Mr Feedback

Recently, I had moved into my new home and faced a dilemma that it only had a phone socket in the lounge room. This meant I had to buy extended phone wires, and connect it to my PC situated in the 2nd bedroom / study. I also have a laptop, with an inbuilt wireless card. So I was investigating the options for wireless broadband in Melbourne, and a few came to mind and they are: Unwired, Virgin Broadband, Optus and Vodafone. There are plenty of alternatives, but generally wireless internet is very expensive in Australia. Broadband Choice or Broadband Guide are good places to start if you want to search for options.

I signed up to Broadband at Home for the 2GIG $60 p/m plan, but canceled it after 7 days. See why below!

The Speed
I did not have much issue with the speed. For the most part it was as fast as I needed. If you are serial downloader, or online video streamer then this may not be for you. The maximum speed achieved is 512kbps. Rarely do you achieve this speed. I live in an area where the coverage is not full speed, none the less it was plenty for emailing, general browsing, and the occasional streaming of video.

The telephone
The technology is quite innovative. You do not need any phone lines, nor a even a line connection at home. Your phone connects to the your free modem/router and you hear a dial tone. I believe the calls are routed through their mobile network. The quality was excellent. I used it to call customer support, and some friends interstate and no one picked that I was using the wireless broadband for my calls. I was quite impressed. The free calls is a great deal if you use your home line for local, and national calls. But read the fine print, because you will be charged for 1300, 13 calls, but not for 1800 calls.

Of course, you can surf the net and use the telephone at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

Type: Superior Room, King size bed
Length: 12 nights
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
View: Garden

I booked my accommodation through Blue Holidays. There are plenty of options, but watch out for cheap options because sometimes they have shared bathroom facilities. Le Meridien sounded like a good option because of its size, rates, and also the range of activities available. All activities are free of charge. Besides, the pictures looked good. Let’s analyse my stay!

Food
Not many resorts offer meals as part of the deal. Many, however, do include complimentary breakfast. Le Meridien was offering complimentary continental buffet breakfast, and lunch vouches. The break is fantastic. Their range extends along an entire wall, and the staff are friendly. Some options are: bacon, eggs, toast, range of fruits, range of cereals, baked beans, range of breads/croissants/muffins/danishes, range of drinks, and of course tea/coffee.

I had major problems with lunch because they only have 1 vegetarian option. After getting to know the waiters, I was able to order what I liked and change it up a bit. Don’t be afraid to order something which is not on the menu. They are a 5 star resort, so should cater to your needs. Buffet lunch is sometimes offered. The best part about lunch is you can laze around the pool, and they will serve right to you. But the time it takes for meals to arrive is a big disappointment. The longest it took for me was 60 minutes. But if you go a bit earlier, or later in the afternoon, food is delivered quicker. One annoyance is the lack of staff available at times. Sometimes, 4 people are allocated to deal with 50 or so hungry Westerners. Bad idea! Also, don’t be afraid to “push in” and tell the staff what you want. If you just wait for them to approach, IT MAY NEVER HAPPEN!

I bought dinner every night (about 20 bucks per meal). The pool side restaurant is cheaper than the main one. I did go to a buffet (Mexican) but it wasn’t worth it. I never made it to Melanesian night (every Thurs), and it looked good but way too expensive for my budget (4000+ vatu per person). The lobby restaurant has the best Hokkein noodles, its a must. The entertainment is often repetitive (string bands), but good to have them there anyway.

Overall, not bad but they certainly got work to do with meal delivery times. Read the rest of this entry »

Website: http://www.adventuresinparadise.vu

Overall, I had an average experience with this tour company. There are a few pointers they can really use. One such annoyance was the requirement to confirm all of the tours a day prior to the tour booking. If you didn’t confirm, then you didn’t know when they would pick you up or if the tour was on at all. A couple of my tours were canceled, and I found out because I contacted them. Luckily, Le Meridien had a guest relations service who would gladly do it for you, but it takes a while for them to do it so be patient!

Sometimes, Adventures in Paradise do not deliver what is promised. Of course, I wasn’t too bothered (somehow I had developed a soft spot for Vanuatians), except when they sent public buses to pick us up for our return airport trip. We were promised an air conditioned coach (just like on arrival) but instead were sent a “burnt out” van with no air conditioning. I thought that was real scrappy. The tour conductors were really lovely, and provided real in depth information. Often you learn so much just by talking to them about general stuff.

Worth it or not?

Villa Environs Tour: Not worth it
Port Vila Discovery Tour: Worth it
Cascade waterfalls: Worth it (great tour guide)
Village adventure tour: Worth it (I won’t ruin the surprise)
Glass bottom boat cruise: Worth it (snorkeling bit is the best!)
Semi-submarine cruise: Not worth it
Sea kayaking: Not worth it (a bit boring)
Meet and Greet: Not worth it (totally useless)

Inside tips
* Book tours directly at their town office. It is so much cheaper than Blue Holidays, or the hotel.
* Plan ahead, and confirm each tour. They will not contact you to confirm.
* Drop them an email before you leave, detailing your tours.
* Check their website, because they have an extended range of tours.

Suggestions
* Guys, if a tour is canceled, it is your responsibility to inform the patrons. Not the other way around.
* Try and give what you have been paid for. Giving us a public bus for an airport return was real bad.
* Almost all of your tour buses arrived late to my hotel. I do not know about other hotels, but time management is important.
* Have an online booking facility on your website, and provide discounts for group bookings or multiple tour bookings.

Rating - 6/10 (average)
Most of the tours in Blue Holidays were from Adventures in Paradise, so I really didn’t have a choice. Would I go with them again? Yes, probably but I sure will book my tours directly through them. They lost points due to their “relaxing” nature, which meant delays all round.

If you have a review about another tour company that you used, then drop us a line.

I was ‘beyond belief’ to find that Brisbane International does not have a McDonalds or a Hungry Jacks. If this isn’t a business opportunity, I don’t know what is. I was subjected to a Subway breakfast. Yuck! Don’t get me wrong, Subway meals are great but much rather suited to meals later in the day.

On the plus side, the shopping options after customs is quite varied. They even have an Eagle Boys Pizza. I wasn’t fortunate enough to taste a pizza from the “Boys”, as I was running late for my flight. But, one good thing about Brisbane airport is their airtrain service. Melbourne really needs something like this.

Suggestions
- Open a Maccas, Brisbane International really needs it.
- Build a rail link to the Tullamarine, Melbourne really needs it.

** Addit
Maccas is nowhere to be found in the Domestic Terminal Food Court either (Brisbane that is!). Is this a conspiracy of some sort? I did find a Hungry Jack’s though, so the “burgers had to be better” there for a change.

What I bought?
Pentax Optio S10 - 10MP Digital Camera, 3 year extended warranty, 4gig memory card, Camera case
Place: Camera Action Camera House, 217 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

The service
I must admit, customer service was too much to ask with all of the camera shops. My first stop was Ted’s Camera Store, and it took me a while before I could attract some attention. I left Ted’s because they did not have a silver coloured model, but what surprised me was that the gentleman did not give me a time frame as to when the silver coloured model would be available. It was a “take it or leave it” attitude.

I made my way to Elizabeth Camera, right next door. The salesman was friendly but at times very arrogant. I really do hate it when they don’t pay attention to the customer. This chap was looking behind me when talking to me, as if he had to watch for shop lifters at the same time (there were 3 other staff in the shop doing nothing). I unleashed my haggling skills, and it worked like a charm. It was disappointing to find (after 15 minutes of haggling) that they had no stock. WHAT!

Then he tried to sell me the shelf model, which had many scratches on the LCD display. I wonder if this was his strategy all along. Even worse, he wouldn’t reduce the price for the demo model. No way mate! I left the store in a jiffy.

My next stop was Camera House. It was a cramped store, but clean, with plenty of helpers about. But again, I waited and waited for someone to approach me. It took a whole 15 minutes. The price here was much cheaper, and then the sales woman tried to put the whole “get a warranty otherwise you’re doomed” story on me. I was going to get the warranty anyway. Once again, I sensed a great deal of arrogance with the staff member but none the less she was helpful and answered my questions appropriately.

I always find that electronic shops are the worst for customer service. I just don’t understand this. If anything, electronic shops should be the most customer friendly considering a lot of people do not have clue what to buy. Perhaps its the demand for electronics that somehow elevates these shop keepers to a “know it all” status, thus prompting them to display that touch of arrogance. Read the rest of this entry »

Destination: Port Vila, Vanuatu
Time: Jan 08 - Feb 08
Stay: Le Meridien Port Vila Resort (Superior Room)
Tours: Adventures in Paradise

Blue Holidays is only one of the many different holiday booking websites available. Some of the others I trialled were: Last Minute, Escape Travel, Qantas Holidays, Jet Star, and Flight Centre. I settled on Blue Holidays because it provided for accommodation, flights, meals, and tours all on the one site.

Ease of use
I have used several flight booking websites before, and they all feature the same core design structure. BlueHolidays was no different. One of the frustrating features is the timeout period. I used a public computer, and I was timed out about 3 times before I finally managed to complete my booking. So planning your booking is essential, otherwise you will find yourself repeating the process several times.

The booking can be accessed through the email, but a major negative is the inability to access it offline. Perhaps a downloadable PDF file is better option. Furthermore, I was disappointed not be able to check in online prior to my flight. Online check ins are only available for domestic travel. Read the rest of this entry »

Address: 107 Bridge Mall, Ballarat, VIC 3350

Dinner for two: entree, main course, non-alcoholic beverage = $60

I have been of plenty of Indian restaurants, and never have I witnessed such shocking food, service, ambience, and value for money. I went to Ballarat, and checked into Tandoori Oven restaurant situated in Bridge Mall. I was hoping for a nice, quiet Indian dinner but instead got “crap all” for the money I spent. Watch out for the loud phone! It’s bloody loud and annoying!

Food
My microwave can cook better than what I ate. I ordered a mattar paneer, and I could tell that it was reheated crap. The top surface was warm, but the the core was cold. The entree was just as worse, the samosa was served with soya sauce and vegetables but no mint chutney despite asking a few times on the night. Never mind asking for water, it just won’t show up. More in the service section.

Service
They had 1 waitress for 7 stables. The ratios were poor. The entree took 40 minutes to come, and the main took another 30 minutes to come. The food was just thrown onto the table, and the waitress didn’t explain which was which. Sure enough she had tons of other customers to handle. The restaurant should never have 1 waitress for dinner servings. The water never came, despite asking a few times. We just gave up, and eat hot curry without any water. We even saw the some random guy (presumably the owner) who brought his grand child into the restaurant and walked around trying to calm the child. At this point, I was quite amused!

Value
The bill was around $60 which one would think is a pretty good deal for a dinner for two, but in the context of my experience it was throwing money in the bin. Totally not worth it.

Suggestions
Here are just a few, owners pay attention:

* Put more serving staff, don’t be stingy!
* Keep the phone volume down, why is it so loud
* Make sure your staff explain the dishes, and also I suggest throwing of food is not appropriate
* Improve the lighting in the restaurant, it is very dark
* Keep your family where they belong, which is not in the middle of a restaurant
* Always ask for feedback from your customers: “how was the food tonight?”, “is there anything else we can do”

I could just keep going, but doing these things will bring you up to a pass level (and keep you busy). Then we will think about things further.

Rating - 2/10 (very poor)
I would never go there, nor will I recommend anyone else to go there.

Hi, my name is Raja and I started Mr Feedback. This blog is a way to express my opinion about customer service. In today’s world, I find customer service is lacking in many areas. This is true in many consumer sections, from grocery shopping to buying electronics. However, this is not just a “whinge” site, nor a place to target businesses and ruin their reputation. I hope to provide feedback to those businesses who I mention here. Feedback will be specific, and consist of appropriate ratings to reflect my overall experience. Businesses can take the feedback and address it to further benefit them.

Of course, Mr Feedback also accepts feedback from you. If you feel your experience should be mentioned here, just drop me a line. Your post will be reviewed, and if its appropriate it will be published on this blog.

So, let’s roll.