So the Cloud is supposed to be a good thing.
Based on the concept of “always connected” users are gaining access to the internet and various applications on a continual basis. The key for this to work properly lies in the access, which can range from wired connections via old fashioned simple copper wire to wireless on a mobile phone network, with a variety of other technologies in between. Factors affecting access are availability, cost, speed and stability. The access device determines which access technology is most effective for use based on availability.
WiFi is a common wireless access technology, shaped by convenience, cost and latency. As we move about, more and more WiFi hotspots are springing up to take us away from the more expensive mobile networks.
There are firms that are offering broader WiFi access services across the country, such as The Cloud in the UK, providing internet connectivity with more than 11,000 access points.
Some of these access points are in retail environments, airports, and other similar areas. A typical user will spend a limited amount of time in such areas. For retailers the “value-add” of provisioning WiFi, whether free or for a limited charge, is an important USP as part of their service offering.
However such a bundled proposition can have its drawbacks especially if the service provider fails to perform.
This particular incident happened in a car service environment. A car needed to be worked on and the dealer requested the car for a period of 3-4 hours. Not enough time to leave the dealership and with no courtesy car available, it made sense to stick around, especially since there was free WiFi access available, provided by The Cloud.
As it turns out, the WiFi network could not be accessed. The dealer had no technical capability, which makes sense, so no help from their end. To aggrevate the situation my mobile carrier was conducting work on their 3G network in the area. Mobile access was therefore slow, so tethering was not an option either.
A tweet to The Cloud alerting them of the situation raised an incident report, that was moved over to email communication. Smart move, there is no point in having negative experiences accumulate on twitter.
Unfortunately a link for technical support that was embedded in the email was blacklisted. A return email highlighting this fact was not responded to for another 3 hours.
Ironically the eventual response email pointed me to an app on the iTunes store, which I could not get to as I had limited internet access to begin with.
At any rate, by that time I had already left the car repair shop.
Some of the take aways from this incident.
The car dealer worked very hard to accommodate my requirements - fix the car within a shortened time horizon - a goal they achieved, resulting in a very positive experience.
I wanted to use my time productively while waiting on their advertised free WiFi network - which I could not do, wasting time to resolve a technical problem, resulting in a negative experience.
Are these mutually exclusive events? No, they are tied together, both the offer and the resulting experience.
Does The Cloud have an understanding of their customers requirements? No, it took them 3 hours to respond to a problem, without resolution. Chances are that a typical user will not spend more than 1 hour in a hotspot.
Does this experience propagate the increased usage and trust of the Cloud as concept, not the company? No … on both accounts.
With some 11,000 access points to manage, The Cloud as a service provider, can easily dilute their ineffective technical support and customer service experience.
Losers in this situation are in the end user, retail partners and the technology.
May be it’s simply best to bulk up on the data plan with your mobile provider … if they are not working on upgrading the network.
UPDATE: Got an email 24 hours after the incident. The issue may be have been due to the rejection of cookies, therefore needing to clear entire browser history and make sure that there are no fixed DNS settings. Why The Cloud does not communicate this on their website as a "Quick Fix" solution page is beyond me.