When are Jump modems unsuitable for re-issue?

A Jump delivery partner was cleaning out a storage cupboard today and came across three “reset” modems; they were “pretty old and not looking in the best of condition”; one was missing cables and another had very dirty cables. The label with the Broadband number had come off the other modem and had been stuck back on with cellotape.

In her assessment, as well as the person who assigned the modems to the storage cupboard in the first place, these modems were not fit for reissue. Hence they had been assigned to the storage cupboard awaiting a courier bag to return them for repair or recycling. But after about 6 months, when no courier bag had arrived, they were discovered by another staff member.

So what went wrong with our Modem Return process?

When a customer reports a faulty modem to the Skinny Care Team, the agent does their best to fix the problem remotely, but if they determine the modem has a technical fault, they complete a Modem Return form to arrange for a replacement to be sent and the faulty unit recovered.

However if a customer just turns up on a Jump delivery partner’s doorstep with what they claim is a faulty modem, partners have to take this at face value – we do not expect you to try and diagnose the problem or fix it in any way. All we ask partners to do is to complete a Modem Return form and wait for Skinny to reset the modem so that it can be re-issued, or assessed as faulty so that it needs to be returned for repair, e.g. because the SIM card has expired.

Now comes the interesting part. The Skinny Care team can not determine the physical state of the modem; some returned modems have been used as an artist’s canvas (not always to everyone’s taste); others have missing parts and many are physically dirty. Some even come loaded with cockroaches!

So we need Jump partners to make a judgement call – is the modem physically suitable for re-issue? For our library partners, this is something they are used to – at what point are books withdrawn from circulation and send for repair?

Even if the modem gets the green (technical) tick from the Skinny Care Team, partners may need to override the ‘reissue’ judgement with ‘return for repair’, based on a physical assessment.

If it is just a missing ethernet cable or even a missing power supply, we (DIAA), can send you a replacement. But if it is dirty or defaced, then the modem is immediately classified as faulty (based on being unsuitable for re-issue to another customer).

One of the questions asked in the Modem Return form is “Why is the modem to be delinked and reset?”. If you feel the modem is unsuitable for re-issue, please add a comment to this effect. This will result in a recovery courier bag being sent to you. If we don’t have this information, we act on Skinny’s technical evaluation, which often means the modem is relisted in your Google sheet ready for reissue, but in reality it is sitting in a cupboard.

To cut a long story short, please keep an eye on unallocated reset modems in your Google sheets and please advise jump@diaa.nz if the Google sheet does not align with actual stock on hand. And remember, reset modems should always be issued before new stock.