By: Ben Robinson, IntoMobile Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 4:31 AM
O2UK has issued a new set of criteria for channels partners, regarding the upgrade of customers. Dealers must now check details against a database of O2 subs, to verify the “ownership” of the customers, and also to gain approval. The point of the checks are to see how the customer was acquired before they can be resigned to a contract – they should be resigned via the existing channels, and be subjected to a ton of calls from other sources.
However, some sources claim customer “ownership” is unclear, particularly if customers have signed/re-signed with different O2 channels over the years, or added additional services via different parties. They are also concerned that this could be a move that allows poaching from O2′s direct team.
Adding process for the sake of it is never a good thing, but my take on this is that it’s a good move by O2 to bring some consistency to how customers are handled during upgrade – and that IS a good thing.
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career
when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has
now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the
next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas!
He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently
became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years
when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to
'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make
your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device)
isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question
of why you continue to use it...
His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and
infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the
occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience
in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with
regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.