or you can move to Canada and we at TELUS will treat you well!! ;-)

]]> By: David Ing http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/comment-page-1/#comment-1139891 David Ing Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:58:14 +0000 http://www.elsua.net/2009/10/21/how-to-kill-the-apple-brand-with-a-single-keyword-movistar/#comment-1139891 Your restraint in describing consumer frustration is admirable. (I assume your cooling-off period before blogging helped). Your restraint in describing consumer frustration is admirable. (I assume your cooling-off period before blogging helped).

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