Internet not working more than a week

[devrimbcetin]

Where I live (10315 Berlin), we don't have any internet since the end of May. I'm working from home and I'm very affected by it since I use my own internet data. I can't speak German fluently but I was hoping I can reach an English-speaking agent but it was not even on the menu. I got connected with a person and tried to speak with my limited German but was not possible to understand everything he said. 

First of all, while Vodafone has English-speaking customer service in every country I've been to, why is this not the case in Germany?

Second, why has there been no internet for more than a week and residents are not informed about, "why, when it will be fixed, how we will be compensated etc."?

As I'm working from home, I want to receive the data I used from my phone, because of Vodafone's fault, back and also not pay full price for this month's internet but most importantly want to be informed about when this issue will be fixed. 

Thank you, 

[Kieferer]

1)
The English language represents a minority in D. Approx. 230,000 people have English as their mother tongue. Approx. 75 million people in Germany speak German as their mother tongue.

Also in France or Italy or Spain I have not experienced a German or English hotline. Scandinavian countries & NL often have this. The reason why this is possible there is historical.

A foreign language hotline costs money. I am not willing to pay this additional cost in my fees.

If VF could make a profit from this, there would be x foreign languages to choose from for the hotline.

You will agree that a Turkish or Polish hotline would make more sense.

2)
Have a look at your customer center, maybe there is information there.

[875-875-875-875 · Accepted solution]

Hi @devrimbcetin, where in 10315 do you live? I am in a new building really close to Lidl and I have also had no internet or phone since Tuesday 31 May. Maybe it's the same problem. Anyway, the hotline gave my girlfriend 50 GB of data for her Vodafone mobile phone, you should be able to get that too. Do you have a neighbour who can call for you? 

[devrimbcetin]

1) English is the most common second language in the world and almost all paid services have English customer help. A "foreign hotline" means hiring some people who can speak English as well which I don't think is difficult or even costly, in a country like Germany where people can speak more than one language. 

Just because my German is not perfect doesn't mean, just like everybody else, I'm not a paying customer -I am. And as a paying customer, I have had no internet for over a week, I have no explanation or any idea when the internet that I pay for will be back. My mobile data is about to end and I'm working from home, in 2022, not providing internet for a week requires some serious explanation. Also, if I go to a governmental office in Germany of course I expect no one to speak English and I speak German with my best effort, but please remember this is a private company with many foreign customers, everywhere in the world they have English customer service except here. 

2) There is no information at the customer center and all my neighbors have the same problem, yet we are not informed about anything. 

[devrimbcetin]

I am in a new building really close to Lidl as well, I believe it's the same problem. I will see if someone can help me with contacting them as 50GB would be so useful at the moment. Thank you so much!

[mateuszzzz]

I have the same problem Berlin 12627  overall i have had a problem for two months. Internet breaks up, I have a high ping and the pages are not loading. I called a dozen or so times on the helpline. I got a new router. I had a fitter three times for which I paid 100 € and nothing helped. now I don't have internet since Friday. I recommend you to read this link because vodafone is a joke. Admins on this forum do nothing ... no one can help us, they only prolong the time, and we have to pay ... vodafone -> joke

https://www.google.com/amp/s/praxistipps.chip.de/vodafone-vertrag-vorzeitig-kuendigen-so-gehts_50647...

[Kieferer]

Unfortunately, you have to take the brunt of my frustration.

Remember that the quarterly thinking VF strives for profit maximization.

In the anglo-american area the quarterly thinking has a much higher value than in the continental european area.

That an english hotline within D works, see telekom.(without warranties)

However, Telekom is more expensive, but offers much better service/customer communication.

I haven't found an English hotline for other German ISPs in a hurry.

It is not unusual for VF to require a lot of nerves for the customer to clear the fault, the duration of the fault clearance is indefinite, and there is hardly any communication with the customer.

By the way, as far as I know, in such cases Telekom provides a lte router on loan. 50GB is a bitter joke.

The availability of VF via the hotline may be very limited. The hotline is mostly not helpful.

Have you ever thought about how a speech-impaired or deaf person can place a fault with the telephone hotline?

If VF would be able to handle tickets by email, not only you but (almost) all customers would be helped.

================================================

It is not quite true that English is the most spoken language in the world. Of the native speakers, Mandarin (1.1 trillion) is in the lead, followed by Spanish. (460 million)

Among native speakers and second language, Mandarin (1.3 trillion) is followed by Hindu (525 million) and English (510). Where second language needs a definition.

An english hotline is priced in at telekom, there is none at VF. But it is cheaper. Stinginess is cool.

[devrimbcetin]

Definition of second language: a language that is learned in addition to the language a person first learned as a young child.

I said "most spoken second language", https://www.pcc.edu/community/2019/06/19/the-4-most-common-languages-spoken-around-the-world/

Losing all its customer base who can't speak well German in a country like Germany which receives high number of foreign workers everyday would affect its prices more than hiring some people who can speak English. 

According to the Central Register of Foreign Nationals (AZR), around 11.4 million foreign nationals were living in Germany by the end of 2020. 44% can't speak or write in German. Which then of course there are people like me, who are learning German but have not yet mastered the language enough to speak on the phone about a technical issue. Every country in the world that I lived in, I almost always used VF and every time there was an English help, which I must say English is also not my mother tongue. My point is, it is not acceptable for an international company to not to have this service, I'm not even talking about the poor customer service. 

This is not even should be a discussion, everywhere in the world, it is a known fact that English is an international language which connects people, an international company should have this support. I understand the quality of English speaking help might be lower, waiting periods can be longer but it should exist. 

[devrimbcetin]

You're absolutely right! They shouldn't even wait people to call to give 50gb, in 21st century internet is vital for everyone and an internet provider should take responsibility when it can't provide it! I asked a friend to call the hotline for this 50gb and they told them it will be fixed by 10th but before they said it will be fixed by 3rd of June so I don't know if this information reliable.

[Wallace]

Hi devrimbcetin,

Welcome to our community.

I'll be happy to take a look at your connection. Send me your customer data (name, address, customer number, birthday, current phone number) in a private message and then let me know here that you have sent the data.

Regards

Wallace