Kiteboarding Forums

Do I get charged for this?

 

Kite beach is OFFLINE. Apologies. You will be notified when back online. The LAST reading was:

4 Mar 12h44

24.3/SSE/19/30

Avg/Dir/Lo/Hi knots

 

Because I really don’t care for “the LAST reading” 3 hours earlier

 

or for this one 2 hours later…..

 

Kite beach is back online! Apologies for the inconvenience.

4 Mar 17h45

23.5/SSE/19/27

 

If KI is down the message should read:

 

Kite beach is OFFLINE. Apologies. You will not be charged You will be notified when back online

 

(Especially if I can SMS BI at a different number and get the same answer)

 

I can understand technical difficulties but I should not be paying for them, am I?

Jeez, with wind reports like those, who gives a sh*t about the 3 bucks...
You should've been out on the water smiling! I know I was!

Seek comfort in the fact they send you a notification to say the service is back online. You definately don't pay for that one. 

yes they do charge you. have been using this service the last 3 years now. i even had to call vodocom to delete the charge of my bill, and they did, i told them it's bullshi t and the service wasn't working. so vodacom didn't charge me at all.

o yeah, and when you get a notify : 'back on line' -- this is ALWAYS to late....

^CaPriSe^

---

KeEp __sLiding_______

*2004 Cabrinha 10m CO2
*2004 Takoon 7m Skoop 2
*2006 Cabrinha 9m Switchblade
*2007 Cabrinha 14m Contra Bow
*2007 Cabrinha 9m Xbow 2
*2007 Cabrinha 8m Swithblade 2
*2008 Cabrinha 8m Swithblade 3

The reason you get charged is simply because the billing is entirely out of our hands.  Your network charges your account when you send the SMS, NOT when we provide the response.  We would prefer to avoid charging when the service is down but we cannot.

Instead, I have tried my best to ensure that the Kite beach station has maximum uptime.  Load shedding caused a lot of problems, but I have recently installed a large UPS which should keep it alive for about 3 hours.

I know that getting the "last reading" is not satisfactory, but it is the best I can do.

Please understand that I operate within an environment designed by huge corporate cellular networks.  I agree with your argument and would change it if I could.

Craig Jarvis
Operator of the Kite beach wind station

Craig,

 

I understand your pain, however there are options to not make it mine and improve the service, some more complicated than others……..

 

here's nr 1 - send (i.e. buy if necessary) me a report from the closest operational station – i.e. BI (which was working at that time)

 

there are other solutions as well

 

 

 

 

Seeing that this topic is in discussion, could someone please clarify which keyword must be sent to which number as I receive conflicting messages from the service provider and the pop-up advert currently running on this forum. 35010 reverts back with a message that 35017 should be the contact yet the advert clearly states 35010.

This is direct off windreport.co.za:

 

Get latest WIND INFO by SMS now!
Station SMS Reports - current and past 45 mins info -
SMS the 2 letter KEYword for the station to 35010 @R3
(Works for CellC MTN Vodacom)
LA =Langebaan; BD =Brandvlei Dam; Bi =Bigbay @ Blouberg;
SU =Sunset Beach near Tableview; SG =Signal Hill; CA =Camps Bay-La Med; LD =Llandudno
KO =Kommetjie; Wi =Witsands; CP =Cape Point; PO =C.POint Wind;
MU =Muizenberg-Sunrise Beach; ST =Strand; BE =Bettys Bay; HE =Hermanus
Ki =KiteBeach @ Tableview; -->
or call the Wind Report HOTLINE on 082 234 6300 to hear the latest Wind Info.

Area Reports by SMS only - gives you current info -
SMS the KEYword for the station to 36010 @R5
(Works for CellC MTN Vodacom)
FIND =Gives you the current info from the 3 windiest stations
SE =South Easter Tracker-MU+SU+Bi; NO =North stations-SG+SU+Bi
FB =False Bay stations-ST+MU+CP; SP =South Peninsula-Mu+KO+Wi; SA =South Atlantic-KO+WI+CP

Apologies for the confusion.  A few months ago the Blowfeed service split in two under somewhat bitter circumstances.  Under this split the only station remaining under Blowfeed is the Kite beach station.

It was decided to change the number to 35017 (for Blowfeed) because the number 35010 was controlled and operated by my former partner.

So, to clarify, send the keyword KI to 35017 to get the Kite beach wind report from Blowfeed.  All other keywords can be sent to 35010 to get various other reports.

The KI keyword on their website is a dirty trick.  Windreport.co.za does not have a station anywhere near Kite beach.  This type of "service prostitution" was one of the major reasons for the fallout with my former partner.

Rest assured that if you use the Kite beach wind report I will promise you the following:
(1) Reliability:  Regular maintenance and investment, as well as a commitment to resolving problems immediately.
(2) Integrity:  No dirty tricks.  Open and honest.  As proof of this, I have replied to all queries on this forum in an open, honest and constructive way.

Contrary to popular belief this service is not a "money spinner".  My efforts would be rewarded far more handsomely elsewhere.  I do this because I think it is an important and useful service.

Craig Jarvis
Blowfeed