It was only a few days ago that I was thinking what a huge time-drain social networking can be, and I’ve also been contemplating giving up Facebook for a while. Â But I’m pleased to say that just this morning I had a bit of a result, directly from using Twitter.
One of the many “joys” (*note sarcastic tone*) of living in the back end of nowhere is that broadband provision is slow, costly, and there is minimal choice when it comes to suppliers.  I’ve been with Tesco for about eight years now, and I’ve generally found their service OK, although my monthly bill, just for broadband, is £25.  I chose their most expensive package as I needed unlimited downloads and the best speed they had available.  Which was 2 mb/s.  Yes, laughable, I know.
Tesco recently wrote to me saying they were upgrading their broadband services, and I’m pleased to say that the speed has almost doubled to around 3.5 mb/s.
However, I noticed yesterday that they have rejigged all their broadband packages, and that the most expensive package now is £14 per month.  So I phoned them up, and asked if I could be swapped onto that package.
No, you can’t, came the answer.
Why not? Â I asked, fairly reasonably I thought.
Because you’re an existing customer and we don’t have any offers for existing customers.
I don’t want an offer, I just don’t want to pay an extra £11 per month for exactly the same service that other people are getting for £11 less!
Sorry, madam, nothing we can do. Â But I’ll note your complaint.
To say I came off the phone steaming would be an understatement. Â I was livid.
And I tweeted about it.
Lo and behold, first thing this morning, I had a tweet from Dean at Tesco Broadband, asking for further details, and by lunchtime today, I had been switched to the £14 per month package!!
On the one hand, it’s ridiculous that I had to resort to naming and shaming via Social Media in order to get something done, but on the other, that Twitter’s a marvellous thing, isn’t it?
Brilliant result! Good for you – maybe if more people take their complaints to Twitter about this sort of thing then it will change. Ages ago I asked something similar of Sky but just seethed inwardly about their ‘new customers only’ offer, which wasn’t good for the blood pressure! Wish I had thought to put it on Twitter.
Consumer power – huzzah!
Wow! I may be naive but I hadn’t realised Twitter could be used in this way!
Totally agree!! We have had the same thing with BT! Plus when we have problems with speed etc we try and try to get through to a person who will actually help us. In the end my husband Twitters about his complaint instead, which always gets instant results!! It shouldn’t be that way though!!
-x-
Well done! You don’t ask, you don’t get.
I got a reduction in my BT broadband charges by phoning them up and saying I’d had a great offer from O2, why should I pay them twice as much? ‘Er, I’ll put you through to my manager’. It turned out I’d been paying too much for my broadband for four years!
Well done and what a great result you got. Power to the tweeters!
I have had good results from Twitter exposure…….couldn´t get anywhere with Specsavers my calls weren´t being answered. So tweeted every day about the bad service then got a call from a Manager and a credit of 125 quid was instantly received. I also tweeted about Barclaycard and got a 75 quid goodwill gesture. So yes the power of Twitter is great. Wish I could do something about Sky but as I live in Spain and am not supposed to have it I daren´t so continue to pay my 65 quid a month.
£65? Ouch!
I am in the US and have a “package” consisting of internet service (high speed), cable tv and phone service which costs me on the average $170 per month if I don’t watch any movies that have to be paid separate for. I find that amount to be too much and did what you did – called the company and asked them to give me the $99 per month price that “new customers” get. They told me no. I am a customer already and they don’t have any reduced packages for me. I never used twitter but now you have me considering doing just that. I’m so happy that you got your bill reduced. It’s only fair. Why don’t they treat their customers as good or better than new customers? It doesn’t make sense.
Gosh, Arlene, $170 per months sounds very expensive.
Thats brilliant, well done for not just accepting what they said and keeping quiet! Twitter & Facebook do have their uses.