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）
Jul 16, 2021 | 12:32 am
#406
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All of my wx alerts are set to silent (i.e. Even vibrate is annoying). I check messages at least once an hour when I'm awake. I do keep my ringer on vibrate though because if someone actually bothers to call me, it might be time sensitive.
Jul 16, 2021 | 3:35 am
#407
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But this is an argument for flying over the train.
Jul 16, 2021 | 3:59 am
#408
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Back when phone makers included 3.5mm headphone jacks, it was a reasonable expectation for people to carry them along. I even nicked a dozen pairs of JAL dom Y headphones during my JGC修行 to hand out on HK buses.
Nowadays with the "brave" (greedy) abolition of headphone jacks by phone makers, all I can do is put carry around my noise cancelling set and put them on.
Jul 16, 2021 | 8:35 pm
#409
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Jul 16, 2021 | 9:20 pm
#410
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You forgot to mention crowding. Try taking the Guangzhou subway during rush hour...
Jul 16, 2021 | 10:30 pm
#411
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Jul 19, 2021 | 7:03 pm
#412
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 145
yeah but Wi-Fi-equipped flights generally have a rule somewhere specifically stating something about noise - no voice calls, at the very least
(whether such a rule is followed is a different consideration that I am not commenting on here)
(whether such a rule is followed is a different consideration that I am not commenting on here)
Jul 19, 2021 | 7:47 pm
#413
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I've never seen that rule in print or heard it from cabin crews, but I haven't witnessed many WeChat calls from airplanes...maybe in part because the bandwidth is often limited. I listen in on conference calls (with earphones) sometimes; the quality is usually (just) okay. I imagine an actual voice conversation would be frustrating.
Jul 19, 2021 | 8:02 pm
#414
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Depends what ports Wechat uses. JAL blocks those used by Skype call https://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/servi.../qa/index.html
Jul 19, 2021 | 9:13 pm
#415
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,397
Depends what ports Wechat uses. JAL blocks those used by Skype call https://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/servi.../qa/index.html
Jul 20, 2021 | 3:11 am
#416
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: HNL
Posts: 1,161
I've never seen that rule in print or heard it from cabin crews, but I haven't witnessed many WeChat calls from airplanes...maybe in part because the bandwidth is often limited. I listen in on conference calls (with earphones) sometimes; the quality is usually (just) okay. I imagine an actual voice conversation would be frustrating.
Jul 20, 2021 | 3:15 am
#417
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Jul 20, 2021 | 3:35 am
#418
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I wouldn't dream of calling in-flight. However, they block Youtube on the same ports as well (half the time, inconsistent settings between equipment).
Jul 20, 2021 | 4:15 am
#419
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Jul 20, 2021 | 4:15 am
#420
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I was complained about by a local passenger for trying to call CX call centre in the aisle even after doors open on a JAL domestic flight (they didn't know I was doing a Hail Mary on my next connection).
I wouldn't dream of calling in-flight. However, they block Youtube on the same ports as well (half the time, inconsistent settings between equipment).
I wouldn't dream of calling in-flight. However, they block Youtube on the same ports as well (half the time, inconsistent settings between equipment).