Losing a Loyal Customer For $104
I was with Geico for over 21 years. I paid my bill (usually in full, no payment plan); I had one claim in over two decades; haven’t had a ticket in years and years; drive a very practical car. And, I loved that little gecko (the cavemen, not so much.) But, I heard that AAA could save me money – and I’m a AAA member. So, I called and got a quote – which sure enough – was $104.00 lower than Geico (with a better rental car benefit.)
Now, I know it sounds silly…but, but, I liked Geico. Always got great service. (Did I mention the gecko?) Didn’t want to switch (but, a hundred bucks is a nice contribution to the travel fund.) So, I called them. Nope, they couldn’t do anything to keep me. Just like that. Buh-bye.
The phone service rep looked at their guidelines and…well, there was just nothing she could do. Yet another example of the company customer service policies getting in the way of actual customer service.
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Mary – Had the same experience with Allstate earlier this year. Got a great quote from Liberty Mutual for all our insurances (auto, home, umbrella) that was a few hundred dollars less than Allstate. Called Allstate and said meet or beat – they said they couldn’t. I said good bye.
Mary
It is amazing how much a company will spend on marketing in order to draw in a new customer, but how little they are willing to spend to keep a customer. At the organization I work for we have a cancellation fee for last minute cancellations, or no shows. The fee is only $25, and every customer is informed ahead of time about the cancellation fee. Every week I receive numerous complaints about the cancellation fee, and I remove almost every single charge. We saw a decrease in cancellations once we started the cancellation fee, but if someone is upset about it, why would I let us lose a customer for $25?
This perplexes me. We all know that it’s 6-7 times cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire one. I’m sure that as much into actuarial tables as they are, that they’ve run the numbers. Or have they?
Actuaries aren’t running customer care. Bean counters do that, and they don’t give a flying flop about individual customers until enough of them go away to create a Trend. Of course, by then it’s often too late…
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