On Customer Service

One thing that makes me stay with a company is customer service. I haven't done much on the HTPC front because I'm moving house. So stuff is packed, and I can't really get into it. When you move house you obviously have to deal with the relocation of utilities. Things like electricity, phone, internet, etc.

In my previous post I was really annoyed at the lack of internet infrastructure here in the land down under. I checked out some competitors and they were offering what I wanted, but not at the price I wanted to pay. This "price" also includes the hassle of transferring providers, and paperwork. So not only were they more expensive from a cost perspective, but there was the transfer.

So why aren't I willing to fork up the extra cash, and change providers? It boils down to two reasons:

1. Not enough incentive. The other providers do have the tech, but my provider is catching up. They might have the equipment in a couple of months. So changing providers (for the increase in price), coupled with the usual contractual obligations is not worth it in my opinion.


2. Customer service. Whenever I ring up with a problem, or a query, I can talk to an intelligent individual who can talk the language. Working in IT, I get how the internet works. Being able to have an informed discussion with someone I can understand is what keeps me.

I just wish all customer service operators listened to me (us) instead of pushing new products. I'm looking at you 3 Mobile.