Seth Godin would agree. Ms. Raskin tells the story of when she lost her BlackBerry Pearl. She has been with T-Mobile for nearly five years — with a family plan, no less — so she expected them to treat her like a valued customer and offer her a subsidy on the phone. Customer service did no such thing. Even when she offered to extend her contract, they still wouldn’t give her the phone at a discount. After a lengthy phone call, the company eventually gave her $100 off the phone. This is no way to treat a loyal customer. This isn’t just an indictment of T-Mobile, though. It simply represents the landscape of wireless customer service.
Airlines have frequent flier programs to provide an incentive to stick with them. Hotels offer perks for frequent guests. I’ve got my various store discount cards for places I shop frequently like Barnes and Noble. Even my nail salon has a loyalty program with a free manicure after every 10 paid. The world runs on loyalty. Isn’t it time for the cellular service providers to join the rest of the world?Once again, spot on from Ms. Raskin. She goes on to talk about how to go about shopping for a wireless provider so you aren’t as screwed. She scathes the two-year contract, and actually casts a vote for prepaid:
Look at prepaid or month by month options. You may get better incentives on equipment when you buy a long term contract, but if your needs change or your life is in flux it might be better for you to pay a bit more on prepaid or month by month but not have to pay a cancellation fee.Amen to that. Plus, as we’ve said, you won’t necessarily pay more with a prepaid plan. A little research — like our We Help You Decide column and our provider reviews — can get you on the right track with prepaid. [Yahoo! Tech]]]>
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