Nokia Vodaworld needs service software upgrade - the saga continues.......

6th June..... got a call from the local Nokia people asking for 'further details'. Turns out the Nokia shop in Vodaworld is in fact a Vodacare outlet. Misnomer if ever there was one. So Nokia themselves don't have my phone and can't do anything about it at this point. Thumbs down to Vodacare. Isn't that a great way to stuff up your reputation Nokia? Your name, someone else's dis-service! Eish!

30th May: 24 hours later, still no response, so I've e-mailed Nokia Finland. I've had an automated reply. Let's see what happens next...

31st May - sweet bugger all response - from anyone! Nice one Nokia....

See regular Nokia updates further down on this original article......

Being a totally disenchanted user of the hopelessly underperforming i-Mate products and their reincarnated HTC brethren, I've gone 'interim' on a Nokia N73 (pictured). An OK instrument (no stylus), but recently very prone to 'hanging' at the most inconvenient times. So, sequence of events:

1) Phone Nokia - suggest software upgrade. Eastern European-accented call centre agent is almost incomprehensible. Constantly says 'Yes, sir!' or 'No,sir!' like other people would use conjunctions in speech.
2) I'm damn fool enough to download the software update to my laptop.
3) Installs on phone, and phone then has to do a re-start. That's where the paw-paw hits the fan. It goes into cardiac arrest and flatlines.
4) No matter where you are, you gotta go to Nokia in Vodaworld, Midrand to get it sorted.
5) They check it in - and spell my name wrongly and 'Jan Smuts Avenue' as 'Yarn a mart' Avenue (no kiddin') on the job sheet. Illiterati is the term I'd use. Dan Brown beware.
6) I'm told it will take 24 hours to sort. I have to call to see when its ready. Thought: Why the hell can't they use simple SMS technology to message, 'Scusi dear client, come get your reincarnated instrument?' Beats me. So I have to do the finger work.
7) Round about 22 hours I start making calls. Five of them. Each time I get stonewalled. At hour 23 plus 5 minutes to close of Nokia Vodaworld I finally get the tech manager, an embarrassed and helpful Johan, who tells me it's had to go to 'another level of repair' as they can't resuscitate the phone. Nice if someone had told me that in an earlier call. I wouldn't have put my Saturday afternoon on hold... It's now going to be away for 'between 7 and 14 working days.'

Is this what I'd expect from a Finnish-owned service network? Nah. Never ceases to amaze me how the wheels come off the best companies when they hit Africa. There's a multi-ethnic dis-service ethic that frankly doesn't give a damn. Yeah, Brenner at Nokia Vodaworld - you number among them.

So, Nokia Vodaworld, please ascend the podium and take top position for truly crappy service. Enjoy the fragrance of the Onion of the Week Award. You really deserve it.
Posted by Clive Simpkins

Update 21st May:
Just in case I thought the weekend lousy service from Nokia Vodaworld was an aberration, they confirmed their incompetence this Monday morning.
1) Tshidi told me someone else (Dirk) would call me to explain what had happened to my phone - even though I already knew.
2) Portia then called to tell me my phone wasn't ready. Considering it was supposed to be ready on Saturday, giving me that earth-shattering news on the Monday following, is counterproductive. Imagine if I'd driven all the way from Parktown North to Midrand to discover that, instead of phoning 5 times on Saturday? Nokia Vodaworld are idiots. A customer service program would do them a world of good. Sic Peter Cheales on 'em!

Update 29th May:
Went to collect the 'repaired' phone at Nokia Vodaworld this morning. Because it was goin' to need a 'restore data from SD card' application run, I couldn't get someone else to do it for me. There was a queue right out of the door to the outlet and just two staff assisting at the counter.

I got the phone and attempted a restore and it does exactly as it did before. It indicates it's going to re-boot. It does. It freezes. The staff at Nokia Vodaworld are never going to die from a heart-attack, whatever else they may die from. There's no sense of angst, passion, interest or solutions-orientation. The comment was, 'You'll have to check it back in'. And this after 10 days.

I've e-mailed their customer service manager at national level. Let's see how he responds. Here's what I wrote:

Hi Steven! I blogged about my travails with Nokia in VodaWorld – http://clivesimpkins.blogs.com I kinda hoped that when I finally collected the phone, it would restore from the mini SD card and all would be well. Not to be. This morning I collected it, and it hangs exactly as it did before. I was told by the unremittingly unhelpful Nokia VodaWorld staff that I’d simply ‘have to check it in again.’ I run my own tiny business and taking, what for me turns out to be a whole morning out of my business yet again, is simply not on.

How do we solve this problem? I have the phone with me.

Regards, Clive

Comments

[thescott]

7-14 days?

A call centre agent at Nashua Mobile told me that they call Nokias something along the lines of "Roulette phones" due to their, and i quote "50/50 chance of being lemons".

The broken phone then needs to go back to the supplier which is a 6 week turn around time.

People need to know this.

[Clive Simpkins]

thescott, hi and thanks for plunging me into a clinical depression at the prospect of an even longer wait! ;-)

[HTC]

Hmm, my HTC products in the past have been very reliable. As for Nokia its the symbian operating system that does not appeal to me, has a tendency to "hang". Nokia have however made some very cool phones of late, shame you got a lemon. HTC have some good stuff coming out. Try http://www.pdadb.net if you need information on smart-phones or PDA type phones. I would not expect much of a response from Nokia Finland, they will just advise you to contact their country office who will request you to visit Vodaworld...
I have had a recent similar story with other products; Samsonite & Delsey luggage. I needed clarification on their competing luggage types, Delsey replied to the email within 24 hours, Samsonite with an automated email within 24 hours advising me they will reply to my query within 7 days and then took 10 days to reply. I bought Delsey.

Companies with well established brands are seriously damaging those brands by outsourcing administration, call centers, invoicing, billing and other customer interface points. The money they save in admin costs is lost in trying to retain customers.

[Clive Simpkins]

HTC, you're a very lucky person then. I'm surrounded by colleagues who had the most dreadful experience with i-Mate/HTC. Forget the labelling/badging. Same instrument. You clearly never struggled with WM5 mail programs that took 15 seconds to open after tapping the icon. I physically smashed my JasJar (appropriately named since 'jas' is the perjorative term for piss) into the tiled floor. It's the most expensive and reciprocally useless piece of crap I've ever had the misfortune to buy. I hear claims that the 'bugs' have been sorted out. Yeah, right, like when I went from a Q-Tek 1010 to the PDA2K and then the Piss-Jar and each time I swallowed that old canard. You work for HTC by the way?

[HTC]

No I do not work for HTC. I am associated with another evil empire however thats hated the world over :-)

I have had an HTC Pocket PC since about 2003 and apart from the occasional freeze after installing third party software its run perfectly including email and web browsing (non SA networks). I've had Nokia phones that have came apart and Sony phones that look nice but take ages to navigate through menus. So I stuck with the HTC as it worked reliably, and quickly even after dropping it a few times.

Better luck with your next purchase. I will not hold my breath for Nokia to get back to you & solve the problem.

[Clive Simpkins]

HTC,hiya again! ;-) to the Evil Empire!

I assume your HTC device has WM 6? Because the 5 was the main problem child in memory greed terms, methinks?

Nokia Finland routed my complaint/request via their EMEA management and they have indeed made contact, so let's see what happens. Handed the N73 instrument back at Vodaworld yesterday when I was in the hood for another meeting. Equally pathetic staff - they're actually illiterate. The job sheets are a travesty, fraught with incompetence.

[HTC]

Any phone as of June 17, 2007? Or you decided to wait until Christmas for a new one? Nokias caring attitude must be a comfort...

[Clive Simpkins]

No joy from Nokia yet. The phone's back for the 3rd time with the same problem. It seems that the particular Nokia outlet is owned as a franchise store by Vodacare in SA. I'm now (based on your recommendation) going to try an HTC Titan. Don't want the bigger one as with all my PDAs I've never once used the Lilliputian slide-out keyboard. If it's a disappointment, I'm gonna cyber-stalk you and jump on your keyboard! ;-)

[Philip Sapud]

hi there i also happen 2 thnk vodacom service suck,when i tuk out my contract i got da nokia 6288 a very nice fone,4 months l8r i got an sms nd as i opened it da fone died nd i was unable to restart it.tuk it 2 vodacare canal walk nd aftr 6 weeks of endless trips nd fone calls i was given a new nokia n76 whick workd 4 abt 2 months when it startd freezing nd resetting itself,agen went back a vodacare nd dey suggestes da normal softward upgrade,got da fone back within 2 day a record for da store in question im sure.a few weeks l8r da resetting stard agen nd off 2 vodacare i went,fone was sent 2 jhb i ges vodaworld midrand nd i was given anutha new n76 or so i was told.fone workd for almost a month wen da shit startd agen nd vodacare tuk it in 4 a software update agen?when 4 got my fone back not only did it reset,it also hung nd none of da applications i had on it wud download or start.i had it bukd in agen 3-1-9 got an sms it was sent 2 jhb 5-1-9 wen i enquird on da 12th abt da status of my repair da assholes cudnt tell me wer my fone was.da managr der avoided my calls so had 2 go into da store nd only aftr doing so i was told da service consultant dat helpd me neva bukd in my fone,nd despite dat da fone was only sent 2 jhb on da 16th!cald jhb 2day 20th,fone was despatched 2 nokia 4 assessment nd i wud hear from dem within 7 working days?