Finding the best deal on o2 should be much easier and more transparent

[Anonymous]

I've been on an expired pay monthly contract paying £16 per month for 1GB data for some time.  I recently did o2 live chat to enquire about changing my tariff to get more data.  It was suggested that I change my tariff to £21 per month for 2GB.  It sounded fine so I agreed.

When I told a friend - they pointed out that as my contract had expired I could get a much better deal with o2 by upgrading to a sim only 20GB per month for £20.  i.e. 10 times more data for less money.  Which is what I did - only because I didn't want the hassle of changing provider.

Why didn't o2 live chat suggest that I consider upgrading to that deal?  Ok they answered the very specific question I asked about changing tariff - but they clearly didn't think about the best options for me based on the contract I was on and the fact that it had expired (several years ago).

There doesn't seem to be any consideration as to what is really in the best interest of the customer.  My advice to other customers is to do more research before signing up to what is initially suggested as it won't necessarily be the best deal for you.

[MI5]

That is the difference between changing your tariff and upgrading I'm afraid.
Better deals can be had by doing research and live chat works of an algorithm of specific questions with answers and does not have any human element, which is what would have been required to have expanded your question further.

[Bambino]

Totally agree with @MI5, and it's why, for the most part, it's always suggested that people call and speak to a real person, who is better placed to find out what your needs are and who could possibly offer you a better deal, rather than rely on Chat.

[jonsie]

There in a nutshell is the whole point about live chat as opposed to customer service. Live chat, no matter how they dress it up, is not customer service and was designed initially to take the pressure off real customer service, a quick answer to simple everyday questions and not complex {or even simple as it turns out} account problems.

Give the customer a quick solution and move on to the next in the queue. Not forgetting that sometimes the clever(?) ones think it's a great idea to have multiple chats open at the same time, switching from one to another after typing their one line version of the English language.

So no time to give better alternatives to suit a customer's needs or offer better deals to get more for less. After all, the more chats you have, the better the rewards and incentives for the chat operator. Unfortunately this type of pressure has spread throughout the customer service industry. 

Cut jobs to save money and make sure advisers handle more calls per hour or.... here's an idea, let's give the customers a choice of waiting on hold for 20 minutes or give them an alternative option such as....  live chat.

However, occasionally you get advisers who know what good customer service is all about. Those are the people who should be rewarded though O2 would frown on them, as time taken engaging with a customer to find the best solution for that customer results in customer waiting time rising and managers chastising advisers.

That's sorted then....