Mobile News Mystery Shopper March 3rd 2010 – Best Small Business Tariff
Mystery shopper is out to find the best deal for a self-employed Businessmen with 6 people in their company. The manager requires a handset suitable for emailing with unlimited data, a mobile broadband dongle and tariff and 6 decent handsets with really good-value minute/SMS bundles.
T-Mobile
The T-Mobile store has a corner location in the Blackburn Shopping Centre, with lines of pristine handsets around the walls and a square counter area in the middle. A single sales lady was situated behind the counter and I was the only customer so expectations were high.
There were various T-Mobile PAYG and contract offers dotted around the store but nothing that was too overpowering. Emma approached me immediately asking how she could help; I explained to her what I needed and she looked a bit taken aback. She grabbed the February edition of The Guide and flicked through it, “I’m sorry but we used to have the business tariffs in this magazine but they have stopped doing it now.” She turned to the computer and tried in vain to turn it on, just then another staff member entered from a back door. Emma looked relieved and asked Chris for help, telling him my needs and that she can’t get the computer to work. Unfortunately the whole computer system was down and neither Chris nor Emma could find any information from the system.
“I do know about a couple of plans although I will need to check the details and get back to you”. From memory Emma spoke of business tariff called ‘Business Unlimited’, whereby I could get the Blackberry Curve 8520 with unlimited calls, texts, internet and email for £29 per month and a second option called ‘Business 1 Plan’ costing £15/person and there is a shared pot of minutes and texts. “If I take your number, once the system is up and running I will give you a call and go through the details.” “I do know you could have the Nokia 6700 for the 6 other handsets you need.”
I reminded her that I was also after a dongle, “I’m sorry, we do have a 3GB fair usage policy which means we don’t charge you if you go over the 3GB although we might restrict the usage.” ”I don’t think you will have any additional costs, it’s for £10pcm for the 1st 3 months, then £15pcm for the remainder of the 18 months.” Emma passed me the February edition of The Guide with the information in it and promised to call me by the afternoon.
I was called back a few hours later by Emma and still being in Blackburn I went back to the store. “The Business Plan 1 gives you 1000 minutes, unlimited texts and email for the Blackberry Curve for £135pcm, this would the best option for your needs I think.” I thanked Emma for her time and effort and made my excuses.
A satisfactory visit with a solution for my needs even if the information wasn’t given to me all at once although it was no fault of Emma’s. Receiving the phone call in good time was showed excellent customer service and much appreciated.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge ***
Airtime Knowledge ****
Questioning Ability ****
Sales Ability ****
Shop Appearance *****
(24)
Vodafone
From a distance the huge poster almost covering the window clearly pointed out that the iPhone is now available from the Vodafone network supporting the poster there were also 2 standees in the window also promoting the iPhone. The iPhone theme continued on the inside with more POS. One member of staff was at the counter talking to a man and woman about a contract, so I walked around the displays for 5 minutes before another staff member came out of a door and asked how he could help.
I explained my reasons for entering and he took me to a table and started to go through a big A3 sheet which was covered in different business tariffs. The Vodafone Total Business was the 1st plan he went through “This plan starts from £20pcm for 3 handsets; £30pcm to have 5 handsets and for your needs it would be £40pcm plus VAT for the 7 handsets.” “Your handset could be any type of Blackberry you want plus £15 per additional user, with a maximum of 8 users.” For this I could have free unlimited calls between the 7 of us as long as it was less than 60 minutes each time, so I was told to hang up after 59 minutes and ring back so it would remain free. In addition to this there was also 750 minutes to be used as a “pot” to other callers between the 7 of us on a 12 month contract, while the 24 month contract included unlimited calls to UK landlines and 50 texts per user.
“There is a specific plan focused on Small Business which has individual minutes for the team instead of a shared pot”; on this contract the Blackberry I needed was going to be £35pcm which included 750 minutes, 250 texts, unlimited calls to UK landlines and unlimited email on a 24 month contract. The 6 other handsets would cost £28pcm again on a 24 month contract which gave 500 minutes, 250 texts, unlimited calls to UK landlines and unlimited email on a 24 month contract. Again I was allowed to choose any Blackberry even the new 9700 for me however the Nokia 6700 was not available for the 6 other handsets. The 6730 was the recommended replacement handset although it looked cheaper and did not have as many useful features as the 6700.
Finally, I was told about the Vodafone Business Clarity plan which offers a fixed monthly bill for each employee, so no matter how many minutes you use you pay the same each month. This plan gave unlimited minutes, texts, email and internet which sounded great; for up to 5 users it costs £55pcm for the lead phone then £48pcm for each additional user, plus VAT. However for 6-20 users it costs £115pcm for the lead handset and £36pcm for each additional user plus VAT.
“Ok, what about the dongle?” “A suitable one for business use would cost £21.50pcm on an 18 month contract; this will give you 5GB of data.” “We have a fair usage policy so you won’t be charged if you go over the download limit the speed is just reduced.” By now my brain was bulging from all the information so I asked and was promptly supplied with a Vodafone Business Magazine. The conversation seemed to have reached a natural conclusion so I thanked the salesman for his time and left the store.
After being given so much information I was a little disappointed I didn’t receive a recommendation, which tariff is the most useful depends on usage but this was never really explored enough to reach an end. Adding to my slight confusion whilst browsing the Vodafone Jan-Mar 2010 Business Magazine at a later date I found the 18 month Dongle contract was just £12.77pcm for the 1st 3 months before rising to £21.28 after that.
Overall a good visit giving me plenty to think about but not really selling a specific package, the customer service was good and delivered information clearly it was just missing the final chapter.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge ****
Airtime Knowledge *****
Questioning Ability ***
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance ****
(23)
O2
The O2 store had the new Blackberry advertised in one window and ‘Free Broadband’ promotions covering the 2nd. The sales floor itself was quite busy so it took 5 minutes of walking around the pristine displays before a staff member was free.
I was asked to sit down while the sales woman opened up the Feb-Mar edition of the “Business Shop” magazine and flipped to the O2 Business Tariffs, “You will qualify for the 2-6 users and then have your Blackberry as a bolt on.” She pointed to the Business Share 1300 which gives you a shared pot of 1300 minutes, 1300 texts, unlimited minutes to 02 users, unlimited calls to 10 landline numbers and 5MB of email or browsing on a 24 month contract. “It would cost £15 for the 6 users and then an additional £58.51 for the Blackberry bolt on, I’m not sure if that includes unlimited email as there is another “web” bolt on listed which costs £56.38.” “I will take your details and pass them on to the business centre who will contact you today or tomorrow and they may be able to offer you a better deal.”
“Which Blackberry’s and handsets were available on that deal?” I asked “Most of them”; “Could I get the new Blackberry 9700 and the Nokia 6700 for the 6 handsets?” “Yes, you should be able to.”
I reminded her about the dongle I wanted, “Oh yes” she flicked a couple of pages and pointed to the 3GB plus unlimited Wi-Fi for £10.64pcm on a 24 month contract or for £15pcm I could have unlimited UK data and Wi-Fi and the dongle was up to 7.2Mbps and if I signed up before 30th April I would get the 1st 3 months for free. “Ok, I look forward to hearing from your Business Consultant in the near future, thanks for your help.”
The visit had proved informative but the all the detail was relayed directly from the O2 magazine, the sales lady was polite and had organised a call back but I didn’t feel particularly enthused about choosing O2 over any other operator.
I received a call from Carl, the business consultant from O2 on Monday 15th February, less than one week since the mystery shop visit. I had previously been informed that I would be contacted on the day or even the day after so the length of wait, in a real situation, could have lost a sale. My details were gone over in the short phone call and then an email was sent with the following deal offer.
Based on 7 connections and 1 Mobile broadband, Tariff: 2000 anytime cross network minutes plus 200 inclusive texts, Unlimited O2 to O2 calls, Unlimited calls to 10 designated landlines, free Voicemail, Unlimited data on 1 x Blackberry, 1 x free Mobile broadband dongle with choice of tariff (1Gb, 3Gb or unlimited) 3 Months Free Line rental on 1 x Mobile broadband, 6 x free Nokia 6700, 1 x free Blackberry 9700 bold.
You will also receive: Dedicated account management / Online billing / Full itemised paper bills / 24 Months super cover on all handsets / 24 hour handset replacement / 24/7 Business customer service / 8p calls to Europe free International traveller saver on your account
Total cost breakdown:, Lead handset: 1 x £84, Additional: 6 x £12, Blackberry internet mail: 1 x £8.51, Mobile broadband: 1 x £6.38 (1GB tariff), Total cost per month: £164.51 for the first 3 months then £170.89 thereafter.
The service provision seemed good although why some of this detail could not have been described in store during the sale is slightly puzzling and could make all the difference when deciding that O2 was the only choice for me if price, minutes and text allocations are all similar.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge ****
Airtime Knowledge ****
Questioning Ability ***
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance ****
(22)
Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse had a corner location in Blackburn Shopping Centre with the four big windows covered in huge posters advertising the arrival of the Nokia N900.
On entering I could see three staff members all behind the counter, one was dealing with a customer, another on the computer while the manager was reading the February edition of “The Carphone Warehouse Price Guide” I perused the store for 5 minutes noticing 2 more customers around the Blackberry handsets before I approached the counter and spoke to Nick, the branch manager. I recited my story and Nick walked me over to the Blackberry area and flicked to the middle of the price guide in his hands. “I’ve just come back so I’m trying to get up to speed with all of the new things”, he pondered for a second before pointing to the dummy handset in front of me “You could get the new Blackberry 9700 for £30 a month on Orange with 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and email.”
I asked Nick about the 6 other decent handsets for my employees and what would he recommend, “The Nokia 6700 is a great handset, it’s new and we have an exclusive black and pink colour or just the normal silver, for £25 per month each person would get 900 minutes, 900 texts plus unlimited calls to landlines on Orange as well.” I asked Nick if there were cheaper tariffs, “Yes but the minutes aren’t great for £20 a month you get 200 minutes and unlimited texts, so it’s worth paying the extra £5 to get the 900 minutes.”
I also reminded Nick that I was also after a dongle and was told that I could get a 5GB allowance on a rolling month for £15 but a good deal on 3 on a 24 month contract for £15/month with a 15GB allowance, “You would never go over your allowance and get charged on the 24 month contract.” I asked what the charges were and was told to look in the magazine, “You get charged for every MB after your allowance.” However after looking in the price guide I could not see the 15GB dongle anywhere and wondered if it was still available. There was also a charge of £9.99 for the USB modem on the 30 day rolling contract but it was free on the 18 month 3 contract for 5GB per month.
I then asked Nick if there was some sort of special business tariff I could get put on to, “We have something called Business Mobile Solutions, I just need to take some details from you and someone from the Business Solutions Centre will call you and go through the best business deals available to you.” After a few minutes of Nick trying to find the details on the computer another staff member approached with a leaflet, he explained the procedure had changed now and the customer must contact them instead. Nick passed me the leaflet and told me to either the ring the 0800 1300 700 number or email on sales@cpwbusinessservices.com
This was a satisfactory visit with a solution for my needs although not quite as much detail as I would have liked. The deal on the Blackberry was good but I felt as though I could have been offered a better package deal incorporating all the requirements on my shopping list rather than individual components.
Product Range *****
Product Knowledge *****
Airtime Knowledge ****
Questioning Ability ***
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance *****
(25)
3 Stores
On approaching the 3 store it was hard to miss all of the POS stating “Free Twitter” on the window posters, this was also the case in store with “Tweet for Free” POS all over the sales floor.
I was greeted straight away by a big smile and a chirpy “What can I help you with today?” I again explained my needs to James and he asked me some questions as to preferences of handsets and how many minutes or texts I could potentially use per month for myself and my team. I told James that because this was my 1st time with getting company handsets for everyone I was unsure as to how many minutes or texts I would need, especially for the 1st month.
“There are a few decent options open to you. You could go straight for the new Blackberry Bold 9700; this is the one with the tracker pad so no more dust clogging up the tracker ball, there is a demo model over here if you want to have a play around with it” While I was going through the functions James brought over the February Buyer’s Guide for the 3 Store. “For £30 a month you can get 500 minutes, unlimited texts, emails and calls to anyone on the 3 network, so calls between the 7 of you will always be free.” “That is on an 18 month contract and includes VAT; now for your other 6 handsets I’d recommend Nokia as they are great little handsets which are easy to use.” “We have the newer Nokia 6700 or the Nokia 2730, I’d probably go for the 6700 which has a 5 megapixel camera instead of 2MP, it also has GPS, a much bigger internal and expandable memory so it is more future proofing.”
James pointed towards a table of mix & match contract costs and features in the guide, “If you look at the table it shows you what minutes or texts you can get starting from £15 a month” For £15pcm each handset has 300 minutes or texts, £18 allows 500 minutes or texts, £21 provides 700 minutes or texts, £24 has 900 minutes or texts and £27 gives 1100 minutes or texts. “You can start on one of the middle tariffs and you can change every month if you want even though you are on an 18 month contract.” “This is great for you as you are just starting out and don’t know how many minutes or texts you are going to need per month yet. If you find you are using too much you can change the tariff for the 2nd month.”
James then went on to tell me about the 7.2Mbps dongle for £15pcm giving you 5GB allowance, however you would get charged per MB if you go over your allowance. After looking at the brochure in more detail I could clearly see it was 10p/MB.
After chatting about the handsets in more depth and marking the relevant pages in the guide I thanked James for his time and left the store. The customer service was very attentive including hands on demonstrations of the phones not seen in other stores. James had listened to my questions and I received the information required, without having to push or remind him.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge *****
Airtime Knowledge *****
Questioning Ability *****
Sales Ability ****
Shop Appearance *****
(28)
Summary
I was given a wide range of tariffs and deals from all stores visited but the winning 3 store gave a great friendly service and was able to answer all questions I had on the 1st visit, as well as a good overall deal.
All stores offered me relevant information, some more than others although the late phone call back from the O2 business consultant was a let down and, in the real world, could cause potential business to accept a different proposition. The tariffs all have different merits and would need careful consideration and possibly further negotiation before a commitment is made.
Winner Profile
Name James Donnellon
Age 21
Job Title Sales Associate
Tenure 8 months
Best Tariff £23.45 for HTC Hero, 750 minutes, unlimited texts
Best Handset HTC Hero
Sales Ethos Asking lifestyle questions and establishing customer needs before making a sale.
Hobbies Football, poker and socialising
Store Round-up
1. T-Mobile: Business Unlimited, whereby I could get the Blackberry Curve 8520 with unlimited calls, texts, internet and email for £29 per month. Business Plan 1 whereby you get 1000minutes, unlimited texts and email for the Blackberry Curve for £135/month. 3GB fair usage policy dongle for £10 for 3 months then £15 for 15 months.
2. Vodafone: Plan for small business on a 24 month contract, £30 for any Blackberry, 750 minutes plus 250txt, then £28/Nokia 6730 for 500mins plus 250txts. The Vodafone Total Business, £40/month for Blackberry plus £15 per 6730 handsets on a 24 month contract sharing 750 minutes, unlimited landline calls and 50 txt per user per month. Vodafone Business Clarity, £115 for Blackberry the £36 per Nokia 6730 plus VAT for unlimited calls, texts and email. 5GB Dongle for £21.50.
3. O2: Business Share 1300 which gives you a shared pot of 1300 minutes, 1300 texts, unlimited minutes to 02 users, unlimited calls to 10 landline numbers and .5MB of email or browsing on a 24 month contract. 2000 anytime cross network minutes plus 200 inclusive texts, Unlimited O2 to O2 calls, Unlimited calls to 10 designated landlines, free Voicemail, Unlimited data on 1 x Blackberry, 1 x free Mobile broadband dongle with choice of tariff (1Gb, 3Gb or unlimited) 3 Months Free Line rental on 1 x Mobile broadband, 6 x free Nokia 6700, 1 x free Blackberry 9700 bold, costing £164.51 for the first 3 months then £170.89 thereafter
4. Carphone Warehouse: Blackberry 9700 for £30 a month on Orange I could get 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and email plus x6 Nokia 6700 sharing 900 minutes, 900 texts plus unlimited calls to landlines on Orange. 3 network dongle on a 24 month contract for £15/month with a 15GB allowance.
5. 3 Store: Blackberry 96700 for £30 a month, 500 minutes, unlimited texts, emails and calls to anyone on the 3 network. X6 Nokia 6700 sharing a pot, for £15 a month, 300 minutes or texts per month, £18 for 500 minutes or texts, £21 for 700 minutes or texts, £24 for 900 minutes or texts and £27 gives 110 minutes or texts. 7.2Mbps dongle for £15 with 5Gb allowance
Tags: 3, carphone warehouse, o2, T-Mobile, vodafone
