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Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
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Opinion Articles

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Not all mystery shopping is a complete mystery

Mark Bridge writes:

If you’ve worked in retail, you’re probably aware of the ‘mystery shopper’. This is someone who appears to be a regular consumer but is actually reviewing your performance. Perhaps they’re working for your employer, maybe they’re conducting an independent survey, they may even be reporting for a magazine or newspaper. But they’re about as welcome as a knock on the front door when you’re at home in the shower.

Mystery shopping as we know it now is around 70 years old. It’s usually aimed either to find out if things are working properly or to compare performance. So, if you work in a shop, you may find you’re being checked by your employer - and your performance may also be reported by a trade publication or research organisation.

The result, much to the delight of many employers, is that staff work hard to provide good customer service… just in case they’re being ‘mystery shopped’.

Why am I mentioning all this?  Well, imagine a situation where you know there’s a mystery shopper on the way. And imagine you know that your competitors aren’t aware of the mystery customer. What an opportunity, eh?  A few weeks of hard work and your company could top the charts for customer service.

Let me transport you now to Watford, home of mobile phone recycling company Mazuma Mobile. They recently asked Service Science to impartially evaluate nine UK mobile phone recyclers. The best performance overall came from Mazuma, which also claimed first place for best service quality and the fastest service. These results were announced in a celebratory press release earlier this week.

Now, I’m not doubting the integrity of Service Science. But it’s hard not to get the impression that Mazuma could have been at something of an advantage throughout the process. To be honest, I’d say it never looks particularly good if you’ve paid for a survey that shows you to be outperforming your competitors.

Then again, maybe I’m just a cynic.

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Categories: Retailing, OpinionNumber of views: 15973

Tags: uk research opinion customer service recycling

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Podcast - 5th January 2011

Happy New Year! Iain, James and Mark are back for their first show of 2011. It's packed with mobile news headlines from the last couple of weeks - and there's also a review of 2010's biggest mobile-related stories, from Apple and Android... to Everything Everywhere.

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Podcast - 24th December 2010

An extended interview with Mark Anderson, CEO of HipLogic, about the launch of his company's real-time home screen app called *Spark.

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Podcast - 22nd December 2010

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Podcast - 15th December 2010

With the end of the year just a couple of weeks away, The Fonecast invites London-based dealer Faisal Sheikh and mobile recruitment expert Spencer Davies to discuss the past 12 months... and the potential for 2011. Plus, as usual, the team looks at mobile news headlines from the last seven days.

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Podcast - 8th December 2010

Iain, James and Mark provide an entertaining and informative look at the week's mobile industry news. The Google Nexus S, Three UK's iPad deal, Truphone and giffgaff all hit the headlines this week... and there's also a look back at last week's Apps World event in London.

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