Changing mobile phones - is it worth it?
Yesterday I decided to to change my mobile phone contract onto a much cheaper one. I wanted to keep the same phone number and was told I needed to contact my current provider to obtain a PAC code which I had to give to my new provider.
I rang my old provider "EE" and was pleasantly surprised when I was offered the opportunity to speak to the department that dealt with customers leaving EE by simply pressing number 4 on my keypad. Sounded like a straightforward process. I did this and was told that I was in a queue. After 5 minutes my call was answered and I was asked a number of security questions before they would deal with my request. That done, they said they would put me through to the department which would deal with my request. Back into a queue again for a further 4 minutes. Another real person answered and I was asked more security questions. Again, they said I needed to speak to another department and put me on hold. More Beethoven and more recorded messages telling me I was in a queue. By now I was fuming having been on the phone for for almost 15 minutes. I was hit by the realisation that this is the process EE uses to frustrate their departing customers into putting the phone down and therefore not moving to another supplier. I admit I was tempted to do this but gritted my teeth and held on. Finally the phone was answered and the man apologised for the length of time I had been kept waiting. "That's alright, I haven't been waiting long" I told him and he actually laughed out loud knowing full well that I was lying. More security questions then I was finally given the PAC code I had rung for.
I bet this process would have taken a fraction of the time if I had rung them to place an order.