Another sky tv thread

[Bunkermagnet]

The old people discussion, vulnerable when it suits...

but when it comes to politics and shafting the young they are perfectly capable

Thought you said they were businesses and not charities?
You can't apply that logic to one sector and not another.

 

[Slab]

Are you happy that many old people are too intimidated to ring and ask for a fair price that their loyalty deserves? I'm sorry but that attitude is awful, real 'I'm alright Jack'. Totally selfish.

Any decent business looks after their loyal customers, they don't shaft them.

Its an interesting topic LT. Rewarding loyalty sounds good in theory but do any customers stay with Sky (or any service provider) out of loyalty or is it simply a by-product of their own preferred situation

Does loyalty even equal length of time

If folks rack up a status as a long standing customer simply because it actually suited them to have an account for a long time, is that in any way being loyal

I suppose the test is to identify those customers who when faced with an alternative preferred option that would benefit them, they then choose to ignore that option and remain with sky regardless i.e showing loyalty
Are these folks out there and if so aren't those exactly the kind of people who are already getting a loyalty discount when they make it known to sky the have found an alternative/preferred supplier but would reconsider for the right price (mixed in with the folks just threatening to leave solely to get a discount)

 

[Tashyboy]

Its an interesting topic LT. Rewarding loyalty sounds good in theory but do any customers stay with Sky (or any service provider) out of loyalty or is it simply a by-product of their own preferred situation

Does loyalty even equal length of time

If folks rack up a status as a long standing customer simply because it actually suited them to have an account for a long time, is that in any way being loyal

I suppose the test is to identify those customers who when faced with an alternative preferred option that would benefit them, they then choose to ignore that option and remain with sky regardless i.e showing loyalty
Are these folks out there and if so aren't those exactly the kind of people who are already getting a loyalty discount when they make it known to sky the have found an alternative/preferred supplier but would reconsider for the right price (mixed in with the folks just threatening to leave solely to get a discount)

trouble is slab, Missis T was on a phone contract that was costly and poor in terms of talk time txt and data. I rang EE ( my provider ) and asked them for a deal. They gave me/ her a better deal than I was on. Cheaper and more data. I said " right put me on that deal". EE response " we can't ". What's that all about. So come November when the contract expires am off.

 

[Slab]

trouble is slab, Missis T was on a phone contract that was costly and poor in terms of talk time txt and data. I rang EE ( my provider ) and asked them for a deal. They gave me/ her a better deal than I was on. Cheaper and more data. I said " right put me on that deal". EE response " we can't ". What's that all about. So come November when the contract expires am off.

I agree Tashy, we should all grab whatever deals we can get to bring the bills down. I just meant that the idea of businesses routinely making things cheaper for all long standing customers because some of these folk think they are being loyal, might be kinda flawed

I suspect there's actually very little customer loyalty involved and the official stat is that 99/100 punters would be off like a ferret up a trouser leg if they got a better deal elsewhere

And just for devilment:

If you agreed to pay a set rate for xy service for a set amount of months for your phone, but then you want to renegotiate the terms part way through, why wouldn't that business reject your revised offer and ask you to stick to the deal you agreed to
(often concessions are done because the customers threaten to cancel, but that act of threatening to leave is in itself hardly an indication of any sense of loyalty)

After all i assume that the initial deal for a discounted/free phone and data package will be worked out on x months at y price to make it viable in the first place
(I'm pretty sure they'll happily talk to you about a deal in Nov but I guess in many cases they cant even look at what they might be able to do for you when it ends in because they won't even know what deals will be available 3 months from now so they cant really start making commitments in august)

 

[Simbo]

This is an interesting point. Something similar is happening at our place, we are owned by a person / company, not the members. The current owner is new this year and he is entirely neglecting the members. A number are already talking about leaving next year and he is entirely oblivious to it. He doesn't engage the members, doesn't attend committee meetings and so is unaware of the unhappiness. He is too busy looking at getting new members, like your bloke. You need to look after both, not hard to grasp is it?

We are owned by the members, but run by a manager/committee. The manager is going soon though.
A few years ago we dug a lot of ditches to try and combat the lying water problem, just under 100 people left that year because of it. It was a mess. The next year he couldn't see the correlation with the ditches being dug and people leaving and we then dug up trees to make the course easier, cue more people leaving. All the time while he's hell bent on having this and that funstion to try and get new members. The place has been like a building site for the last few years. In 5 years time when all the ditches have matured and the trees roots have been covered up. Will the current membership benefit from their loyalty of staying at the club while all this happened or will we get shafted by seeing all the new adverts for new members going out offering them 18 month deals for the price of 12 and the likes. I'm guessing it will be the latter and this is what infuriates people.
Like most businesses and people in that position they tend to take very small plus points and try and turn them into huge things by emailing/putting on social media because 4 old ladies emailed to say the greens were good while conveniently sweeping under the carpet all the negative issues like 100 people leaving.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Its an interesting topic LT. Rewarding loyalty sounds good in theory but do any customers stay with Sky (or any service provider) out of loyalty or is it simply a by-product of their own preferred situation

Does loyalty even equal length of time

If folks rack up a status as a long standing customer simply because it actually suited them to have an account for a long time, is that in any way being loyal

I think length of time does come into it and should be rewarded. Why you stay is irrelevant, the fact is you do stay. Add to that, make customers feel wanted and they will not look around at the alternatives. Because Sky don't look after us we check the options every year and I am sure at some point we will jump ship. If after every year or two years of being with them they offered a thank you, free HD, 2 free film rentals etc, then you are less likely to look elsewhere in the first place.

Sky also wave offers in your face that are only available to new customers. Nothing irritates more than seeing a new customer get a deal at half your price when you have remained with the company for 15 years+.

I do get your point, very philosophical, but I am not sure we can break it down on such a scale. One for students to discuss in a lecture

 

[Lazkir]

Care to explain?

Of course he isn't going to.

[h=1]Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt.[/h]

 

[Hacker Khan]

Of course he isn't going to.

Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt.

I may be wrong, but I am guessing he/she is referring to Brexit where there was a significant difference of opinion depending on your age. And also the arguably the economic and environmental turd in areas such as the climate change, the housing market that is mostly based around profit generation and national debt levels, that young people will inherit from the current generations. But that has not got a lot to do with Sky, so best left to another thread.

 

[ColchesterFC]

I think it was a reference to Vince Cable (?) saying that the old had shafted the young with the Brexit vote but when it comes to rip offs they are then talked of as vulnerable.

 

[Lazkir]

I may be wrong, but I am guessing he/she is referring to Brexit where there was a significant difference of opinion depending on your age. And also the arguably the economic and environmental turd in areas such as the climate change, the housing market that is mostly based around profit generation and national debt levels, that young people will inherit from the current generations. But that has not got a lot to do with Sky, so best left to another thread.

Fair point, back on thread... Cancelled my Sky last month. Had a cracking deal but was hardly watching it so off it went. Have a VPN and can watch most things for free now anyway.

 

[Slab]

I think length of time does come into it and should be rewarded. Why you stay is irrelevant, the fact is you do stay. Add to that, make customers feel wanted and they will not look around at the alternatives. Because Sky don't look after us we check the options every year and I am sure at some point we will jump ship. If after every year or two years of being with them they offered a thank you, free HD, 2 free film rentals etc, then you are less likely to look elsewhere in the first place.

Sky also wave offers in your face that are only available to new customers. Nothing irritates more than seeing a new customer get a deal at half your price when you have remained with the company for 15 years+.

I do get your point, very philosophical, but I am not sure we can break it down on such a scale. One for students to discuss in a lecture

I absolutely get the point of not feeling 'loved' or looked after by large businesses these days (& that doesn't always have to mean getting free stuff or discounts) In days gone by the insurance bloke/butcher/baker etc etc etc all knew who were by sight if not by name. Most businesses we gave money to back then knew who we were and we knew them because we saw them in the flesh, but they still didn't lavish us with ongoing/continuous discounts, we just felt they cared and appreciated us a little more than most companies do these days

Large businesses have created a culture that means the cheapest option will be to jump ship every year or two to keep grabbing these introductory offers and we are happy to do that because we just don't feel valued



Although on your point about waving offers around for new customers: I'd be surprised if anyone on the GM forum didn't get a deal of some sort when they too joined sky, whether that was free/reduced price box/dish, discounted installation, free upgrade box, cheaper subs for x months etc. The exact offer will change but everyone gets some kind of deal

 

[Hacker Khan]

I quite liked the way my electricity company works in that you are on a tariff, but if a cheaper one gets released by them then they inform you and you can swap over to it for free. It is up to me to swap over to the new tarriff and your 12 month contract starts again, but the process is very simple. I have looked elsewhere and whilst I could save a few quid a month by swapping companies, the fact that they do this does endear them to me a bit more and I stay with them. They also did a rewards scheme where you'd get some vouchers every year. Which again whilst it is not much, does make you feel a very little bit valued.

I do get that people can save by swapping but I would question who exactly has the time to swap your gas, leccy, phone, TV, BB etc etc constantly.

 

[MegaSteve]

I took a four year gamble the last time I swapped my energy supplier...
Was reasonably competitive for the first and second year...
Just starting my third year with all the price hikes being announced I should be ahead of the game for next 12 months...
Hopefully the same for the final year... Energy costs rarely go down...
So, in a way my 'loyalty' [all be it being a bit of a gamble] should pay off...