7th April 2010

The following events took place on Wednesday 7th April 2010...

I get a very nice e-mail from Sky confirming the details of our call, informing me of what I owe and need to pay, and giving me my MAC code. I know I don’t need my MAC code, but I was impressed that I got it anyway within 24 hours of cancelling my subscription. I’m still happy with Sky – I’d still recommend them to friends whose requirements their packages meet.


I get a call from an Indian lady from VirginMedia. She reminds me that during the application online, I’d requested an installation call on the 14th or 15th April. She asks me what time on 28th April I’d like the engineer to arrive. I immediately spot what’s wrong with this picture and ask her why I was offered 14th/15th if the earliest they can do is 28th – “ah – that’s just the website”. No apology. I ask if there is an earlier date available. She looks again. 27th April is now available. We settle on that. A confirming e-mail arrives a few hours later. Here’s a quote from the e-mail that gives an idea of the care that went in to its composition…

“It should only take about two hours to get all the equipment up and running. Please make sure that there's somebody over the age of 18 present when our installers visit.


When we install your Virgin Media services, it should only take about two hours to get all the equipment up and running. Please make sure that there's somebody over the age of 18 present when our installers visit.”

…just in case I didn’t hear the first time.

I notice a VirginMedia bill on a co-worker’s desk. He tells me about his bad experience cancelling one VirginMedia service and moving to another within the last week. He tells me that if you complain hard enough, you end up speaking to someone in Scotland, rather than India – I will remember this – good information to have.

This evening, we go to see “How to Train Your Dragon 3D”. There’s a 3D advert for Sky3D – coming in fall of 2010. It looks awesome. We won’t be getting a 3DTV until the next tech refresh – 3-5 years out – but the advert gives us pause for thought – have we done the right thing moving away from Sky? Only time will tell...