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Category: Life: Work and Techy

Bewgo now live

It’s taken a lot lot longer then I wanted to (but only a week once I actually decided “What the hell, just get it working”), but Bewgo.co.uk is aliiiive!

Ok, it’s just “another Open Directory Project” using site (using PHP5, Postgresql, phpODPWorld, SnapShots, Zend Search Lucene, and interaction with Amazon.co.uk via their SOAP system).

It’s not pretty at the moment and lots of the functionality I wanted in place isn’t yet in place – this is mainly because I just wanted “something” up and running. But have a look, and let me know what you think…

At the very least, it’s given me some experience with the Zend Framework (where Zend Search Lucene comes from) – it’s not the best documented of systems (compared to the main PHP site and even pear.php.net), but I’ve muddled my way through the last few days..

Carphone Warehouse: Shoddy Customer Support

I’ve just sent the following email to Carphone Warehouse’s customer support department as, after years of service with them, I’ve become very dissatisfied with their service and I’m looking at moving away from them as quickly as possible.

From what I’ve heard from co-workers, I’m not the only person which has had this sort of experience recently with Carphone Warhouse: going from a company I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to one that I’m on the verge of hating with every breath I take. Who else (reading this blog) has had this sort of experience with them and if you’d recommend any other mobile phone retailer.

I would like my PAC code so I can port to O2 directly. Please supply this within 48 hours and do not cancel my contract until further notice.

Reasons for porting:
* Very poor customer support by Carphone Warehouse Upgrade Department.
I called once today for an upgrade: they offered me a “special” of the Nokia N95 on 30GBP per month: which is exactly the same as O2 offer directly!). They then said that I couldn’t call them back within 10 minutes, and that they would call me back. No call received within 30 minutes.
* Very poor customer support by Carphone Warehouse Cancellation Department.
I called requesting my PAC code and “Gary” constantly tried to make it out like it was my fault: why didn’t I get the name of the person I spoke to 30 minutes ago concerning my upgrade (so he could arrange for action to be taken against him for breach of Carphone Warehouse policy), that I hadn’t received my cashback vouchers as I hadn’t returned the bills (number of paper bills received FROM Carphone Warehouse to date: 1, number of printed out internet bills sent to Carphone Warehouse to date: 3), that I should spend £35 per month and get a £90 cashback for more minutes per month (even though I had told him I didn’t use that many minutes or texts) and then to top it all – after requesting my PAC code a further 4 times(!!!) he then told me I couldn’t actually get my PAC code over the phone!
* Constant calls from your upgrade department
After the first call regarding an upgrade, I told your upgrade department that I couldn’t take the call as I was at work and that I’d go into a branch to arrange an upgrade. I have had at least 5 calls since then!
* Poor Website service.
I chose O2 from the Carphone Warehouse as I had been very impressed by O2’s online billing for my previous O2 PAYG service. I was not told at any point that I would be “serviced” by Carphone Warehouse and use their poor online web solution.
* Poor “general feeling” of Carphone Warehouse.
At work, I know of 2 other people which are with Carphone Warehouse – and neither of them are happy with the service they have been receiving from you recently (billing problems, the poor web site service for O2 customers and general dissatisfaction).

Until recently, I have been very happy with Carphone Warehouse and have been, in my eyes, a very long term customer. I’ve been with you one way or another for about 10 years – starting on One2One with a Motorola, getting a 07050 personal number from you, upgrading to a Nokia 6210 on Orange, getting an additional Sony Ericsson P800 pay as you go from you and finally upgrading to a Nokia 6230i on an O2 Pay Monthly £35 contract: and it’s extremely worrying that if a loyal and long last customer such as myself has gone from happy and willing to recommend you to friends and family to annoyed (and after the last phone call to your customer services for my PAC code- extremely angry!) that it’s just shocking.

Oh – one thing I didn’t include in the email is the person in their cancellations department (who can only accept cancellations via postal email and can only accept requests for PAC codes via written requests!) gave me a “good reason to stay with Carphone Warehouse directly” – if I moved to another provider (or O2 directly), I may have to pay Carphone Warehouse for the current month on my contract. And that is the best reason they could provide for me staying with them!

Techy Fun: Why bother with a laptop?

As I’m in the process of slowing shutting down other sites I’ve worked on (due to time constraints), I’m reposting them here. Here’s an article from “Behind The Frontline” which was going to be a cross between I Work With Fools, Worse Than Failure and Dilbert.

Category: Political Situations. Author: Dohpaz

I used to work for a company where the majority of the senior staff all had laptops. And they all had docking stations with a monitor, keyboard and mouse (as they didn’t like using the laptop keyboard as it was “too small”).

When senior management noticed that staff were leaving the laptops on their desks over night (posing a possible security risks), I had to then source and install suitable locks to make sure the laptops couldn’t be moved from the desks.

Could someone please explain to me the reason these staff members were given £1,500+ worth of laptops when a simple desktop unit could have sufficed at half the cost?

Techy Fun: Now why do you think?

As I’m in the process of slowing shutting down other sites I’ve worked on (due to time constraints), I’m reposting them here. Here’s an article from “Behind The Frontline” which was going to be a cross between I Work With Fools, Worse Than Failure and Dilbert.

Category: Gee, I wonder why?. Author: Web Site Submission.

Just had a customer that stated “I haven’t paid for my account for 6 months – why has it been suspended?”

I wonder if YOU can guess whether it was because:
a) The account hadn’t been paid for for 6 months
b) The account hadn’t been paid for for 6 months
c) The world exploded

Techy Fun: Why are things a rush only when a customer wants them to be?

As I’m in the process of slowing shutting down other sites I’ve worked on (due to time constraints), I’m reposting them here. Here’s an article from “Behind The Frontline” which was going to be a cross between I Work With Fools, Worse Than Failure and Dilbert.

Category: Timewasters. Author: Web Site Submission.

We waited over *3 months* for a response from a customer over a simple issue. When they eventually decided to provide us with a response, then wanted us to jump to it and have the work done within the hour (on a weekend!).