Rate My Network: Three UK

[Ben]

Rating your network on Talk3G helps other members make decisions about their choice of provider. It also helps Talk3G reach conclusions about how the different networks are faring in the UK.

Please be honest when casting your votes. Simply pick each of the statements that you believe is true for your network... but try not to select them all.

This poll is for Three UK only.

[getti]

My network hardly ever drops calls
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[solo12002]

" My network hardly ever drops calls"

No need to they drop web and walk often enough and then charge more for 08 numbers lol

[gorilla]

I'm very happy with three and my current tariff, which is why the iphone will annoy me, cos it's on O2, will cost me more up front and more per month.

[3GScottishUser]

Who would have thought I would ever have returned to 3 for the third time on a contract?

After 7 months on Mix & Match I would rate 3's coverage as much improved but still subject to network handovers and call dropping in quite built up areas. I am hoping the integration of the T-Mobile and 3 3G networks will solve this issue once and for all.

3's extras are great value but more novelties than everyday useable benefits (Skype, MSN etc). Their mobile portal is good with lots of free content including free videos. Mobile TV and Internet pricing is good for regular and occasional users.

I also have a dongle on the lite contract deal at £4 a month and it is excellent where it can receive 3's coverage. Ideal for browsing and a great value way to stay in touch with the net when there is no Wi-Fi coverage available.

As for Customer Service..... well its better but its still mainly based in India and that probably wont be a positive for most customers. I have had little occasion to use it thankfully.

3's European roaming rates have all but wiped out the calling card providers. 25p/min to call the UK and 10p to receive calls is good value and 3 like home is the best tariff ever for use abroad.

Overall: Content but only because pricing is lower than others. If I needed the service for business I would use a network with integrated 2/3G coverage. For leisure use though 3 seems OK now and appears to be improving.

[DaveC]

3 are still falling way behind in the Customer Complaints section http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2011/12/o ... ts-data-2/

If they only spent a bit more money on customer services then they may win over more people

[Wilt]

3 are still falling way behind in the Customer Complaints section http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2011/12/o ... ts-data-2/

If they only spent a bit more money on customer services then they may win over more people

Unfortunately I think 'spend a bit more money' might be the sticking point - Three obviously don't want to, or don't think they can, raise prices which would be needed to raise CS standard across the board.

They obviously do know that there is value in having good customer service, otherwise we wouldn't have the guys on twitter, but there's a massive cost difference between employing two people to sit on twitter and moving CS back over here.

[Hands0n]

Three's CS in India is their global outsource. I don't believe that Three UK have the sanction to establish a stand-alone CS in the UK, even though that would clearly be the best thing they could do. It may be they have to convince HWL that there is a root and branch failure in India, or that simply put the UK customers do not like the way they are treated by Indian call centres (typically it is a dire experience).

What I have observed is that their Twitter CS is located in the UK and is making a good job of things. They are limited in some activities, but seem to wield a fair bit of clout to make things happen. They also seem to require the Indian CS to do "stuff" for them, but are able to drive things more effectively being on the inside.

So yes, it is no surprise at all that Three to the tables of complaints for customer service - their retentions are aggressive and plain horrible. Maybe a few more such OFCOM observations will help persuade HWL to unshackle Three UK and allow them to become the best they can, unhindered by the Indian Albatross that is Mumbai.

[Wilt]

The Indian call centre serves all of the various Three networks? So the CS workers in India need to know Italian, Swedish, English, Chinese, Indonesian, Danish and German?

That can't be right.

[Hands0n]

My understanding is that HWL established a global call centre presence back in 2003.


Our Heritage

HGS is part of the Hutchison Whampoa Group, a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s leading owners and operators of telecommunications. Globally, Hutchison has 3G operations in ten countries – Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Macau, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

A quick Google pulled up this interesting website http://www.3globalservices.com/nodes/home - that claims to cover "3 telecom in UK, Ireland and Vodafone in Australia" ... So maybe its not quite as global as I had believed ...

I love the idea of the "Relax Rooms" - http://www.3globalservices.com/links/life_at3_benefits_services It couldn't happen here...

[Wilt]

Ah, that makes more sense. I really do hope that these figures get something done about this. Not only are the figures bad, but they're getting worse. And there doesn't seem to be any prospect of it getting better at the India call centre.

I think things would be better at least to a small extent if they just moved retentions out of India. No other network has retentions in foreign call centres (that I know of) and I don't know whether it is Indian culture, or just culture at this call centre in particular, but retentions staff don't seem above at worst begging a customer to stay, or at best just keeping them on the line until they give up and don't cancel.

[Hands0n]

Three's Indian retentions team are very aggressive. I went to do away with my £15/5GB MiFi and they talked me into a 30-day, 15GB for £8.99 a month just to stay. It wasn't a difficult decision. But I read so often of their retentions people being downright rude, aggressive and insulting to customers. They must be on some kind of bonus scheme, or penalty scheme. I'm not sure its cultural in India, maybe just in that particular outsource which will be getting paid for successful retentions by HWL. It is bad business.

[gorilla]

Ok, so shock horror, I've dumped three and jumped to t-mobile. Yes I'm a bit mad, but I like to try out other networks from time to time.

So, I ring three and ask for my PAC. An hour later they cannot issue a PAC. Phone back the next day and get it texted immediately during the call.

What annoyed me most about the hour long call was that they would not believe that I have a reception issue at my place of work. This despite previous support calls about this very issue. They claimed the SG2 is rubbish or I needed a new sim. When I stated that the SG2 works just fine with a t-mobile sim at my work they blamed the sim card. When I asked why the phone operated perfectly well EVERYWHERE else EXCEPT my work, why I would need a new sim, they could not answer.

All of this was in between them telling me how much they valued me as a customer (I was with them for 8 months). Not even a year. I can only imagine how hard they fight to retain someone on a more expensive or longer tariff.

This all stems from them switching off 2g fall back. They denied it of course, but one day I had GSM support the next nothing. I have noticed more and more places where my phone has no reception and I swear this wasn't the case several months ago.

But anyway, t-mobile have completed the integration with orange 3g here (in Belfast at least) and I get decent enough coverage with no loss of signal. So I'm fairly content for now.

[Wilt]

What sort of speeds are you getting on T-Mobile? Are they still capping at UMTS speeds?

[Hands0n]

@Gorilla - see, its that stuff that scares the bejeebers out of my having to deal with their CS. As I've matured my tolerance for that kind of behaviour from a supplier has reached an all time low.

Its not as if Three do not know their off-shore CS treats their customers like this. They'd have to be institutionally and intentionally blinkered to not know, and I don't believe that for a moment. But they must be corporately tied to Mumbai and Puna in some kind of lock-in or long-term (decades?) contract. And for the British person being verbally assaulted like that, when you've already made up your mind to go, is just unbearable.

I absolutely love the Three network, always have. I have a great sympathy and affection for the company (if such thing is possible), because they really have been a significant disruptor in the UK mobile business. The "cartel of four" have despised them from the off, shaking up their cosy inter-company relationship and facade of competition here that existed before. And now, what they're doing with mobile data, albeit on smartphones only, is superb, unmatched still.

Yet that can account for very little with an ineffective, belligerent and downright rude Customer Services. It is fortunate and very good that they have "tweaked" their CS offering by appearing on Twitter, to good effect by all readings.

[hecatae]

What sort of speeds are you getting on T-Mobile? Are they still capping at UMTS speeds?

Everything Everywhere now has two profiles; GPRS Consumer and GPRS Premium for data - the latter only available for people with an iPhone.

GPRS Consumer is capped at 1.8Mbps down, and 0.5Mbps up

[DaveC]

If that's true I know where I won't be going. - So premium is only available for those that buy iphones when over 70% of their smartphone users are on Android, Blackberry or Simbian ? The more I read about EE the more I am not liking the way they are going. I saw an article saying that in 2012 EE were going for retentions rather than new customers - a bit rich when one of the components (Orange) bung prices up mid contract.

[gorilla]

The speeds are reasonable, not far from what I experienced with 3, but they would need to improve long term!

1182

[mikebaywok]

I live in London, and Three signal is really good here. However, when I visit my brother in York I don't get the same quality there. But I am happy with Three in general as i spend most of my time in London.

cheers