[Ben]

According to Mobile, Three is the 7th most hated brand in the UK. The Guardian (http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1776639,00.html) has more details but unfortunately only lists up to number 6. Still, it's not like we didn't know Three's brand image was all wrong.

So, there you go I guess. Maybe now I'll see less 3 critters as MSN avatars ;)

[3GScottishUser]

Yikes ... it did'nt take too long for the public to express their loathing of 3. Tey are the only telco in the chart!! None of the dreaded utilities beat them!!

A wake up call indeed.

[Chewy]

Do you think it's cos their adverts are SO annoying/odd or because people generally have had bad experiences with them?

I'm a 3 customer and have personally had no problems with them, and nor have a number of people I know.

I hate their ads tho!!!

[Hands0n]

The ads, for sure, are quite annoying in almost every way possible :D

As to general experience of 3 - they have come a long way since their inception and have had a lot of problems along the way. None of it has been helped by their "corporate denial" when problems the scale of the LG 81xx series hit. They seem to have learned not very much with the same apparent denial with issues with the Nokia 6280 of late - firmware upgrades sort out the problems in both instances, but fuming customers are being fobbed off with such bull-droppings statements as "not a known issue with these handsets"!

Which brings me to their Customer Services (sic) which are anything but when compared with almost any other corporate CS operation. 3's take the biscuit for being simply the worst of the bunch. And that has generated tons of bad feeling towards 3 despite their very best efforts in getting their network and other services operational.

I'm not sure that 3 really deserve a listing in the "Most Hated Brand" charts though. They, for certain, have got to get to grips with (a) their CS which they haven't in three years so there is no reason to suppose they will any time soon now. Also their method of handling handset failures like the LG81xx and Nokia 6280 among others. A more truthful and factual approach would see the Customers feeling like they are being treated like adults rather than being "lied to".

I was somewhat reluctant to leave 3, but as they could not give me what I wanted at a price comparable to another network they lost my business this time.

[3GScottishUser]

Dumping Motorola c975's and ZTE 866's on folks with glued in SIM's won't endeer them to those who buy them. I imagine most will be really short term gains as those products are very poor.

I dont understand why 3 have chosen to sell 3G to this end of the pre-pay market. Nor do I understand why they decided to offshore the bulk of their customer service as this has cost them more in terms of reputation than anything else.

I cant say I was anything other than delighted to reach the end of my last 3 contract. I got a very poor impression of what a 3G phone service is like thanks to 3 and considered moving back to GSM to get decent call reliability. Happily having experienced both Vodafone and 02's 3G services the return to GSM was not necessary. I'm using a Sony Ericsson V600 just now and its a cracking little phone. Its just £80 on PAYG on Vodafone and you get a lot for your money with this device. The phone has a quality feel to it and some very impressive features. Its a bit bigger than my Z500 but I think the extra features make up for the size factor. A doddle to setup and use and a great introduction for anyone looking to invest in 3G for the first time.