Worst Customer Service Story | Reviews | Consumer forum

bridonca said:

Yeah, Speakout does not do well with number swaps. It is a Rogers thing. But what they are decent with is porting in a number. Probably the easiest way is to get a number for a VOIP provider like http://callwithus.com. It will cost you about $10. The good part about http://callwithus.com/ is that you can pick the number you desire.

Once you own a http://callwithus.com/ number, you can get Speakout to port that number for free.

You can get a SIM card from another carrier, and get a number from them, Telus and Bell tend to give you a choice of numbers. I tend to prefer http://callwithus.com/ though because they allow you to check out numbers before you commit to any money.

Thanks for your suggestion. I already brought a new SIM card with new number which I like, but when I asked their customer services to transfer the voucher from my old SIM card to my new SIM Card, they transferred my old phone number to my new SIM card as well, and throw out my new number.

When I asked them why they did it, they told me they can do nothing but charging me 10 dollars again if I want to change my old number. This sound ridiculous, but indeed happened in real life.

I could not believe they designed their system in this unfair way, I still believe it is a human error. As a customer, I do not think anyone should be treated this way.

I understand low cost means less services, but it does not give them the right treating their customer UNFAIR, and it does not mean they can have poor customer service.

Again, I choose Pre-paid phone plan because of usage, and I choose 7-11 because of its certain products. But I did not expect they will treat their customer FAIR or UNFAIR based on which plan they choose.

chimpanzee said:

as explained, it is not really unfair given the intend and assumption(that your old sim was bad).

1. it is your responsibility to get a new SIM at your cost and this one you get a new number
2. they can transfer(and did) your old number + balance to this new SIM and they didn't charge you

I don't see it to be unfair. However, what you really want is this:

1. I hate the old number but unfortunately already has balance in it and also break the SIM(not good for N4)
2. I get a new SIM and a new number which I like(and the sim is good cut)
3. just transfer my balance in (1) to (2)

They cannot because the system is not designed that way. Or else it would make life much easier for everyone . I can just sell my outstanding balance to another SO user using the same routine.

It is a limitation or the way they operate but a fair game to me when we are talking about 10 bucks. You pay the same price to get any new SIM for the big 3(unless you know the trick and get one from apple store)

Chimpanzee, Thanks for your information.

When I first called SO customer service, he asked my voucher number, I did not know he linked that voucher to my old SIM card. I actually knew it when I tried to link that voucher to my new SIM card. I did not link the voucher myself. And no one even mention the risk to me at all. You actually the one who takes time to explain to me. Thanks.

This is what I called bad customer service experience. It is not about money, 10 dollars will not make me richer or poor, but what just happened is enough making me an unhappy customer.

Thanks again, Chimpanzee.

I already paid them 10 dollars to change to another number (I can accept it) as I need to give the phone to my wife before Chinese new year. This is what I mean lost 10 dollars.

Anyway, 7-11 should pay you as their CS. Thanks for taking time answer my questions.

fefrie said:

Sorry no, you made the mistake of activating the new card BEFORE you called CS to get the credit transferred.

But having activated the card already with the bad number and the credit, you were already stuck with paying for a new number. So you were going to pay $20 total anyways. If you don't want to pay for a new number, then port it in from somewhere else., then your total damage is only $10. Asking SO to do everything is like going to the dealership to get an oil change for your car.

CS reps aren't paid enough to be psychic on everything that you want. If you want to be clear about what you want. Don't go online and activate. Talk to a PERSON first.

Let this be a lesson for you in other aspects of life.

Thanks for your information first. It is interesting this is the second time I heard people complain about Customer services salary. I am not sure if I understand this correctly:

1. CS providing poor services to SO customers is because SO does not pay them well. So they passed their anger to SO customers.
2. SO does not want to invest money on their CS, so lack of training or qualified people are the cause of poor customer services.

Anyway, if you used SO for a ling time, you know those tricks and work around, so in that case, you do not need their CS. But as a new customer, without help from their CS, SO service will be the most difficult to use even they have certain very good products.

I already spent too much time on this issue, it is not worthy the money and time. The only reason I did this is to help other new users, give them a warning before they choose 7-11 products.