Just Not That

After reading a so-called survey by BusinessTech (by mybroadband) I just could not believe the results. I bank with three of the major banks and only had serious issues with one of them. I also happened to sit next to two other people at work who by pure chance also had major issues with the same bank.

So how can this bank come out tops in a consumer survey?!

Ok, since the BusinessTech survey is statistically meaningless due to the small sample I thought I might as well try out my crude statistical method I applied previously to compare cell phone providers.

This is how it works. Get the latest publicly accessible information on market share and then go to hellopeter.com and get the number of compliments and complaints in the last 12 months. Get the percentage of the total that each bank has out of the total and display it in a simple graph.

My results clearly shows that something unusual is going on here, either:
a) FNB really turned around and is actively seeking feedback from its customers (please may this be the case, I still bank with them) OR
b) a huge public relations effort by FNB

Leave me comments on what you think is going on, but only if you are not on FNB’s payroll.

Feel free to verify the accuracy of the source data

Nowadays it is really easy to create a professional looking website yourself. A few companies now have offerings that allow for easy online web site creation, no downloads required. Often there are limited free versions available that will suit hobbyists and or small businesses that just require a basic web site.

Here are a few options that are worth investigating:

1. Collaboratively create a website using weebly.
2. SnapPages Drag Drop Done
3. Yola stop browsing. start building
4. siteGIDGET / handzON appears to be a more advanced option, so may be more difficult to master for non-geeks
5. Build mobile apps with tiggzi

If you only need forms:

1. WUFOO making forms easy, fast and fun
2. Use formsite to create forms for easy feedback, can be extracted and embedded in other web pages
3. Create surveys like a pro with SurveyMonkey. Collect data via weblink, email, Facebook, or embed on your site or blog

Mockups / Prototypes

1. Balsamiq wireframing tool reproduces the experience of sketching interfaces on a whiteboard
2. tiggzi web prototypes builder
3. Wireframes on the fly. mockingbird is an online tool that makes it easy for you to create, link together, preview, and share mockups of your website or application.

If you are not connected to a school you can still help to make a difference by getting yourself either a MySchool, MyVillage or MyPlanet card. Yes that MySchool sign is not just for schools!

Raise essential funds for schools, charities and the environment without it costing you a cent (extra).

If you need help to decide who to support, I can recommend “Down Syndrome Support”, they are doing great work and certainly need the funds.

Often visitors to Cape Town would also like to see some real dangerous African animals in the wild. Obviously the lowveld (or Tanzania/Kenya) is the best place to have that experience, but time or money constraints sometimes makes this impossible. No need to despair, you can now see the big five on a day trip or overnight trip from Cape Town.

Where to see the big five near Cape Town:
Aquila private game reserve is well known, 1.5 hours away just before Touwsrivier
Fairy Glen is only 1 hour away near Worcester
Garden Route Game Lodge is 3.5 hours away past Albertinia, before Mossel Bay
Sanbona wildlife reserve for those with deep pockets is 3 hours away past Montagu
Gondwana game reserve is 4 hours from Cape Town, 30 km past Mossel Bay

Times stated are from Cape Town as stated on the web sites (optimistic in my opinion).

Hunters coined the term big five as these animals were the most difficult to hunt on foot: lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo an rhino.

Let me state up front that you will be very lucky to see the big five in a single short trip to most game reserves as you may not always see lions and leopards. In the small private reserves you can see these animals, although not necessarily all of them in the wild.

If you are not set on seeing the big five, there are many other game and nature reserves you can consider. You may even be able to see the little five. In order to promote the small animals, people came up with the little five: Leopard Tortoise, Rhinoceros Beetle, Ant Lion, Buffalo Weaver and Elephant Shrew.

Just wasted another couple of precious minutes trying to sort out the same problem for the fourth time with Cell C. So that made me think – how do the cell phone companies compare.

Quick Google search gave me a link to 2010 market share figures. HelloPeter.com gave me number of compliments and complaints for the last 12 months. Ok, so these numbers are not exactly for the same period but I am assuming no major changes from year to year.

Creating a graph on the data clearly shows that I can expect to get better service from Vodacom and MTN.

You are welcome to verify the accuracy of the data.

Interested in how the major banks compare?