Showing posts with label Softbank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Softbank. Show all posts
Jun 21, 2011
I want to swim in that skypool, too!
Gosh.. don't you wanna jump in that swimming pool and enjoy the skyview from there? Imagine a cityscape view from 55th storey! The Skypark swimming pool (I will calling it skypool, for short, here)... 良いなあ。行きたい！
Being away from Singapore, meant that I was quite behind in terms of Singapore news and updates. Mm.. which shouldn't be an issue if I have religiously kept myself updated :P I am pretty much unaware of news uncovered by news tweets and unmentioned by my Singapore friends on facebook.
So, when my Japanese colleague asked me about the skypool, pretty much out of the blue, I was really lost. Eh... you mean, we have a swimming pool on top of our Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel? Eh... really? I know we have a Skypark, which is opened for public viewing as well, with some sections closed, only exclusive to guests, too. Mmm.. so I assume he probably means the Skypark instead of a skypool.
So imagine my surprise, when I finally saw the SMAP TV ad on my Japanese TV set. How ignorant I was! There really is a skypool in Singapore!
And it reminds me very much like the pool in Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at Palms Las Vegas, which I saw from a Japanese TV program.
Very very posh...
Now back to MBS...
I so wanna visit the Infinity Pool (the name of the Skypool)! (◕ω◕❀) But I think it is likely (actually I am 99% sure) that it is only reserved for their hotel guests. Gotta book a one-night stay there!
When I am back in Singapore, I want to spend a day properly exploring the new facilities at MBS resort! Like a tourist. （✿◕‿◕)ﾉﾞ ♬♫
Sep 24, 2010
Softbank Saga
Really hope to close the saga... so once they really do as they promised (reimburse partial bills), I will never mention them again.
After repeated calls, and many many clarifications, finally here's what I gathered on the conspirations:
Lack of procedure knowledge
First and foremost, the staff who handled my contract on my first week in Japan is probably not sure of the procedures for handling contracts for foreigners. Her procedure was wrong and hence this led to an entire episode of great inconvenience to me.
Lack of product knowledge
The second guy who attended to my so-called re-registration (which ended up to just a cancellation and purchase of a new handphone and prepaid card), is not familiar with pre-paid cards. He offered me incorrect information such as: each S-mail keitai mail will cost 300yen per message regardless of size, and I had specifically asked him, what if I attach a picture, and he assured me yes, it's just 300yen per message 0.o He did not explain that I can sign up for an unlimited mail service for 300yen per month, and most importantly, my pre-paid card value will be lost after 2 months, if I do not use up my credits in 2 months. As a result, I had bought the more expensive card, which is 5000yen.
Unclear in explanations
It was only towards the end, after conversations between my colleague and the staff, that we finally understood why the whole saga has unfolded. It was not because that I did not use a credit card to register, but rather because they had allowed me to buy a phone at 0yen, and then pay higher monthly fees later. It should be me paying 20,000+yen upfront and then they will reimburse 980yen per month for 24 months.
Without being clear in why I had to cancel and re-register, only made the customer feel you have something to hide. Really. Though it didn't have much impact to them, since I was still coerced to cancel, buy a new phone, and a new prepaid card, aka, new business for them.
Giving incomplete info to customers
If you already know that, cancelling the mobile line will affect my internet line, then you should have specify that right from the start. From the call to the purchase of the prepaid plan, no one has told me about the impact on my internet line. It was only after I paid in cold hard cash, for the new phone and prepaid card, that I was informed by the male staff that my internet will be cancelled, pls come back to the shop again 2 weeks later to re-register.
Not sympathetic in their damage-control strategy
They could have been more sympathetic, like saying, we understand the inconveniences it will cost you:
Instead, they just coldly tell me, this is our final offer, after several conversations, on whether they can help in the internet issue, since it is afterall Softbank's mistake and not mine, why am I paying for all these inconveniences?!: Pls come again to re-register with us. Pay the 20,000+yen upfront and sign up for a White Plan, whereby 980yen will be discounted every month for 24 months. With that you can sign up for internet again.
That message really piffed me...
Anyway... Softbank, I hope you really hold your word, and reimburse my partial bills, and send me the statement of the 5000+yen bill which you have collected without sending me any paper bill. Else, it will not be the last you hear from me (literally more calls). Let's just end this agony, ok?
It's a pity why there is no CASE in Japan. Otherwise I can easily report to CASE on this saga.
After repeated calls, and many many clarifications, finally here's what I gathered on the conspirations:
Lack of procedure knowledge
First and foremost, the staff who handled my contract on my first week in Japan is probably not sure of the procedures for handling contracts for foreigners. Her procedure was wrong and hence this led to an entire episode of great inconvenience to me.
Lack of product knowledge
The second guy who attended to my so-called re-registration (which ended up to just a cancellation and purchase of a new handphone and prepaid card), is not familiar with pre-paid cards. He offered me incorrect information such as: each S-mail keitai mail will cost 300yen per message regardless of size, and I had specifically asked him, what if I attach a picture, and he assured me yes, it's just 300yen per message 0.o He did not explain that I can sign up for an unlimited mail service for 300yen per month, and most importantly, my pre-paid card value will be lost after 2 months, if I do not use up my credits in 2 months. As a result, I had bought the more expensive card, which is 5000yen.
Unclear in explanations
It was only towards the end, after conversations between my colleague and the staff, that we finally understood why the whole saga has unfolded. It was not because that I did not use a credit card to register, but rather because they had allowed me to buy a phone at 0yen, and then pay higher monthly fees later. It should be me paying 20,000+yen upfront and then they will reimburse 980yen per month for 24 months.
Without being clear in why I had to cancel and re-register, only made the customer feel you have something to hide. Really. Though it didn't have much impact to them, since I was still coerced to cancel, buy a new phone, and a new prepaid card, aka, new business for them.
Giving incomplete info to customers
If you already know that, cancelling the mobile line will affect my internet line, then you should have specify that right from the start. From the call to the purchase of the prepaid plan, no one has told me about the impact on my internet line. It was only after I paid in cold hard cash, for the new phone and prepaid card, that I was informed by the male staff that my internet will be cancelled, pls come back to the shop again 2 weeks later to re-register.
Not sympathetic in their damage-control strategy
They could have been more sympathetic, like saying, we understand the inconveniences it will cost you:
- Time
- Loss of other data in your phone other than contacts
- Money (new phone, new prepaid card)
- Loss of internet (you cannot imagine how terrible I felt without internet.)
- Inconvenience of announcing change of number and keitai mail, etc.
Instead, they just coldly tell me, this is our final offer, after several conversations, on whether they can help in the internet issue, since it is afterall Softbank's mistake and not mine, why am I paying for all these inconveniences?!: Pls come again to re-register with us. Pay the 20,000+yen upfront and sign up for a White Plan, whereby 980yen will be discounted every month for 24 months. With that you can sign up for internet again.
That message really piffed me...
Anyway... Softbank, I hope you really hold your word, and reimburse my partial bills, and send me the statement of the 5000+yen bill which you have collected without sending me any paper bill. Else, it will not be the last you hear from me (literally more calls). Let's just end this agony, ok?
It's a pity why there is no CASE in Japan. Otherwise I can easily report to CASE on this saga.
Sep 18, 2010
Softbank Woes
I thought I was one of the lucky ones, as I was one of the first few among the batch of Singaporean JETs to get my keitai...
So.. it was a mirage. I was informed last week via a call, that Softbank has to cancel my account, and I need to re-register as the system is unable to capture my profile. I found it strange, as Softbank has already collected payment for my first month of usage. If you are unable to capture my details, how can I use, and how can you collect payment, right?
Nevertheless, I went to the shop during a weekday after work. But I had to make a trip down again on a weekend as the staff told me that it will take more than an hour, and my last bus is one hour later.
It's good he advised me to come on a weekend because, it actually took 4 hours to get my cancellation and re-registration done. And I had to visit the shop in half-hour intervals to check on the process. >.<
And the "best" part? I cannot register as I do not have a credit card, at least not a Japanese credit card. And I don't want to try using my Singaporean credit card. Can you imagine the exchange charges >.< The only option is to get a prepaid card.
It's really troublesome... at least to me. Here's why:
1. Your card is registered for 60 days. You need to recharge it (I think) within the 60 days, otherwise it becomes invalid.
2. You can use for the next 360 days, after that you need to purchase a new card or something.
This whole affair is pretty complicated. They gave me a booklet which explains the prepaid card service. It has English explanations, but when I ask the staff about the prepaid card number etc, do I need to register etc, they told me, I just need to recharge the card within first 60 days, and after 360 days, you have to get a new card, hence a new number.
Mmm... which does not really coincide with what the book says. Or maybe I didn't get him correctly since he was speaking in Japanese (in keigo -_-") and I am not that advanced yet.
And what complicates things further is that, as I got my White Plan YahooBB account with my keitai, as a package, so now that my keitai line is cancelled, and that I am only a prepaid card buyer, I am not considered a Softbank customer, and hence my current internet service will be cancelled.
Seriously, my internet service is going to go any minute, since my line is already cut. And I have to make yet another trip down to the shop after 2 weeks, to re-sign up for my account.
And since I am not a Softbank subscriber, I have to become one, right, to sign up or rather enjoy the campaign discount? So I need to buy a white elephant service. It's a "send your picture to an electronic photo frame" service, which costs 1000yen per month! And that will be on top of my internet service.
And, what's worse... it's not helping that they kept urging me to bring along someone who knows Japanese (aka a Japanese, I think). I really don't want to bother my colleagues on their rest days- weekends. :(
Urgh.
P.S: I wonder where's the staff who signed up my earlier contract. For the past 2 visits, she's not around. Has she been transferred? She would know my case better, since she handled it from the start. :(
So.. it was a mirage. I was informed last week via a call, that Softbank has to cancel my account, and I need to re-register as the system is unable to capture my profile. I found it strange, as Softbank has already collected payment for my first month of usage. If you are unable to capture my details, how can I use, and how can you collect payment, right?
Nevertheless, I went to the shop during a weekday after work. But I had to make a trip down again on a weekend as the staff told me that it will take more than an hour, and my last bus is one hour later.
It's good he advised me to come on a weekend because, it actually took 4 hours to get my cancellation and re-registration done. And I had to visit the shop in half-hour intervals to check on the process. >.<
And the "best" part? I cannot register as I do not have a credit card, at least not a Japanese credit card. And I don't want to try using my Singaporean credit card. Can you imagine the exchange charges >.< The only option is to get a prepaid card.
It's really troublesome... at least to me. Here's why:
1. Your card is registered for 60 days. You need to recharge it (I think) within the 60 days, otherwise it becomes invalid.
2. You can use for the next 360 days, after that you need to purchase a new card or something.
This whole affair is pretty complicated. They gave me a booklet which explains the prepaid card service. It has English explanations, but when I ask the staff about the prepaid card number etc, do I need to register etc, they told me, I just need to recharge the card within first 60 days, and after 360 days, you have to get a new card, hence a new number.
Mmm... which does not really coincide with what the book says. Or maybe I didn't get him correctly since he was speaking in Japanese (in keigo -_-") and I am not that advanced yet.
And what complicates things further is that, as I got my White Plan YahooBB account with my keitai, as a package, so now that my keitai line is cancelled, and that I am only a prepaid card buyer, I am not considered a Softbank customer, and hence my current internet service will be cancelled.
Seriously, my internet service is going to go any minute, since my line is already cut. And I have to make yet another trip down to the shop after 2 weeks, to re-sign up for my account.
And since I am not a Softbank subscriber, I have to become one, right, to sign up or rather enjoy the campaign discount? So I need to buy a white elephant service. It's a "send your picture to an electronic photo frame" service, which costs 1000yen per month! And that will be on top of my internet service.
And, what's worse... it's not helping that they kept urging me to bring along someone who knows Japanese (aka a Japanese, I think). I really don't want to bother my colleagues on their rest days- weekends. :(
Urgh.
P.S: I wonder where's the staff who signed up my earlier contract. For the past 2 visits, she's not around. Has she been transferred? She would know my case better, since she handled it from the start. :(
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