Blyk, look what you made me resort to!

Please remind me why I am a member of Blyk. I swear, I’ve spent more time complaining to and about them, than I have actualling using my Blyk texts and minutes; which I think is a little dissapoiting. I was so looking forward to love Blyk.

Earlier on I tried phoning up Blyk to find out what is going on with my phone (you may want to read this and this), and not only was I told I should “wait”, and that the staff who I have been in communication are not in, I was repeatedly assured Blyk are doing their best. Why do they think that is a) good enough, and b) even the right thing to say.

I got angry, (no swearing mind you), just a loud voice, and some rambles about how companies work with customers, and staff existing because of me and so fourth. So there I was trying to get it into this person, that after five weeks, I don’t want to wait and that I when I phone up Blyk, I don’t phone up to have to wait until tomorrow, otherwise I would have phoned up tomorrow. And then silence, and that annoying little noise Sony’s make at the end of a call.

Yes, I was cut off.

Now I was angry, so I sent a complaint to Blyk Membercare, and then remembered that I hadn’t actually e-mailed some more important figure-heads behind Blyk, so I’ve written two e-mails. Luckily for you though, my second e-mail was a combinaton of my first complaint, and the one I sent straight after my phone call. It did though, turn out to be a little long. So if you’re interested in reading a ridiculously long rant about Blyk, and their stupidity, feel free to read on, otherwise, I warn you, be prepared, or go and watch Ewan’s Video Podcast (which is very funny by the way)

“Hello,

I’m writing to you today, because to be honest I’ve had enough.

I’ve been a Blyk member since February/March of this year, and for the most part I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Blyk. Recently however I’m lost for words; the inability to fix problems, rude staff members, prolonged delays in fixing anything, and general lack of experience, it has infuriated me, and numerous other Blyk members, and I’ve had enough.

I’ve informed the Membercare staff in a previous complaint to them that I will be passing my concerns up to more important figures in Blyk, and this is exactly what I am doing.

Apart from now wasting the majority of my minutes on having to phone up Blyk, because of an issue which has obviously been caused at Blyk’s end (the forums are filled with repetitive threads, many of which either unanswered, or responded to in the least effort made possible), and for me, has been on-going for five weeks this Wednesday. My account has been made inactive because I’m unable to retrieve MMS messages from Blyk, due to no fault of my own. Now, despite not being able to have my refill, I should also point out, I’m still receiving your “Brand” messages – also known as the advertising that funds the whole system.

I’m amazed at how Blyk can even get away with sending me the adverts, when they at the same time are denying me my refill! Surely these are illegal tactics to play, and ones I don’t accept or adhere to. If I’m going to be sent Brand Messages, I also want my refill, which I will remind you, I haven’t had.

Then there is the issue of rude Membercare staff. Now, where exactly should I begin? I presume it’s best to post the e-mail I sent to Membercare last week; I think it sums a lot up.

“Hi,

I phoned up Blyk Membercare today after having troubles with my mobile phone on Blyk for nearly four weeks. I’ve been speaking to the Membercare staff for the past week trying to resolve this issue (although it took over two weeks for Blyk to respond to the vast amount of threads or concerns on the Forums). However, today I was greeted with a rather rude and loud *******.

I will expect the staff at Blyk to be aware that young people (the people you are dependent on for business), have the lowest tolerance for rudeness, customer services, and when things go wrong. I myself believe I have been very tolerant with Blyk, seeing as my problem still persists over three weeks. But, when I phone up and ask for help regarding any matter, issue, error or query, I do not expect to be shouted at down the phone.

I made it very clear to ******* that I had already visited the Blyk website, and that I’ve spoken to other Blyk Membercare staff over the phone regarding the issue; however she was insistently rude that I should return to the website, and that she wouldn’t help me over the phone.

I should add that this isn’t the first occasion that I’ve had a bad experience with Blyk Membercare people; and whilst on the whole my experience whilst talking to them has been good, I’m shocked to find that some of the Membercare staff believes that they have a right to be moody, agitated, or rude. I should remind you that the staff at Blyk Membercare are paid, and are answering phone because it’s their job, and they’ve chosen to do it. Therefore with that in mind, they should not be rude when talking to their customers on the phone.

I do not tolerate being spoken to in any manner that I perceive as rude, agitated, unwelcoming or harsh from anyone; this rule applies to the Blyk Membercare staff too. As I have already said, this isn’t the first occasion of rudeness, and on these occasions, I’ve forgotten about it, and did not complain; this though is the final straw. Blyk Membercare should not be directing their members to the forums (which I’ve read quite a lot about), they should listen, and when I made it clear that I had already visited to the Blyk site, and still the matter persisted, they should try and help me resolve the issue, and when the Blyk Membercare put me on hold, or mute their microphones, I do not expect them to come back on the line complaining that I’m still being rude, even though it’s obvious I’m not speaking to them.

Blyk seriously needs to sort out this matter, but as I have said numerous times in the forums you need to address a whole range of other issues too. The fact that Blyk expects to expand itself into Europe later this year, and next year is laughable. You can’t even get the basics right, or even offer the basic of services (Message Reports, outgoing MMS, Free Data included), yet somehow you can expand?

I can assure you too, I will also be passing these concerns onto the higher people behind Blyk; because I’m aware some of these issues don’t directly reflect the Memebercare, but it needs to be highlighted.

Thank you for reading this,

Samantha Kidd.”

If that’s not bad enough, I’m sent a response from an e-mail that I can respond back to, and has to be the least reassuring piece of literature I have ever come across.

Then there is the Technical Team. What exactly is their point, when they obviously cannot fix errors with the Blyk service? Five weeks I’ve had this issue, and this issue was followed around a week or two after another crisis at Blyk. Everyone had their messages sent, and delivered multiple times, and it ended up costing members their texts. Once again the Membercare Team were slow to respond, and didn’t assure anyone, or use any of the tools in their presence to at least acknowledge that they are aware of the issue. I posted multiple times, and even on the phone I’ve asked so many times, why isn’t the Blyk Blog made to more use, why isn’t the “Announcements” section used, and the use of e-mail? Apparently, this never occurred to Blyk, when they were hit with a big problem, and it didn’t occur to them this time.

I’m also horribly frustrated with the fact that I can’t get in touch with the Technical Team myself; and it is this, which I believe has partly caused such a delay with addressing any issue, or resolving it quickly. It is because of this, I’ve had to wait five weeks, and yet, nothing. Can you tell me this good enough? Would you accept that? I’m even surprised I’ve accepted it for this long, and why I haven’t complained earlier, just goes to prove how much I want Blyk to work.

I would love to know why Blyk forces its members to spend their minutes phoning up Blyk, for rude, terrible, poorly informed response. I would also love to know why; I have to wait for certain Staff Members to be “in”, in order for me to find out anything. I’ll post a complaint I’ve just sent to Blyk Membercare, just so you can see the extent of my frustration with this.

“Hi ***, or whomever may be reading this.

I’ve just come off the phone from Blyk, and once again I’m left feeling angry. It has now been nearly five weeks since I was last able to receive MMS messages, and therefore have an active account. I’m fully aware of the efforts going into having this issue resolved, but it’s not good enough.

Firstly, why is it taking five (and probably more) weeks to resolve an issue?
Secondly, why can’t I get an answer?

The fact I have to use the minutes which I got in June to phone Blyk up, and reserve them purely for that reason is horrendous. Why should I not be able to use my phone the way I like, because you can’t make anything work? Then, when I do phone up Blyk, why am I always feeling like I know nothing still! The reason I phone up, is because I want to know what is going on, and so when I do phone up, I expect that answer – seeing as I’m having to use up my remaining minutes to do so.

It’s not good enough to be constantly reminded about the efforts going into this, or the fact that the “Team Manager” is working on this issue. To be perfectly honest, I don’t care. All I care about is being able to use my mobile phone, during the time of year I need it most – which right now I’m totally unable to do. Shall I remind Blyk, I am your customer, you are the employees of a company, and you wouldn’t have a job if your shareholders weren’t seeing any money made? Now, if I, and a lot of other Blyk customers were to leave, where would that leave your advertisers? And more importantly, where would that leave you?

You’re there, to answer me, and the numerous other Blyk members who have issues with their phone service. You have an additional duty to ensure that when you’ve messed up, we’re not the ones feeling the pain; and right now that is exactly what I am feeling.

I want to know what is going on with my phone, and I want to know when this issue is going to be resolved. The fact I can’t do that over the phone, unless I phone according to when specific people are in is ridiculous. Also, not having the ability to talk to the technical team? How is it, I can phone up a number of companies where they have specific departments for issues and services, and I’ll get passed on, but with Blyk I can’t? If I were able to speak to someone at the Technical Team, eradicate the middle-men, and have someone who knows what they are talking about to me, then we might actually be getting somewhere. I urge you to ensure that this happens in the near future, because it is once again, ridiculous.

I shouldn’t have to be waiting for Blyk to respond to me, I want to know what is going on, and considering the length of time I’ve had this issue I believe I have been more than patient. I don’t want an e-mail of reassurance back to me, I know that, and I don’t want to hear it. I want to know what is going on, when I can expect my refill (seeing as I should have had it on Friday, but due to your incompetence I don’t), and whatever else Blyk will be doing to ensure I stay happy with them. I also don’t want a response from a noreply address. I think you owe me a little more than that, so please ensure it doesn’t happen.

I would also like to point out, I was cut off on the phone whilst speaking to someone, I believe his name is *****. Yes I’m angry, but considering the circumstances, and the lack of any movement with this issue, I think I have that right. Please ensure that doesn’t happen in the future either, because you’re not making this any easier on yourself.

Please phone me up as soon as you read this, because believe me, I haven’t been phoning up or writing to you to have a response delayed by a couple of days.

My mobile number is (my number) it is always on, and therefore, I don’t care what time you phone, as long as it is sooner rather than later.

Samantha.”

I’m angry, not only because Blyk insist on sending me adverts all the time, not only because I have waste my minutes getting no response, not only because I can’t talk to the Technical Team myself, and not only because I’ve been denied my refill because Blyk are incompetent. I’m angry, because I’m being reassured all the time that this is somehow good enough. I’m being told that the staff are working hard to resolve this problem. I haven’t seen any improvement, I haven’t been able to phone up my friends this summer, and I have to waste so much time, effort, energy and everything else that comes with not being able to use your main method of communication.

Blyk is a mobile phone network, and therefore they should be able to provide a service, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not seeing this, I’m not feeling valued, and I feel like the response to any issue with Blyk is slowly getting worse. I’ve left my previous network for Blyk, I’ve accepted that there will be glitches, and a few minor issues, but what Blyk are offering isn’t what I bargained for. And what’s worse, is that I’ve convinced friends to join to.

Do you have any idea of how embarrassing it is to persuade your closest friends to join Blyk, for them to come back and say “Samantha, Blyk doesn’t work?” Or seeing them post on the forums complaining after they’ve spent £15 to have their phones unlocked to find out that they are being sent an error message that their phone is compatible, despite being on the compatible list? I feel like I’ve been lied to, and I feel like a cheat, because I have persuaded anyone to join this farce of a service.

How Blyk can even begin to think about expansion is way beyond me; you can’t even handle the basics (Message reports? I’ve been receiving them since 2002, yet in 2008, Blyk can’t handle them), I can’t send picture messages; I’m not even offered Data. I can’t text numbers Blyk doesn’t like (even if they are free), Blyk isn’t signed up to any of the Social Networks (even though every teenager is on at least one), and even the Blyk Staff seem a little bemused by their experience of Blyk as members themselves.

I really hope I get some level of response from this, and that something is done about your current manner of operations. I’m not the only person is annoyed, and I’ll be urging others to write to Blyk Membercare or yourselves similarly. You may also want to be made aware that I’m updating my view of the service with Blyk on SMS Text News; and I can assure you now, that this will be added.

Please feel free to e-mail me back to this address (personal e-mail address) , or even phone me up (number here). I would love to hear what the people, who run Blyk, have to say about this level of service.

Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail, and I look forward to your response.

Samantha Kidd.”

I sent that to the head of Membercare, the UK CEO and the head of User Experience. I’ll send it on to more if I get no response.

I’ve had enough of this, and winding me up when it’s hot, I want to use my mobile, and when I’m feeling generally relaxed and happy, just isn’t good.

I’ll post the response if I get any!

(Oh, and sorry for the length, I get a little carried away with my rambles!).