Having heard about the importance of good customer service at the Store Manager of the Year final last week and how it often made that crucial difference, I was amazed to learn a few days later of Orange’s sudden decision to raise its contract prices by 4.3%. As, no doubt, were many of the network’s loyal customers.
It was only a couple of days earlier that I had listened to experts from the industry eulogising about how the mobile retail sector was putting far more emphasis on people by making sure it was engaging staff and reaching out to customers. They emphasised how the industry had moved away from the long-established hard sell approach, making the experience of dealing with customers a more pleasant one.
So Orange’s decision to text many of its hard-up customers to inform them of the pay rise flies in the face of good customer service practice, with scores of angry customers venting their fury on our website. Some of the comments were so severe that they were almost unpublishable.
Not only that, it simply beggars belief that Orange would take such a calculated gamble in a competitive market where all the networks are vying for a greater share. It will be interesting to see what the fallout will be from the decision when its results are published next year.
The network now faces an uphill struggle to retain customers angered by the price hike if it is to avoid a sales backlash.
However, Orange is fronting it out by insisting that it’s acting within its rights and has not contravened any particular rule or regulation – indeed, it claims the rise is just a reflection of the latest Retail Price Index (RPI) figures. But the industry regulator Ofcom told Mobile it will consider an investigation into the sudden pay rise based on the unfair clause in its consumer contracts regulations.
Let’s hope Ofcom takes a robust approach when investigating the matter.
Shujual Azam, Mobile editor
• News: Ofcom mulls Orange 4.3% rise investigation