[Hands0n]

This came up as a bit of a quip in another thread but it does rather seem a reasonable question to ask.

I have long been a strong advocate of 3, the UK's first and only 3G-only mobile phone network. Its short history has been chequered with disaster and limited success. 3 is not reknowned for being a premier network provider, and has developed - in my opinion - a significant credibility gap with the UK buying population. Its reputation has been tarnished by a series of high profile situations. It has featured several times on the Watchdog TV program and has spawned no end of vitriolic forum threads over the years. That 3 survives to this day does say something - although I'm not entirely sure what.

But on the positive side 3 do seem to have learned some lessons from their short history. The infamous Walled Garden is now nothing more than a hated memory. They have cleaned up their dealership act, and their high street stores are nice to see. Their handset range is improving, as is some of their tariff offerings. Their forage into Internet and Data has been rocky to start with but now seems to be a good offering.

So with all of that on the go I got to wondering how many people I know (family, friends, colleagues, associates, distant acquaintances, anyone at all really) who are Customers of 3 today. The answer surprised even me, 1 (One!) and even she [one of my staff] cannot wait to tell 3 where to put the contract come renewal time.

Thus my question to you is, good reader, "How many people do you know who are on the 3 network?". These can be anyone at all that you come into contact with either directly or indirectly. How many?

Please feel free to comment but make sure you cast your vote.

[miffed]

I actually voted one , but then remembered the guy in question is actually on Vodafone ! - the reason for my confusion ... He actually manages a Three store ! (feel free to edit the poll ! )
I think that speaks for itself !

[Ben]

I voted none, I haven't included Talk3G members.

[getti]

i wonder who that member could have been lol!!

[3GScottishUser]

The one I know I put onto 3 as he was a low orange PAYG user.

He now has a £15 a month texter deal and a shiney new Nokia 6120 which he seems happy with.

He likes the phone and the bucketloads of free texts but don't ask about the call reliability.... he reckons you get what you pay for and seems OK with the less than perfect service for the low monthly charge.

[gorilla]

5, but growing. One mate left to go to orange and regrets it. Another is joining next month.

The only people I know on vodafone have company phones. Quite a few of my mates are on O2. One poor fella is on t-mobile.

[miffed]

5, but growing. One mate left to go to orange and regrets it


This is Three's one saving grace -The demise of Orange has mean they go up a peg , allbeit by default !

Of course , I would say that the same is true of Vodafone , which puts Three up two pegs ! ......But I realise I am alone in this train of thought , so I'll keep my mouth shut (when in Rome ....and all that :D )

[3GScottishUser]

Its good to have a poll but the results on a 3G forum are unlikely to be representitive.

According to recent reports Kevin Russell 3 UK CEO reckons they had around 3 million active subscribers in August 2007. Virgin have about 4.5 million and each of the big 4 (02, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile UK) have between 14 and 18 million each.

So of all the mobile networks its least likely you would know someone on 3 and this is something 3 UK made much of when they were trying to protect their excessive termination charges. (They claimed they paid out disproportionately).

[Hands0n]

Its good to have a poll but the results on a 3G forum are unlikely to be representitive.

I would dispute that :)

There is no reason to suspect that the pundits on T3G are any less or more representative than other demographics. True, we all share an interest in things 3G. But then 3 is a 3G company and so would draw our attention.

Consider also - for the group of Family, Friends, Colleagues and Associates that I have cited you could pick any one of them and you won't find them on T3G. You might find them in a sailing boat on the Thames on a Sunday, in a youth rock group most weekends, a grandparent, an aunt, several builders and tradesmen, a few IT workers, several mothers and fathers in anything other than IT, and so the list would go on. Pick any of them and as they have a similar association of fellow human beings to me then you would have to cite them as unrepresentative also. But that would not be the case. Collectively we all know a group of peers who are not or have never been Customers of the 3 network. And at that point no poll is then representative, and nor could it be :D

My point is that this poll is no more nor less representative than any other - unless it were restricted to a highly regulated control group of techie folk like us - which it isn't.

So there :p

[hecatae]

1234567.

7 off the top of my head, 6 contract, one payg.

[gorilla]

post 651!

loads of people, well 8 at least. It\s a great network.

[Ben]

I currently know one person. To give Three credit, that's 100% more than the last time I posted :rolleyes:

[Hands0n]

Apart from our Skypephone triallists I know of no-one who is on 3 anymore. The last one left in disgust at 3's Mumbai CS vowing never to return.

Shame

[chagle]

I'm on Three Mobile BB - Only because I got it cheap! £7.50 for 3G allowance!

[nurse]

Have my family (4), and 2 colleagues on the 3 network, but I know that a few of my colleagues are considering to change to 3 when their contract is up for renewal. Good or bad idea?

[Hands0n]

Good or bad idea?

Wow! :eek:

No, only joking :D

Seriously, the thing with 3 is that while everything works okay then you are going to be fine. Where 3 have a very strong reputation is for when things go wrong. Then the whole Customer Services deal falls flat on its face and they seem to have an inane ability to snatch defeat from the hands of success.

When things go wrong there is little redress. Calls and emails to what is left of their UK operation rarely solicit any kind of remedy. The customer is pretty much left up to the vagaries of the Mumbai call centre which, to be absolutely polite to them, is utterly inept.

My own personal experience of 3 has been sullied three times, I think I've given them sufficient chance. Using them three times across the years that they have been in operation has been a very negative experience. While its worked its been okay - but they have singly failed to solve even the simple things. A fourth experience with them courtesy of being given a pair of Skypephones at their launch was soured when one went wrong and 3's Mumbai CS could not bring themselves to accept that the handsets were legitimately mine unless I could produce a receipt and place of purchase. The name Kevin Russel MD meant nothing to them at all! I gave up and threw the in the bin (not very WEEE of me!) vowing not to touch the firm with the pooey end of the stick.

That said, there are plenty on here who have had good experiences with 3 and swear by them.

[getti]

Wow! :eek:

That said, there are plenty on here who have had good experiences with 3 and swear by them.

Dont you mean swear AT them! ;):D

[solo12002]

Im on three along with a brother on contract and I have three other members on three PAYG. My contact is up end of august would I take out an upgrade and stay. NO

Why, I have had problems with email three months ago it took over a month to resolve and only after I went to exc office, the issue with email was a well known one, and even when I posted the link to this fourm to them so they could see the no of ppl with the same problem and indeed the answer to it, it took over a month to resolve.

Network wise for me its not been to bad, some mornings about 5 or 6 I cant access internet on three, this moring I had no access at all not sure if its due to sharing with T-mobile.

I like three in that I have 100 mins or text and can use them as I like with email and internet for £25 a month, as Im from NI its great to have home like home were my calls are taken from my 1100 if Im in the south of Ireland.

But for me at the end of my contract, I m going to switch to Three PAYG solely due to the fact I get home like home within the south of Ireland and it be useful as a back up

But Im moving over to O2 to one of their 30 day sims, as curretly ill get:

Free Voicemail
600 Mins
1200 text
ITS cheapering roaming outside the EU
Irealnd Blot on means all my calls are 25p if I hit the south
and internet add on
All for £20 so I can save myself a £5, if I go for a 12 month contacr mins and texts are ^ by 33%

Why am I going for two main reasons.

1. ths network is fine, the CS staff are CRAP, If I want to talk to a person who reads non stop from a script and cant Lisen to what the customer is teling them and in some cases advising them as their knowledage is better or they have seen information from this fourm to solve the problem then I would stay with Three I dont i want someone who lisens to my problem and trsys to solve it, if they cant to pass it and advise me thats been not not fob me off or do dam all about it.

2. My nokia 6120 has gone of for repair twice in a month, I cant fault them for their work in that aspect, sent of and returned in three days, and a follow up cal to see if I was happy, but the local shop had no loan phones and I had to use a old 3g mobile here, for those of us who have done so in the pasu you know that in some cases you cant get email or access to plan 3 due to neeting their software. Give me a unbraned handset any day where if the shite hits the fan you can take sim out and directly into another handset to use.

It is the CRAP CS staff that has done it for me. Three will be losing my contract come August and my BB contract as well, in the case of the Bb contact, im not using 1 GB a month never mind the 3 GB a month and dont see whay i should carry on paying £15, so it looks like Vodafone BB for me