3.

[Neoni]

hi guys very simple question i went into a shop today they offered me deals on 3. they said they have a really bad reputation but as a network they are good, they said the reputation is bad due to the handsets they use to work with. now can anyone clear this up?

-Neon.

 

[Neoni]

been fine for me, always get full 3G signal, although im in london

oh right! they said i could try it out and if i didnt like i could take back within 14 days.

 

[Neoni]

Direct Text 1400 (£30)
300 voice minutes , 1000 text msgs, 50 MMS, 50 Video Min, £5 inclusive download content/mo

If you have any Qs, just ask!

can i get a k800i with that offer?

 

[Neoni]

Not trying to put you off 3, i mean personally i'm not a fan, but thats the image 3 has made for itself. You did mention in another thread here that you'd be using the internet possibly? Well the walled garden sucks for internet. Where as Tmobiles Web'n'Walk is probably your best around at present. I'd have a look at the great FlexT deals and W'n'W. Shame you've missed the 25% off for life though, that was deal of the year for me personally . FlexT20 + W'n'W for £20.60 a month, does me wonderfully.

was told today all 3 internet is free no blockages wap, and html browsing completey free no restrictions.

 

[Neoni]

Sorry neon you/sales person are right, i'm not that up to speed on my 3 stuff. Well if its a good deal go for them. Personally even if it was what seemed to be a good deal, i've been put off them because of their past. I wouldn't bother and i am certainly more than happy with T moby atm.

aye i wasnt sure but it seems ok so!

 

[Neoni]

3 has continuously improved as a network in the past few years. Some of the handsets they sold in the past were indeed horrid but some of the ones they sell today are just as bad

Unless you are looking for a good deal and require nothing else thereafter, I wouldn't even go near 3. Anything that hints the need to call customer services would be a suicide mission. Trying to terminate your contract, request for a PAC code or even changing your tariff could take an hour (as I've found through experience).

I've been dealing with a fair amount of call centres in India (mainly IT companies though I've dealt with 3 in the past when I use to work for P4U) and unfortunately, most staff there just follow scripts onscreen, try hard to put on an American accent to convince us they aren't Indian and have limited knowledge of what their job actually is.

If you want a balance of a good deal and good customer services, go for the other networks. I just don't see why people go for 3, all the hassle you come across later (even for a PUK code) isn't worth it.

i will see how things go, and see what the score is there may not be a need to ring them, but i will be tied into a contract and 3 are on the up as you say, they do have a bad rep, but are becoming better.

the deal and the phone where a superb match i couldnt find better.

 

[Neoni]

What was it?

they was going to charge me 50 quid for the handset they then said no, we'll give you it free!

so i said ok, they gave me 6 months insurance bundled in, 600 Anytime Minutes, 400 txts, UNLIMITED Internet HTML and WAP, Email etc, 5 Pounds worth of downloads (mp3s etc), 50 Minutes Of Video Calling, 14 Day Return if i dont like the deal.

30 pound a month

 

[Neoni]

Three is an interesting and in some ways sad case. What they tried to do was very ambitious, enter an already mature market with a new technology. They were financed by Hutchinson (the same people who financed Orange then made around £20bn selling the company 6 years later) who hoped to repeat the Orange success.

The problem was timing. If you build a national 3G network in the UK you have enough capacity to serve around 10 million people. The technology means it's impossible to build a cheaper network with less capacity. Once those 10 million people are using the network then the costs per user are a lot cheaper than GSM so it's worth doing.

So Three's challenge was to fill the network with 10 million users. If they did that their costs would be less than the other operators allowing them to undercut whilst still making more profit. Hutchinson would sell up after ~6 years pocketing billions. That was the plan but it didn't work.

In order to get the 10 million customers they believed they had to launch sooner than the others. They thought the others would launch sooner than they actually did forcing Three to launch too soon. The first handsets were frankly rubbish and are now causing problems 'cos they aren't totally standards compliant and the network wasn't is a good shape. These first impressions stuck and contribute to Three's enduring reputation of being a bit rubbish.

The reality of the situation is the Three's handsets and network are good now but the damage is done. They didn't get to the 10 million mark (more like 3 million I think) and have now run out of steam as Orange and Voda both have mature 3G offerings.

It was a gamble but it didn't pay off - Hutchinson will off load the company sometime over the next few years but won't have made a profit.

as you have mentioned there all the companys said they would be honest with me, and yes they did have a bad reputation due to the past but thats the only reason, and they are now on the up. but the damage is done.

 

[Neoni]

3 are ****. customer service gets routed to india where they dont know their foot from their elbow. Took me about a month just to get a pac and d/c from them. Now however, they seem to be better and will be using Oranges network for 2g. Personally i never really had problems once i switched my phone to 2g (every week or so id switch back to 3g and send a few txts/phone people - cause locking to 2g isnt allowed) and it was fine.

my 3 network signal is fine phones for you said if you need anything from free, phones for you will sort it all out instead of having to deal with it myself