BB+Vodacom. Could it get worse? Yes.

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rurapente

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So its not new news on here that I think Blackberry is the biggest rubbish to cross the path of the sun, and Vodacom should just fire the illiterate people it calls staff and hand its business over to MTN.

But today, i got to experience both at once :)
My Blackberry has a problem (on top of the ones i cant yet fix) in which the speaker crackles when someone talks so you can hardly make out anything.

So i go to the new shiny Vodacare center in Sandton, which obviously was paid-for by our 3G contracts since they only gave us GPRS speed and kept the difference...

Me : Hi, I need my BB fixed please. Can you do it while I wait?"
Agent : No sorry, we send them to vodaworld.
Me : oh ok so I can drive there and do it? You know like your adverts where the guy hands in a phone, goes to gym and comes back to get it?
Agent : Ermm no, sorry we dont do that with Blackberry's. They're too complex and must be sent away to Blackberry for repair.
Me : *sigh* ok. Can I phone Blackberry and ask them for a turn-around time for a new speaker?
Agent : sure, here's the number...

*calls Blackberry at Vodaworld*

Me : Hi, how long does it take to repair a BB and can i wait?
Agent : Ermm no, Blacbkerry dont repair phones.
Me : Sorry maybe you didnt hear me - you are blackberry, i have a broken blackberry, how long to fix it?
Agent : No, Nowhere in the world does Blackberry fix their own phones**-0only the operator who sold it to you can fix it. Please try Vodacare in Vodaworld or Sandton City.

And this, ladies and gentemen is why for the most rubbish, useless pitiful excuse for a piece of plastic with a battery, coupled with the not-quite-evolved-human people at Vodacom, will I say Ayoba MTN! next year :)

**This is actually Blackberry's way of saying : we dont give a ... about our phones, we just want your money. we have it. now bugger off :)
 
Eish :wtf:

Like women, can't live with them, can't live without them :D

Now almost have two Blackberrys one on MTN and one on VC, unless they both go down at once, I still have an option.

Expecting delivery next week.
 
your MTN one will be by far more stable, until the battery packs up and the sound about 3 months later ;)
 
Sounds like too much loud music and battery pulls :D

At least you can take comfort that you are not being singled out, everyone gets the same shafting.

Welcome to sunny SA ;)
 
time to "drop" that BB in the toilet and get the insurance to get you a shiny new android :)
 
MTN is no better than Vodacom. I left Vodacom for MTN after a series of customer service and billing problems. I was pulling my hair out.

Now with MTN I get SLOWER speeds on my '3G enabled' (whatever) Blackberry Bold than my wife does on her el cheapo 8520 on Vodacom. Vodacom at least upgraded their BIS network so EDGE speeds are at least attainable. I was getting upto 900kb/s until about 3 months ago when the masses all bought 8520s. Now MTN's BIS network is flooded and get dial up speeds is the norm.

Not to mention MTN's billing nightmare. MTN has been double billing on and off for the last few months and not giving free minutes on the first day of the billing cycle as is agreed on contract. Sometimes it takes 4 days for them to add your free minutes and other bundles while in the meantime they charge you for what should be free.

Customer service with MTN lately has been worse than it ever was for me on Vodacom. But I bet if I was with Vodacom there would be some disaster as well. They both suck!
 
BlackBerry South Africa do not repair damaged phones, they only exchange them with brand new units. As far as I know Blackberry South Africa dont have qualified technicians who know how to fix blackberry's hence they only exchange them. Vodacom and MTN will send the damaged phone to Blackberry S.A, and they will exchange the phone for a brand new one. This happened to me, my trackball was faulty and gave it to MTN to "fix", they said it takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks. When I asked why, they replied because Blackberry South Africa need to check the phone and then swap it out (which you would think should be quick)
 
necr0mancer said:
BlackBerry South Africa do not repair damaged phones, they only exchange them with brand new units. As far as I know Blackberry South Africa dont have qualified technicians who know how to fix blackberry's hence they only exchange them. Vodacom and MTN will send the damaged phone to Blackberry S.A, and they will exchange the phone for a brand new one. This happened to me, my trackball was faulty and gave it to MTN to "fix", they said it takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks. When I asked why, they replied because Blackberry South Africa need to check the phone and then swap it out (which you would think should be quick)
Click to expand...

Confirmed. When you book a Blackberry in at your local Vodacare, the unit will be dispatched to the Advanced Repair Centre in Midrand. There it will be assesed and in most cases the unit will be exchanged and dispatched back to the local Vodacare unit where you booked the phone in. The above does not include software issues. In that case, the Vodacare channel will upgrade the software and hand back the same unit.
 
hmmm. maybe i should send it in. I have a spare BB from the 1930's- which, is a rock solid, stable, long-lasting power-machine. so i might use it while the cra..i mean curve 8900 goes in to be repaired OR, hopefuly, lost :)
 
Bump....

Okay so I took my BB in on Sat for repairs. I must say the Vodacom support people were very very helpful. Took my like 10mins to check it in, tell em whats wrong and leave. So now I wait.

But, what I do want to say - is that as my dad is out the country, i "borrowed" his Nokia 6220. WOW. Its cheaper than a BB Curve but im in love already! The software navigates so quickly, it has 100% signal where my BB with sim card barely had 1 bar. I send SMS and they go the first time! You know how long its been since I could send an SMS first time!

And finally, 10/10 calls are connecting. Which makes me wonder, was the 6/10 I was getting with the BB really Vodacom's fault? Its the same sim card... *ponder*
 
Yay!

Blackrubbish South Africa didnt repair my phone, they swapped it out!

Now I have a "new" Curve 8900. With a skew camera, loose backplate and it started hanging after 2 days.

Isnt it lovely how a company can make such trash and somehow get people to buy them! oh why oh why did I leave Nokia....im gonna go back on my knees and grovel.
 
It isn't fair to judge Blackberry by Voda'care's "service" but clearly you're just not meant to own a Blackberry. No one has the problems you seem to have with them. Return to Vodacom and scream and shout until they give you a brand new yet unit, they're clearly messing you around (I assure you it's what Voda'care' do for everyone). Vodacom and MTN handle repairs directly for Blackberries (they're supposed to just give you a new phone after determining there is a fault).
PS: Crackberry implies you're addicted to it, like a drug.
 
Last edited:
rurapente said:
Yay!

Blackrubbish South Africa didnt repair my phone, they swapped it out!

Now I have a "new" Curve 8900. With a skew camera, loose backplate and it started hanging after 2 days.

Isnt it lovely how a company can make such trash and somehow get people to buy them! oh why oh why did I leave Nokia....im gonna go back on my knees and grovel.
Click to expand...
Seriously - I think Vodacom just hates you. :o They (Vodacom) gave me a new bold when I had a problem with one a friend gave me and it's perfect. Even got a new back cover with it.
The_Librarian said:
crackberries are the correct term to use ;)
Click to expand...
They're totally addictive . . . just like crack.

Have you used one?
 
Had a problem last year with my 8310 trackball - Booked it in at Vodaworld 6 days later I had a brand new BB - Previous one was already 22 months old.

So no complaints on service this side
 
rurapente said:
So its not new news on here that I think Blackberry is the biggest rubbish to cross the path of the sun, and Vodacom should just fire the illiterate people it calls staff and hand its business over to MTN.

But today, i got to experience both at once :)
My Blackberry has a problem (on top of the ones i cant yet fix) in which the speaker crackles when someone talks so you can hardly make out anything.

So i go to the new shiny Vodacare center in Sandton, which obviously was paid-for by our 3G contracts since they only gave us GPRS speed and kept the difference...

Me : Hi, I need my BB fixed please. Can you do it while I wait?"
Agent : No sorry, we send them to vodaworld.
Me : oh ok so I can drive there and do it? You know like your adverts where the guy hands in a phone, goes to gym and comes back to get it?
Agent : Ermm no, sorry we dont do that with Blackberry's. They're too complex and must be sent away to Blackberry for repair.
Me : *sigh* ok. Can I phone Blackberry and ask them for a turn-around time for a new speaker?
Agent : sure, here's the number...

*calls Blackberry at Vodaworld*

Me : Hi, how long does it take to repair a BB and can i wait?
Agent : Ermm no, Blacbkerry dont repair phones.
Me : Sorry maybe you didnt hear me - you are blackberry, i have a broken blackberry, how long to fix it?
Agent : No, Nowhere in the world does Blackberry fix their own phones**-0only the operator who sold it to you can fix it. Please try Vodacare in Vodaworld or Sandton City.

And this, ladies and gentemen is why for the most rubbish, useless pitiful excuse for a piece of plastic with a battery, coupled with the not-quite-evolved-human people at Vodacom, will I say Ayoba MTN! next year :)

**This is actually Blackberry's way of saying : we dont give a ... about our phones, we just want your money. we have it. now bugger off :)
Click to expand...
F***N AGREE, wholeheartedly.Vodacome is pathetically stupid and blackberry speakers are fail.
 
I don't think it's totally BB's fault. The people you interact with are mostly to blame for the poor service and understanding of ones needs. 3 Years ago I promised Nokia I'll never buy from them again, because I received such bad service. Waited 4.5 hours just to exchange a faulty data cable, which they confirmed was faulty. So, ya I changed to HTC the moment I could and have never looked back. It's time businesses realize one thing: bad service + good excuse = bad service, and we WILL take our money the competition.
 
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