Vodacom Festive Faces SPAM mms!

suddenly no comments, did ya all just hear the deceptive adversiting and then just thought, " oh **** ... don't have a comeback to that one"
 
Dont take any k*k from Vodacom.
This forum is looking like a subsidiary. You cant say a skew word about the company without people coming at you.
I advise mr 3g to take the critisism like a man and stop being a whinger ;)
 
Vatniek*knie said:
Dont take any k*k from Vodacom.
This forum is looking like a subsidiary. You cant say a skew word about the company without people coming at you.
I advise mr 3g to take the critisism like a man and stop being a whinger ;)
Click to expand...
Where do you get that from?

Warning: company representatives are not here to take abuse from forumites, reps are here to help forumites with problems that they may have. Just bcos a rep works for a company that a forumite may be a customer of, does not mean that a forumite can break the rules of the forum by continuously insulting reps: IOW no personal attacks.
 
Vatniek*knie said:
Dont take any k*k from Vodacom.
This forum is looking like a subsidiary. You cant say a skew word about the company without people coming at you.
I advise mr 3g to take the critisism like a man and stop being a whinger ;)
Click to expand...

Forums like this exists for the pure reason to keep companies like Vodacom on its toes.

Vodacom (and myself) fully expect forumites to question Vodacom and to criticise where they feel the need. This is actively encouraged and allows us to participate in an open discussion and as long as everyone stays logical (i.e. keep personal agendas out of it), a constructive discussion can take place. In 99% of cases it's a lack of information that leads to the initial question.

So if you have a gripe with Vodacom, or just a suggestion, we either try to resolve it or give the facts around the situation for you to better understand it. But in no case do we (or myself) run away from any criticism.

There are numerous cases where a problem was identified here on myADSL, discussed and the proposed solution actually put in place, from financial or pricing changes (free HSDPA swap-out, the recent drop in OOB pricing) to new products (unrestricted apn) to new services (smtp mail relay, light-weight usage page, etc.). These were all a direct result of forum activity and for sure is not indicative of a company who does not want to listen.

Where I do draw the line though is when someone maliciously tell lies to try discredit the company. This is not even a Vodacom issue, but goes much deeper. It's an issue of respect (or rather lack of respect) for others and especially in this case forumites and what rpm have achieved with this community.

So, by all means criticise and let's discuss the topic in an open, democratic manner. As you've noticed from my posts, I enjoy these discussions. You will not find a single post on the forum where I did not try to resolve or at least discuss any issue related to Vodacom.

But don't make up stories, based on such obvious inaccuracies that when challenged, you can't substantiate them and then turn to personal attack as an opt-out.
 
OK, here's a transcript of the clip bboy posted:

The fever will find you this summer with Vodacom's Festive Faces. Click a photo of yourself, your family or your friends, MMS it to 33336 and receive a hilariously morphed picture, sent back to you at no additional charge.

Remember, you can also forward your MMS to family and friends, even to an e-mail address. Visit the Festive Faces blog site. Go on, make summer fun!
Click to expand...

I guess the important bit is this: "sent back to you at no additional charge".

The product guys will say they clearly state the return MMS is not charged for. Also 'additional' obviously implies there was a charge of some sort and that there are no charges in addition to this.

I can ask that they make it more clear. Maybe something like: "You only pay for the MMS's you send, receiving the morphed picture, or any other MMS's are free of charge"

Comments?
 
Here's another customer without a smiling Festive Face.


HelloPeter
http://www.hellopeter.com/details.asp?id=89174

12:58:36
Fri 1 Dec 06

I received a sms of the Festive Faces promo - send vodacom your pics, they morph it and send it back to you. On 29/11 at 10:17 I sent 2 pics, but have not received anything back - this is NOT a free service and there are costs involved. What now?

Hello frown

Kindly be advised your query has been escalated to our VAS Division for immediate assistance and feedback. Your fault ref: AS-3I20-4N4YE

Kind regards

Cindy Price
Click to expand...
 
vodacom3g said:
OK, here's a transcript of the clip bboy posted:



I guess the important bit is this: "sent back to you at no additional charge".

The product guys will say they clearly state the return MMS is not charged for. Also 'additional' obviously implies there was a charge of some sort and that there are no charges in addition to this.

I can ask that they make it more clear. Maybe something like: "You only pay for the MMS's you send, receiving the morphed picture, or any other MMS's are free of charge"

Comments?
Click to expand...


Thats great.. but the fact of the matter is why do they not do this first time round,why do we have to make noise before something like this is even considered? Its obviously them chancing it!

I know vodacom3g isn't actually in the power to answer a question like that, nor does he have the level of authority to change things like that, what i want to hear is an actual answer from VODACOM themselves.

Why can't I have one company that I am actually satisfied with giving my money each month and have me as their best interest!
 
bboy said:
...
I know vodacom3g isn't actually in the power to answer a question like that, nor does he have the level of authority to change things like that, what i want to hear is an actual answer from VODACOM themselves.
...
Click to expand...
What makes you believe that v3g cannot effect change on behalf of forumites? - v3g actually does have sufficient clout at all levels within Vodacom :).
 
bboy said:
Thats great.. but the fact of the matter is why do they not do this first time round,why do we have to make noise before something like this is even considered? Its obviously them chancing it!

I know vodacom3g isn't actually in the power to answer a question like that, nor does he have the level of authority to change things like that, what i want to hear is an actual answer from VODACOM themselves.

Why can't I have one company that I am actually satisfied with giving my money each month and have me as their best interest!
Click to expand...

I've checked with the product managers and (up to now) they've not received any other complaints that the MMS is misleading.

So even taking into account the 'standard apathy', (i.e. lots of people won't actually complain), it still means only a minute % of people who've used this service up to now (quite a few million) did not understand they will have to pay to send the MMS.

i.e 99.9% of users of this service are happy with the payment terms. Which is the standard way it's always been, by the way.

You might not believe this, but any ad or promotional message is carefully considered before it is sent out. No use in going through all the effort and costs and then all it takes is one complaint to the advertising board to pull it. With this specific MMS, I've already changed the opt-out wording from what was originally delivered.

With 20 million users, there will always be any number that's not happy with a specific add, product, service, etc. It's impossible to keep 100% of the users happy 100% of the time, it's just human nature. But 99% of the users, 99% of the time is not too shabby.

I hope I understood your question correctly and that the official Vodacom answer I posted here explains the situation. Not sure why you think I don't speak on behalf of Vodacom? If you still have my number, give me a shout if you want to discuss further or else PM me.

bboy, PM me the number from where you sent these MMS's and I'll have them refunded as you felt you were not fully informed of the costs when you used the service. Also the approximate times you sent them.

I can them get a log and put the refunds through.
 
Last edited:
no no.. i wasnt the one that actually sent any mms's , it was that frown fella!

he's the one thats upset about it, i can just understand how he thought it was free, least she stood up and said something about it.Here in SA we are so used to being screwed over that we just take it and not do anything, i'm not talking about vodacom here but alot of other companies
 
bboy said:
no no.. i wasnt the one that actually sent any mms's , it was that frown fella!

he's the one thats upset about it, i can just understand how he thought it was free, least she stood up and said something about it.Here in SA we are so used to being screwed over that we just take it and not do anything, i'm not talking about vodacom here but alot of other companies
Click to expand...
The thing is whenever we DO anything about it we either get ingnored or labeled as complainers (or liars). They also frequently don't bother to log complaints. I've been told numerous times, I'm the first one that's complained - even when my friends and I have actually complained before about the same thing ('coz nothing changed). So treat these claims with the credibility they deserve. Why do you think they don't give you a ticket number?

This promotes apathy and the big companies can then go and make dodgy claims about 99% happy customers (:rolleyes: ).

For those who believe these domineering entities have our best interests at heart are in dream-la-la-land. Their morals are in the same place as their wallets.

Vodacom has been caught out many times by ASASA and had to withdraw their ads. They know there is a risk before they even flight the ad. They also know that the ad will be seen by millions before any action HAS to be taken. Sadly the rules and sanctions are pretty weak and they take full advantage. Sometimes companies look at what's not allowed in Europe and go on to do it here - because they can.
 
Last edited:
i must agree with both sides of the story here; from vodacom3G's point of view i'll say i have seen him help resolve many many issues cell phone users have had on this and he's really gone the extra mile for sure..

yet from the users' point of view it really is irritating to receive what (to us users) equates to spam sms's and i feel i should not have to waste my personal time to send an "opt out" sms..

time is money after all, and it puts me in a bad mood for having to waste said time.. (because you immediately have to "opt out" for fear you will recieve more sms's

vodacom should realise that if they want to advertise or "make users aware" of certain feature's, they should use the media which is most appropriate for this, i.e. tv and radio or billboards.. not my cellular phone.

that is like a hawker walking through my front door and into my house uninvited to advertise his wares. its an invasion of privacy in my opinion.

also not all users have access / knowledge of "my ADSL" forum to complain and judging from the number of people disatisfied with these sms's (those of us who have access to myadsl) i would say that the % is not neccesarily a minority.

nevertheless i do appreciate what changes V3G is bringing into effect and he clearly does realise that we do represent some signifant users' opinions when it comes to cellular service (provider's) ;) or he would not be as involved as he is.

thanks for the effort v3g. it is appreciated, and hopefully this way of communicating is the way forward to spanning (not spamming) ;) the bridge in communication between service providers and users.
 
vodacom3g said:
I've checked with the product managers and (up to now) they've not received any other complaints that the MMS is misleading.

So even taking into account the 'standard apathy', (i.e. lots of people won't actually complain), it still means only a minute % of people who've used this service up to now (quite a few million) did not understand they will have to pay to send the MMS.

i.e 99.9% of users of this service are happy with the payment terms. Which is the standard way it's always been, by the way.
Click to expand...

The apathy factor is extremely high - ever tried to complain about something the normal way? It is simply not on - unless you have lots of time to waste.

This forum opened the door for easy voicing of dissatisfaction and most important the knowledge that the dissatisfaction is actually heard and seeded into the minds of decision makers for future reference.

There must be a little back room at most organisations where they scheme how to make it as difficult as possible for people to complain :D
 
Vodacom festive faces, send "opt-out" sms if you don't want to receive this anymore, it's FREE!
Click to expand...
This is akin to somebody dumping refuse on your doorstep and leaving a note that reads "Come and tell me if you don't want to receive more, my address is ####...it's ONLY WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE!".

The question is still not answered, where did we "opt-in"? I don't even want to entertain the "We are showing you what your phone is capable of you ignorant subscriber!" excuse.

We shouldn't have to "opt-out" because we never "opted-in", Vodacom must just stop sending unsolicited advertising!
 
A better way to reduce the number of complaints is to stop doing the things that customers complain about.
#
It really is that simple.
#
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X