Vodafone retention call- A Joke or April fool

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Vodafone retention call- A Joke or April fool

1 | 2 | 3

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#1275075 1-Apr-2015 10:55

geekbhaji:
johnr:
geekbhaji:
johnr: @geekbhaji Are you under a contract term with VodafoneNZ at the moment? Retention sometimes just have to let customers walk due to demands that are not reasonable and not a good business decesion

John

Hi John, No I am not under contract with Vodafone.

So you have a working ADSL or VDSL connection? If ADSL then you could look at moving to VDSL if you are in coverage and then you would get a free modem, Also are you on Naked xDSL or clothed?

@John
I am with their on their cable network. Nah not naked.. its 80GB plan with phoneline.

...and here is the reason they probably don't have leeway to offer you anything.

Retention teams only have limited resources to give away. they are most likely incentivised not only on how many customers they save, but also on how much they had to give away to save the customer.

If you are on cable already they know it's very unlikely you actually will switch to ADSL

(and in fact you've proven this by even offering to stay for some token thing, like incremental 10GB)

If I was working on the retention desk I would assume that you're probably just trying to get something out of me, and you probably won't actually leave no matter what I do, so I'd save my budget for someone who actually is likely to leave.

geekbhaji

222 posts

Master Geek

#1275080 1-Apr-2015 11:00

NonprayingMantis:
geekbhaji:
johnr:
geekbhaji:
johnr: @geekbhaji Are you under a contract term with VodafoneNZ at the moment? Retention sometimes just have to let customers walk due to demands that are not reasonable and not a good business decesion

John

Hi John, No I am not under contract with Vodafone.

So you have a working ADSL or VDSL connection? If ADSL then you could look at moving to VDSL if you are in coverage and then you would get a free modem, Also are you on Naked xDSL or clothed?

@John
I am with their on their cable network. Nah not naked.. its 80GB plan with phoneline.

...and here is the reason they probably don't have leeway to offer you anything.

Retention teams only have limited resources to give away. they are most likely incentivised not only on how many customers they save, but also on how much they had to give away to save the customer.

If you are on cable already they know it's very unlikely you actually will switch to ADSL

(and in fact you've proven this by even offering to stay for some token thing, like incremental 10GB)

If I was working on the retention desk I would assume that you're probably just trying to get something out of me, and you probably won't actually leave no matter what I do, so I'd save my budget for someone who actually is likely to leave.

@NonprayingMantis - Are you on vodafone side or spark..lol..

And you are right: "If I was working on the retention desk I would assume that you're probably just trying to get something out of me"

Humor makes us humans !

geekbhaji

222 posts

Master Geek

#1275082 1-Apr-2015 11:01

johnr: They could not add another Bestmate to start with, The system is limited to the number of Bestmates customers are offered

I don't want another bestmate, it was just an example John. I just meant to say that add anything. Its kind of gesture you do to retain your customer.

Humor makes us humans !

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#1275100 1-Apr-2015 11:13

The days of loyalty meaning something seem to be gone, I've always been loyal but not so much these days, chop and change as new and more exciting deals pop up and you are the winner, change to Spark and if it doesn't work out jump on the next deal with which ever provider comes out with

This logic can only hurt the telco's but this is ultimately their own doing so do whats best for you, be loyal to yourself!

geekbhaji

222 posts

Master Geek

#1275102 1-Apr-2015 11:15

Wade: The days of loyalty meaning something seem to be gone, I've always been loyal but not so much these days, chop and change as new and more exciting deals pop up and you are the winner, change to Spark and if it doesn't work out jump on the next deal with which ever provider comes out with

This logic can only hurt the telco's but this is ultimately their own doing so do whats best for you, be loyal to yourself!

Right said Wade..

Humor makes us humans !

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#1275103 1-Apr-2015 11:16

geekbhaji:
NonprayingMantis:
geekbhaji:
johnr:
geekbhaji:
johnr: @geekbhaji Are you under a contract term with VodafoneNZ at the moment? Retention sometimes just have to let customers walk due to demands that are not reasonable and not a good business decesion

John

Hi John, No I am not under contract with Vodafone.

So you have a working ADSL or VDSL connection? If ADSL then you could look at moving to VDSL if you are in coverage and then you would get a free modem, Also are you on Naked xDSL or clothed?

@John
I am with their on their cable network. Nah not naked.. its 80GB plan with phoneline.

...and here is the reason they probably don't have leeway to offer you anything.

Retention teams only have limited resources to give away. they are most likely incentivised not only on how many customers they save, but also on how much they had to give away to save the customer.

If you are on cable already they know it's very unlikely you actually will switch to ADSL

(and in fact you've proven this by even offering to stay for some token thing, like incremental 10GB)

If I was working on the retention desk I would assume that you're probably just trying to get something out of me, and you probably won't actually leave no matter what I do, so I'd save my budget for someone who actually is likely to leave.

@NonprayingMantis - Are you on vodafone side or spark..lol..

And you are right: "If I was working on the retention desk I would assume that you're probably just trying to get something out of me"

neither. I'm just pointing out the reality that you probably won't leave even if he offers you nothing, so he's better off saving his discounts etc for a customer who likely will leave. Smart business.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#1275116 1-Apr-2015 11:27

Wade: The days of loyalty meaning something seem to be gone, I've always been loyal but not so much these days, chop and change as new and more exciting deals pop up and you are the winner, change to Spark and if it doesn't work out jump on the next deal with which ever provider comes out with

This logic can only hurt the telco's but this is ultimately their own doing so do whats best for you, be loyal to yourself!

ironically this sort of behaviour will only encourage the telcos to do it more.

If putting in good up-front offers to win customers works (i.e. people switch for upfront deals and don't consider in-life treatement when selecting a telco) then the Telcos will do it more, and invest even less in loyalty.

If, on the other hand, people actually consider all the aspects of the telco they are switching to - like how they treat existing customers, then telcos will be encouraged to do more for existing customers

There is some evidence of this happening with some telcos.

Consider recent video streaming offers:

Spark gives away 12 months Lightbox to ALL broadband customers, new and existing, regardless of contract status or plan.

Vodafone gives away 6 months Neon, but it's only for new customers (and you have to pay full price for the following six months). Existing customers have to re-sign onto a new plan and take a new 12 month contract to be eligible. They can't get it if they already have free mysky or sky sports.

Which of these is 'rewarding loyalty'?

ETA: Having said that, it's clear that they still care more about new customers, given the offer you received is markedly better than what new customers can get.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

geekbhaji

222 posts

Master Geek

#1275117 1-Apr-2015 11:29

Spark Spark!!

Humor makes us humans !

mattbush

784 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1275155 1-Apr-2015 12:12

geekbhaji: I have some representative from Spark, asked If I want to switch my Internet to them, they will provide me with Free phone line + National Calling + 12 months Lightbox+ Unlimited internet+ $100 credit etc.

So I sent Vodafone an email to their sales group, if they can do anything to retain their customer.

I got a reply that they have logged my request.

Another reply from a nice guy who told me that he has forwarded it to Sales team with a reference number. I should expect a call from them..

After few days I received a call, and the joke starts here:

He asked me about what spark is offering, which I told in detail.

Then he said that he can look for a suitable unlimited plan for me, and yay! he found one, but I have to pay $20 extra even if Spark is giving it to me for same price.

Vodafone cant match Spark's deal and He cant find a better deal. So I asked if he can add some extra data or anything , I will stay with Vodafone. He said the system wont allow him to do anything unless I sign up for their unlimited plan with 1 year contract and pay Extra $20.

Joke ends here.

Question: If Retention Team CAN'T do anything or system is not allowing them to do anything, then why do they have a Retention Team??

Why do they have a support team when its so difficult to contact them?

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#1275312 1-Apr-2015 14:10

I am currently on an unlimited Spark VDSL plan and am more than happy with what i receive, yes free lightbox was effectively a loyalty offering, similarly they allowed me to break my ADSL contract mid-term without penalty and switch across to a VDSL connection, and with a bit of a tussle they swapped out the supplied technicolour modem for a Huawei unit due to some W8 connection issues.

Overall I have had a very positive experience with Spark and in hindsight there is a certain amount of passive loyalty back to the end user, that said, i know i could save a few dollars per month by changing provider but I don't know if i would receive the same level of service hence I remain loyal to Spark at present. If the value proposition changes drastically then i wont be hanging around

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1275319 1-Apr-2015 14:17

The problem is that it is a race to the bottom, and these ISPs will offer great deals to new customers, so their are incentives to changing ISPs every 12 months or so. They however count on most people not bothering to change. It is the same with things like mortgages with banks or electricity companies, which are just reselling the same product, wrapped up in different branding, it is simply a commodity . I have been with my ISP for nearly 3 years, and haven't switched because no other ISP can offer me a better deal at the moment. But if the pricing of my ISP changes, then I will move at an instant. There is no loyality there these days with this type of commodity service.

Blanch

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1275601 1-Apr-2015 18:29

This post has great timing, yesterday I decided it’s time to upgrade the family to unlimited standard broadband and home phone from our 80GB standard broadband and home phone plan

If I go to My Vodafone and change account type to unlimited standard broadband and home phone its $105

If I go to Vodafone.co.nz unlimited standard broadband and home phone its $99

The thing is, if My Vodafone was also $99 I would have just clicked change account and been done enjoying unlimited broadband.

Now what am I going to do? that spark deal is looking good.

raytaylor

4014 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1276024 2-Apr-2015 12:24

In the USA, you hear stories about retention teams doing good deals because the ISP often owns the network, and can happily discount a customer to nothing for a year because it would cost more to send the technician out to disconnect the line. Especially common with cable networks. They can absorb the cost they would normally pay to chorus if they were in NZ.

However in NZ, chorus probably owns the network, and your ISP (vodafone) still has to pay the cost of your tail connection to chorus, so it becomes cheaper just to loose you than to keep you on.
The vodafone cable network is owned by vodafone, so they could do something there, but the number of users <vs> the cost of running the network in say wellington would be much smaller than in a large US city so they probably wouldnt be too willing to let a customer stay on the network if the income they get from that customer was to drop very much.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here

Newtown

133 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#1276963 3-Apr-2015 23:40

I'd switch to Spark. Then 12 months later switch again, perhaps back to VF to get their new customer deal. It's a bit like energy companies how people switch back and forth to get the best deal. It doesn't pay to be loyal.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#1277244 4-Apr-2015 21:31

There is more room with the power companies. They offer anywhere between $100-200 rebate in conjunction with a 12-24 month fixed rate contract to retain your loyalty. They were shocked when I rejected the offer. Also like banks, just flick them off, really - they won't miss you one bit, vote with your wallet

Alternatively weigh in the non monetary value (if these are important) like having official/non official reperesentation like johnr floating around the forums to help people

1 | 2 | 3