3's Problems

Walkman

This probably sounds like a survey but honestly its not. As you will all know I am a fan of 3 (and as my signature says not an employee). Im just wondering what peoples problems are with them (please take cc out of the equation as even I will admit a lot of work is needed there). Is it price, handsets, coverage etc..... The reason im asking is I have been a post pay customer for a number of years now and never have any major problem with them but always see people here giving out about them. Where did it all go wrong (please dont mention broadband as I returned that rubbish modem too). Just heard their talk and text promotion on 3pay might be scrapped and replaced with monthly X top up gets free texts and calls to every network (credit also stays on account not like before)

Sam Vimes

emmmmmm......


i was just about to say that excluding customer care the network is quite good but for me a company isn't judged by how good they are when things are going well, they're judged by how efficiently and quickly they solve a problem when it arises. as you say yourself, this is where 3 collapse in a massive retarded fireball


so excluding customer care and assuming everything is working:

i find the coverage around dublin excellent. i'm rarely out of 3g coverage unless i'm deep in a big building where coverage doesn't penetrate or similar

i haven't bought a handset from them since the n70 so can't comment on that

coverage in the north and the uk can be very bad on 3pay. 3uk roams onto other networks the same way 3irl roam onto vodafone but 3pay customers don't have access to these networks so i often found myself ot of coverage in belfast, glasgow and london

the internet speeds are good pretty much all the time. i can't comment much on calls because i only use the phone for the internet

their 3 like home deal is excellent (when in coverage) but you couldn't rely on a 3pay handset for worldwide roaming

Rob_l

1.Their phone support is a hella nightmare scenario to have to ring

cojomo2

they are the best value but will be leaving them due to their poor range of smartphones..

Sam Vimes

Walkman wrote: »

Just heard their talk and text promotion on 3pay might be scrapped and replaced with monthly X top up gets free texts and calls to every network (credit also stays on account not like before)

now that would interest me.

but of course i first thought to myself "wow, that's a great offer", then reminded myself.....

Sam Vimes

cojomo2 wrote: »

they are the best value

that depends entirely on your usage. personally i'd be about €100 worse off each month if i used a 3 phone as my main phone

robinph

My only problem with them has been poor roaming in a couple of countries, not a biggie though as those were only really once off trips and where I roam mostly I find the coverage fine and especially having the 3likehome thing for data whilst roaming as well.

long_b

Sam Vimes wrote: »

now that would interest me.

+1, but of course that depends on X !

Walkman

long_b wrote: »

+1, but of course that depends on X !

Dont get too excited, the last time I was told about the old 3pay offer it was not exactly what i was told about so if its not exactly as above.......

metalfest

any idea of when this will be coming into action?
before new years?

metalfest

cojomo2 wrote: »

they are the best value but will be leaving them due to their poor range of smartphones..

which network are you moving to?

Random

Sam Vimes wrote:

i was just about to say that excluding customer care the network is quite good but for me a company isn't judged by how good they are when things are going well, they're judged by how efficiently and quickly they solve a problem when it arises. as you say yourself, this is where 3 collapse in a massive retarded fireball

This pretty much sums up my feelings too. They have a couple of nags even without customer care but customer care is the one reason that I know nothing about their plans, handsets or services - I would not even consider them as a network for me until they sort customer care and show me any clue that they have any abilities to perform anything but the most simple of tasks.

ardmacha

coverage in the north and the uk can be very bad on 3pay

This is serious problem, as in many areas you have no coverage at all. They need a deal where you can roam at standard EU rates at least so that there is widespread coverage, even where 3UK don't operate.

Walkman

ardmacha wrote: »

They need a deal where you can roam at standard EU rates at least so that there is widespread coverage, even where 3UK don't operate.

I never realised that was an issue with 3pay. That, I have to say is crazy, in this day and age not to be able to get coverage everywhere in the UK. As for handset range they have got a lot better im the last few months with the lg renoir, nokia n96, 6220, sony w595 and c905 all launched in the last few months and the nokia 6600 fold and slide, samsung soul (lite or junior cant remember the name), u800 still to be launched before christmas. The text offer should be launched in the next 2 weeks.

towel401

3 isn't that bad as long as you dont deal with their customer service and use your own phone (ie not a branded/locked one you buy from them). i don't really care about the coverage - it cuts out a lot on the train and switches to voda or loses coverage but i couldn't care less.

they don't support the standard GSM feature of disabling voicemail by using the divert menu in phones. this pisses me off but a one-off issue since i don't use voicemail.

they do a fair bit of censorship on websites and connections to servers like ssh, xmpp used to drop a lot even though the phone hadnt moved but I don't know if it still does that. the speed isn't that bad got 40k upstream here in culchie land which isn't bad. i don't really care how slow it is either since i don't usually use it for downloading or browsing

drunkmonkey

Their marketing is complete rubbish.....
Swing both ways, what kind of a limp wristed, pink shirt wearing bafoon came up with that.....as for all you can eat talk and text what kind of bubble are these folks living in......if I took over 3 i'd fire the marketing department, they really are making a complete arse of the whole thing....

I think there relax price plan is brilliant....customer care thing dosen't bother me...Dell is in India and has been for the last 8 years or so i'm well used to it......BUT technical phone problems should be esclated to and Irish Support team, they really need to start doing this soon...

p.s
Walkman what have you been smoking....:)

Random

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Their marketing is complete rubbish.....
Swing both ways, what kind of a limp wristed, pink shirt wearing bafoon came up with that.....as for all you can eat talk and text what kind of bubble are these folks living in......if I took over 3 i'd fire the marketing department, they really are making a complete arse of the whole thing....

I think there relax price plan is brilliant....customer care thing dosen't bother me...Dell is in India and has been for the last 8 years or so i'm well used to it......BUT technical phone problems should be esclated to and Irish Support team, they really need to start doing this soon...

p.s
Walkman what have you been smoking....:)

Comparing Dell and 3 tech support is not the same I don't think.

With 3 you have a handset and an account. With the account you have no choice but to contact them to get issues resolved.

With Dell you buy the PC. You can fix it yourself or bring it to a PC shop and only have to deal with them if you want to arrange a return.

towel401

don`t buy a phone from them. thats just asking for trouble

Walkman

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Their marketing is complete rubbish.....
Swing both ways, what kind of a limp wristed, pink shirt wearing bafoon came up with that.....as for all you can eat talk and text what kind of bubble are these folks living in......if I took over 3 i'd fire the marketing department, they really are making a complete arse of the whole thing....

I think there relax price plan is brilliant....customer care thing dosen't bother me...Dell is in India and has been for the last 8 years or so i'm well used to it......BUT technical phone problems should be esclated to and Irish Support team, they really need to start doing this soon...

p.s
Walkman what have you been smoking....:)

Why you asking me that?

drunkmonkey

Walkman wrote: »

Why you asking me that?

you just opened pandoras box...

drunkmonkey

Random wrote: »

Comparing Dell and 3 tech support is not the same I don't think.

With 3 you have a handset and an account. With the account you have no choice but to contact them to get issues resolved.

With Dell you buy the PC. You can fix it yourself or bring it to a PC shop and only have to deal with them if you want to arrange a return.

With Dell if i've a problem I call india....the parts are there the next day and the problem is resolved in a day or 2 at the most (dell India support was abominal until watchdog in the UK got on the case).....I did pay extra for next business day support but it's very good.....3 on the other hand are a disaster when it comes to phone support, swap the sim, send the phone for repair 3 times etc....most people just give up and walk away...tbh if 02 came out with the same offer as relax i'd jump ship straight away....meteor does not intrest me until the 3G network is complete...

towel401

relax seems like a rip off. they only jacked up the prices

drunkmonkey

towel401 wrote: »

relax seems like a rip off. they only jacked up the prices

compared to what? It suits me down to the ground...no need for any addons, just, talk text and surf...perfect...

drunkmonkey

think i better put the kettle on..towel you'll be a while before you find a price plan that gives such flexibility and so much any network minutes for the same price...

towel401

drunkmonkey wrote: »

compared to what? It suits me down to the ground...no need for any addons, just, talk text and surf...perfect...

their prepaid even. it costs nearly 20c to send a text on that on the cheaper plans. the data is ridiculously expensive compared to the 1gb addon. the only thing cheaper is calls to other networks. meteor used to cost the same before they jacked up the price

jimmycrackcorm

My only gripe is the lack of edge coverage once you are out of the 3g area.

TheLoc

I have been on all service providers. o2, vodafone and 3. 3 was by far the most expensive. they were terrible. Anytime I contacted cust care I got through to indians who were very difficult. I bought an LG u400 and after a year I decided to leave 3pay because of the price. I tried to unlock the phone as I liked it but 3 referred me to LG who then referred me back to 3 and then back to LG and one last time to 3 where I pretty much gave them a piece of my mind. Bunch of useless B*astards if you ask me. Meteor are the chepeast company. I only spend 20 quid every month and a half. don't know how they make a profit but its perfect. o2 were ok. cheap enough too. contracts are very steep though. I only use pay as you go. Vodafone were another disaster for price. Coverage on all companies is now 99.9% as they say on all their ads. Meteor is not fantastic for internet but as a phone... It's perfect. + I have an iphone and it works a dream on it. hook up to wifi everywhere nowadays.

towel401

TheLoc wrote: »

I have been on all service providers. o2, vodafone and 3. 3 was by far the most expensive. they were terrible. Anytime I contacted cust care I got through to indians who were very difficult. I bought an LG u400 and after a year I decided to leave 3pay because of the price. I tried to unlock the phone as I liked it but 3 referred me to LG who then referred me back to 3 and then back to LG and one last time to 3 where I pretty much gave them a piece of my mind. Bunch of useless B*astards if you ask me. Meteor are the chepeast company. I only spend 20 quid every month and a half. don't know how they make a profit but its perfect. o2 were ok. cheap enough too. contracts are very steep though. I only use pay as you go. Vodafone were another disaster for price. Coverage on all companies is now 99.9% as they say on all their ads. Meteor is not fantastic for internet but as a phone... It's perfect. + I have an iphone and it works a dream on it. hook up to wifi everywhere nowadays.

did you ever end up unlocking the phone? the branding on those sort of phones must be a rite bollox to get rid of

drunkmonkey

towel401 wrote: »

their prepaid even. it costs nearly 20c to send a text on that on the cheaper plans. the data is ridiculously expensive compared to the 1gb addon. the only thing cheaper is calls to other networks. meteor used to cost the same before they jacked up the price

prepay.....€27.72pm for 2800 any network texts, and 800 any network voice minutes for the weekend.....throw in 1g of data for casual surfing (usually at 3g speeds) for €9.99 brings you to €37.71pm

when you do the math that's a very good offer compared to any other preypay offer if it suits your life style....
free voda to voda, 02 to 02, meteor to meteor and even the mighty tesco with their double credit offer for life(which is very good) will still charge you €80pm for the weekend voice minutes alone....

The 3 prepay offer dosen't suit me now but there was a good few years when it would have....

TheLoc

towel401 wrote: »

did you ever end up unlocking the phone? the branding on those sort of phones must be a rite bollox to get rid of

No I still have the LG phone. and I like it. Its in a box at home with everything. It would be handy if I could use that when I go out on the beer. I can't bring the iphone out cause it'ss only get fupped. I use a little cheap sagem that does me for them types of nights. I'd love to get that LG unlocked

TheLoc

[quote will still charge you €80pm for the weekend voice minutes alone....
quote]

What you talking about man? meteor is 20 quid a month for free texts and calls to all meteor and the rates for everything else is dirt cheap. I literaly spend 20 quid every 1 and 1/2 months or even 2 months. Most of my mates are meteor so thats prob why.

drunkmonkey

TheLoc wrote: »

No I still have the LG phone. and I like it. Its in a box at home with everything. It would be handy if I could use that when I go out on the beer. I can't bring the iphone out cause it'ss only get fupped. I use a little cheap sagem that does me for them types of nights. I'd love to get that LG unlocked

I still have one and failed to get 3 to unlock it....great phone, never had a complaint with it....still good even by todays standards......it still gets used every now and again for the sessions....if it's going to be wet I take the 5140i it's the only 2g phone that will take my 3 sim.....

Mimikyu

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Mimikyu

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towel401

Solitaryman666 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

ya the new 'promotion' is just to entice you into their more expensive rates. i'm thinking ill start using my vodafone sim again and buy their 500mb thing. when i signed up the 5c texts were a good deal but not anymore

Sam Vimes

Solitaryman666 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

i can see their point here, they don't have any 2g services, they're a 3g only network. Someone using a 2g phone wouldn't get any coverage in large areas of the country, especially major built up areas

long_b

The staff in the 3 shops seem to want to kick everything up to CC. It's frustrating.

General lack of 3G coverage for large portions of my commute. i find the data services when roaming on 2G hit-and-miss.

Sam Vimes

long_b wrote: »

i find the data services when roaming on 2G hit-and-miss.

you're not supposed to be able to get data on 2g at all

strecker

Sam Vimes wrote: »

you're not supposed to be able to get data on 2g at all

never had a prob with opera mini on three without 3g(I mostly switch off 3g here in the west), although the threepay tariff for that type of data usage seems totally random? Hardly ever use 3 though, and don't mention their Ballina Store hahahaaaaaargh... The one time I had an issue with them, their phone carers on cc were quite good actually!

Sam Vimes

strecker wrote: »

never had a prob with opera mini on three without 3g(I mostly switch off 3g here in the west), although the threepay tariff for that type of data usage seems totally random? Hardly ever use 3 though, and don't mention their Ballina Store hahahaaaaaargh... The one time I had an issue with them, their phone carers on cc were quite good actually!

yeah it does seem totally random. sometimes data will work on 3g and then it'll just stop

Walkman

strecker wrote: »

don't mention their Ballina Store hahahaaaaaargh...

They dont have a store in Ballina, their own stores are called 3Store, your thinking of 3G a totally seperate company which also sell meteor.

paulm17781

I have to mention CC.

Then there is roaming. When away with friends and texting friends, they tend to get the same message over and over, until I get home 3 lost my company (20 phones) business with this, I wouldn't consider them for business use. CC insist this is every other network... :rolleyes:

Their tariffs are pretty bad too. I'm on an old plan and wouldn't dream of taking one of the newer ones.

I have an O2 SIM to see if the GF gets good O2 coverage (she used not) if so, it's straight to O2 and never to use 3 again.

I was looking forward to 3s launch here but now can't wait to get away.

gpjordanf1

Like most people, my only problem with them is CC, totally a waste of my time ringing them. I'm also with UPC but they are improving and are making genuine efforts to improve, infact I've heard them on the Last Word twice this year already answering to the Public. Haven't heard 3 doing that at all?

They also lie to your face, I rang them up about an upgrade for a particualr phone, they told me they didn't know if that phone would be available on the network at all or when or if at all it would be available. I had been in a 3 store that day and they had it in their upgrade list but didn't have the phone in stock. So blatant lies! And then it appears online two days later. I hate that, why cant they just say that phone will be available in two days can we ring you back when its available! Simple and it serves the customer better.

But besides their abismal CC, the network is fine, good coverage, very little dropped calls or problems. Very reasonable & user friendly tarriffs. They suit me fine at the moment. Do ye remember their Scottish CC, they were very good? I have wrote to them and told them to go back there.

Sam Vimes

paulm17781 wrote: »

CC insist this is every other network... :rolleyes:

they've been saying that since i first had the problem mysefl in 2005. in fairness to them they say every single problem that ever happens is either a problem with your phone or anther network's fault

Sam Vimes

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

Haven't heard 3 doing that at all?

they have actually. they went on the last word some time in 2007 to give a few stock answers about their broadband improving in a few weeks.

as you can see from the fact that no one ever posts in this thread:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055115306

the problem were all solved :rolleyes:

drunkmonkey

Sam Vimes wrote: »

i can see their point here, they don't have any 2g services, they're a 3g only network. Someone using a 2g phone wouldn't get any coverage in large areas of the country, especially major built up areas

The only place my 5140i has let me down is half way up O'Connell Street and around Croke Park.......and i'm so rarley there it dosen't make a difference....have't tried it in Cork or Limerick yet...works A1 in the countryside...

strecker

drunkmonkey wrote: »

The only place my 5140i has let me down is half way up O'Connell Street and around Croke Park.......and i'm so rarley there it dosen't make a difference....have't tried it in Cork or Limerick yet...works A1 in the countryside...

that "countryside"... that wouldn't be Phoenix Park?
Here in Mayo 3's signal's patchier than Bush's recollection of the last 8 years!

paulm17781

Other things I thought of... No web texts, no online top up. Can you port from pre - post pay yet?

sharper

I recently switched from 3Pay to Meteor and here's why:

• Hard to buy credit. You can only buy it in a shop. No online topup and no ATM topup. That's a bit crap when you run out.
  
• The roaming problem mentioned already. I have zero confidence when roaming with 3 that my phone will work and when texting people abroad. The repeating text message problem has been ongoing for years and they've done nothing about it.
  
• Their my3 online portal is a joke and it was down more than half the time I wanted to use it.
  
• They lack good deals, good offers and good value. It's fairly obvious they have almost no investment in the Irish market and everything they do is half hearted. If they don't really want me as a customer that's fine with me, I switched to someone who does.

Walkman

paulm17781 wrote: »

Other things I thought of... No web texts, no online top up. Can you port from pre - post pay yet?

You have been able to port from 3pay to post pay and back for months now. The only thing is you have to go into a store to do it as customer care wont do it. The text thing happened to me last year and yes its very annoying.

gpjordanf1

Sam Vimes wrote: »

they have actually. they went on the last word some time in 2007 to give a few stock answers about their broadband improving in a few weeks.

as you can see from the fact that no one ever posts in this thread:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055115306

the problem were all solved :rolleyes:

I was only on about their phone service not their broadband service. Might be using same network but it's completely different matters. Fair play to them for answering to the public so. Their broadband must be terrible, but I think all mobile broadband is a gimmick.

Anyway besides CC I'm happy enough with them at the moment.