SO
Sue O
1 reviews | Active since Jun 2011
16 Jul 2020, 09:56
Vodacom infrastructure failure
I live in a regular suburb, about 50m away from a Vodacom cell phone tower. Every time there is a power cut, we only have cell phone reception for 3 hours. Clearly, Vodacom needs a generator for times when the power is out for longer. This week alone, we have had 12+ hour power cuts.
Yesterday morning, I was sitting outside the tower when an mtn technician arrived to install a generator for mtn's equipment, to ensure their customers will enjoy service during power cuts. Not only is it an inconvenience to lose cell phone service, it is potentially dangerous because I can't contact anyone in an emergency.
I have tried to explain this to Vodacom and they have fobbed me off with various excuses and half truths, such as: Send an email, despite telling me verbally that they wil not escalate. The problem is the load shedding - the problem is that Vodacom has not installed a generator. Most of their towers do have generators - when I point out that this one does not, they just say they can't confirm that. If I insist I know, because I saw the mtn technician installing one, they say they don't know about mtn.
I have tried to raise this issue with Vodacom in a proactive manner and they have demonstrated that they are not interested in fixing it. I don't know if this is a breach of service, but it certainly demonstrates contempt for their customers.
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Replies (3)
Vodacom's replyOfficial
16 Jul 2020, 11:00Dear Customer, Thank you for making us aware of your complaint. Kindly be advised that a consultant will make contact with you in due course to assist with your query. ***Please note*** Beware of phishing ****s. Vodacom will not contact you via Whatsapp to request your personal details Regards, Vodacom Consumer Website Team
Best regards,
Vodacom's reply16 Jul 2020, 11:00
Official
Dear Customer, Thank you for making us aware of your complaint. Kindly be advised that a consultant will make contact with you in due course to assist with your query. ***Please note*** Beware of phishing ****s. Vodacom will not contact you via Whatsapp to request your personal details Regards, Vodacom Consumer Website Team
Best regards,
Vodacom's replyOfficial
16 Jul 2020, 19:11Dear Customer, Thank you for the time and effort taken to voice your dissatisfaction to our office. It is with the cooperation and feedback from valued clients such as yourself that we are able to identify any areas of improvement within our organisation. Vodacom is aware that many customers around the country will be experiencing issues connecting to the network because of the Loadshedding that is currently in place. Our towers do use batteries as a back up but these do have limited power and will eventually fail. We have put proactive measures in place to help mitigate the effects of widespread loadshedding. For instance, we have deployed generators at numerous sites across the country and are working as hard as possible to keep customers connected. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience - normal service will resume once loadshedding runs its course. Regards Consumer Website Team
Best regards,
Vodacom's reply16 Jul 2020, 19:11
Official
Dear Customer, Thank you for the time and effort taken to voice your dissatisfaction to our office. It is with the cooperation and feedback from valued clients such as yourself that we are able to identify any areas of improvement within our organisation. Vodacom is aware that many customers around the country will be experiencing issues connecting to the network because of the Loadshedding that is currently in place. Our towers do use batteries as a back up but these do have limited power and will eventually fail. We have put proactive measures in place to help mitigate the effects of widespread loadshedding. For instance, we have deployed generators at numerous sites across the country and are working as hard as possible to keep customers connected. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience - normal service will resume once loadshedding runs its course. Regards Consumer Website Team
Best regards,
SO
Sue O's updateReviewer Update
17 Jul 2020, 12:39This response from Vodacom isn't good enough - typical corporate speak for "we're not going to do anything to address your specific complaint, we're just going to say nothing but take as many words as possible to do so." I'm not interested in generalities, such as generators have been deployed at "numerous sites". My issue is with one site in particular. What country are you guys living in? "Normal service will resume once loadshedding runs its course." Loadshedding has been around for years and will be for years to come. If MTN can install a generator at the same site, why can't Vodacom?
SO
Sue O's update17 Jul 2020, 12:39
Reviewer Update
This response from Vodacom isn't good enough - typical corporate speak for "we're not going to do anything to address your specific complaint, we're just going to say nothing but take as many words as possible to do so." I'm not interested in generalities, such as generators have been deployed at "numerous sites". My issue is with one site in particular. What country are you guys living in? "Normal service will resume once loadshedding runs its course." Loadshedding has been around for years and will be for years to come. If MTN can install a generator at the same site, why can't Vodacom?