By way of an update to my previous post about modems shipped on 14 July not being provisioned for Jump, I now have confirmation from the Skinny Jump team that these have now been correctly provisioned.
The 14 July shipments affected were to the following partners:
A few partners have been in touch reporting difficulties when signing up customers using recently shipped modems. It now appears that some shipments were sent without being provisioned for Jump.
The ones we know about are:
The Modem IMEI’s in the table above are indicative only; we believe the whole shipment may not have been correctly provisioned.
Other shipments made that day (14 July) might also have been affected:
If any of the above partners are experiencing problems with modems in these shipments, please set aside the whole batch and send an email to jump@diaa.nz
We have escalated this issue to the Skinny Jump team and they expect to be able to provision these modems remotely, so there is no need to submit a Modem Returns form. We will advise you when we have confirmation that they have been correctly provisioned.
Every year, Spark invests millions into the Skinny Jump programme, with one of its largest costs being the purchase of new Jump modems and we want to make sure we are using this generous investment wisely.
Our approach has been to encourage customers who do not need their modems any more to return these so that they can be delinked and reissued in much the same way that libraries issue books. But the main difference of course is that there is no time limit on the Jump ‘loan’ modems; customers are welcome to keep the modem for as long as they need it.
But the challenge is how to encourage customers to return it when they don’t need it. Here are some things you can do to help:
(1) Make sure every modem you issue has the “Stopped using your Skinny Jump Modem” sticker attached.
Maybe you have run out of these? If so, you can order these using the online order form for Jump collateral.
(2) Display the Modem Returns poster, as a reminder to Jump customers. You can also order copies of this poster through the online order form. Note the default quantity is 100; you can change this in the comments field at the bottom of the order form. I suspect you might not have enough wall space to display 100 copies!
(3) Always stress the importance of returning the modem if not needed any more. This is part of the 6 C’s discussion we expect you to have with every customer receiving a Jump modem. Now here’s a quick test for you – which of the 6 C’s is about modem returns? (answer at bottom of this post).
(4) Never issue a replacement modem unless the customer returns their faulty unit. This appears to be part of the problem. We are currently consulting with our 22 largest partners (the ones who issue the most modems) and have discovered that over 1600 modems have been issued without the faulty ones being returned. This doesn’t include modems reported as lost or stolen. Remember that you can monitor this yourself in your Jump Gsheets. Cells B1:C2 report the number of duplicate (or more) issues:
Thank you to the partners who have already responded to my email about this issue and I do understand that it is often difficult to remember whether individuals have already been issued a modem (especially when you have had over 1500 Jump customers in 10 years!). We keep stressing that Jump is a high trust model, where we encourage partners to take applicants at their word, unless you have local knowledge that suggests someone is abusing the opportunity. We don’t want to add any complications into the signup process, like asking customers for ID or requiring staff to pre-check the Jump register before issuing modems. We know that some partners use their ‘book a librarian’ service to assign a timeslot for Jump signups and this does provide an opportunity to check if they are a repeat customer before they arrive. But we also know that some customers can be quite devious using different names and emails to secure additional modems.
I will be compiling a brief report on the feedback from our largest partners and sharing how they are tackling this issue in a further post. But I welcome feedback from any partner with suggestions. I am waiting with baited breath for feedback from one of the top 22 partners, with a stunning record. Despite issuing nearly 1000 modems, their Jump register only reports 7 duplicates and none with 3 or more modems!
Answer to 6 C’s question: Community – returned modems can be reset and re-issued; faulty modems can be repaired; old modems can be recycled. This helps more homes get access to a truly affordable internet service, it keeps Skinny Jump sustainable and it’s good for our environment. Reference pp.4-5 of Partner Guide.
This is just a reminder about our planned modem stocktake tomorrow. Why tomorrow and not today you might be asking?
Simply because we want to make sure our records are fully up to date, so that you are comparing “apples with apples”, so to speak. We will be updating your Jump Gsheets this evening to include all the Profile Forms received today.
Now is a good time to check that you have access to your Jump GSheet so that you can check if the number of modems that you have in stock matches the number in cell E2 (Actual stock on hand). If there is a match, all you need to do is send a brief email to jump@diaa.nz, confirming the match.
If there isn’t a match, you will need to send us an email with the IMEI numbers of the modems you are holding.
I was impressed with one of our Auckland partners who did their stocktake last week, as they were planning to be on leave this week! And I’ve also been impressed with partners who have suddenly realised they don’t have access to their GSheet, often because the person who did have access no longer works there. This is easily fixed too – just drop a line to jump@diaa.nz requesting access. If this request comes from a personal email, as opposed to your work email, I may have to confirm your identity. This is just a precaution to make sure I don’t provide access to unauthorised people.
We are also using the stocktake to make other updates to our records – in particular if someone new is now the main point of contact for Jump. You can check who we have in our records – their name (or names) are in Cell A2 of your GSheet.
We would also like to recover any of the first generation of Jump modems (B315) – our records indicate there are 11 of these still being help in partner stocks – you can check this in Columns Y2:AC3 of your Gsheet (see example below). Please note the IMEI numbers of any B315 modems you are holding in your email to us and we’ll get recovery bags on their way.
When a customer returns a modem to a Jump Partner and says ‘my SIM card has been stolen or lost’, it appears partners are issuing a replacement modem. That is all good.
The problem occurs when the Modem Returns form is filled in, requesting a SIM SWAP. It is too late to do this when the modem has been returned to a Partner, especially when a replacement has already been issued. So the correct classification is that the modem is faulty and must be recovered for repair.
The SIM SWAP process only applies when the modem is still with the customer and the customer has reported this to the Skinny Care Team.
The Care Team will make a call whether the modem itself is faulty and must be recovered or whether it is just a matter of sending a replacement SIM. The process involves changing the Broadband number on the new SIM to match the customer’s existing broadband number, so it is a relatively simple process to reactivate the modem without the customer having to set up a new account.
So as a general rule, Partners should never select the “SIM SWAP” option. Once a modem has been returned to a Partner, you really only have two options:
(1) Yes, this modem is suitable for reissue, or
(2) No, this modem should be recovered for repair
Of course there is the “stolen or lost modem” option, but you may recall, we have asked that you never issue a replacement modem unless the customer returns their existing modem. Customer claiming “stolen or lost” must contact the Skinny Care Team.
This interesting question was raised during a recent Community of Practice Jump meeting with Auckland Libraries. A bit of “umming and ahhing” on my part but then I suggested a possible solution.
I then followed this up by checking with our colleagues at Spark and they concurred with my solution, so I thought I should share this with everyone.
But first of all why would someone want to do this? In the Auckland case it was simply a matter of a customer wanting to update their email, as they were no longer using the one they signed up to Jump with. Fair enough, that makes sense.
So, we think the best way to do this is to put the modem through our de-linking process, using the Modem Returns form, but indicate on the form that the replacement modem has the same IMEI and Broadband numbers and is suitable for reissue. When the modem is de-linked it will be like a new modem and the customer can set up a new account with their updated email.
But just a warning, because the customer is changing to a new email, they will not be able to transfer any residual funds on their account, so do suggest they wait until their balance is zero before actioning this.
The other slight problem is that we ask partners to always use their email address on the Modem Returns form, so that you receive notification when the modem has been delinked. In this particular situation though, you could use the customer’s email, so that they get the notification directly. Alternatively, you are welcome to continue using your own email and then alerting your customer when they can set up their new account. They will have the free start-up 35GB when their modem is de-linked, so the transfer should be seamless.
With talk of a modem stocktake, you are probably wondering why Christmas has come early this year. But with temperatures the way they are these days, that is certainly not the case.
What is the case is that our records are increasingly slipping out of sync with your on-the-ground realities.
And how do we know this, you might ask. We have the best and fastest delivery of modems that I can ever remember, but I still get requests from partners that they have run out. When I check their GSheets, I see that they have stock levels above their re-order triggers, so this means a new order has not been generated.
This generally means that some modems are slipping out the door without Profile Forms being completed. I might sound like a cracked record (I have been accused of that in the past), but please make sure all staff issuing modems are completing Profile Forms – this is the only way that we (DIAA) can tell a modem has been issued. That said, I did discover a new issue in a partner’s GSheet this week – some IMEI numbers had been entered more than once, so this of course inflated their apparent stock. Just another good reason for a mid-year sync!
So, back to the point of this post. We are planning a 30 June stocktake.
So, on 30 June there are two ways this can happen: (please don’t do this before then as we will be doing a final update of all partner GSheets on Monday 29th to make sure we have all the Profile Forms entered)
(1) Partners check the number in cell E2 (Actual stock on hand) and if that matches your actual stock, please send an email to jump@diaa.nz confirming the match, or if there is a mismatch, please send us an email with the IMEI numbers of the modems that you are actually holding.
(2) Partners who don’t respond by 6 July will receive a call from the delightful Georgia and Tori, asking you to do a live stocktake. This will also be an opportunity to let us know if there have been any staff changes and who the primary point of contact for Skinny Jump is.
I have to take my hat off to one of our Jump delivery partners who diligently searched my blog posts for the answer to a jump problem she was experiencing. She discovered the answer in one of my posts way back in 2020, but the problem was that this post no longer reflected current procedures.
The advice in the post asked her to email the Skinny Support team to get a modem de-linked. This was the procedure in 2020, but was subsequently changed to align with the “Returns and faulty modems” procedures on page 21 of the November 2024 edition of the Partner how-to Guide, i.e. complete a Modem Returns form.
So I guess this is even worse than institutional memory – my blog post remains in black and white forever!
Needless to say, it took all of 30 seconds to bin the old blog post. But of course the bigger issue is what other outdated advice is lurking in my blog? The safe thing might be to bin all posts whenever a new edition of the Partner Guide is published.
But perhaps, until I get over my “never throw anything away — might come in handy one day” syndrome, perhaps you can just be a tiny bit cautious about any old posts, especially those discussing operational procedures. A good guideline is that anything to do with modem distribution and recovery is a DIAA issue (jump@diaa.nz). Anything to do with the Skinny Jump service is a Care Team responsibility (0800 475 4669).
PS: The story with the partner discovering this problem ended well. She was politely referred to me by the Skinny team.
Thanks to the team from Grey District Library who have raised an issue that challenged me for some time until I asked someone else. How to remove those jolly orange sleeves on the Futura modems without destroying the sleeves in the process?
“The newest modem boxes have very tight orange covers, which take two staff members to remove. One to hold the cover and one to pull the box out, and even then, it’s still not easy. We have had staff members accidentally rip the modem box when trying to get it out, and we have had a staff member have to cut the cover off because there weren’t any other staff members available to help remove the cover, and the patron they were signing up was elderly, so they couldn’t help.”
Well, there is a solution. You might have met Georgia and Tori, (or G&T as we know them, not to be confused with the tonic version!). They spend some hours every weekend keeping the engine room of Jump modem distribution ticking over. You might have met them at our Jump annual stocktake time, when they are making sure our records align with your reality.
Anyway, I digress. I asked them to explain how they get the sleeves off the Futura modems and in less time than it is taking me to write this post, they had produced a YouTube clip. Starring Georgia, with Tori recording on her smartphone.
I look forward to seeing a video clip from the Grey District Library about how this has transformed their Jump lives!
PS. Maybe I could use more G&T media* to reduce my sometimes verbose posts!
*Not to be confused of course with G&T Productions, a New Zealand theatre production company that specialises in bringing large-scale international musical theatre productions to audiences across Aotearoa.
Duncan Philps from Onehunga Library asked this interesting question recently and it’s just possible that some other Jump partners might also have similar lingering thoughts.
Let me restate a few facts about this while answering Duncan’s question.
A customer contacts you and wants to sign up for Jump. What’s the first thing you do? Check their address has Jump coverage of course. And then you have to deal with a disappointed customer when you get this message:
FACT ONE: No coverage doesn’t necessarily mean ‘no coverage’: First thing to note is the small print, explaining what “No coverage” means. Nine times out of ten, it doesn’t actually mean there is no coverage, as the 4G network is very widespread and it is quite rare to discover a location with no wireless coverage. Most of the time it means that it is a capacity issue, i.e. the address is an area that has reached the maximum number of modems that can be connected to the nearest cell tower. The reason for capping the number of connections is to preserve an acceptable standard of service for existing customers; adding too many connections will degrade the service for everyone served from that tower.
FACT TWO: Cellphone towers radiate in three 120 degree sectors: Your customer might then want you to explain “how come then that my neighbour has coverage”, or “I tested my neighbour’s Jump modem in my house and it worked!” Click on the even smaller print in the “We’re sorry” message and you’ll end up here. You should also have copies of a DL pamphlet explaining cell tower coverage; you can find a link here to order more if you have run out.
FACT THREE: The Skinny Jump coverage checker is updated every night: The number of broadband customers connected to any cell tower can vary every day, so that a coverage check the next day or later in the same week could give the green light for a new connection. Customers can also move to other wireless service providers or a fibre connection, freeing up space on the Skinny tower.
FACT FOUR: For customers without coverage, completing an Online Application Form or a Profile Form does not guarantee a Jump connection: We introduced these options for partners primarily to help diffuse difficult situations with angry customers who cannot walk out the door with a Jump modem.
FACT FIVE: Capturing the details of ‘no coverage’ customers enables us (DIAA) to double-check coverage/capacity at the customer’s address: We do this when processing both the online applications and the profile forms. Sometimes we get a pleasant surprise and discover that capacity has become available and will contact the customer directly to see if they still want a Jump connection. But it is quite rare to get a positive result straight away. We check these addresses three to four weeks after receiving the ‘no coverage’ application and advise the customer by email of the result. We do not automatically do any further checks, which is why we advise customers to check themselves periodically, and many do this.
FACT SIX: Skinny does not contact Jump applicants who complete a ‘no coverage’ response on an Online Application or Jump Profile form when capacity becomes available: Skinny does not have access to individual customer information on either the Online Application of Jump Profile forms. The Skinny team uses the same address checker that we do.
FACT SEVEN: Capturing ‘no coverage’ addresses helps us inform Spark of Skinny Jump blackspots: We aggregate the data from the ‘no coverage’ responses to identify areas where there are many people waiting for Jump and share this data with Spark. That said, we have no influence on how Spark prioritises their investments in further 4G cell tower capacity. We know they have made significant investments in 5G infrastructure and we hope that as customers migrate to 5G, this will free up more 4G capacity for Jump.
PS: Duncan – I hope this addresses your questions.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa 