How To Lose Business Without Really Trying

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new battle raging in the ongoing war for your telecommunications dollars: That is, the television, telephone, and wireless internet service you receive at home.

The trend among the major telecommunications providers--Charter, Verizon, ATT, MCI, Comcast, etc.--is to "bundle" these services: The bundles promise one bill from one provider for two or more of your telecommunications needs--local, long-distance and wireless phone calls, Internet access and pay TV service. You generally pay the same monthly fee no matter how much you use your services.

According to industry researcher TNS Telecoms, through the end of the second quarter of 2003, nearly 20% of consumers were bundling to some extent.

So this weekend the wife and I looked at our bills and noticed that we could save money by taking advantage of one of these bundling offers we received in the mail. We determined that we could both increase our wireless internet connection, get unlimited long distance telephone service AND get a DVR for 12 months if we chose a bundle offered by Charter.

Up to this point we had Comcast for cable and Verizon for our wireless internet and only local phone service. So we called Charter and signed up.

The representative with whom we spoke walked us through the entire transaction, clearly explaining every step and making sure we understood the installation process and timeline. He was thorough, professional, patient and proficient. In addition to calling Verizon to notify them of our imminent switch, he set us up with a appointment on Tuesday afternoon to install the necessary equipment.

This afternoon, while waiting patiently for the Charter technician to show up, the phone rang. I answered it and waited for a response.

The response was a pre-recorded message from Verizon. I listened to the beginning of the message: "At Verizon, we're constantly seeking new ways to retain your business. We've received notification of your intent to switch providers, and we'd like to try and win back your business..."

After that I stopped listening. Beyond my incredulity at receiving a tape-recorded sales pitch, I understand I am merely one of millions of Verizon customers. Verizon no doubt has reams of data indicating that once a customer switches service providers, the company from whom the customer switched must invest 5 or 10 times more to try and win back the customer. I know it's far more affordable to attract new customers rather than retain the old ones.

Still, if Verizon had called me first thing Monday morning and offered me the same wireless internet and telephone deal that Charter offered, I would have stayed with Verizon. A human voice, one to one contact, and a competitive offer would have ensured my ongoing loyalty.

Verizon lost my business without really trying to keep it. There's a lesson in this for organizations of all sizes and types.