Efficient Jasmine of o2

It’s not often you come into contact with smart sales people in mobile phone stores but it’s a delight when it happens. A real delight. I popped into the o2 shop at Holborn this afternoon to get my new sim card.

Alas it turns out that o2 don’t sell new Blackberries – only on contract. Jasmine explained that I could buy one at Carphone Warehouse and that this would probably cost a few hundred. I agree.

Hmm. Can you give me a new sim then Jasmine?

‘Sure!’ she says, radiating confidence, ‘What’s your mobile number?’

I do a blank look.

The o2 retail shops can ONLY query accounts with two (required) fields:

* Phone number
* Postcode

Both those fields need to be entered to successfully query the customer database. They can’t look up your details.

I don’t understand what information technology team would deliver such nonsense.

Surely, somebody, somewhere, in the IT team recognised that SOME customers — not all — but SOME customers come into o2 shops to ask questions about their accounts AND that they might not be able to remember their mobile phone number?

Crazy.

Jasmine did the best she could. She put me on the phone to o2 customer services. I got my phone number and was able to get my new o2 sim card activated as a result.

After I’d done that, I didn’t look in a hurry so Jasmine queried if I had a decent broadband service. Smart girl. She then pitched me on o2’s service. Alas, I wasn’t able to do business with her because we’ve just signed up with a Virgin connection here. But top marks to Jasmine. People like her keep companies such as o2 going.