Its just happened to me again!!!!!!!
Motorcycle (same applies to car) insurance renewal quote £262.
Make a few calls, best price £190 with something called \'puncture assistance\' thrown in. Deal done.
Call old company to cancel previous insurance, get put through to the \'we will do anything to try and stop you cancelling department\'. Told them I\'d taken the other deal, they say \'what did you do that for we could have matched that price!\'. My response, \'well if you\'d given me your best quote first then you\'d still have my business!\'
I suppose they do it because at least some people just renew without checking and they make money with gravy on it...
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Exactly the same with mobile phones. Not interested in offering you anything at all until you call back and try and cancel.
If their "terminations" department can offer such good deals, why wait til that point to try and persuade people?
In both instances people, certainly I, would've sorted out alternative arrangements already!
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Same with mortgages. When I moved took out new one with xxxx1, fixed rate (no pens)for two years. Two years comes and i say what can you offer me now? Standard variable sir. Ok off i go to xxxx2 and get a three year discount tracker no pens. When its time to move mortgage xxxx1 comes back and says "why didnt you contact us we could have done a deal"
This line works well. "My wifes insurance has gone up, we are canceling buildings insurance, contents insurance and pet insurance all with you" "really sir? we can offer your wife a discount" suprise suprise.
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It's crass business. A new customer costs a LOT of sdvertising admin to gain. AN existing customer kept costs nothing so existing customers should be offered best prices especially if they make no claims.
No wonder insurance companies are held in such high regard.. their business policies are "screw our existing customers".
Brand loyalty? Customer satisfaction? Whatsthat?
Bunch of walkers..
madf
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This is an excellent post on a very pertinent thread and madf has hit the nail on the head. I worked for many years in a service industry which is extremely competitive. Salespeople were taught to calculate the cost of acquiring new business and the cost of a lost customer. A somewhat imprecise exercise, perhaps. That was not the point. The point was the awareness achieved and the value it added to the salesman's conceptual framework of what his job was. Because he was assessed on business lost as well as business gained his failures in that regard hit him in his sensitive parts financially and he pretty soon got with the program.
We live in an era when busines is transacted by out-sourced poorly run agencies featuring callow youths in call centres behind a plastic recording which drones on about your call is important to us (in that case why do you need twenty minutes of me holding, when it's my nickel at that, to wait till one of your dimwitted under-trained uncaring pimply minimum wage employees finds the time to put down the Daily MIrror and talk to me, only for me to find out he /she hasn't a clue about me or who I am or what I want and could care less?).
British banks are absolutely the worst.
Mine can barely run my account without constant foul-ups and demands my life history before I can talk to it, despite the fact they've had my business for the last 35 years. Then it sourly tells me I should use my internet banking set-up if I don't want to hold on. Anything to avoid actually dealing with a customer.
Thank heavens for the Philippines. Last week I had a call from Ford Philippines, a lass called Tess with a lovely voice who said sir I hope I'm not disturbing you but our records show your truck is possibly ready for its 10,000 km service. Can I book you in now or would you like to let me know? Can I give you my cellphone number so you can text me if you prefer?
24 hours later I had a call from the **** Bank, you know it's the one which is your local bank globally, from Louise, who said Mr Haigh I do hope I'm not calling at an inconvenient time. I just noticed the balance you're holding on call has grown quite a lot and I wondered you'd like me to add some of it to your time deposit when that matures next Friday. That way you'll get a beter interest rate.
When I next need a new truck where will I buy it from? Of course that's a no-brainer. When someone says to me what's the best bank to deal with here what will I say? No-brainer. What does this simple marketing exercise costs these two organisations? Almost peanuts. It's probably carried out in slack time with people who are on duty already so it's a fixed not even a variable cost on their payroll line, unless you count the phone call cost. Does it make the customer feel like he's wanted? You bet. Does it help retain and attract business? Of course.
I don't know what's wrong with UK organisations. I could do a better job in my sleep with what I know than they seem to manage when they're awake.
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Just to show how completely corrupt this process is, as I stated above the first quote was £262, when I called to cancel they offered to match the price I had been quoted elsewhere, £190. I declined and did not inquire further but I sort of assumed that this would be a different insurer/policy, it is not!
They sent me out a second set of policy renewal documents, this time with a price of £190 on them, exactly the same cover with exactly the same insurer, identical in all respects except the price!
I have sent both sets of papers to the Managing Director of the company and have asked for an explanation, don't suppose I'll get one though...
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Having been as rude as I can be without upsetting the swearometer on the site, Direct Line have just issued me my renewal papers and the cost has gone down.. only £3 but:-)
Pity house insurers and other commercial insurers do not follow such good practice.
Bet you don't get a reply from the MD of any substance in under 3 months (apart from a holding letter..if you don't get that then they really are walkers...)
madf
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I've just jumped through this hoop as well : end of two year discount: phoned Abbey National : they went straight into the 'this is the best deal we can do for you' routine. Didn't even have to make a token attempt at shopping around. 150 quid a month knoked off future repayments for the sake of one phone call. Haven't quite worked out how they make money when I'm paying below base rate in interest; but what the hell.
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