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Why are VM not interested in customer retention?

ccranstone
On our wavelength

I have just wasted a morning of my life trying to understand the pricing structure and how VM manage to actually increase the pricing as you remove unwanted services. From the online session this morning it is clear that VM have no interest at all in customer retention, their only interest seems to be in luring new customers into the web (excuse the pun) I managed to get a package that was originally £66 p/month down to £60 by removing two thirds of the package. (down to broadband only from broadband, basic TV and landline)

Despite my misgivings, I am now actively looking at BT Openreach based options  and slower broadband due to the attitude of VM. 

3 REPLIES 3

japitts
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@ccranstone wrote:

how VM manage to actually increase the pricing as you remove unwanted services


VM operate a multi-buy bundle discounting model where the per-unit pricing reduces as you take more services, some particular services such as landlines, attract very generous discounts.

It therefore follows that removing services increases the per-unit cost and doesn't always reduce the price by as much as you'd hope.

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unisoft
Knows their stuff

@ccranstone wrote:

I have just wasted a morning of my life trying to understand the pricing structure and how VM manage to actually increase the pricing as you remove unwanted services. From the online session this morning it is clear that VM have no interest at all in customer retention, their only interest seems to be in luring new customers into the web (excuse the pun) I managed to get a package that was originally £66 p/month down to £60 by removing two thirds of the package. (down to broadband only from broadband, basic TV and landline)

Despite my misgivings, I am now actively looking at BT Openreach based options  and slower broadband due to the attitude of VM. 


You have to be dead certain of leaving to get the package at a sensible price, even if you thought just reducing services would be enough. As pointed out, the first line of defence is the "bundled value" that gives the discount. and it's that you have to cut through. Any deviation from 100% serious will result in weak offers. No words like "thinking of leaving" and such like. Its in for the kill straight away saying you don't get current value from your package and genuine reasons (like I had originally over not using Tivo v6 compared to if I had a Stream box working off WiFi that could be moved around house as no coax dependency).

Having said that, if its offshore retentions you may have to actually leave as I got them this time and were a waste of space resulting in friends and family who will also now terminate VM at end of their contracts which isn't far off. If you get the UK retentions and they do a better job of negotiation in my experience and actually retain customers.

VM is very much like a roulette wheel, every 18 months.

Client62
Alessandro Volta

The question of customer retention only begins after a customer formally gives notice to cancel
and puts down the phone, or has cancelled in writing.

If you phone in and winge + moan or say "I am thinking about ... bla bla bla"
that instantly informs the VM sales team that you are a high inertia customer
with minimal to zero intent of cancelling, hence there is no need of an improved offer
at least not yet.