I happened to be walking today when I passed one of their branches in the Peacocks shopping centre in Woking.
The door was partially open, and the salesmen were having what looked like a meeting. Definitely what went in the headquarters was affecting the future of these people.
Poor guys I thought to myself, and popped in by my until now mobile provider branch: ORANGE, who is now owned by EE.
I asked a question about when I would get a code as I want to switch to another company which gives me a new phone and a better deal for my needs. I was given some short answers, including "you will have to speak to customer service as I do not fully about your case".
Out of curiosity I asked if they had a better deal than the one I am getting. They do not. I asked if they were prepared to match the deal, to which they said: No.
Then I said, you are losing a loyal customer of over 6 years. The salesman replied: "we are not prepared to lose some money in one single customer, we keep getting new customers everyday, you can then go, have a nice day".
And then the teacher in me popped out and I tried to explain that I teach at university and that I know that gaining new customers is more expensive than trying to keep existing ones.
This salesmen replied that he has over 10 years experience and he knows about word of mouth, and he does not need to be lectured. I tried to reason and also I said he should consider the concept of loyalty. He said something else I do not remember, raised his voice and showed me the door. To which I replied that he was mistreating me and to my knowledge I was not mistreating him. And I left.
If this is the attitude that mobile phone retailers are adopting, so it is no surprise some of them go bust. At the retail level, people seem to be pressured to gain new customers. Whether they have the power to bargain in order to retain existing ones I do not know.
But what I know is that a good attitude makes the difference. Even if I could not be offered a better deal, the response from the salesman could have been more deferential, if not well mannered.
So I wonder how long more ORANGE will thrive in this business with promoting this attitude among their employees, and if they really realise the power of word of mouth. As a dissatisfied customer I can be more dangerous. And as a blogger even more! I can be a negative marketeer. It does not cost them anything.
Companies need to realise that their relationships with direct and indirect customers matter. They need to realise that their business models might pay in the short term, but that with attitudes like the above they are generating their own demise in the medium or long term. And they will have to invest more to regain the trust of people. I wonder if they consider this in their balance sheets.
Or course among customers there is the mentality of shopping around and haggling. I am not inventing it. If this causes resentment among employees, they should vent it somewhere else, not with people like me. I am not the victim, I am just part of a whole system of products and services. I could be part of this company as a passive customer or as an active campaigner for good or bad.
We had better be nice to each other.
We are part of a whole system.
We can still do business, but at least keep respect as a core value!
Sour Orange, that is what this company is for me. Even if they offer me a great deal for broadband or other products, I know their attitude now.
