A Jump partner has signalled an issue that they are having with jump sign-ups using the web browser. They are getting the error message “Whoops, something went wrong” after entering the Broadband number and Verification code.
The Skinny Ops team has confirmed that they are experiencing some issues, so our suggestion is to use the App signup instead until this is resolved.
Jylesza is one of our fabulous new Digi-Coaches who are emerging in many of our Jump partner organisations. She is based at Elma Turner Nelson Public Library.
All our Digi-Coaches are trained to become Jump Specialists, so they can hit the ground running when they start their work placements. On her first day, Jylesza got a hug from a customer, as an expression of appreciation for the help she had provided. Maybe our long-term Jump partners have just got so used to getting hugs from their Jump customers that they don’t see it as ‘news’ any more!
Jylesza as well as some other partners have also asked for clarification about the ‘rules’ around Jump partners issuing modems to customers who live outside the partner’s area or region. For example, it could be someone who has tried to sign up for Jump at their local partner, but discovered they have no modems, so they ‘shop around’ to find a partner with stock, or they could simply be moving to a new area.
It goes without saying that they must satisfy the Jump coverage check for the location where they intend to use the modem, but there are no rules that restrict where they can sign up. A bit like McDonalds, you can get a Big Mac from any outlet, not just the one in your own community.
Where the uncertainty sometime arises is for library partners, who have territorial rules about who can sign up for a library card and borrow books.
Jump, however is different. While we often use the library analogy for Jump, where you get something for free and when you don’t need it anymore, you return it, but we don’t restrict where people can sign up.
One thing we do discourage is for partners who have run out of stock to direct customers to other Jump partners unless they know the other partner has stock and is happy to accept referrals. We prefer that you use your waiting list (below the blue line in your GSheet). This also helps us boost the number of modems in your next shipment.
So, thank you Jylesza for asking the question and congratulations on your first customer hug!
60 Jump partners were the first to receive the new Futura modems this week. But as these partners are discovering, the modems appear to have been provisioned for Standard Skinny, not Jump.
Now we don’t know how widespread this is and whether all 732 modems are affected, but it would be prudent to hit ‘pause’ in issuing these. My rule of thumb is that when more than one partner reports a problem, we pause sign-ups until the problem is understood and resolved.
I’ll provide an update when we know more.
We have received confirmation that the Verification Code problem, reported by many partners yesterday, has now been fixed.
Thanks everyone for your patience and for alerting us to this issue.
Ashburton Library, with their stunning Ciena display! I understand some goodies will be winging your way soon.
A reminder to all our Jump partners – you too can be a winner and sign up families with school-aged children in your community for the Ciena plan – free internet for the rest of the year.
All Jump partners can be Ciena partners; you just need to register with Sue (sue@diaa.nz) or Shelley (shelley@diaa.nz) and they will explain the process.
216 new families have already joined the Ciena family this year, but we still have room for another 384! 45 partners have already signed a family up so far this year – the leaders are in the table below. Over 25% of all the signups are in just one city – it probably isn’t too hard for you to work out which one this is! And I am sure they won’t mind me sharing their secret weapon – everyone signing up for Skinny Jump is asked if they have school-aged children and if so, would they like the Ciena plan (210GB free data every month).
| Jump Partner | Total Ciena Plan |
| Shirley Library | 26 |
| Ranui Library | 17 |
| Hastings War Memorial Library | 16 |
| Linwood Library | 15 |
| Flaxmere Library | 9 |
| Matatiki Hornby Centre | 9 |
| New Brighton Library | 9 |
| Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-po Levin | 8 |
| Glen Eden Library | 7 |
| Glenfield Library | 7 |
| Ashburton Library | 6 |
| Mt Roskill Library | 6 |
| Glenview Community Centre | 5 |
| Marlborough Library | 5 |
| Pukete Neighbourhood House | 5 |
| Dargaville Library | 4 |
| Glen Innes Library | 4 |
| Highland Park Library | 4 |
| Onehunga Library | 4 |
| Otara Library | 4 |
| Pakuranga Library | 4 |
| Smart Newtown | 4 |
| Avondale Library | 3 |
| Kaiapoi Library | 3 |
| Northcote Library | 3 |
| Te Atatu Peninsula Library | 3 |
| Havelock North Library | 2 |
| New Lynn Library | 2 |
| Papatoetoe War Memorial Library | 2 |
| TaiTech | 2 |
| Taupo Budget Advisory Service | 2 |
| Waitakere Library | 2 |
| Wellsford War Memorial Library | 2 |
I promised everyone that I would give you the answer on Friday to my question posed on Friday 4 October concerning what Jump customers find to be one of the most challenging things about being a Jump customer.
Most of you sort of got it right – something to do with top-ups using the app. But that wasn’t the exact answer I was looking for. What I wanted to know is what the particular barrier was that caused nearly 300,000 failed attempts last year and what partners can do to address this.
A couple of you really hit the nail on the head with the correct answer – people simply couldn’t remember the email they used to set up their Skinny Jump account or their password!
And what was even better, these partners had some excellent strategies for addressing this (I’ll share these with you when I get back to my office).
The Jump partner guide does recommend that you advise all customers to write down the email they have used for their Jump account as well as their password. What the Guide doesn’t say is where to write this down.
We strongly suggest that during the sign-up process, and before customers leave with their modem, you insist that these details are written down on the inside cover of their Partner Guide – the little booklet that is supplied with every modem.
I am starting to receive requests for more supplies of the above “Stopped Using your Skinny Jump Modem” stickers; I suspect that this could mean other partners are also running out. We (DIAA) have a reasonable supply of these and can supply further copies (they come in bundles of 10). We are planning a further bulk supply over the coming months, but we can hopefully keep you stocked in the meantime. Remember to attach this sticker to every modem that you issue.
If you need more copies please send your requests to Shelley (shelley@diaa.nz) and she’ll get some on the courier for you.
And while we are talking about Jump collateral, do remember that you can order this online through our Stepping UP website: Stepping UP>Partner Resources Hub>Skinny Jump Partner Resources> scroll down to: Skinny Jump Promotional Materials
I had a call this week from a staff member in one of our Jump partners who had been asked to take over managing the Jump programme because the person who had been managing this had left. Not surprisingly, she had a number of questions about our processes.
Staff changes in our Jump delivery partner network are not unusual. We met with the Skinny Jump team this week and spent some time discussing the on-boarding process for new Jump partners. But what we quickly realised that everything we were discussing applied equally to new people joining the Jump delivery network.
We have some excellent resources for supporting new Jump delivery staff, but the challenge is to work out how to engage with them and let them know what is available. So here are a few questions for you – if you are reading this, then you are probably an experienced Jump delivery partner and can help connect us with Jump newbies.
And a final word – if you are planning to move to a new role, please let the team at DIAA know (contact Laurence, Shelley or Sue) so that we can update our records and help the team member replacing you get up to speed with Jump.
A number of partners have reported recent problems (again) with verification codes not arriving during the Jump account set up process. This was a big problem last year – see my previous blog posts here.
So, this is more of a reminder, as a permanent fix is outside the control of the Skinny Jump team. The ‘sort of’ good news is that this is intermittent and doesn’t seem to have affected too many sign-ups, at least ones that we know about.
The Skinny Jump team has been negotiating with Ciena, one of Spark’s equipment suppliers, to extend the Ciena programme for another year.
Today, Ciena said yes! Thank you to the partners who provided feedback on how much the programme is appreciated by their communities. This feedback was shared with Ciena and I am sure this helped secure the extension.
All Jump customers with an existing Ciena plan (over 800 families) will automatically have their free internet connection extended for a further 12 months and all new signups will receive a free connection until the end of December 2024. An email was sent today to all existing families advising them of the good news.
While the number of new connections is limited, we are keen to accelerate the signup rate so that as many families as possible get the benefit of a full-year’s sponsorship. We are working on some ideas with the Skinny Jump team, but do let us know if you have any suggestions.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa 