[3GScottishUser]

What is it with 3?

Yesterday I called Ben (he can confirm) that both calls I made to him on 3 dropped allbeit after 10-15 mins and the quality of those were dreadful.

Today I have made 3 calls and each has dropped without warning. Pityful.

I am going to call 333 and see what Mumbai have to say about the pathetic communications service Hutchison provide. I will report back in due course when I have an explanation from them.

[Ben]

Lol I was quite merrily chatting away to myself the first time it happened - of course, the lack of metallic noises and echo gave it away that I was no longer connected.

We'll have to do a 3-to-3 convo from my newly Threepayed Z1010 and see how we get on! ;)

[solo12002]

I was quite merrily chatting away to myself

We understand that its not the first time you have done this Ben, any thing you want to tell us? :)

[miffed]

As I've said before , Orange have the decency to admit to their dropped calls and actually compensate for them

Now , if Three's newtwork is as "improved" in terms of call dropping (as some will have you beleive on various forums) , then surely Three can afford start compensating those that are unfortunate enough to suffer

Can't see it happening though

[3GScottishUser]

That was a masterstroke by Orange back in their early days when they offered the Network Performance Guarnatee. Automatic compensation for dropped calls and they do have it in place today.

A network can only offer this if it is confident it can deliver the performance and Hutchison must have had the technology etc to support this valuable confidence builder long ago.

Likewise i would'nt expect them to offer this on 3 presently, the price seems to be the compensation for the poor quality and reliability and I suspect most folks are now familiar with 3's drawbacks.

[3_is_the_magic_number]

Unfortunately you are only painting half the picture.

It is true Orange was the first company to reimburse people for dropped calls.

But who was behind that decision?

France Telecom who own the company today? NO

It was Hutchison - now the power behind 3 - who owned Orange and the time and introduced that scheme.

[3GScottishUser]

Pity Hutchison dont offer the same deal with 3.... wonder why not?

They might end up refunding more than they bill with their current network performance!

[3_is_the_magic_number]

Or looked at it another way - seeing as 3 beat Orange hands down in terms of call costs - 3 customers save more by just getting cheap rates all year round than poor Orange customers who pay through the noise for their service.

I use 3 in NW Kent. I get no dropped calls. Therefore refunding me for dropped calls would make no difference.

But getting cheap calls all year round on 3 does.

How those Orange customers must look at 3 customers bills in envy...

[3g-g]

How those Orange customers must look at 3 customers bills in envy...

It's true, I'm sure a lot of customers from all the networks look at Three's pricing policy and think, why doesn't my network offer calls this cheap? If they can do it then surely everyone can. But remember you only get what you pay for. It's really good to hear that your coverage in Kent is good, that's keeping you happy, however, there are many people who aren't as lucky. It's their opinions, the ones they give to their friends, that tarnish the image of Three for the buying public, that needs to change.

But it can't stay this way for ever. It's great for all the HTL customers just now but it's not making them the money that they need to survive long term. One day the prices will begin to change, most likely a slow process, but it has to happen, Three don't want to be the bargain basement network for ever. I would imagine if/when Three are sold we'll begin to see a Three overhaul.

[Ben]

And you are not the only member of this forum who receives excellent quality from Three. Indeed, North Kent seems to be something of a haven. Still, this thread relates to calls placed over the Three network from Glasgow, and I have been on the receiving end of some of the problems with that part of the network - regardless of how localised that may be.

As with any network, we cannot over-extend our experiences.

[3GScottishUser]

2 years on in Central Scotland 3 is a woeful customer experience.

I have had NEC, Motorola and Nokia handsets and all of them have produced the same poor results. Sure its cheap and you are supposed to get lots of cheap calls but in reality you get:

Lots of failed calls
Lots of dropped calls
Lots of noise on the line making conversation difficult
Lots of latency making voice calling a chore
Lots of failed services downloads (stuttering/failed file downloads)
Lots of SMS failure
Lots of poor advice from arrogant CS Agents

The above is a pretty fair outline of my 3 experience, others have had billing issues etc but I cant say I have suffered in that respect.

Some say things have improved and one always hopes they will. I have seen quite a few 3 handsets bought and replaced where I work. People try the service and very swiftly return to the established networks for all the above reasons. Perhaps the problem is geographic? If it is one has to wonder why there are individuals who are doing nicely selling 'workarounds' on e-bay so that 3 customers can lock the latest Nokia handsets to 02.

I am in the process of moving forward, away from 3. I cant say the 3 experience was good either in terms of performance or value and I no longer feel envious when I see free phones with free line rental for 12 months on 3. Having had it, used it (well tried to), I'm happy to let others find out for themselves that you only really get what you pay for. One's impressions can only be based on personal experience and it is possible that in some areas 3 customers may experience a better service but one has to remember that a mobile phone is a national service so a few pockets of satisfaction are not sufficient to build consumer confidence as the current pricing confirms.

Happy to have moved on and now have a proper 3G service with Internet access and reliable voice calls (with 2G seamless fallback), and a high level of customer service at what I consider a reasonable price.

[simax]

Or looked at it another way - seeing as 3 beat Orange hands down in terms of call costs - 3 customers save more by just getting cheap rates all year round than poor Orange customers who pay through the noise for their service.

I use 3 in NW Kent. I get no dropped calls. Therefore refunding me for dropped calls would make no difference.

But getting cheap calls all year round on 3 does.

How those Orange customers must look at 3 customers bills in envy...
Hardly.....

I get 600 minutes (that roll over if I don't use them), 100 texts, Orange Care, free 0800 access, free voicemail, dedicated UK based CS on 448 and early upgrades every 9 months for £33. (Usually £55 but I get retailer discount)

I'm quite happy with Orange, thank you very much :D

Simon

[Hands0n]

Living in North Kent, similar to 3_is_the_magic_number I can vouch for the very positive Network experience. I am able to use my 3 mobile all around the North Kent area and deeper into East Kent also without any difficulty - certainly no more so than with my Orange handset. However, the satisfaction rating ends there.

My own personal experiences with 3's Customer Services are the most woeful I have ever had in my entire adult life dealing with IT suppliers. I do not exaggerate in making that statement. They are completely inept at resolving anything but the most simple and basic issues. If you have a billing fault they will make it far worse for several months before any sign of making it better. Even my Bank was completely bemused at 3's antics. The network comms to their CS is dire, calls fail mid-stream and on a re-call you have to start over again - making a mockery of them having a CRM system. What use is such a system if they cannot/will not recall the previous call record? You spend as much time as before getting to the same point (if you're lucky) only to be cut off again. For me 3 is an unlucky number - and I will not persist beyond 3 attempts at dealing with them by phone. Email gets a slightly better response, but takes an eternity.

Nothing in their CS has improved since they launched, which is when I first dealt with them. Walked away. Came back a year or so later. Found a significantly better network - but unfortunately subsequently found a CS in the same mess it was at launch.

It is, thus, for the lack of a coherent CS that I will eventually walk away from 3 regardless of how much money I "save" by buying their network. For my £35 a month I want much more than simply a network to make calls on - I want, no I demand, a credible CS operation to support me when things [inevitably] go wrong. If any company cannot provide this basic service then they will lose me as a fee paying customer.

By comparison to 3, Orange's CS is a bright golden shining light to the former's dank smelly cave of depression! I really do have many much better things to do in my life than have to deal with 3's CS.

[3GScottishUser]

Trying to use up my inclusive minutes on my Nokia 7600 on T/T 600 and its almost impossible with calls dropping frequently. I'm so glad I have drawn a line under this experience and look forward to the end of October when I can claim my cashback and be rid of 3 for good. Its a bargain for sure but a bargain is not a bargain if you cant use it.