Jul 13, 2022, 8:15 am
Last edit by: moondog
The "FT People on WeChat" group
Our group chat is comprised of FT members and friends of FT members. We talk about pretty much anything except for politics (because Papa Bear has the ability to watch over us). The group has its own QR code, but it has a short shelf life (e.g. about 5 days), so I'm not including it here. The easiest way to join is to add me as a contact (moondogsh) and let me put you in the group.
Contacting Tencent Customer Support
If you want to get in touch with Tencent customer service (e.g. to update your passport number or change your name format so it aligns with your bank accounts), most web resources will advise you to simply message the "WeChat Team" contact. It is extremely difficult to get a human response when using this approach. Calling them also results in a bot experience.
However, the following drill works as of July 2022 (specific menu options can always change, of course; the key is getting yourself to step 5 below):
1. Dial 95716 (or +86 4009100100 from outside of China)
2. Select option 1 for personal accounts
3. Enter your connected phone number followed by #
3. Select option 2 for other questions
4. The bot will ask you to describe your issue using voice; just speak to it in English; it won't understand and will ask you to repeat 3-5 times before giving up
5. Now, the bot will give you ~8 menu options; through trial and error, I can state that option 7 is good for immediate transfer to a human (some of the others might work as well)
6. When the representative picks up, you definitely need to speak Chinese, but your request is presumably fairly easy to convey, and their responses are also pretty simple
7. They might want to move the conversation over to WeChat; this is okay because they will send you an invite to a special customer service queue, which is only ~60% automated
Our group chat is comprised of FT members and friends of FT members. We talk about pretty much anything except for politics (because Papa Bear has the ability to watch over us). The group has its own QR code, but it has a short shelf life (e.g. about 5 days), so I'm not including it here. The easiest way to join is to add me as a contact (moondogsh) and let me put you in the group.
Contacting Tencent Customer Support
If you want to get in touch with Tencent customer service (e.g. to update your passport number or change your name format so it aligns with your bank accounts), most web resources will advise you to simply message the "WeChat Team" contact. It is extremely difficult to get a human response when using this approach. Calling them also results in a bot experience.
However, the following drill works as of July 2022 (specific menu options can always change, of course; the key is getting yourself to step 5 below):
1. Dial 95716 (or +86 4009100100 from outside of China)
2. Select option 1 for personal accounts
3. Enter your connected phone number followed by #
3. Select option 2 for other questions
4. The bot will ask you to describe your issue using voice; just speak to it in English; it won't understand and will ask you to repeat 3-5 times before giving up
5. Now, the bot will give you ~8 menu options; through trial and error, I can state that option 7 is good for immediate transfer to a human (some of the others might work as well)
6. When the representative picks up, you definitely need to speak Chinese, but your request is presumably fairly easy to convey, and their responses are also pretty simple
7. They might want to move the conversation over to WeChat; this is okay because they will send you an invite to a special customer service queue, which is only ~60% automated
wechat（微信）
Dec 27, 2014, 3:21 pm
#106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,227
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
We Chat is a great way to advertise your products or services. For now, however, the best and probably only smart bet for selling directly to China without having an entity here is to open a TMall Global account. Just ask Costco.
Your customers (past, present, future) don't browse Tmall unless you send them there. All of them are on Wechat.
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
We Chat is a great way to advertise your products or services. For now, however, the best and probably only smart bet for selling directly to China without having an entity here is to open a TMall Global account. Just ask Costco.
Your customers (past, present, future) don't browse Tmall unless you send them there. All of them are on Wechat.
Right now both are necessary for a strong e commerce presence on the mainland.
Feb 18, 2015, 10:21 pm
#108
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,530
Feb 18, 2015, 10:41 pm
#109
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
May 9, 2015, 9:33 pm
#111
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
I'm posting here today in order to close a tangent:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...als-china.html
Quoting TB in post 19 of that thread: "this is the medium by which Chinese keep in touch with each other."
I agree. If you travel to China, and fancy interacting with Chinese people, Wechat is a must have.
Wechat wallet, on the other hand, is a "maybe need to have" item.
In the mentioned thread, I told you about the foreign traveler who needed a translator; here is another use case:
1. Joe has 3 roommates
2. Every month, Joe used to collect money from them individually, and physically walk to the landlord's place with cash in hand
3. Now, his roommates send him money via Wechat, and he passes on the total to the landlord (zero face time required)
4. If Joe, or any of his roommates, is short on cash, the credit cards tied to their accounts kick in (NOT a cash advance)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...als-china.html
Quoting TB in post 19 of that thread: "this is the medium by which Chinese keep in touch with each other."
I agree. If you travel to China, and fancy interacting with Chinese people, Wechat is a must have.
Wechat wallet, on the other hand, is a "maybe need to have" item.
In the mentioned thread, I told you about the foreign traveler who needed a translator; here is another use case:
1. Joe has 3 roommates
2. Every month, Joe used to collect money from them individually, and physically walk to the landlord's place with cash in hand
3. Now, his roommates send him money via Wechat, and he passes on the total to the landlord (zero face time required)
4. If Joe, or any of his roommates, is short on cash, the credit cards tied to their accounts kick in (NOT a cash advance)
May 10, 2015, 9:52 am
#112
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Shanghai, Singapore
Programs: SQ*G, SPG Platinum, FPC Premier
Posts: 339
Call me old fashioned cos even after I'd gladly signed up for Alipay (mainly to buy things from Taobao/Tmall) I've still declined to sign up for Wechat Wallet.
Main reason being that I see Wechat as a chatting/social media tool (very good one at that) and that it may not be secure to also put my bank acct details in that same app.
With Alipay it seems a more secure thing, partly cos it was so damn hard to sign up for as a foreigner!
Main reason being that I see Wechat as a chatting/social media tool (very good one at that) and that it may not be secure to also put my bank acct details in that same app.
With Alipay it seems a more secure thing, partly cos it was so damn hard to sign up for as a foreigner!
May 15, 2015, 2:46 am
#113
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Shandong/WV
Posts: 158
Based off the discussion in the "Where to Search for Travel/Airfare Deals from China?" thread, I set up a number of foreign cards in WeChat Wallet to use for airfare and train purchases, and because using my Chinese debit card for no points and miles all the time was making me ill.
First, setting up the billing address is strange. Rather than allowing me to write my billing city, it's giving me a list of "regions" for my US state, none of which match my city. I chose the closest "region" to my billing city and included all the other details, and it looks like the $0.05 verification charge went through.
However, when trying to make a purchase, the card is always grayed out and marked as unavailable. Is there a verification period where new cards are not available for use?
First, setting up the billing address is strange. Rather than allowing me to write my billing city, it's giving me a list of "regions" for my US state, none of which match my city. I chose the closest "region" to my billing city and included all the other details, and it looks like the $0.05 verification charge went through.
However, when trying to make a purchase, the card is always grayed out and marked as unavailable. Is there a verification period where new cards are not available for use?
May 15, 2015, 3:42 am
#114
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
Based off the discussion in the "Where to Search for Travel/Airfare Deals from China?" thread, I set up a number of foreign cards in WeChat Wallet to use for airfare and train purchases, and because using my Chinese debit card for no points and miles all the time was making me ill.
First, setting up the billing address is strange. Rather than allowing me to write my billing city, it's giving me a list of "regions" for my US state, none of which match my city. I chose the closest "region" to my billing city and included all the other details, and it looks like the $0.05 verification charge went through.
However, when trying to make a purchase, the card is always grayed out and marked as unavailable. Is there a verification period where new cards are not available for use?
First, setting up the billing address is strange. Rather than allowing me to write my billing city, it's giving me a list of "regions" for my US state, none of which match my city. I chose the closest "region" to my billing city and included all the other details, and it looks like the $0.05 verification charge went through.
However, when trying to make a purchase, the card is always grayed out and marked as unavailable. Is there a verification period where new cards are not available for use?
May 16, 2015, 8:52 am
#117
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,530
May 16, 2015, 9:20 pm
#118
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: IAH
Programs: Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist, DL Plat, UA Silver
Posts: 4,043
I'm really against WeChat actually because you can hear people screaming wherever you go like there on the phone. It's basically a speaker phone conversation with replay.
May 16, 2015, 11:58 pm
#119
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,298
Huh ?? , you on a different planet ? Never experienced this before from wherever in the world I am .
May 17, 2015, 2:16 am
#120
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
I have a friend here who resists wx on the basis that he already has fb messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, and line.
I'm semi-ok with this reasoning because I agree that having too many apps is not good.
That having been said, communicating with him on Friday night via SMS was super annoying. If I could have sent him the address and a picture of the venue, much time would have been saved.
Sure, the other apps support this, but nobody (including my friend) uses them.
Wx will eventually be disrupted by something better. Until that time comes, wx is THE platform.