O2 Be Happy!

I won’t be buying a SIM from O2.

I tried to.

But O2 changed something, left me hanging, and affected trust. 

Here’s the story.

Please Send Me a SIM

To cover those signal blackspots that everyone experiences from time to time, I decided to buy a Pay-As-You-Go SIM for my phone’s spare SIM slot.

Have you tried to find a classic PAYG SIM, recently?

You know, the sort of SIM where you top it up only when you want to.

Most companies want to charge a monthly tariff.

But when you’re already paying each month for your existing SIM, there’s no point also paying monthly for a mere ‘spare’.

O2 To The Rescue

But O2 came up with the solution:

• A true classic pay-as-you-go SIM
• No ongoing contract
• Top up when you like
• Decent rates for voice, text and data

So, after the usual due diligence, I signed up. 

And O2 sent me a nice, colourful welcome email.

It’s almost here. In the next three working days, you’ll be getting your new O2 sim.

They know how to build excitement.

But nothing arrived.

Except for another email, one week later.

You should have got your SIM by now. So let’s not waste another second, we’ve got so much waiting for you.

Another week went by.

Still no SIM.

Let’s Call O2

So I dug out O2’s emails. And I tried to contact them.

“Please don’t reply to this email,” said the email.

OK. Let’s try “my SIM hasn’t arrived” in the FAQs.

Nothing.

Right. Let’s try the online chat.

Err… nope, I can’t give them my O2 mobile number – because I don’t have one.

Eventually the system accepted 07777777777.

And soon Mazhar and I were chatting.

“Could you give me the order number please?”

“Sorry, O2 hasn’t provided one.”

“OK. Could you give me the email address that you used to register.”

His system didn’t recognise it.

Nor did it recognise my name.

Nor my address.

Nor my postcode.

Nothing was on the system.

Yet I’d received welcome emails from them. It was clear I was a customer.

“Do not worry, I can place a new SIM order for you and there will be no charges. It will be free,” says Mazhar.

We began to process the order… until Mazhar said, “I will place the order with £10 bundle tariff.”

“Err, no. No tariff. The Classic PAYG please,” I replied quickly.

That’s when I realised that the ‘Classic PAYG’ deal was no longer available.

It had been ceased, just 4 days ago.

Mazhar’s training didn’t let him down though and he did his best to sign me up to a monthly contract.

Why Hasn’t O2 Honoured The Order?

But you ordered your Classic SIM back in October, David.

Long before the deadline.

So why didn’t you receive it?

That’s what I would like to know.

It’s very clear that my order had been received and acknowledged.

But it’s unclear why O2 didn’t send the SIM.

And it’s a mystery why they deleted the evidence of my order from their system.

Could it be that receiving a Classic PAYG order just before ceasing that particular package could have caused them too many problems? So they opted to delete my order?

Whatever; I’d have been much happier if they’d contacted me to explain why they weren’t able to fulfil the order.

I wouldn’t be a frustrated ex-customer now.

And I wouldn’t be writing this. 

I’d probably be extolling O2’s virtues just like I did with Gillams Tea Room and even Amazon – because I like companies who treat their customers well. And I tell others about them.

The Business Lesson

Anyone who knows me will understand that I like to be positive. And helpful.

So how can we turn this story into something positive and helpful?

What can we learn from this fiasco? 

People matter.

Even if you don’t want to sell something to a potential customer, remember to treat them decently.

Whatever its size, a business succeeds with good manners. And good communication is important.

I won’t be buying a SIM from O2. But from them, I’ve learned a bit more about how people like to be treated respectfully.

Thanks, O2.

Why @Thabacus won't buy from O2 - and why he's grateful for the lessons he learned from them on dealing with people. Click To Tweet

And if anyone from O2 happens to read this and wants to help me understand what happened, please reach out. 

You might even win back the trust of a potential customer.

O2 Be happy!

I expect you figured out the meaning of the title.

But just in case…

It’s a play on words.

And pun lovers will really appreciate it.

All I want is…

Oh To Be Happy!

Update

I reached out to O2 via Twitter and sent them a link to this article.

Pretty soon, they replied and asked me to Private-Message them with my contact details.

A lady rang from O2, apologised for the problem, and then said…

“The Classic SIM’s been discontinued. But I’m still able to send you one.”

The SIM arrived a few days later.

It’s now in my phone. And it works perfectly.

And even better: they’ve kindly put £10 of credit onto it for me. 

Thank you, O2.

Faith is restored.

You have some great people on your team.

O2 be like O2.