When I joined Vodafone I was offered a promotional gift. Which is always nice. What is not nice is how this was built up- a promotion that makes it very likely to make people miss it.
1. Nobody warned me that there was a 14 day expiry limit. True, it's in the small print. Which, as you know, nobody, not even you dear reader, or the CEO himself/herself reads, because you assume important things are communicated with you. Important things, like this, should be stressed. (If you get ANY vouchers or coupons, they state the expiry date with large letters for example.)
2. I got the email that lets me register two weeks before the time I could register, maximizing the chances of missing that particular date. Yes, I did forget to put an entry into my diary, but it's a weird promotion where you are told way in advance everything; why not the date you actually CAN do anything about it?
3. No further communication was forthcoming. A reminder would have been nice.
4. When I call to ask if there's anything to be done, obviously there's nothing.
Now, due to this issue -which is technically my fault since I should be paying attention to everything, this included, obviously- I missed the deadline.
And now Vodafone created an upset customer who feels cheated even though he would have been perfectly content had he was offered nothing in the beginning. Sure, Vodafone saved some gifts by building up the promotion like this, but they also made sure I will never, ever get a vodafone contract or recommend the service to anyone.
Weirdly enough the rules are not as strict when it comes to the service itself and the contract; I had to wait almost a week before the service was turned on after the date it was due. No apologies or contract waving in this case, of course.
It's something to keep in mind next time Vodafone designs a promotion.
