Advice to the Cellular Companies

It's fascinating to watch how the cellular phone companies establish policies to increase their revenue while trying not to create so much dissatisfaction that their customers will jump to another carrier. It's akin to walking a tightrope.

It's hard to think of another industry in which there's such an adversarial relationship between the company and its customers. In a survey of best and worst services in this month's Consumers Report magazine, cell-phone service is rated 18 out of 20.

Cellular companies provide a valuable product, but they constantly exploit us. They think more like utilities than retail companies.

Examples? Requiring us to commit to a 2-year contract when buying a new phone; making us pay for things that should be free such as sending a photo; disabling features designed into the phone such as WiFi; charging high per-minute fees when we use more minutes than what we signed up for; paying a huge termination charge.

With other products and services customers choose to work with companies and stores that they like and generally are loyal.

People tell us they love stores such as Target and Nordstrom, love their car company or are loyal to one airline. But I've never met a person that loves his cellular company. We'll select one because it's not as bad than others.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The low satisfaction levels provide an opportunity for one cellular company to rise up above the rest. With a little effort, one company can make some policy changes that sets it apart, creates a buzz and a loyal following. They need to think differently, to steal a phrase from another company. That company can become the company their customers want to love...ok, at least like.

What do they need to do? Here are my suggestions:

No long-term contacts
No longer subject us to long-term contracts and cancellation penalties when signing up for service. You can provide subsidies on phones, but state the amount upfront in the contract, and reduce the cancellation fee to zero as the subsidy is paid off. Alternatively, allow us to pay the full price of the phone or buy it elsewhere and avoid all contracts and cancellation charges.

Monthly minutes
Don't force us to guess how many minutes we'll use when selecting a call plan. Offer just one plan: Buy minutes on a graduated scale. The more minutes you use, the less per minute you pay.

Rounding minutes
No longer calculate the minutes used by rounding up to the nearest minute. Instead charge to nearest second. It's just not right to charge for time not being used.

Mobile phone features
No longer disable features from mobile phones that the manufacturers build in and are available elsewhere, such as WiFi, Bluetooth file transfer and Voice over Internet calling.

Unlocking
Sell all phones unlocked. Give the us the freedom to buy SIM cards locally while traveling internationally and pay lower rates.

Customer support
Answer all calls within 5 minutes or take a message and call back within 30 minutes. Empower customer service representatives to solve problems immediately. If the problem can't be solved on the first call, call back with a solution within 24 hours.

I'm convinced the first company that does this will find positive word of mouth to be more significant to growing their business than all of their current slogans that no one believes anyway.

So which company will it be?

Comments

[phil28]

Some cell companies insist that the WiFi be taken out and the phone manufacturer create a new model designation. One example is Nokia's E61 that's sold all over the world with WiFi. AT&T sells the same phone made for them called E62 except it has no WiFi.

[cam]

You make some good points, but let's face it, we're victims of the same kind of market manipulation that results in cheap printers and expensive ink, cheap razors and expensive blades ... It has become so cynical that Apple is marketing devices with lifespans largely dictated by the batteries embedded in them. The only way it will ever change is if the consumer resists the seduction - how likely is that?

I had no idea some cell phones were intrinsically wi-fi capable. Anybody have any information on how to unlock any of them?

[robinhood1]

I am reasonably happy with my cell phone service (T-Mobile). The phone cost me $25 (after rebate) plus sales tax and included a $15 prepaid calling card, a $25 prepaid calling card and the ability to buy more minutes at a cost as low as 10 cents per minute. The $100 calling card (with 1,000 nationwide anytime minutes, including long distance) offers the best value and is good for one year. When I recently renewed my service, I got an unexpected bonus. My unused minutes from the prior year's card were carried over to the new card. So this card year, I don't have to be quite as frugal with my minutes. I have no complaints about the battery or the phone itself. The only complaint is the cost of using the phone in Canada. It would require unlocking the phone, a new SIM card for Canada (C$25) and expensive Canadian minutes (purchased in Canada). Apart from the cost of unlocking the phone, all the other costs are levied by the Canadian service provider (Rogers). As anyone who has ever traveled to Canada knows, just about everything costs more up there, sometimes a lot more. So if you are not happy with your US cell phone service, be glad you're not living in Canada.

[FireThorn]

Are you kidding? I dumped T-mobile like toxic waste 4 years ago after I got a $150.00 phone bill. Paid a fortune calling my friends on other networks like that commercial, "Who are you calling that's making your bill so high?!" You

Plus the service sucked on the DE beaches where I was living at the time

[robinhood1]

Prepaid cell phone cards are not for everyone, but if you don't use a lot of minutes every month, they may be good for you. I am certainly more satisfied with my prepaid service than I was with my old Sprint plan. Even with a corporate discount I was receiving, I was still spending over $30 a month, when all the taxes and fees were included.

[dexxjones]

i have a better plan- form a national citizen's board. have the citizen's board issue a grade on how companies which do business in the us treat the consumer.

companies with a bad grade are prohibited from ANY tax abasement or any other tax-funded help whatsoever. its our money- why should we help nasty companies?

see how nice att becomes when they will never be elegible for any tax break or other corporate welfare.

also, chare a penalty to "bad" companies who use publically owned resources such as bandwidth.

its time to stop pretending that these companies act in a vacuum. this country belongs to human beings who pay taxes. corporations need a good, swift kick in their ass.

[dadw5boys]

If I ran an oil company my prices would be so high cell phone stocks would be penny stock.