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Having a massive marketing department
can sometimes cause a blockage in the blood
flow to the corporate brain.
Marketers are trained to find angles to draw
in customers. Having a virtual monopoly and
foreign owners barking for dividends does
nothing to help Kiwi’s get a better deal.
When the telecommunications playing field
is as unbalanced as it is in NZ it is not
surprising to find the odd cunning trick being
deployed. And when there is little or no choice,
there is no shame in falling for it either.
What choice do we have?
At Communitel we are committed to playing
it straight. No tricks, no disguises, no smoke,
no mirrors. Communitel is committed to honest
and open practices, no blurring of the truth,
no spin, no bull.
We will not attempt to hide anything behind
clever wording or cunning marketing plans.
If we believe it is wrong we won’t do
it. We won’t insult your intelligence
by trying to convince you that we are doing
this entirely out of a sense of public spirit.
We believe that hiding the truth is wrong.
Maintaining a degree of commercial sensitivity
is one thing but if the only reason not to
disclose is that if the customer finds out
they will feel ripped off, then there is something
wrong.
Communitel is intending to make a profit.
But we are not going to rip our customers
off whilst attempting to do so. We will provide
value for money and a healthy degree of community
support. That is fair.
We are Kiwis, taking a slightly different
approach to supplying a commodity service,
working in the communities we live in and
attempting to return a little of what comes
in, to parts of the community that can benefit.
How do Toll Service Providers disguise the
truth?
Well, the most common means of hiding less
than favourable information is simply not
to publish it. Another way is to make it all
too confusing or to imply that it is commercially
sensitive or far too complex for we mortals
to understand.
Then there is spin… telling enough of
the positives and none of the negatives…
then giving an example that sounds likely
but in reality is near on impossible. It happens.
Have you fallen for it? Can you identify it?
Phone your supplier and ask how long you have
to hang up a call before you get charged.
I asked Telecom this a while ago and was told
that it is not for public consumption…
It’s a secret! Will they tell you?
Why not surf your suppliers website and check
to see how clearly they state whether they
use Minute plus Minute charging or Minute
plus Second. Could you locate that information?
Do they make it abundantly clear if there
are “Other” charges that you may
have to pay in order to “Qualify”
for their “Best Rates”? Can you
figure out from their “Calculators”
which is really the best deal?
Have you ever asked them why they have peak
and off peak rates? Was their answer convincing?
Did you think they were being generous when
they set up a charitable support program?
Can you actually see what level of revenue
really gets through to the charity? Is it
10%? Does it go past 1%?
Looking over your phone bill, has the
“Attractive” flat rate deal really
shown you any long term benefit?
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