Just Cancel My Account… and Lose My Number

Have you ever been frustrated, like really frustrated with a company and called it quits? Sometimes it’s one egregious, unforgivable mistake that makes you sever ties. Boom. You’re done and never looking back. But for me it’s often just a slow boil, and it’s not any one simple thing that finally sends me over the edge. While I don’t consider myself to be a pushover, I’m easy-going and like to give the benefit of the doubt to a company in most cases. However, there comes a point where everyone draws a line and says, “Push one more time…” Well, I’m getting pushed.     

Last year I cut the cord on my cable and switched to all streaming services. At the time, it made sense. AT&T had just bought DirectTV and through the power of effective marketing, they were blasting me from all angles (direct mail, email, texts, etc.) about how much money I could save bundling my cell phone plan, home internet, and TV. They already had my cell service and internet, so I eventually bit the shiny lure. They promised me the world, saying I would never want to go back to the old model with a dish in my yard. After looking at the bundled package, I’d save close to $50 monthly and all was looking great. But they did have one caveat that I should have paid closer attention to—their new DirectTV NOW service was in the “beta” stage and there would be some hiccups.

An extra $50 a month in my pocket buys a lot of grace, and like I said above, I’m a realist who also chooses to believe the waitress is coming to refill my glass that’s half full any time now. Remember, the options are quick, cheap, or good. You can only choose two.

So, I wasn’t expecting perfection, but a lot of little things are slowly becoming too much to overcome. The live TV recording DVR function still records only when it wants to. I was told the local channels would be added soon, yet close to a year out those contracts are “Still being worked on.” And just last night I received the email that sent this editorial rant in motion. I was notified of my THIRD price increase since subscribing because, you know, “Programming costs continue to rise.”

Why am I telling you about my struggles being able to watch old westerns and March Madness when I want to? Because I think, in some form or fashion, every one of us has had a similar customer experience. You signed a contract where you’re penalized if you cancel, but they’re free to raise the fee any time they want. You were promised the world on the front end, but you only received half the service that made you sign up in the first place. Unfortunately, we are much more accustomed to being overpromised and underserved, leaving us jaded from the very beginning of a business relationship.

Remember, if you are relating to this, so would your potential customers. I listened to a speaker a few days ago named Seth Mattison, a business strategy expert, who said that before the year 2022 the full battlefield of retail will not be fought over price or even availability, it will be fought with customer experience. What does that mean?

Whoever treats the customer the best gets the customers.

People have more options than they’ve ever had before, so rock bottom price is no longer the deciding factor in who a customer chooses. Whether it’s online shopping, restaurants, insurance providers, or their choice in in-home contractors, people are now gravitating toward doing business with companies focused on giving them a GOOD experience.

There’s a reason Chick-fil-a is blowing their competition out of the water revenue-wise, even while being closed an extra day. It’s not because their food is THAT much better, and they aren’t the cheapest option out there, but when you go there you feel cared about. Chick-fil-a is winning the customer service game and people have proven they are willing to pay more for that experience.

Contractors are in a unique position though, and some have figured out this concept. Have you ever wondered why the largest contracting operation in town is NOT normally the cheapest? They’ve found ways to build trust, and that prospect knows they will be well taken care of if they choose them. Back to my dance with DirectTV. The extra $50 I was saving was not worth the months of frustration I’ve been through. Let’s face it, unless it’s a wife calling to schedule the bathroom remodel a husband finally said yes to, people are not usually looking forward to calling a contractor. It’s normally an unexpected inconvenience they want handled quickly and efficiently, so think about that process start to finish. What if you had the emergency and you were making that call to your company.

Would you like to know the exact time a tech will arrive so you don’t have to miss more work than necessary? Would you like for him/her to look professional? Would you like to be notified ahead of time of the tech’s name so you unlock the door for the right person? Would you like a full explanation of what the problem is without someone talking over your head with technical jargon, and be given options for a solution?

Of course, you answered yes to all of those things, and most of you are already doing them. But so are your competitors. So here’s where we really start to separate the Chick-fil-a’s from the AT&Ts. How above and beyond are you willing to go to show your customers they are valuable to you? I mean think about it. Everything you own—all the trucks, the nice warehouse, your La-Z-Boy you never get to sit in, and your kid’s college tuition are all being paid for by your customers, right? Maybe it’s time to start investing a little bit back into the total experience of being one of your customers. What are you offering and how do you communicate with them? “I’ll be here when you need me,” is simply not enough.

Communication is such a huge part of a business relationship, but it can’t just be any communication. I said that I’ve hung on to the bad AT&T relationship longer than I should have, but they could’ve kept me as a customer simply with some good communication. Words like, “We are working on the glitches…,” “We haven’t forgotten you, Justin,” or “We are aware of the issues, here’s a coupon for your patience…” would have gone a long way. Instead, the only time I heard from them was through an occasional email trying to get me to upgrade to the next package up in price, and you know what those emails did? Just continually reminded me of the problems I was experiencing and how unhappy I already was.

Leave the existing issue I had out of this and just ask yourself, if the only time I ever heard from a company they were trying to sell me something, how long would I view that relationship as mutually beneficial? How can you add value to the communication and interaction you have with your customers?

Current business statistics suggest you should have 12 or more “quality contacts” with customers throughout the year to keep them engaged or you risk losing the relationship. What is a quality contact? It’s an unsolicited touch that adds value to the relationship and doesn’t ask for anything immediately in return. It’s a simple thank you and fringe benefit you’re offering in exchange for choosing to do business with you versus the competitor down the street. These can be follow-up thank you cards, birthday or holiday cards, customer newsletters, home tips, or money saving ideas. There are many, many easy ways to set yourself apart by going above and beyond because, quite frankly, not many people are even trying.

If you’re a forward-thinking contractor who wants to position their pricing above rock-bottom and is building toward the future, I hope you can change your vocabulary a little. Think less about what your ROI will be on every expenditure and start thinking about a more sustainable acronym: ROR, or “return on the relationship” you can build with your customers.

If AT&T had invested a little more in their relationship with me, I wouldn’t be shopping right now.

If you’d like more simple ideas about how you can get some customer retention programs in place to turn the names in your database into raving fans of your company, reach out to us at (800) 489-9099 or email [email protected] to speak with me or one of our other marketing coaches. We can fully automate your quality touches to keep you in front of homeowners all year long!