3 Italy Prepaid disaster

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by borjeg

So, all visitors, be warned; 3 Italia is not the prepaid card to buy.

We have been using TIM cards, Wind and Vodafone Prepaids for more than ten years without any problems at all.

I can, but only partially, second your thoughts.
First above all, a "captatio benevolentiae": it is true, you need some luck to enter a 3 shop and exit with a properly configured (or not misconfigured so that at least you can DIY).
Myself, I had to go to the shop 3 times to make a 3 SIM card work properly. And it was my 2nd 3 SIM, therefore I knew what I needed and what to ask.

But 3 gives you the cheapest mobile internet access in Italy, with a coverage which I rate good, even if not complete. But it rarely lets you down for long and wide in my experience.

Furthermore, going with other operators does not mean their people know what they sell... I have had bad (but also good, which however also applies to 3) experiences with all of them. Service has not always been excellent also with them, and then you pay more for the same bad service (Wind is in my opinion perfectly in this line, though not the most expensive).
In Spain, getting a prepaid with Vodafone has been a nightmare and I almost taught the people of the shop what I needed... It only took a visit to 3 Vodafone shops and 45 minutes of red tape once I got it right... call it high service quality!
All world (and all mobile shops are) is a small country...

First weapon is patience and perseverance, especially the first day, when you try to get what you want and the people in the shop do not even know what they have in store!
People from here usually know far more and better than those supposed to sell you the services!

Cheers!

Sleepy