oh oh oh oh O2

I could not make sense of my o2 mobile phone bill, and on the paper version it said 'see www.o2.co.uk for more information'. So I went to the web address. And I logged in, and I got this page:

And when I clicked on the 'balances and bills' link, I got this page:
Which as you can see has nothing at all about balances and bills. So I thought I would email the o2 folk and tell them their website wasn't working properly, and clicked on the 'email us' link [I should remind you at this point that 02 is a communications company] and got this page.
Yes, having clicked on one link for 'email' I now had to click on another link for the same thing, and got this page:
So I filled in the 'mobile information' button and then 'next' ... and got this page:
Which required me to complete a form, including a drop-down menu with three options, but not including my 'annual' subscription method of payment. It also asked if I was an iPhone owner. Hmm, I wonder if I will get emails about buying one some time soon? They also wanted my full name and email address - the latter being the only information they really need to reply to my query [which, remember, is actually a note doing them a favour by telling them their website isn't working - would a customer with a simply query about buying a new phone have bothered with all of this?].

However, they were not content with this information - they wanted my full address and birthday, for 'security' reasons. Again, I remind you everyone who wants to send them a simple email message must go through this, plus I had logged into the site, that should be security enough.
And so finally, I get to the message box:
Now that's what I call customer centric website design that will encourage customers to develop a firm and long-lasting relationship with the organization. Or perhaps not - what do you think?

UPDATE: The response to my message was both prompt and comprehensive, explaining that to access my bills online I needed a new login and password, one of which was in the email and the other sent to my mobile as a text message. Can't help thinking, however:
1 why did my original registration for the site not include access to all aspects of it? and ..
2 when I tried to access the bills page why not show me a message telling me what was going on?

So ... full marks to the 'problems' people - but in pure business terms, I would be looking to make you redundant by better website management - sorry.

hello SMS ... meet online

I had to pick my sister up from Manchester Airport at 7.30pm, so I went online in the afternoon to get the airport's phone number to ring nearer pick-up time to see if the flight was online. There was no phone number - but an SMS sign-up. You send the flight number to the number given and it sends you a text when the 'plane lands and when the luggage is in the baggage collect area. So I signed up [let's not go into the issue of folk who do not have a mobile phone and would prefer a contact phone number to ring].

The confirmation email ended with the message: "new pick-up road layout see www.manchesterairport.co.uk". So I went online to check this out. And got this page ...

As you can see, this page doesn't seem to have been updated for nearly two years - and there is nothing about any 'new road layout'.

And as a footnote: I didn't get any text messages about the flight ... good job I was there on time - even if the aircraft wasn't.