By: John Wilson
We changed our Internet Service Provider (ISP) the other day – decided to go with a local company. When I called big boy to disconnect, they wanted to keep me and started making all sorts of offers based on my long tenure with them. As they offered lower prices and increased bandwidth, my pervading thought was, “So all this time you’ve been overcharging me? Why, if I’m such a valued customer, didn’t you offer me these discounts earlier?”
I demurred and said, no. I asked them what they wanted me to do with their old receiver. They told me to throw it away. Even if I had renewed they would have replaced it with new and better technology. Again, I was struck by the attitude that while I was an old and valued customer I wasn’t valued enough to get the best deals and the best technology without asking.
We’ll see how the new team does. At the moment, it’s just two guys and an office worker running their high-tech business. I can walk over to that office for a visit, and they’ll explain in detail how everything works. That’s nice; it’s personal. The digital service is good, too. Since I increased my bandwidth by 50% and have the latest technology on the roof, things are flying between my home and the electronic world. It’s odd how good that makes you feel.
It still puzzles me, however, why the old provider never made any move to improve my service during our entire relationship. They took my money and let my technical situation gradually degrade over time. They probably saved a few bucks, but in the end, it was a false economy. I left for slightly greener pastures. And that is particularly true with bandwidth. Of all the things they sell, that is the cheapest and easiest to upgrade. It’s seems to me, in this day and age, a good customer retention program is important, and one way to do it is to ensure your clients are getting value for their dollar.
