Until recently, it hadn't really occurred to me that my phone would become irrelevant. Yet, that's exactly what has happened. April 30 will be the last day my land line interrupts the middle of one of my favorite shows, which, ironically enough, are House and Flip That House (no connection between the two).
After almost 20 years of having the same land line phone number, we have decided to go completely wireless. I honestly have no anxiety about this at all. I can't remember the last time someone called me on my land line who wasn't soliciting for something. My daughters have never had a land line, so calls coming in aren't for them either. It's time to "let it go." I've come a long way from my childhood days when our family shared a party line with a neighbor.
When I called Bellsouth to let them know of my decision, the first thing I was told was that I would now be dealing with "The new AT&T" (as if that made a difference). When I told Chris that I had decided I no longer needed a land line, he suggested I keep the line at a new reduced rate of about $25 a month, less than half what I had been paying. I explained that the same $25 bucks could buy me an enormous amount of additional, flexible cell service. He didn't even try to argue with me. Maybe he realized the service he was selling was quickly becoming irrelevant to a lot of homeowners like me. Still, wouldn't you think he'd fight harder to keep a 20-year customer?
The day I called to cancel my land line, I also called T-Mobile to switch my daughter's cell service to Verizon because T-Mobile's service is spotty in the college town where Sydney will soon move. The rep did everything he could to prevent the switch. He offered to find out when better coverage would be available and said I could suspend the service until then, thereby keeping the number and not leaving a "service you have enjoyed since January 2004, according to our records." He then suggested switching to a newer phone that had better signal strength and, oh by the way, would be available to me at a discount rate as a reward for being such a good customer. I really liked this guy and actually felt guilty about canceling the service; however, I had already checked into T-Mobile's future coverage plans and knew they didn't include the GCSU area. I was very impressed with the rep's efforts to make T-Mobile continue to be relevant to me. And if T-Mobile had plans to increase coverage in the area soon, I would have stayed with the service.
How about your company? What do you do to ensure you remain relevant to your clients? Don't wait until they've decided they no longer need you before you figure out you still need them.
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