Author: James Whatley

Chief Strategy Officer in adland. I got ❤️ for writing, gaming, and figuring stuff out. I'm @whatleydude pretty much everywhere that matters. Nice to meet you x

It’s been a long time coming…

This is me, (in case you weren’t aware) trying to get to grips with, (read: NOT DROP), my N95 while hanging out the back of a yellow cab crusing the streets of San Francisco.

But the look on my face pretty much typifies the look that’s been on my face since the last time I blogged.

I have been at it non-stop.
Hence the lack of blog-love lately I guess…

So this is a quick refresher/breather – I keep looking at this post and realising that there is still quite a lot I need to cover off…

But I’m not going to do it here…Sorry. Still too much to do.

EDIT: Err… Reading this back through – looks like I have! Ha!

So first – a ‘to-do/blog’ list of things I need to get done…

Without a doubt I need to give up some more love to the guys at Mippin.

My dear friends over in Fulham have just released the latest iteration of their great product which now includes Twitter, Flickr and Facebook integration. Awesomeness…
Full lowdown and (completely unbiased) review coming soon. Promise.

Nex, I was going to blog about the FOWAs. But to be honest there were only a couple of things that came out of that that are worth mentioning – so I’ll do it here:

1) I got to meet Jyri, industry hero and founder of Jaiku.

Which was just cool.

2) I got to meet Vero – aka thatcanadiangirl.

She’s a great blogger, a great girl and best of all… a great geek!

And finally… The best thing about the FOWAs?

The themes of openess and web 2.0ness that I’ve been discussing with my close friends, peers and colleagues (ie that podcast I did for instance), well those themes (some of which I’m actually writing a paper on at the moment – more on that when I finally get off my backside and finish it) were all very apparent at this event.
Seems like the rest of the world.industry is finally waking up! Rock..

Ok – so that’s the FOWAs done. Tick that box…

Oh – and as an FYI – The FOWAs were put together by the uber smart guys over at Carsonified.
Who do a whole host of similar events…

One of which is coming up in a couple of weeks and is called: The Future of Mobile… or The FOM.
I first heard about this event when I was still working with Mippin and was particularly interested because my then CEO, Scott Beaumont (no link – sorry – where’s your blog gone Scott?) was scheduled to be one of the speakers..

I’m not entirely sure that is still the case at this time (and am currently awaiting confirmation) but either way it should still be a great event (it’s being held at The IMAX for crying out loud!) with some great speakers and a fantastic after-party too.. Hehehe…
Someone who definitely will be speaking is my main man Dan Appelquist (whom I mentioned in my last post).
He’ll be talking about: Life Beyond WAP: Advance Browsing, Mobile Ajax, and the Future of the Mobile Web.

So yeah – I’ve got my ticket… Have you?

Now moving on from the Future of Mobile to the very future-looking Mobile Geeks of London who held their second group meet up recently. This poor boy had to miss the event but the guys made sure that I wasn’t missed..
As you can see below…

Bless ’em… Champers?! For me?! Ooo… Suit you sir!

Anyways – I must take a moment to extend much Whatley-Love to a few people who made sure that even without the host with most – MGoL will still meet & geek!

First up: Peter Romiszewski – or ‘Romek’ for short, big geek and a great Jaiku buddy to boot.

Next: Richard Hyndman – ex-colleague from Refresh Mobile and master of all things Mippin
(who doesn’t actually have a blog so I’ve linked you to his Jaiku – hope you don’t mind Rich!)

And Finally: Ed Cave – Txt2Lock Guru, nice bloke and attendee of the original ‘Geeks’.

Cheers guys. Much love and many a beer to be provided at MGoL III…
Something that is currently on my radar and my even sneak in before the end of 2007!
You heard it here first! Shh!

Now – that’s covered off everything that I wanted to write about in my last but one post…
But I still have to SO MUCH to blog:

  • My business trip to San Francisco, (well – everything that happened after the first 24hrs anyway)
  • Social Networks through SpinVox
  • And all of the news and coverage that followed that… Because it’s NOW LIVE folks! Go! Get it!
  • A couple of other blogging projects that I want to talk about
  • Mobile Geeks of London III (I’m waiting on ONE PERSON to come back to me before we move ahead)

And a whole host of other things too I’m sure…

…so keep checking back folks – more to come… very soon.

Until then.

WD signing off.

24hrs in San Francisco…

…and what a mission it has been!

I land and realise as I’m getting off the plane that I left my wallet next to the wifi hotspot at London Heathrow.

Whoops.

I check my emails and I have a converted voicemail – (cheers SpinVox) from someone who not only found it, but handed it in, got the details of the guy/department she gave it in to and then left her number too in case I was still around. Rock.

Go to customer services here – explain all, show them the email. They get on the phone. My wallet is fine but I have to pick it up in person.

Bugger. No money, no cards and no way of getting to the hotel.

The man standing next to me says:

“Where you staying?”
“The Clift” says I.

“Oh, I used to run their Limo company. Give me two minutes…”

“But I have no money! I can’t pay you dude…”
“I’m sorry Sir, but you lost your wallet right?
“Right.”
“And how much was in it?”
“About $200 US.”
“And it’s been handed in and all the money is there and all is good right?
“Yes.”

“Well that’s some good karma right there Sir so that means you’ve
obviously done something to deserve it. So hey, have some more –
Take the Limo to the Clift Sir, and enjoy your stay San Francisco.”

F**k. Me. Wow.

I get to the hotel. Can’t check-in, no credit card.

“But I have my passport?”
“No Sir, we need a card, sorry.”

I call up a random US colleague who I know is down the road at the conference. Explain all. He turns up, checks me in, gives me $200 ‘to last me’ and then rocks back to the conference!

I then unpack, shower and stuff (my room is awesome) and head on down to the Nokia party I got invited to. Get given a whole bunch of free phone stuff as well as an invite to their exclusive after party. Which I went to, made new friends. One of which I got really drunk with and we passed out in the hotel lobby in the hours of this morning.

Later that day, I get an email from my friend and colleague Dan Appelquist (Great guy, from Vodafone, runs Mobile Mondays) – he knows I’m in town – says would I mind picking up a parcel for him which he forgot when he
was here last week..

“Sure…” says I.

Dan then says I should hook up with this girl,

“Cathy, you guys are both in the messaging / Web 2.0 cross-over space. I think you would both enjoy meeting up and you might find some synergy to what you’re both doing. You’re both out at CTIA going to various parties (not that I’m jealous) so I leave it to you.”

I look at the email. I read it again.

DUDE!!!!

The girl I got hammered and passed out with in the hotel lobby the night before? …Yup.

Cathy.

Brilliant.

Small world or WHAT?!
Unbelievable.

And I’ve only been here 24hrs. Ha. Let’s not even talk about today when I rocked up the conference and EVERYONE is wearing a suit. Apart from….

ME!

Flipflops, torn jeans, sunny gs, t-shirt… Like this in fact:

Very amusing.

Felt like that scene from Pretty Woman..
Love it.

More to come soon – promise. But this place is awesome. At the time of writing I’ve been here 48hrs and I wrote this yesterday but lost my connection before I could post! Grr… Ah well.

More stories to follow…

🙂

So much to blog…

..and yet so little time!

I’ve got SO MUCH to write about… stuff like:

  • Going to the FOWAs and all the awesomeness that came with that.
  • Meeting one of my all time industry heroes, Jyri Engestrom of Jaiku, (so stoked!).
  • Then there’s the launch of Mippin (which was the last thing I worked on before I left Refresh Mobile)… Gotta hand it to ’em – they’ve done a great job.
  • But before that I need to mention my first ever proper podcast interview thingy!
    Download it HERE care of Ricky Cadden of Symbian-Guru.
  • Of course I need to spend some time talking about the next Mobile Geeks of London event:
    Mobile Geeks of London II – which is gonna ROCK!

…even though I can’t make it – BECAUSE:

I’m of to San Francisco on Tuesday! Wooo!

Off to not only go to CTIA but to also launch some SUPER exciting stuff with my new employer SpinVox.
Anyone who’s been following my Tweets, Jaikus and Facebook updates will probably have a jolly good idea as to what I’m working on – but all will be revealed next week!

So… all of that and probably a whole lot more.. coming VERY soon!

Promise!

MIR: Whatley’s starring role on Symbian-Guru

Originally published by Ewan Macleod on SMS Text News.

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Episode 3 of Ricky’s Symbian Guru podcast is out and ready for your audible pleasure. This time he’s talking with James Whatley of Spinvox (formerly of Refresh Mobile).

Ricky talks to James about his experiences as a ‘company blogger’ and midway through the conversation, James gets on to the subject of me, SMS Text News.

Link: Chatting With The Guru: Episode 3 – James Whatley aka Whatleydude

This episode, my guest is James Whatley, aka Whatleydude, and we talk about corporate blogging, among other things. Definitely a good conversation. James currently works at Spinvox, but his views here are entirely personal and in no way represent the views of Spinvox. So sit back, grab a coffee, and listen in.

That link above will take you directly there to listen.

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My faith has been tested…

…in what?
In the level of customer service from Vodafone UK.

(bit of a rant this one – bear with me)

Now… You may have your own opinions on VF (and their services) but for me personally, over the past ten years; having used Orange, o2 and 3 (never went near T-Mobile), I can honestly say that the level of customer service I’ve received from their agents has been second to none.

Customer service is something I believe in. It is paramount to any company which has any kind of customer-facing aspect. This through personal opinion but also from spending a good few years in the CS industry myself…

So. As you know my N95 died recently. The screen was kaput. No matter how much I took it apart and put it back together again…

…it was, for want of a better term, knackered.

What now? Well… Now I call Vodafone Customer Services…

(before I carry on – you guys need to understand that in the past whenever I’ve had any problem my handset VF have ensured that I have a replacement by the next working day. Good? Damn goo)d.

Ok… Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I’ll begin…
____________________________

06:04 – Our hero awakes to discover the screen on his N95 is flickering…

06:15 – N95 screen goes dead

06:20 – 1st Call to VF CS

“Hi there…”

The Dude explains the problem…

“Not a problem Mr Whatley, you are a highly valued customer, call back after 8am to speak to the right dept and we will get a replacement handset out to you first thing tomorrow…”
“Perfect, thank you very very much. VF CS are the best.”

All good….

…or so we thought!

08:34 – 2nd Call to VF CS

“Hello there!”

The Dude recounts the previous conversation…

“I’m dreadully sorry sir but we do not have any N95s in stock. We can either send you an envelope for you to send the phone back in for repair or you can take into a VF store who will send it off for you..

(after much to-ing and fro-ing)

“…Err, No. Thank you. I’d much rather wait until you have some in stock. The repair process takes weeks. I need a phone asap..”

Our hero ponders his predicament some more… what if he calls again?

08:57 – 3rd Call to VF CS

“Good morning!”

El Duderino once again explains the situation he has found himself in…

“I’m sorry Mr Whatley, we are unable to offer you a replacement handset as the N95 is not covered by our exchange policy..

“Pardon?!”

“I’m sorry Mr Whatley, we are unable to offer you a replacement handset as the N95 is not covered by our exchange policy..

“That’s not good enough, that’s completely different to everything else I’ve been told so far and I do need a phone sooner rather than later.

“Sorry Sir, you were misinformed. Your nearest store is in Slough…”

“Well, I am deeply disappointed with the level of service I have received today. Good bye.”

Surely this cannot be the end for the Dude of Whatley?! Surely he must be united with his phone soon?!

09:24 – 4th Call to VF CS

“Hello there, would you be able to put me through to your store in Slough please?”

“Of course Mr Whatley, just looking that up for you now. While I’m looking Sir, is there anything else I can assist you with today?”

“Ah yes, now that you mention it… How would I go about escalating a customer complaint? I’m slightly perturbed about the level of customer service I’ve received from you.. well.. not from You personally, but from the previous agents I’ve spoken with..”

“Well.. er.. yes. Of course sir, I am very sorry to hear that.. would you mind telling me the problem? I’ll make a note and make sure it gets passed to the relevant managers…

…the Dude does so, with gusto… ending with..

“…and of course I understand that none of this is your fault. I’m not screaming and shouting and I’m not a nasty customer. I’m just a nice man, who is a true evangelist of Vodafone, and ultimately VF’s CS, who needs a phone for his personal and professional life.”

“Well I’ll make sure that gets passed on Sir.. and if you hold the line for a second.. I’ll just speak to my manager…”

Holdeth the Dude.

“…Hello there Mr Whatley, we can get a replacement N95 out to you tomorrow.. is that ok with you Sir?”

_______________________________

Now. I MUST point out that CS agents Numbers 1 & 4 were both friendly and really helpful. The 4th one actually could not do enough for me… The 3rd one was my least favourite; she had made her mind up and was not about to try and help any more. Whereas the 2nd one just didn’t really know her stuff… Not her fault, just poor training/consistency.

THIS is the thing that annoys me the most. Yes all the CS staff have the same (if not then extremely similar) training and Yes there are rules and regulations that they must follow…
BUT I cannot help thinking that no matter what – when you get through – you are at the mercy of that particular agent…
i.e.: If that agent has had a shitty day, there’s a reasonably high chance that they’re not going to help you as much as they could.

I mentioned earlier that I have a history in the CS industry… the one thing that I learned from that was that if you scream and if you shout you will very rarely get what you want.
Be polite. State the facts. Do not blame the person who happens to have answered the call. It’s (probably) not their fault…
Which is exactly what I did come call 4. And, because of this, Call 4 delivered what I actually wanted from Call 1.
Another question I have to ask: “How many VF customers would’ve given up after Call 2?”

*shrug*

Anywhoo – as much as this demonstrates the holes that are within the VF CS staff it also demonstrates that you should persevere in the face of adversity! You are the customer and your money is valuable to the network operator.
As soon as they start taking your money for granted then you lose…

J.

PS – Incidentally – again, restoring my faith in VF – I posted the conversation part of this post on a mobile forum that I contribute to – within 24hrs a VF CS agent had logged into the forum and requested that I email the details into him so that it could be investigated further…. Even though the problem, as far as I was concerned, had been solved.

THAT demonstrates a keenness that I admire and as I said – has helped to restore my faith in the VF’s CS.
(which is the one thing that I shout about the most whenever I recommend a network to my friends)

R.I.P. N95

This morning, my phone died.

It ran away… then came back… but I think… I think, in its absence it must’ve caught some horrific disease or something…

The screen has broken…

The phone is no more!
It has ceased to be!
It has expired and gone to meet his maker!
It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If I hadn’t nailed it to my hand it’d be pushing up the daisies!
It’s metabolic processes are now history!

It’s off the twig! It’s kicked the bucket, its shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!!

THIS IS AN EX-PHONE!