Where is the love for long term loyal customers?

[Anonymous]

Hi all, i've been a loyal o2 customer for over 8 years now.  

My o2 contract is due for renewal on the 12th of this month (November 2012) so I thought I would contact an advisor through the chat system to see what offers/discounts o2 could give me against an iPhone 5.

I got nowhere!  The advisors excuse was that all payment plans are pre-set and that there is no leway for change, the advisor couldn't even move my upgrade date forward by two weeks!!

It seems that o2 are happy to make us fork out hundreds of pounds purchasing a handset year after year and then hundreds more on monthly contracts (on average £40 per month @ £480 per year) to run them but they are not prepared to give anything back, not even 2 weeks advance on an upgrade!

What makes this even more unbelievable is that Orange have activated 4G and so o2 sales will be effected.  

I think it may be prudent to wait until my contract has finished, then move over to Orange!

thoughts?!

[Anonymous]

I will try and find it but I beleive that Tesco Mobile was running at a loss to gain customer retention until they can make it a sustainable business. 

Makes me laugh people saying they are leaving for signal problems and then go on to say they are moving to Tesco or even funnier 3. 

I personally hate iphones (just my opinion) I have my reasons. I have been with 02 for a few years now 8-10 years Lost count but never had a problem with customer services in fact only this last Tuesday I spoke with three different people, two in customer service and one in repiar/returns. They were polite helpful and eager to help, difference is that I had done everythng I knew that they would ask so that they only had to deal with the problem.

Its a society thing I am afraid, people want more for less and want to work less for more. 

In my household I have two vodafone contracts (the girls) and a T-mobile contract ( the boy) 
Not my choosing blame the grandparents but I can honestly say hand on heart that the service they get a the signal quality is a lot worse than O2. 

My father has the samsung galaxy s2 after seeing mine, he is also with T-mobile and his contract was £38 a month and he had been with them a few years, when he tried to upgrade they wanted £60 for the handset where I got mine for nothing on a better contract and a for less money a month. 

Grass is not greener.........

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Its a society thing I am afraid, people want more for less and want to work less for more. 

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Not to be rude, but I don't see what people's attitudes have got to do with rewarding loyalty? Think about, today's society of big businesses have moved away from rewarding it. There's no such thing as being rewarded for being a long time car insurance customer, or building up years with a bank, or now being loyal to your mobile provider.

This hasn't always been the case. Before now the retentions departments used to be all over you if you were about to leave, now they (or whoever makes the rules) don't seem to care.

Customer service is only one part of the picture. When I called to get my PAC, the lady I spoke to was lovely. She was really friendly and we even joked with each other. However, I was basically calling to say "I'm leaving you" and I had to hold for 25 mins before speaking to anybody, so clearly if you want to leave them, you're not a priority.

I would argue that rather than expecting 'more for less' people are actually just expecting to be treated in a manner equivalent to how much money they've put into the pockets of a provider over the years. Mobile phones are really big business and make people a lot of money. Why is it you seem to think that paying a premium for customer service people to be 'nice' to you is acceptable? Surely it's called customer service for a reason?

[Anonymous]

 I am rewarded by my car insurance company for staying with them, many many ways. Bmw reward there customers for there loyalty by giving them a discount on there services for cars over 4 years old then again at 6 and 8 years.

What they do not do though is give you something for noithing and that is where peoples pereption of customer loyalty becomes grey. Is a free upgrade to stay as a customer not incentive enough?

What more do you expect a overly saturated market to do?

There will always be better deals out there if you are prepared to put the effort in and of course peoples attitudes have everything to do with it. It wasn't that long ago that you either had to pay for the phone outright or make a large contribution to upgrade. 

If you have gone to the effort of phoning the customer service number and chose to enter the correct number for getting a PAC instead of typing the number for the retention team then you in there eyes have already made your decision. 

Did you speak with the retention team about staying?

Customer service should be the same across all companies but it differs immensely. Once Sir , madam, Hello, goodbye, How can I help you? Is there anything else I can help you with? have been said it comes down to the company and there mission statement.

Should customer service levels be the same at a marquee product like BMW compared to lets say Ford? I can catergorically tell you the levels are so far apart it is unreal.

[macblank]

to me having worked as a csa

cs is

treating the customer with respect being polite and helpful. even if it means pointing them to another company or service.

also showing empathy for any issues they have. That doesn't mean sarcastic sympathising!

it's also about getting realistic expectations.

and yes a lot of... possible maybe usually sometimes being used. as if it's not part of the normal situations u have to he careful not to promise what u have no way of making happen or haven't got the authority

if all cs was run like this it doesn't matter who u r with or what's gone wrong. as u would know it's been dealt with properly. of course some will never be happy!

[Anonymous]

DWYSYWD.

Every customer service based company should live by that but that still doesn't stop peoples expectations taking over.

[Anonymous]

You give examples of differing expectations in customer service based on price and brand perception. What I'm saying is, irrespective of "what's popular to do" i.e. offer no incentive for loyalty isn't, by rights, justified just because its popular. It's also popular to cost cut by offloading the bulk of customer service receiving to foreign call centres, but does that mean it's right? That it's effective, or that it works and customer's feel just the same level of care? No, it doesn't.

A free upgrade to stay you say? So what is that then? O2 retentions won't negotioate anything for free when it comes to SIM only. If you're after a handset and you're already paying 30, 40, 50+ per month then a new 'free' handset is not an incentive for you to continue your contract if you can get something better elsewhere.

Yes, of course there are always better deals if you're prepared to look for them. That's always been the case and works for all sorts of consumer and service industries. I'm not suggesting that O2 or other networks should offer everything on a platter just to make you stay. What I'm saying is that retentions practically aren't even trying any more. They won't budge on anything most of the time.

You are extremely PRO corporation here. So now you're suggesting that because I've correctly navigated an automated phone system, because I've made a decision, that I SHOULD EXPECT to have to wait just because the decision I've made is not in the 'for profit' interest of the company that I'm currently paying for a service? How does that make sense? All it does, on top of not being offered anything to stay, is compound the idea that my custom is not valued and that I am just a number. I already know I'm just a number. I'm a phone number, a customer number, I don't need someone to make me wait 25 mins just to beat that point into me with a thorny stick.

Yes, the market is saturated. That should mean that companies are vying for customers, not pushing them away or forcing their hand to jump ship. It should mean that the service is efficient and affordable, good value. You, on the other hand, seem to think it equates to a de-valuation of everything, inc customer service and worth.

[Anonymous]

I think this is again about perception. Before I continue I would just like to add that I am not argueing with you but our views are different.

Customer service mean different things to different people. Which is proved between the two of us plus your interactions with a company (o2 for this debate) has defined yours and my view. 

What I am saying about the PAC issue is that you made that decision and if you had ( assuming you didn't) try with retention then the people on the end of the phone dealing with your PAC code are just doing what they have been told to do. I gather the PAC request was recent? Personally having been on hold many times with various companies over the years think 25 minutes is not that bad. Again a perception of what is and is not good customer service. 
I will just add that O2 this week have been installing a new computer system ( told when I was on the phone with them this week)

People seem to forget that upgrades are a loyalty bonus. The fact you can go and get another contract somewhere else is beside the point as you are starting the whole cycle over again. 

How long have you been with O2 if you do not mind me asking?

I know personally how much customer service is important to a company and I know that levels of customer service will differ immensely form company to company dependent on the product. 

This may well be a good case to be passed on to the O2 team. 

What do you personally expect o2 to do for you? ( that is not a confrontation post I am generally interested) give us some details of your actual case. 

For the record, I am all for customer service and providing the best a company can offer having worked as a Aftersales manager for BMW. My personal view is that I get great customer service from O2.

[ewanrw]

Surely if your loyalty is being bought, then it's not being loyal at all?

ewan

[Anonymous]

More like bribery if loyalty is bought

[Anonymous]

id work anywhere that pays my bills. if thats what you like calling it fair enough

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@Anonymous wrote:

been around the block then

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