I ‘ve lived landline-free for almost six years, and for most of that time I’ve been with Virgin Mobile. I’ve been so happy with them that half a dozen friends have switched to them too, enticed by the low rates, generally reliable connection and friendly service.
That service doesn’t extend to their phone “help” line, however. This week I had a problem with my bill, and spent 20 minutes on hold only to discover that the person at the other end of the line didn’t understand what I was talking about. I don’t mean his English was bad – though it was pretty obvious he was based overseas – he simply didn’t get what my problem was. We were both getting pretty frustrated, and in the end I said “forget it, I’ll go into their store in Sydney and sort it out in person”. Even though this meant taking an hour out of a Thursday evening, I thought there was an error in my favour of over $200 so it couldn’t be ignored.
As it turns out I was wrong, but the store manager very professionally and patiently explained my mistake. He also apologised for the poor helpline service and the fact that I had had to take the time to visit his store. A $100 “goodwill credit” on my account was most welcome.
In other news: it’s been an intense working week, my Chinese classes were cancelled and the first advertising about Mum’s house hits the streets tomorrow. I’ve been feeling quite run down with all the house-related effort, but it’s going to look spick and span for the viewings so I think it’s all worth it. I might actually get some time off this weekend…. beach anyone?
