Mystery Shopper is on the look out for a Family mobile tariff in a bid to save some money.
IKEA (5th)
10am and there was already 70 people waiting to enter the furniture superstore, we all drudged forward as the rotating door began to spin and I was met by a young lad handing out big yellow carrier bags.
Due to the size of the store I thought it would be easier to ask the 1st staff member I met so I engaged the staff member on the door. “I believe you have free family SIMs, can you tell me where they are?” I asked. He looked at me a bit puzzled “Hang on I’ll find out for you.” He went through a staff only door and brought out Brian, “Hello Miss what can I help you with?”
I told Brian again, “I’m sorry but we don’t have them in store anymore, you need to go online to get them now, they used to be in store when it was launched but that was about a month ago.” I asked Brian if he knew the address and he gave me a leaflet with a Family IKEA card attached to it. “The web site is on the front and if you fill out the information on this form and you can get discounts and a free cup of tea or coffee every time you use the Family IKEA card.”
I thanked Brian for the information and began to leave the store, I was just about to exit when Brian shouted over “I’ve just found this leaflet which tells you all about the family mobile SIM you where asking about.” I again thanked him for his time and told him I would go online and check it out.
The small but quite informative leaflet showed mw that with the free family mobile SIM, which is posted to you after registration and a £10 top up, you will be charged 9p/min and 6p/text. This was to anytime, any network in the UK and there is no contract, the choice of an automatic top up is also an option.
Further investigation on the Family Mobile internet site showed a no contract, no minimum top-up and no monthly fee service where you only pay for what you use. Additional services include Family Budget control per SIM allowing specific spend limits to be set per user.
The pricing plan offers free SIM cards for you and your family with greatly reduced rates in the UK and abroad. A comparison on the back of the brochure showed that out of O2, Orange, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone, the IKEA Family Mobile is half as cheap for calls and texts. It’s a shame IKEA did not have more information readily available in the store or staff who knew about the service provision.
Product Range *
Product Knowledge **
Airtime Knowledge **
Questioning Ability **
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance ****
(14)
O2 (4th)
On entering the medium sized store I could see that this was by far the busiest store I had visited. Up to date music played in the background and pristine handsets were displayed around the store. Located behind the counter were three members of staff , two were speaking to several customers while the other had an O2 Guru on his badge and was working on a laptop for another customer. In addition to the customers being served four people milled around the phone displays. All three staff members were smartly dressed with pale blue O2 shirts with dark trousers and shoes, all wearing name badges.
I spent 5 minutes wandering around the store looking at the various displays, every demo unit whether a handset or laptop had a small spec sheet available for customers to take-away. This was very useful for those fact finding trips.
As a female member of staff ended her conversation with a customer I approached her and explained to her what I wanted. Nasreen walked over to the corner of the store and grabbed a copy of O2’s August Simplicity magazine, flipping to the extra bolt on page. “Unfortunately I can’t get this service for you in store as you have to go online to sort it out.”
I asked Nasreen what the service included exactly and I could tell that she was just reading from the magazine, “It costs £7.50/month and can include up to 5 people on the O2 network, it doesn’t matter if you are on contract or PAYG but as I said you need to go online to activate it.”
I felt as though Nasreen was rushing me as more customers had entered the store so I thanked her for her time and departed. Overall, this O2 Family Bolt On was the most expensive option recommended to me during the mystery shop activity. The customer service seemed rushed and product knowledge was read directly from the magazine.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge **
Airtime Knowledge **
Questioning Ability **
Sales Ability **
Shop Appearance *****
(17)
Virgin Media (3rd)
The medium sized store was quite busy with two staff members at the back of the store in the seating area with customers. A three person long customer queue had begun to form in the store whilst another two customers viewed the displays. The entire right hand wall was covered in 6ft POS advertising the services Virgin Media offered.
I joined the queue after a walk around the store and started looking at the August Buyer’s Guide, after about 5 or 6 minutes of waiting the man in front of me got fed up and left the store. A further 5 minutes passed before it was my turn to be served by James to whom I explained what I was looking for.
“I’m sorry we don’t have anything like that but we do have a great deal on a SIM only 30 day rolling contract.” James pointed to one of the panels on the wall, “For £10 you can get 200 minutes and texts or for £15 a month you can get 300 minutes and unlimited texts.” James could see that I did not really want this service but continued “We also have a great PAYG offer.” He picked up a brochure which said “How to top up and get unlimited texts and web access.” He told me that whenever I topped up £10 I got 300 free texts, £15 top up gave you 600 free texts while a £20 top up gave you unlimited texts and web access, I later read that this was on a 1GB fair usage policy.
I thanked James for his time and left with the magazine and brochure.
Overall there was nothing special about this mystery shop, I was happy enough with the customer service when it was available but the recommendations made did not fulfil the initial request. This was not the fault of the staff and I would have been naïve to think an alternative would not be offered. I felt as though the waiting time was a bit excessive but understandable in a busy store.
Product Range ***
Product Knowledge ***
Airtime Knowledge ***
Questioning Ability **
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance ****
(18)
T-Mobile (2nd)
The T-Mobile store was situated in a shopping centre with two staff members present. One was behind the counter area talking to a lady with a pram and two kids whilst the other was next to the dummy handsets fixing the display. Both had T-Mobile T-shirts on with dark trousers, I could see that the man behind the counter was called Ali but the woman did not have a name badge.
I had only been in the store for 30 seconds before eye contact was made, “Can I help you?” she asked. I told her what I needed and she walked me over to the back of the store, picking up a “T-Mobile Life’s for Sharing August Guide” and flicking through it. She told me that for £5 there is something called a Family Booster but all members have to be on T-Mobile. One person pays the extra £5 a month and must be on contract or have a Solo account (SIM only 30 day rolling contract). “For the extra £5 a month these 5 people have unlimited calls and texts to each other.” She told me, it also told me on the magazine that unlimited picture messaging was also included in this package.
I was asked if I was a T-Mobile customer and was also asked if I would want a contract, I told her that I wasn’t after a contract and my Mum had a Solo account which could be used to add the extra £5 onto. The member of staff persisted to try and sell a contract even though I had already said I didn’t want one which made me feel a bit annoyed and frustrated.
Overall the T-Mobile Family Booster did offer more for your money than any other store visited, however I did feel pushed in to trying to get a contract while I was in store. It all depends on which network the 5 people are on at the time to warrant this service being cost effective.
Product Range ***
Product Knowledge ****
Airtime Knowledge ***
Questioning Ability ***
Sales Ability ***
Shop Appearance *****
(21)
Vodafone (1st)
This Vodafone store was situated in the main shopping area in Leeds City Centre, as I entered the store I was greeted with a smile from a lady with Lisa on her name badge. Lisa asked how she could help, I explained my plight and she looked over to another woman who was behind the counter. “Can you help this lady with a Vodafone family?”
As l had walked into the store l could not help but notice how clean and bright it looked with pristine handsets around the store and soft music playing in the background. All 3 staff members were smartly dressed with red Vodafone shirts on and black skirts or trousers.
Two customers were sitting at a desk with another staff member, “What is it you are looking for exactly?” Bola asked me. I told her that I had heard about a family SIM which gives you calls and texts to a select number of people. “Yes, we have something called Vodafone Family, it is only £5 a month and you get unlimited calls between 4 people including yourself. You don’t have to be on contract, all users can be on PAYG. There is another service available which allows 6 people the same plan for £7 a month.”
Bola told me that she was going to print off some information for me as there were no magazines or leaflets available. She disappeared and 30 seconds later returned with two sheets of A4 paper, one had details about Vodafone Family and the other, Frequently Asked Questions. “If you know all of the numbers I can get this up and running for you now or you can call or visit the web site.” She said pointing to the address on the sheet of paper she had just given me.
I was happy with the customer service in this store; the advice I got was correct as Bola had actually listened to my needs and not tried to use a heavy selling approach and try to sell me something I had not asked for. Even though you got more for your money at T-Mobile, the good point about the Vodafone Family is that you don’t have to be on contract to take this service.
Product Range ****
Product Knowledge *****
Airtime Knowledge ****
Questioning Ability *****
Sales Ability ****
Shop Appearance *****
(27)
Winner Profile
Name Bola Oke
Age 27
Job Title Store Manager
Tenure 8.5 years
Best Tariff 100 minutes and 500 texts for £10 a month
Best Handset Blackberry Storm
Sales Ethos Treat customers how you would like your family and friends to be treated.
Hobbies Netball and shopping.
Summary
Overall T-Mobile turned out to have the best deal for the amount of money spent but I felt as though the service was too pushy, especially since I did not want a contract. Vodafone showed great customer service, intelligent store layout and catered to consumer’s needs and wants. Bola actually listened to what I requested and recommended the correct service and nothing more.
IKEA’s offering seems very competitive but the low level of staff knowledge or visible information means many potential customers may never know the service exists.
O2 was disappointing on value for money and customer service, whilst Virgin Media did not to have a family themed service but did have decent SIM deals.
Store Round-up
- IKEA: Recommended IKEA family Mobile – free SIM, no contract, no minimum top-up or monthly fee, 9p for calls and 6p for texts.
- T-Mobile: Recommended T-Mobile Family Booster – £5/month for 5 people.
- Vodafone: Recommended Vodaphone Family – £5/month for 4 people or £7/month for 6 people.
- O2: Recommended O2 Family Bolt On – £7.50/month for 5 people or £12.50/month for 10 people.
- Virgin Media: Recommended SIM only £10 for 200 mins and 200 texts or just top up and get up to unlimited texts.
Mobile News Mystery Shopper – Family Mobile Tariffs