Cheapskate Wisdom … About the Lack of Customer Loyalty to Pay TV and Phone Companies

By Brad Tuttle | @bradrtuttle | July 29, 2010 | +

“The problem for cable, satellite and phone companies is that they expect to get credit for things they’re expected to be doing … If you want me to be a loyal customer, you have to go beyond the things you’re supposed to do.”

Spoken by Jim Kane, a corporate customer service consultant quoted in a WSJ story about how cable TV companies are consistently given awful scores in customer satisfaction surveys.

@TIMEMoneyland

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Thanks for the mention, Brad.

Companies like Comcast are more than a little myopic when it comes to building loyal relationships versus simply meeting their customers expectations. Just look at the Customer Guarantee edict that they proudly hold up as an expression of their promise” to provide you with a consistently superior customer experience.”

1. We will give you a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all our services. (You mean you aren’t forcing us to continually buy a service and product we don’t like?)

2. We will treat you and your home with courtesy and respect. (This really needs to be promised – as if it were an option?)

3. We will answer your questions at your convenience. (We pay for cable, internet and phone service, 24/7/365, why wouldn’t they be available to answer whatever questions we have about it 24/7/365?)

4. We will offer easy-to-understand packages and provide you with a clear bill. (Again, is this really something we should be grateful for, or merely an normal expectation?)

5. We will continually offer the best and most video choices. (I’m sure this promise makes all those people who were looking to spend $60/month for the worst and least video choices they can get very angry.)

6. We will quickly address any problem you experience.
(See 1-5 above)

7. We will schedule appointments at your convenience and be mindful of your time. (See 1-5 above)

A few years ago a state legislator in New Jersey proposed changing the state motto to “New Jersey – better you thought it was.” Maybe companies like Comcast have the same attitude. “As long as our customers believe we are better than our competition, they will love us!” As they are finding out, it doesn’t work that way. Simply being better than bad is no way to build a loyal following.

Jim (James) Kane
http://www.jameskane.com
Brad Tuttle

Great points Jim. I’d say they’re all part of the reason Comcast was voted Worst Company in America in Consumerist’s March Madness-style poll.
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To me, a company will only get my loyalty if I trust it. And the cable and wireless providers give us little reason to trust them. Instead, we have many reasons not to trust them, including prices that inexplicably creep higher and higher, little transparency regarding package and pricing options, and bundled packages that include all sorts of extras the consumer doesn’t want (i.e., 150 channels when your household only watches 12).
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You’d think that, being Internet providers and all, Comcast and other companies would have good online customer service. Has anyone ever tried to get a better bundle price through the web and succeeded? The only way I know of avoiding the constant bill creep is to call up your provider and harass them into lowering your bill, typically by demonstrating that you know you have cheaper options and that you are willing to jump ship to the competitor. This is an annoying pain in the neck that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, and making customers play these silly games is no way to build loyalty.
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The only way these companies seem to generate loyalty is via inertia — by playing off the likelihood that a customer, no matter how aggravated, tends to stick with the same company rather than going through the hassle of switching. If this is the only thing that’s keeping your customers “loyal,” that doesn’t say a lot about your business.