Customer Service at it’s Finest

Whilst I’m sure everyone has a fantastic story to tell (and please do) about customer service, this happened to me last week. For many a long year I have received my internet connection from Orange. Of course they were originally called Freeserve and didn’t have offshore call centres and the same name as a fruit and a colour.

Soon after paying per minute for dial-up, they offered a fixed rate (Anytime) package. Then Wanadoo came along bought them up and brought me broadband. Then they rebranded to their parent company Orange, and despite this I continued happily paying my coppers for an excellent service.

Recently I bought Sky+ and with the launch of their broadband offer I thought I’d switch. Orange were very helpful, and informed me they don’t give refunds for cancellation part way through a month. Eh? I have to pay for a service I don’t want, despite giving my required 30 days notice? Apparently so, it’s may fault for not cancelling on my billing date. Anyway, too tired to argue I carried on. A couple of days before my contract expired, I received the expected “retention” phone call from Orange.

Firstly I was amazed to be speaking to someone based in the UK. I have no issue at all with offshore call centres except a) I always think a company selling a product in a country should be brave enough to employ some of it’s workforce, and b) when going off script, an offshore operator, who’s first language is not English, has immense trouble understanding what an emmersion heater or flange is, for example. To that matter, so do I….

Anyway, the conversation then proceeded along these lines:

Orange: Which package are you currently on?
Me: Er, you called me, so don’t you know?
Orange: Is it the £19.99 package?
Me: No, it’s £17.99 a month, 8Mbps, 20GB limit package.
Orange: Can I ask who you are switching to?
Me: Sky.
Orange: And what have they offered you?
Me: I think I’ll be switching to the £5 per month, 8Mbps, 40GB limit package.
Orange: OK, well we have a special retention package that is not available to regular customers, but as you’ve been a valuable customer then we wish to keep you.
Me: Sounds good.
Orange: Would you be interested in our £12.99 a month, 2Mbps package?
Me: Pardon?
Orange: Would you be interested in our £12.99 a month, 2Mbps package?
Me: Why would I be? It’s over twice the price for a worse service.
Orange: Well if you ever want to come back to us then then please let us know.
Me: Is that it? Hello? Hello….?

Bizarre. They could have kept my business, and whilst not make a huge profit on me, a small profit is better than no profit at all. If you owned a business and someone who worked for you did that, I’d be very annoyed, wouldn’t you?

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