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Dedicated to Keeping New Zealand Cleaner and Greener!
Roger Takes on Vodafone! And gets some action with the help of the NZ Herald!!!
Oh boy, I'm in the news again! This time
the NZ Herald February 27th 2007
Well, the story goes like this. For the last six weeks, I've been getting weekly 'info/spam' texts from Vodafone about Txt2000 and Best-Mates. That's not too bad, but they've been coming around 2am in the morning - waking me and my lovely wife up!!! (I have to leave my phone on 24/7 - comes with the job.) I've complained every-time it happens, but get the same response; 'We're really sorry, lots of people are complaining about it, and we are doing our best to fix it.' SIX WEEKS - come on Vodafone, what you're really saying is 'Sorry it upsets you, but it's not that important to us, and we'll fix it when we feel like it!'
One thing you'll discover about me, I like my sleep, and don't like it being disturbed. This morning, after being woken again at 2:29am, I phoned Vodafone, only to be told via voice-mail that I had called outside office hours, but if the call was regarding nuisance or malicious texts, to hold for an operator. So I held! I described to the lady how I had been receiving nuisance texts for the last six weeks in the early hours of the morning, and even though I'd asked the person to stop several times, they keep sending them. 'That's terrible', she replied; 'Do you know who it is - so we can put a stop to it?'
'It's Vodafone!' I replied with a smirk the width of my face (She fell into the trap perfectly!)
Deathly silence came from the other end of the phone like a unwelcomed thief in the night. She then went on to immediately say I must be calling about the midnight texts from Vodafone, and that they were looking into fixing the problem. Yeah Right!
To cut a long story short, I contacted the NZ Herald via their Web-Site, who phoned me within the hour from Hamilton, then sent a reporter and photographer around immediately to 'run' the story. Funny coincidence, Vodafone PR Manager called me a couple of hours later to apologize and assure me they will have the problem fixed tonight. Not to be fooled, the Herald ran the story anyway! Reminds me of when the debt collector gives you a call, and you say, 'I just posted the cheque this morning!', and then run to the post office box to actually post it! My philosophy about when people bug you - but don't really care that they are, is to 'bug' them back till they get the message and are as inconvenienced themselves as they are making you feel. And yes - I believe that IS a Christian response at times. I wasn't doing anything wrong, and was just trying to get some justice in this life! God knows I 'turn the other cheek' enough times to warrant a bit of fun now and then ;-)
Actually - sometimes David does win against Goliath! Now for a good night's sleep :-)
Update: March 8th 2007.
You won't believe this! Last night my wife Debbie and daughter Casey both got texts from Vodafone in the middle of the night - almost two weeks after they assured the public (and me) that the problem was fixed!!! Same old story when I contacted Vodafone. I'm not too interested in going to the Herald this time though. I just want Vodafone to sort it out, and personally - I don't like the pubic exposure it brings me. Speaking with Sean, the Technology Manager from Vodafone today, and he reckons that although the 'received' time on our phones says some unearthly hour in the night, that in reality they are being sent and received after 8am - later in the morning but still showing the midnight time incorrectly. As the wife of one of my friends replied when I asked her to cook bacon and eggs for our 6:30am Men's Group breakfast,
What I'm really peeved about, is they credited my wife's account for the inconvenience of texting her in the middle of the night, and they gave me nothing!! I at least expected a new phone :-)
Update: April 2007.
A good friend of mine whom I went to school with decades ago, and then to youth group - saw my photo and story in the NZ Herald and invited me out to lunch. Well, Richard has sponsored me a Phone Contract' for 24 months, that includes a nice new phone! Thanks Richard, you are a true friend!