Category: Modem returns

Skinny Jump is not a mobile service

Skinny Jump is not a mobile service. This means it can not be used in a vehicle or transferred between houses without the explicit approval of Skinny.

We have heard reports about people trying to connect their modems to the cigarette lighter outlet in their cars, but that seems like a lot of trouble to go to when mobile phones have much easier hotspot functions. We have also heard reports of people temporarily relocating their modem to an alternative address.

Both of these uses are a breach of the Skinny Jump Terms and Conditions.

Some customers are uncertain about whether they can take their modem with them when they move to a new house. The short answer is “yes, they can” provided:

(a) they have checked there is coverage at their new address; and

(b) they have contacted the Skinny Care Team (0800 475 4669) and confirmed their new address.

If service is not available at the new location, the modem must be returned to a Jump partner; the modem can then be reset (using the Modem Returns form) and reissued to another family that is in coverage.

Jump modem return stickers – arriving this week

Keep an eye out this week for a courier delivery of Modem Return stickers. These have been prepared as part of the campaign to reduce churn and remind customers to return their modems when they no longer need them.

You may recall the webinars in September when the Jump team discussed the high level of churn amongst Jump customers. They suggested a new framework for you to use before helping customers set up their modems – the six C’s: Connection, Cost, Continuity, Capped, Care and Community.

Thank you for your feedback so far – one of the suggestions was a sticker to attach to every modem, to remind customers what to do when they no longer require their modem:

We now need your help to attach one of these stickers to every modem you issue. Please do this when you are working through the Skinny Account setup process and activating the modem. This creates an opportunity for you to explain to customers how important it is for the modem to be returned when it is no longer required – so that the modems can be re-used by other households, or if the modem is faulty, returned for repair or recycling. This is not only good for the community, helping households get connected to Jump, but also good for the environment (keeping old modems out of landfills).

We have estimated the number of stickers you might need, based on the number of modems you have issued during the last 6 months. But do let us know if you need further supplies. Just email us at jump@diaa.nz and we’ll get some more on the courier for you.

To support this initiative, the Jump website has been updated with a dedicated page on Modem Returns.

Thanks for your help and it’s not too late to submit an entry for the October draw of Churn feedback, telling us how you are getting on the the 6 C’s (closes at midnight tonight – 31 October 2022). But there will be another opportunity in November if you miss this one.

So, how much Jump churn is there in my area?

This questions was raised by partners in all five webinars last week. The Jump team has now extracted a shapshot of this data for each delivery partner for the total number of modems they have issued.

The percentage churn is calculated as at August 2022 for the number of customers who were inactive for at least 30 days compared to the total number of modems issued. Being ‘inactive’ means the customer didn’t use any data for 30 days; it has nothing to do with whether they topped up or not.

The number of modems issued is the total number issued by a partner since they first became a Jump partner. For some partners this goes back five years. For other partners, it might only be a couple of months.

The percentage figures range from 0% (typical for relatively new partners) to 100% (typically quite small partners). In recent months, the aggregate churn percentage for all partners has been increasing and is now around 75% in a single month (1000 inactives compared to 1300 new sign ups). But the total for the last five years has a mean churn of around 44%. Our goal is to bring this down to under 40%.

The percentage churn for each Jump partner is now displayed in cell P1 (August 2022) of your Jump GSheet register. We would like to get monthly data, so that you can monitor any changes when you implement the 6 C’s or other strategies, but this is quite a marathon in terms of matching data sets; the data analysis also takes account of modems returned.

So please treat the figures in your GSheets as indicative, rather than precise. We are also thinking that it might be more helpful to simply report the number of inactive customers compared to new sign ups each month.

Jump Churn Feedback invited from 1 October 2022- be in to win!

83 partners joined one of our five ‘Jump Churn’ webinars last week. We would have liked to see more, as this is an extremely important issue – where many Jump customers simply stop using their Jump internet connections and do not return their modems. Not only do these modems cost a lot of money and are provided to Jump customers at no charge, we are currently facing a global shortage of modems. Over 1000 people are signing up to Jump every month, but because of these supply chain issues, customers are having to wait up to 2 months to get connected. If we can recover the thousands of modems that are no longer being used, we would make a lot of new customers very happy.

During the webinars the Jump team explained the 6 C’s, a new approach for reducing churn and we are keen to get your feedback on how this is working. The purpose of the 6 C’s is to ensure customers fully understand who Jump is intended for and its limitations. For example, we know that the data cap is not going to work for every household.

If you missed the webinars, you can find a recording of one of these sessions here.

We would like our partners to share their experiences using the 6 C’s conversation guide and provide any customer feedback. We know this could take a bit more time in making sure that Jump suits your customers’ needs, but we hope this will avoid disappointment if they discover the 225GB monthly data cap is simply not enough and also help to reduce the number of modems sitting idle.

The Spark Foundation has offered a monthly partner team prize up the value of $100 each month for the next three months for partners who share their feedback. All responses received each month will be entered into a random draw for the monthly team prize. The winner will be notified by email and published on this blog.

You can find the entry form on our Stepping UP website, on the Jump Partner Resources page here. Click on ‘Churn Feedback Form’.

Modem returns from Customers who are not in JUMP coverage

I have been advised this week by partners of two instances where customers are seeking replacement modems but their addresses now fail the Skinny Jump address coverage check.

My advice in both instances has been to provide a replacement modem.

Jump coverage and tower capacity is something that is changing all the time and while we are not permitted to connect new customers at addresses that fail the coverage check, we must give priority to existing customers in replacing faulty modems.

One partner raised a concern that the customer involved could have changed addresses since they were originally connected two years ago. We (DIAA) do not hold records of customer addresses in situations where modems have been issued by partners, so we have no way of checking. The other situation involved the transfer of a modem within the family at the same address.

Our recommended approach is to remind customers that they must always check with the Skinny Care Team (0800 475 4669) before relocating their modems to a new address, but if customers advise that they are at the same address as the one they used when originally connecting to Skinny Jump, then we have to take that at face value and provide whatever assistance we can to keep their connections active.

Customers should be advised that in areas that have reached capacity, the performance of their connections might not meet the standard expected of a broadband service and if they were unhappy with the performance of the replacement modem, they should return it (with packaging) and seek an alternative service.

New process for faulty Jump modems to start on 15 August 2022

We reached agreement with the Skinny Jump team today to proceed in implementing a new process for handling faulty modem replacements. This is an attempt to address the continuing shortage of modems and the re-supply waiting time that has now stretched to 6 weeks.

It has also been prompted by the difficult situation that partners are facing when the Skinny Care Team (Helpdesk) refer a customer to you for a replacement modem, but you are unable to help because your Jump modem cupboard is bare.

What is changing from 15 August is that all replacement modems for faulty units will be supplied from our DIAA Wellington office.

We hold a small stock of modems for customers who are unable to travel to a local Jump partner or when local partners are closed. Now that most partners are open again after the Covid restrictions, our priority will be to support existing customers who need replacement modems.

Jump customers must continue to contact the Skinny Care Team first (0800 475 4669) whenever they are having trouble with their Jump internet connection. This is not changing.

If the Care Team diagnose the problem as a modem fault, and the customer advises that they wish to continue with the Jump service, the Care Team will complete a Modem Return Form with the customer’s contact details (address, email and phone) as well as details of the faulty modem (IMEI and broadband numbers) and a brief description of the fault.

This will the ensure that: (a) the faulty modem is delinked from the customer’s account, so that customers can use the same emails to set up replacement modems and transfer any credit balances, and (b) replacement modems are couriered to customers along with a pre-paid bag to recover faulty modems for repair or recycling.

What this means (at least in theory) is that partners should never have to issue replacements for faulty modems. Customers who do not require a replacement will continue to be encouraged to return their modems to a nearby partner, where partners will be responsible for completing a Modem Return form, as you currently do.

We know that some customers will just turn up with faulty modems, seeking a replacement. If partners have supplies of modems, you are welcome to provide the replacement, noting details on the Modem Return Form. But clearly if you don’t have any stock, your only option is to refer customers to the new process outlined above.

Updated Modem Return Form to replace old forms on 20 April 2022

An updated Modem Return form is being introduced from the start of business tomorrow (Wednesday 20 April). This replaces the three previous forms used by delivery partners for modem returns, i.e.

(1) Skinny Jump Account Delinking & Modem Reprovisioning – Delivery Sites & Care Use Only – originally developed for modems that were returned mainly because they were no longer required and could be remotely de-linked from customers’ accounts and rest, ready for re-issue.

(2) Faulty Jump Modem returns – originally developed for modems that had been remotely tested by Skinny and customers were advised that the unit was faulty and should be returned to a nearby Jump partner. We have recently consolidated this form with the standard Delinking Form above.

(3) MOE Modem Activation and Returns – originally developed for modems issued by the Ministry of Education.

The new consolidated form is to be used by Jump Delivery Partners when they receive any Jump modem returned by a customer or if they require a particular Jump modem to be re-provisioned for any other reason. The Skinny Care Team may also use this form when a customer reports they have a modem but there is no coverage or capacity at their address.

The purpose of this new consolidated form is:
(1) to make it easy for Delivery Partners to get a modem de-linked from a customer account and then reset in a timely manner, so that it can be re-issued. This form provides a direct communication channel to the Skinny Support Team who are responsible for delinking any Skinny Jump accounts and resetting modems. Jump Delivery Partners should never call the Skinny Care Team on the customer 0800 number, as this Helpdesk team is not able to delink accounts or reset modems.

(2) to recognise modems issued as part of a special Jump Plan – MOE, CIENA or RED CROSS – and ensure these are recovered or correctly re-provisioned.

(3) to record customer details for the collection of unwanted modems or at locations where there is no network coverage or capacity.

The information provided in this form authorises the Skinny Support Team to delink an account and reset the modem. Faulty or defaced modems that are not suitable for re-issue are to be marked as “faulty” in the form and this triggers a response from the Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa (DIAA) team to send a courier bag to recover the modem for repair or recycling.

Once the modem is reset, an advice note is sent to the Delivery Partner at the partner email entered at the end of the form.

WANTED: Modem Recovery ideas

We are looking for a Jump delivery partner to join a small working group to brainstorm and test some ideas for recovering unused Jump modems.

Our original Jump distribution model was based on library systems that lend books (and other things) for limited periods. Our proposal was for Jump customers to keep their modems for as long as they like, but return them to their nearest delivery partner if they become faulty or if they are no longer required. The modems could then be repaired or simply reset and reissued to another customer.

This has been fairly successful with over 1500 modems being returned for repair or reuse during the last 15 months.

However, our records indicate that many customers do not bother to return the modem when they no longer need it and we are looking for new ways to encourage this.

While we are seeking someone who is currently actively involved in handling recovered Jump modems and who is able to participate in the working group during April, we welcome ideas and suggestions from all partners.

Faulty Jump modems during lockdown

During lockdown, we are couriering replacement modems from our Wellington base together with a courier bag for the return of the faulty unit.

The process works like this: the Jump customer contacts the Skinny Care Team on 0800 475 4669 if they have a suspected problem with their modem. The Care Team may be able resolve this remotely, but if they can’t they will refer the customer to our (DIAA) 0800 number (0800 463 422) for Shelley to arrange a replacement.

Shelley takes on the role that Jump partners would normally provide, getting details of the modem (IMEI Number), customer’s name and physical address. She then completes the online Modem Return form to ensure the old modem is delinked from the customer’s account and arranges for a new modem to be sent.

By the time the modem arrives (typically within 2-3 working days), the Skinny Support Team will have actioned the de-linking request and the customer can proceed to set up a new account.

If the customer has a credit balance on their old account, they must contact the Skinny Care team again, after they have their new modem and new Skinny account set up, to arrange for the credit balance to be transferred.

If a customer contacts you, as a Jump partner, directly rather than contacting the Skinny Care Team you are welcome to follow the same steps as
Shelley, i.e. capture the contact details for the customer and the IMEI number of the faulty modem, email these to jump@diaa.nz, and complete a Modem Return Form.

Modems couriered every weekday during lockdowns

One of our Jump partners asked whether we are able to courier modems during the Level 4 lockdown, or whether we had to wait until we move to a lower level. The answer is a definite YES. We (DIAA) are recognised as an essential service provider during Covid lockdowns, as is anyone supplying Jump modems, and we can all continue to operate. Since the latest Covid-19 lockdown was announced on Tuesday 17 August, we have continued to courier modems ordered through our online ‘self-service’ application form.

One partner has reported a problem using our online form where Google was trying to be helpful and auto-filled the form with her details rather than the customer. If I have this right, this can only happen if you enter your own email address in the form – this field is not intended to be the Jump partner’s email but the email of the customer applying for service. If you do get some unwanted auto-filling, try refreshing your browser to get a blank form.

A copy of the form is then sent to this email (for the customer to verify that the details are correct) as well as to us to arrange for a modem to be sent. The modem will be couriered by mid-day on the next workday and should generally arrive the following day.

Our courier partner (NZ Post) has advised that there could be some delays as a result of the surge in the volumes of courier packages during Covid lockdowns; we found that this was the case in the main centres during the 2020 lockdowns, especially Auckland and Wellington.