Poor Service is OK - Sometimes
Why do we still buy when Service is Poor?
I recently heard of a fantastic Phone/ Internet bundle offered by Optus in Australia. My current provider (iiNet) is expensive and seems to have been taking advantage of our relationship by not offering anything new.
Before connecting to the new service, I decided to call iiNet to see if there were any contract termination fees. I called the Sales number, thinking that my call would be answered quicker. I was also hoping they could give the downside of the offer I was thinking of taking up. Perhaps they could sweeten my deal and avoid the pain of changing ISP.
I spoke to an operator after waiting 52 minutes. Remember, this is while I am on the new sales hotline.
While on the phone, the operator tells me that everything is ‘all clear’ and there is no termination fee. He just says goodbye. Not a single question asked. I was ready to listen to a deal. I was receptive. I was willing to ignore the wait time. Why? Because changing ISP’s will be a pain.
Enter Optus. I dialled their call centre to be greeted by an awful automated voice recognition system unable to understand my voice. I eventually got through the system, only to have it hang up on me. Although annoyed, guess what I did next. I still joined the new company by completing my application on-line.
Why do we still buy when the service is poor? I’d love to hear your comments.
I think this shows that a fantastic offer can trump service.
Sometimes you can get away with it, such as,
- a department store during annual sale,
- when the exit barriers are high,
- an airline dumping seats,
- opening a new territory,
- a short term aggressive marketing campaign.
Beware! How often can you truly say you have such a compelling story that all else pales into insignificance?
Extraordinary situations are only temporary, hence long-term neglect of service is not an option.
If you are in an extraordinary situation, your service can be ordinary.
If you are in not in an extraordinary situation, your service must be extraordinary.
