Mobile by Sainsbury's feedback thread - £100 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This thread is for the 30 MNers trying out the new Mobile by Sainsbury's service.

Below are the questions we'd like testers to answer but please feel free to add your own comments too.

• How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this?
• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service?
• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not?
• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care?
• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not?
• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not?

Everyone who was part of the test and who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £100 Sainsbury's voucher as a thank you.

Thanks,

MNHQ

[Groovee]

Well done Whoever xx

[WhoeverHeardOfAWormskinRug]

Thank you!

[AngelieMumsnet]

Thanks for all your comments everyone! The winner of the prize draw is WhoeverHeardOfAWormskinRug - I'll PM you for your details shortly :)

[Groovee]

Oooh how does a queue up bundle work? May be off to look at the website again.

I activated ds's bundle this morning. He's been doing my head in to work out when it would expire. Need to remember the 10th of October as the child tells me nothing.

[Fillybuster]

I've topped up today as my bundle expired this morning. I like the helpful text that let me know it had finished - nice touch.

Lovely girl on customer service explained that you can top up in advance and 'queue up' a bundle, so that it kicks in automatically when the previous one expires. Hopefully that's true - I will give it a go next month if I'm still happy with the service and see if it actually works that way.

Once again, thank you to MN and Sainsbo's for including me in this trial :)

[NotShortImFunSized]

I've just spoken to the Sainsburys mobile helpline as I needed to find out how to top up if I dont have the phone with me. Just wanted to say the 2 people I spoke to were fab, knew exactly what they were doing and were just lovely :)

Groovee The man I just spoke to said the bundle will run out around the same time that you first activated it, you will receive a text from them telling you it's about to or has just ran out.

[Groovee]

I did my first top up using the top up card we received in the box. Easy to register the card. The guy in sainsbury's was a bit as to topping up a sainsbury's phone. I told him to do it how he did every other one. Got my double points. The top up took a while to come through to the phone and I had maybe thought they would text to say you'd topped up but they didn't.

I'm still a bit confused, does the bundle run out at 23.59 on the 10th or will it run out around the time I added the bundle? Not sure when I should be re adding the bundle for ds.

[AngelieMumsnet]

Paperview has been having some technical difficulties, so I'm posting her feedback below:

"- How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this?

The signal has been fine wherever I have been. The same as my usual mobile which is O2

• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service?
  

Myself and my 10 year old have been using the mobile. It's been a little tricky to get a proper idea of what sainsburys mobile is compared to other networks because of the limitations of the handset we received. There are an awful lot of texts sent from the service which are a pain and would definitely be something I mention to anyone else asking about the service.

• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not?
  

Yes it is certainly a positive.

• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care?
  

Other than the abundance of text messages that I stopped reading after four days, I have no experience of their customer car.

• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not?
  

No I don't think so. For me the signal is the same as my usual O2 phone and I don't get randomly texted by them.

• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not?
  

I cannot answer this question fully due to the limitations of the handset supplied.
On paper the bundle does look very good especially if you were considered it for your child."

[Trigglesx]

Signal/coverage still seeming quite good - our house can be a bit of a grey spot, and it still brings up signal pretty well. Still doing alright.

[Nemoandthefishes]

• How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this?
  

Signal coverage was good in the house much better than my current provider. Reliable and always seemed quite strong.

• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service?
  

I let DS use the handset as it was very very basic so could not use it for my personal needs. Had no issues with the Sainsburys service for the basic handset but could not comment on data usage/internet etc which is a shame as I use my phone for a lot of that and would have liked to know if that lived up to the same standard to consider changing over.

• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not? Not really for me personally.
  

• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care?
  

Had no issues with customer care, easy enough to set up system.

• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not?
  

I might do for younger children but think once you hit teens then no or not with handset we had so cant comment on other services other than basic text and call.

• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not?
  

Phone call was good and clear and no issues with text.
Cant comment on data

[WhoeverHeardOfAWormskinRug]

Thank you for letting us take part, we've really enjoyed it!

We had the basic Samsung E1190, which has calls and texts and a handy torch setting! It was functional and did what it needed to - but I do feel that we couldn't explore the service fully with regard to internet/mobile web access. It is, however, perfect for DS as he has his internet needs covered by his ipod!

• How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this?
  

We found the signal coverage good, as good as my vodafone signal (but they are pretty much the same aren't they?) Sadly the handset didn't have 3G at all, so when I could still use my vodafone signal using a signal booster, my DS had no signal at all on his phone for nearly a week in a rural area

• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service?
  

My DS, age 13 has been using it - he has been enjoying texting people and ringing family members.

• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not?
  

It makes it a lot more desirable, as I'm an avid nectar collector!

• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care?
  

Very good indeed, DS managed to lock the handset - so I had to call for a PUK code. Then he managed to lock it again while I was still chatting to the customer service guy!

• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not?
  

I think so, although I haven't been able to test the internet connection due to handset restrictions - and I wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends who need to use a signal booster. We're in rural Northumberland so there are quite a few who rely on this

• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not?
  

It is good value, I do think that an extra bundle aimed purely at those without internet phones would be good. Or even just a bundle of texts, say 500 and 100 minutes alone for a fiver. A pocket money bundle or something.

[SoonToBeSix]

1. the signal service has been very reliable even on holiday in Wales.
   
2. my dd age 14 has enjoyed using the phone particularly the large number of free texts
   
3. yes the nectar offer is great I plan to combine shopping at Sainsburys with my current supermarket.
   
4. I haven't needed to speak to customer care, the automated top up prompted me to buy a bundle.
   
5. yes I would recommend to a friend especially as it has Internet data included.
   6)yes I think the bundle is good value , however we were unable to make use of the Internet due to the phone model. If you were to have a Internet enabled phone it is a great deal.

[Souredstones]

• How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this? Very good, however it failed abysmally in my parents 'lead lined' house (a signal dead zone for all bar orange) haven't had any drop outs though
  

• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service? My DC have used the service and been very pleased with it
  
• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not? Not really, it's a nice perk but not enough to bring me over to the network
  

• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care? As mentioned earlier when I called I found the person rude and unhelpful
  

• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not? Not really. It's not special enough to tempt me and my friends and family away from our contract phones.
  

• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not? As with others I would like the option to choose more data or minutes or doing a mix and match bundle rather than this as its quite restrictive for non data users

[Fillybuster]

Quick update from me:

We went camping in the Chilterns at the weekend. Great coverage, even in the middle of a field, in the middle of no-where! Particularly good since dp had no access on his phone and it was patchy on my Blackberry.

Not only voice, but full internet access too. It was a little slower than in London, but actually very impressive.

Overall, I'm increasingly impressed by the package. I am consciously switching to wifi when at home or in the office, to avoid hammering my data package, but when I checked last night I haven't even used half of my allowance, so I think the 250Mb goes a surprisingly long way. Free texts would be a good thing for me in the long term, but I haven't taken advantage of those as I wasn't able easily to import all my contacts, and find the touch screen very fiddly, so have generally been using my blackberry for those.

200 minutes of calls, again, I thought wouldn't last very long, but (again) I seem to have used less than 25%....although I suspect that I would hammer than a lot more once all my contacts were in my phone.

So I am now thinking of extending my package by topping up when this one expires. It wasn't what I planned to do, but it seems pretty good value, and the network coverage is excellent.

In fact my one huuuuuge gripe is being charged to call customer service. Telling us that we're not being charged whilst on the trial does not answer the complaint. Nor does claiming that the IVR resolves most problems (it doesn't). Given that free customer service is an industry standard, that just doesn't go down well, and is currently the only 'negative' factor influencing my decision....and it would definitely be something I would warn friends and family about if they were thinking of taking the package. Which is a shame, because it is otherwise excellent. Maybe think about it again, Sainsburys?

Thank you Sainsbury's and Mumsnet again :)

[Flatasawitchestit]

Well so far were really impressed.

Signal coverage has been fab - we love rural and have had no problems.

Phone is being used for my DD (11) he goes off fishing / cycling / etc and has the phone on him, its been really handy.

Very good value I'd say.

Good deal worth he nectar points.

I'd definitely recommend, and have done already. We'd prob just change the handset as he would like a camera for taking pics of his catches :-)

[Blatherskite]

• How do you find the signal coverage? Is it reliable? Have you had any issues with this?
  

It's been OK. It's usually a bar below my signal on my 3 phone, sometimes equal to. I've not had any major problems using the phone.

• How has your family been using the service? i.e. is it you or your DC/DP who has the handset? How useful have you/they found the Mobile by Sainsbury's service?
  

I've been mainly using the handset but my DH has had a play too. He is unable to leave any gadgets in the house alone :) The service has been fine. I've never had a PAYG mobile before so the concept is all a bit more hassle than I'm used to but I can see how it would be useful.

• Do you think that the Nectar offer of double points on all of your shopping for 30 days each time you purchase a bundle makes the service more desirable or not?
  

I do like the Nectar points offer. I really wish Nectar still converted points to Amazon vouchers though as I'm struggling to spend the points I already have. It has encouraged me to shop at Sainsburys more though

• How have you found the Mobile by Sainsbury's customer care?
  

They were lovely and friendly and very helpful.

• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend this network to your friends or not?
  

Maybe. Most of my friends (not me) have iPhones on contracts so probably wouldn't be interested though. I might suggest it to friends getting phones for their teenagers though

• Bearing in mind that the bundle of 200 minutes/unlimited texts/250 MB data costs £10, do you think that the service is good value for money or not?
  

There are better deals available. I'm not sure the extra Nectar points would necessarily swing it for me.

[helcrai]

Just marking my place. Received a Nokia 100 which I have brought on holiday to Wales to try out amongst the mountains where reception has been patchy in the past. I'll also post when I've tried it back at home in Cumbria where reception is terrible!

Managed to top up the phone - very easy (or so I thought!). Happily phoned my Mum (reception excellent) then read the comments that a top-up isn't the same as buying a bundle?!! Had to rope in DH to try & work out that it's a two-step process. Not something I've had to do in past when had a pay as you go tariff on another network. So not truly a "pay and go"!! Wasn't very clear in the setup pack. Spoke to a lovely lady in customer service who reset my credit back to £10 & activated the bundle. Clear and concise when dial the number to customer service- not jumping through hoops to speak to a human. So on that score customer service seems excellent although I've been on T-mobile where sure don't have to pay?

Will report back shortly when have tried out further texting/calls etc.

[stephgr]

Just a quick update following my reviews last week. I have now been using the mobile for 10 days and am really pleased to report that I have had no problems with the service at all and I haven't needed to contact the customer service people at a cost of 25p. Plus, all the irritating text messages I kept getting from Sainsburys have now stopped.

[Trigglesx]

Yes, I rarely use internet at the moment, and when my DS is old enough for a mobile, I would rather get him a mobile that does NOT have internet functionality - but then I would prefer to buy a package that has more minutes available rather than the internet usage. Agree with other posters that it make me feel like I'm paying for services I'm not using and would rather put my money towards packages that are more attractive to me by offering more minutes instead.

So far, the call quality doesn't really seem any different than any other mobile service. Some dropped calls, some breaking up, some echoing. As most of these services are using each other's networks, I suppose that's to be expected. For me the different aspect is the bundles available and the customer service when there is a question or a problem. As such, the bundles need adjustment and the customer service would be better to be free IMO.

[Groovee]

Would Sainsbury's consider a text reminder service of when your bundle is due to expire?

[Ghostsgowoooh]

I am pretty impressed so far with the network, it was a godsend when I was away last week as the little phone wws the only phone that could get a good signal.

Setting up was straightforward but I haven't been able to test the internet because my phone is the nokia 100. It is value for money for me because at the moment I am with asda and their bundle is 100 minutes for ten pounds which I always use before the month is up.

To be honest I am unsure whether or not I will be continuing to use sainsburys mobile because of the lack of internet access. I would have to buy a another phone for me to do that! I'll come back and do a proper review in a couple of days

[Breezy1985]

I would.also like to know about a non internet bundle, feels like I will.be paying for something I'm not using.

[Groovee]

Sainbury's thanks for responding but you've missed one question

If it's a basic handset with no internet will you be looking to offer an alternative bundle?

[AngelieMumsnet]

Thanks for all your comments so far :) Sainsbury's have asked us to post the following message in response to some of the questions raised on this thread:

"Q. Why do you need to call and load £10 credit, and then call back again to activate your £10 bundle?^
A. Mobile by Sainsbury?s is committed to delivering a service that is as simple and stress-free as possible. You can activate a topup and buy a bundle in the same call but to do this you have to press 1 to return to the main menu. We recognise that the process can be improved and we are looking at how we can make it a seamless process. Hopefully you will see the improvements soon.

Q. Has anyone else had difficulty with customer service?
A. Mobile by Sainsbury?s is committed to delivering excellent customer service ? we strive to be as friendly, helpful and efficient as possible. We?re sorry to hear this wasn?t the case with you ? if you could let us know your mobile number by emailing [email protected] then someone from Mobile by Sainsbury?s team will get in touch with you directly to discuss your problem further.

Q. Why do you charge 25p per minute for customer service?
A. Mobile by Sainsbury?s is committed to delivering excellent customer service. We have a thorough and helpful interactive voice response service that solves the majority of customer enquiries and this is free of charge. However, should you need to speak to one of our friendly customer service operators a minimal fee of 25p per minute will be charged. It is necessary to charge this fee to enable us to deliver a great level of service to all our customers when they need it. Luckily for you Mumsnetters, the customer service charges have yet to be implemented ? so you will not be charged for the duration of your testing period.

Q. Why have I been given a phone that cannot access the Internet?
A. Mobile by Sainsbury?s sells a range of handsets from the basic Nokia 100 to smartphones, we supplied a range of these to Mumsnet for testing. The Nokia 100 is one of our most popular handsets. We wanted to get feedback on the experience of all aspects of Mobile by Sainsbury?s ? the coverage, double Nectar points, customer service. In our research we have found the Nokia 100 has been particularly popular with mums buying first handsets for children (as there is no internet functionality) and therefore thought it would have appeal with mumsnetters. We are sorry if you are disappointed with this handset."

[Groovee]

Ds is away to camp this week so I'm using it to see how it is. The last time he got a text message was the 17th saying they hoped he liked the tips they sent and any more help can be found on the website or by calling them at a cost of 25p. Not had any since.

I find the signal good and also it's very clear when talking on the phone too.