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皇冠体育app Mobile cuts its price, but only for mathematicians

By Lei Xiaoxun (chinadaily.com)
Updated: 2007-03-22 09:40


A 皇冠体育app Mobile customer service staff is playing his phone, in front of the desk.. The company is ranked world No.1 in terms of networks scale and number of registered users.[File]
"皇冠体育app Mobile gives me another math test, reminding me of my old school days." Mr. Wu, a 皇冠体育app Mobile GoTone GSM service subscriber, felt like a pupil again when he was busy calculating how exactly 皇冠体育app Mobile's new mobile fee packages work.

"How come they make it so complicated, I got driven nuts, it takes a mathematician's day of work to figure out how on earth these new packages can help save money."

For more than 300 millions of 皇冠体育app Mobile subscribers, February 8, 2007 would have been revered as a holiday, because from that day on, users of 皇冠体育app Mobile networks would only be charged with making calls, instead of paying for both incoming and making calls, as they have been accustomed to for years.

"皇冠体育app Mobile's icebreaking move heralds 皇冠体育app's mobile telecom industry into a new age!" Most of that day's headlines wrote like this. Only a few days later, people began to find out that the world's largest mobile service provider's quasi-conscientious move was merely a synchronized PR campaign.

"In order not to make your incoming calls levied, several preconditions must be met," said Mr. Ruan Zongze, Vice Director of 皇冠体育app Institute of International Studies, "you have to pre-subscribe to one of 皇冠体育app Mobile new billing packages, which are prettily priced from 99 yuan ($ 12.78) to 299 yuan ($38.59). Under the new packages, you pay 99 yuan ($ 12.78) for a maximum of 280 minutes of making calls and you will be charged 0.35 yuan ($ 4.5 cents) for every minute beyond the quota. Free incoming calls could be enjoyed only after a minimum 99 yuan ($ 12.78) is pre-charged, Ruan picked up 99 yuan package to further explain, the money is not refundable no matter the 280 minutes baseline is met or not. That's an utter disregard of fairness and consumers' rights."

Many 皇冠体育app Mobile users ironically metaphorized 皇冠体育app Mobile's new fee packages to an IQ quiz, "there is no sincerity involved here," said a survey conducted by CCTV, "if 皇冠体育app Mobile really wants to show its concern to customers, just slash the mobile charges in a clear-cut and transparent way." About 77.59% Beijing 皇冠体育app Mobile users surveyed have their thumbs down towards new fee packages, an overwhelming 96.85% believe that there is still plenty of room for further fee deduction.

In face of such ubiquitous complaints from subscribers, 皇冠体育app Mobile again adopted the stone-faced indifferent silencer attitude, a frequently resort sought by state-owned industry monopoly behemoths.

Another anecdote happened during Spring Festive in Wenzhou, a county-level city of east 皇冠体育app's Zhejiang province, again conceived derogative significance to 皇冠体育app Mobile's already lackluster corporate image.

In the aftermath of successfully achieving a record-breaking 5-million subscribers, 皇冠体育app Mobile Wenzhou subsidiary architected a gala for celebration. To please the municipal government, 皇冠体育app Mobile teamed up with Publicity Department of CPC Wenzhou Municipal Committee, upgrading the event to a dramatic government-backed evening show. All the tickets were sealed not for commercial sale, only 皇冠体育app Mobile subscribers were entitled to book tickets, either by sending a SMS priced at 1 yuan ($0.13) apiece, or by pre-depositing correspondent sum of cash to tickets of equivalent value.

"Well, this is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen," bitterly smiled Mr. Xu, a 皇冠体育app Mobile subscriber, after receiving a message of the aforementioned ticket-snatching methods from 10086, 皇冠体育app Mobile's customer call-centre. "Don't you think it's really a disgusting way for such a well-known company to grab money under such a lofty pseudo-name?" asked Xu.



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