Background and reasons
For some time after my dismissal from VimpelCom structures, I had no apparent reason to change the operator: a good favorable tariff, excellent relations with former colleagues who were always ready to help, as well as knowledge of many processes from the inside, which left a feeling of a “native swamp”.
But time passed, and the subjective feeling of the operator's lag in a particular region only intensified. The results of measurements of the Internet speed through SpeedTest more and more often did not rise above 2-3 Mbit / s, and during frequent trips to Moscow I could stay offline at all – there were often places where the smartphone showed confident LTE, but not a single site was loaded.
As a result, I began to seriously think about MNP, but there was one strong anchor that continued to be kept in the camp of yellow-blacks – an extremely profitable convergent tariff at that time: 4 SIM cards (my two smartphones plus SIM cards of my wife and mother-in-law) with a good general package without roaming, home Internet at the maximum speed for our region (100 Mbit / s) and home TV. It cost only 800 rubles a month, so for a long time it did not allow to take a step aside, because individually these services would cost significantly more. But he who seeks will always find. Or they will find him.
Part I. Positive MNP Experience, or How Donor Operators Should Behave
At the end of last year, I was offered to transfer to MTS and promised to transfer to “Smart for Friends” immediately after MNP. Having considered this option, I agreed to transfer only my number, leaving the convergent from Beeline for my wife, mother-in-law and home services. I'll see, think about how it goes, and then I'll transfer the rest, if I like it. Plus 200 rubles to the communication costs – an adequate payment for the experiment.
The transition took place without delay, and during the 8-day buffer period the Conservation Department contacted me only twice. The first time they did not get through, then they sent an SMS that a special offer was ready for me. Then the girl called, very tactfully offered special conditions (to increase the packages at the current monthly fee), and in response to my refusal she kindly promised to keep these privileges in case I wish to return in 70+ days. It was the best Beeline could do, and I appreciated this gesture. After all, this is an excellent example of how you can “remain friends” and retain at least a fraction of the subscriber's loyalty to the former operator, especially in contrast to what happened next. But more on that later.
Part II. Lazy adjusters and the theater of two actors
Having settled in MTS, I was still not in a hurry to transfer numbers of loved ones and change my home operator – this idea continued to look unprofitable, and the family did not insist.
But in August, Beeline decided to raise prices on my archive tariff, which served as a catalyst. In addition, several “tasty” offers appeared in MTS at once. It's time, I thought, and I started with home services, since my wife's number had a rental TV box that could be considered a Beeline bond with MNP.
Knowing how competitive the broadband market is, expectations were high. I was sincerely sure that everything would go smoothly and quickly on the part of MTS. These feelings intensified when the company offered to connect at a convenient time after 8 pm, and on the day of contact.
Great service, I thought, until at 5 pm the phone rang with the question, “Are you home? We'll be there soon! ”. Naturally, I replied that I was not at home, and asked to come at the agreed time – after 8 pm, which obviously caused a misunderstanding on the part of the installer, because his schedule included the time of 18:00. An interesting fact is that around 6 pm they still came – I understood this from the open electrical panel at the entrance. By a strange coincidence, at the same time the Beeline stopped working in my apartment. The installers confirmed that they came and checked the equipment at the entrance, but they denied their involvement in the problems with Beeline in every possible way. I admit that this is just a coincidence, I have no proof. But over the past six months there have been no problems with the wired Beeline, but here is such a coincidence …
At 20:15, I met the installers on the doorstep and they started connecting. But soon representatives of the operator complained that my TV set shocks them and that the tuner has a voltage of 220 volts, so they will not connect the TV, as there is a risk that their equipment will burn out. The senior installer stated that he was a TV operator himself and advised him to take the TV for repair. I agreed with their arguments, postponed the connection until the circumstances were clarified, and took the TV to the ASC the next morning. To my surprise, everything turned out to be in order with the TV, which was confirmed by the responsible service employee.
In the evening they nevertheless hooked me up, however, they refused to do anything until I signed a paper stating that the installation was carried out at my own risk. And then a couple of times they complained about electric shocks either from the tuner or from the box in the entrance. By the way, now everything works, does not smoke, does not shock.
And doubts about the competence of the installers are confirmed by the fact that, according to safety rules, in order to connect something to the TV, it is necessary to unplug it from the socket, and they did not even try to do this. Strange guys, in general.
Part III. Inadequate conservation department at Beeline, rudeness and threats
I quickly came to terms with the strange behavior of installers, because in the Russian province, certain oddities, as well as problems with the service, are common. As the famous Russian footballer Andrei Arshavin said: “Your expectations are your problems”. And this, unfortunately, is almost always true for the Russian hinterland. I wouldn't even write this stuff if it wasn't for what happened next.
Having given the rented equipment to Beeline, I proceeded to porting the numbers of my wife and mother-in-law, having warned them in advance to forward all calls from Beeline to me.
The first call came on the third day after applying for the MNP. The girl was quite tactful, but she spoke such nonsense that I only had time to be surprised. First, having learned from me information about MTS tariffs, she made a “special offer”, which, in fact, was more expensive. I did not point this out to her, but simply noted that I like MTS more in terms of communication and the speed of the mobile Internet, and money is a secondary issue. To this, the girl said that at the proposed tariff, both the connection is better, and the Internet is faster, and in general none of her friends complains. Holding back a laugh from this phrase, I assured that it would not change my mind. After that, the girl demonstratively freaked out and said goodbye in raised voices. Well, that's nice, I thought, although I was embarrassed remembering my previous experience with the Beeline conservation department.
On the fourth day, the attack by Beeline employees continued. They called his wife, but she did not answer, as she was in the hospital after a sleepless night.
On the fifth day, my wife received a call again. She explained that the decision was final, that they had already explained everything to their colleagues, and asked not to bother her anymore. But for some reason this did not convince them either.
In the evening, the calls resumed, the wife again repeated, now not to a girl, but to a rude and overly persistent young man, the request not to call again. But he did not calm down and said that he would lag behind only when she gave him my phone number. It is strange that the operator's CRM did not keep the details of previous calls and my contacts.
When I called, not a trace of the Beeline representative's tact remained. A couple of times I even had the feeling that the other end was not an employee of a large company, but a “kid from the yard”. At first, the young man straight away and without any specifics suggested “to do everything for 100 rubles” in such a manner as if I were buying shawarma from him. After my phrase that money is secondary, he said that he could increase the speed and improve the quality of communication by almost pressing one button: “I have been doing this to everyone for many years”. On another “no,” the employee began to threaten that he would not miss my application for number portability anyway, since he has it in his hands. I had to cheat and say that the conversation was being recorded, in which case he and his employer would have problems. The guy quickly corrected himself, writing off everything that I misunderstood him. At this I said goodbye, saying that I had no more time to talk. But two minutes later, he called back with a question: “Have you considered my proposal?” Mentally cursing, I repeated three times that I would not refuse to switch to another operator. And on this, the calls, fortunately, stopped, and the transition via MNP took place on time.
I admit that we were simply unlucky and such a hassle is an isolated case, especially since a few months ago everything went without problems. But my loyalty to Beeline is now completely over. To say that they got us is to say nothing.
So, friends, if you decide to change the operator, be ready to defend yourself from the conservation department, almost like from the collectors.
P.S. If you are a Beeline employee and do not think that what happened is normal, write to [email protected], I will provide my phone number, as well as any other information that you need for verification.