MTN 808 - anybody there?

[nephelyn]

So got my bill today, first time in 6-8yrs it is wrong and i want to get to the bottom of it. Tried to call them on 808 (all IVP options), at MTN holding company, emailed them, and a couple others numbers with nothing but an automated voice telling me "Thank you, we care, thank you". I made about 10 calls to 808 waiting about 15min each, and nothing ... What's going on, did i miss a public holiday or something, is this normal? I called the place i renewed the contract, they did not even bother calling back after two messages.

It is really frustrating, i would be satisfied with a "Sorry we are on lunch try tomorrow", but i cannot get hold of any human at all ...

Whats the deal MTN ... ???!!!???

 

[InTheCube]

When you dial 808, after you confirm you cell number, press 0 to get hold of an operator. Its the last option that they mention on the IVR, so you might miss it. I usually just start pressing 0 as soon as I've confirmed my cell number. I don't wait to hear any of the options.

The 808 number isn't that bad. I've got decent service from them in the last week. Waited on average about 5 minutes to get to a human voice, averaged accross about 5 calls.

However, when I asked to be put through to the Porting Helpdesk, I waited for an average of 45 minutes, averaged across aboout 5 calls as well. The worst was a 1 hour 25 minutes wait, after which I just hung up (left it on loudspeaker while I carried on working).

The worst part of the MTN call center is the amount of noise in the background. It's like a fish market. When I complained to the consultant, they said its because they are doing their job, they are taking calls, that's what happens at call centers. But the MTN call center is like no other. I've had dealings with the Telkom call center, Vodacom, and even government departments, and it wasn't as noisy. It's really terrible.

Suddenly Telkom's service starts to look a whole lot better compared to MTN.

 

[InTheCube]

As a side note, I've cancelled my own MTN contract, and will be switching to prepaid at the end of this month. The main reason for this was that I wanted to wait a month or 2 for more of the newer phones to be launched, like the Samsung Omnia II, and other WM 6.5 devices, and better touch devices from Nokia (hopefully).

But now I am considering jumping ship from MTN completely. I'm hoping that Telkom will sort out their mobile strategy soon, sign their local roaming agreements, and launch attractive packages with good phones. I will definitely jump to Telkom if they don't take too long.

Another reason as that I just ported my wife's Virgin Mobile number to an MTN Anytime 200 contract, at the beginning of September, and the porting has been disastrous, as well as the help from MTN (as described in my post above).

First of all, both simcards were active - it seems the port didn't go through fully. Some SMSs and calls (mostly from Cell C and Virgin Mobile) were coming on her old Virgin Mobile sim card, while the rest were coming through to her new MTN sim card. After hours of complaining, making a few visits the MTN shop where I signed up, and lots of calls to the MTN 808 number, the issue still has not be resolved. Eventually the Virgin Mobile sim card was deactivated (a few days ago), but now the situation is even worse, as she is now completely unable to receive calls and SMSs from Cell C and Virgin Mobile numbers. Also, she can't receive SMSs from Standard Bank Internet Banking or other gateway type SMS services. So much for Internet Banking without a One Time Pin. I tried to change the OTP service to send the OTP to her email address, but doing this requires you to verify your cellphone number via a OTP sent to your cellphone. FFS!! Phoned Standard Bank Internet Banking for help, went to the bank as well, all to no avail.

I hate MTN. I hate cellphones. I hate the banks. I hate South African companies and their ***tty service, poor excuses, and lazy-@$$ attitudes.

The worst part of it all, is that they're all pretty much the same.

So yeah.. this last month has been a real b*tch for me!

 

[nephelyn]

Still trying to get through, this is ridiculous!