My Visit to UM Headquarters!

[kupe]

Hey gang-

So, here I am in Zurich for work with the afternoon free. After weeks of trying without success to get any response from UM about my inoperative +423 UM sim, and trying to get my balance transferred to my +44 sim, I was willing to try anything. So, with a piece of UM letterhead and Google Maps, I located their address in Kloten, a suburb of Zurich near the airport.

12 Francs of train and bus fare later, I was there! An office park on the Obstgartenstrasse.

Up the elevator, and there it is- headquarters. Looking through the glass walls and door, the place looks abandoned. But with fingers crossed I ring the buzzer. My luck holds- a fellow answers the door and lets me in.

I explain my tale of woe- and the fact that I was very angry that I just two weeks ago purchased the +44 sim only to learn I should have gotten one free. And about the unanswered calls and emails.

The fellow is very helpful and takes my info and says he can fix it right now! So, I relax and look around for the first time while he goes to work in a back office.

The UM offices are about half of the 4th floor of this office building- fairly large. But all I see are row after row of empty cubicles and some meeting rooms. I count I think 3 people total in the place. This is a Wednesday afternoon around 1pm. I suddenly realize why calls and emails are unanswered.

But quickly the fellow returns and tells me he has transferred my +423 balance to my +44 sim, and credited me most of the cost of the +44 sim that I bought. I am once again a happy United Mobile customer!

I would have loved to ask some questions like "where is everybody" or "is UM going to make it", but I was almost afraid of the answers so I thanked the fellow and left to get back on my bus.

In the end, I was delighted that my one hour investment of time had been a success, but I left worrying about the future of the whole prepaid roaming worldphone business- something I rely on in my work.

Well, it's a beautiful day in Zurich, and a cold beer awaits, so I'll sign off for now. Thanks again to the nice fellow at UM who helped me out, and best wishes that we all have phones working for a long time!

Kupe