RE: [UC] AOL's little secret
FYI, this is true for a lot of companies these days. Here are two examples: 1) When I signed up for Verizon DSL, the rate was $34.95 per month. They later lowered it to $29.95 per month, but they would have happily let me go on paying the higher rate. I called up one day and said, can I pay $29.95 instead? and they said, Yes, ok, and changed it. I guess you have to ask. 2) I bought a ticket on Jet Blue recently and the next week the price dropped on the same ticket. I called up and said, Oops, I bought it before and it was more expensive, can I pay less? and they say, Yes, I guess so, and gave me a credit for the difference. I really don't know why it is that way these days, but I get the sense that in general, people will let you pay whatever you are paying and that's that. But if you call up and ask, for some reason they respond. ELISABETH DUBIN Hillier ARCHITECTURE One South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3502 | T 215 636- | F 215 636-9989 | hillier.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Krull Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 9:13 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: [UC] AOL's little secret A friend of mine at work is on AOL. For 4 years she had been paying $23.95 per month for her service. She was having the $23.95 taken out of her credit card. AOL never mentioned that she could have paid $17.95 per month for the SAME service if she committed for a year. All she did was tell them over the phone. She was NEVER told of this savings option. She LOST over $200 over the last 4 years. She found out from a friend. Umm. Glad I am not with AOL -Mark You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
RE: [UC] AOL's little secret
I think it's less of an ignoring of existing customers and more of a business strategy. ELISABETH DUBIN Hillier ARCHITECTURE One South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3502 | T 215 636- | F 215 636-9989 | hillier.com -Original Message- From: Stephen Fisher [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 10:21 AM To: Dubin, Elisabeth Cc: Mark Krull; UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: Re: [UC] AOL's little secret Actually the same also goes in terms of DSL speeds. When Verizon increased their DSL upload/download speeds then didn't bother to upgrade their existing customers to the faster speeds. I told my uncle to call (I use cable internet), and sure enough they increased his DSL speed. It's really unfortunate that you have to ask and that you have to waste time watching for these things to even know when to ask. It seems companies are so focused on gaining new customers they seem to forget about their existing customers. Happy warm Thursday, Stephen Dubin, Elisabeth wrote: FYI, this is true for a lot of companies these days. Here are two examples: 1) When I signed up for Verizon DSL, the rate was $34.95 per month. They later lowered it to $29.95 per month, but they would have happily let me go on paying the higher rate. I called up one day and said, can I pay $29.95 instead? and they said, Yes, ok, and changed it. I guess you have to ask. 2) I bought a ticket on Jet Blue recently and the next week the price dropped on the same ticket. I called up and said, Oops, I bought it before and it was more expensive, can I pay less? and they say, Yes, I guess so, and gave me a credit for the difference. I really don't know why it is that way these days, but I get the sense that in general, people will let you pay whatever you are paying and that's that. But if you call up and ask, for some reason they respond. ELISABETH DUBIN Hillier ARCHITECTURE One South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3502 | T 215 636- | F 215 636-9989 | hillier.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Krull Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 9:13 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: [UC] AOL's little secret A friend of mine at work is on AOL. For 4 years she had been paying $23.95 per month for her service. She was having the $23.95 taken out of her credit card. AOL never mentioned that she could have paid $17.95 per month for the SAME service if she committed for a year. All she did was tell them over the phone. She was NEVER told of this savings option. She LOST over $200 over the last 4 years. She found out from a friend. Umm. Glad I am not with AOL -Mark You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html. You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] AOL's little secret
On 13 Jan, 2005, at 09:13, Mark Krull wrote: A friend of mine at work is on AOL. For 4 years she had been paying $23.95 per month for her service. She was having the $23.95 taken out of her credit card. AOL never mentioned that she could have paid $17.95 per month for the SAME service if she committed for a year. All she did was tell them over the phone. She was NEVER told of this savings option. She LOST over $200 over the last 4 years. She found out from a friend. Umm. Glad I am not with AOL This tactic is not unique to AOL. Virtually any service will allow you to pay whatever you want for as long as you will put up with it. They rarely, if ever communicate anything to their existing customers which will cause them to pay less. Banks are notorious for this. Most all employers are the same way -- they often pay the new hire more than loyal employees, who have been there for multiple years, simply because that is the current market rate. The high-tech world was rampant with this through the 70s, 80s and 90s -- if you wanted a raise, you got a new job. This is the primary reason why employers get really upset when employees compare wages. T.T.F.N. William H. Magill [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] AOL's little secret
On 13 Jan, 2005, at 10:19, Dubin, Elisabeth wrote: I think it's less of an ignoring of existing customers and more of a business strategy. Correct-o-mundo -- it's called disintermediation. This is a technical term from the financial community: Withdrawal of funds from intermediary financial institutions, such as banks and savings and loan associations, in order to invest in instruments yielding a higher return at the same institution. This the reason why things like CDs or cell-phone contracts have all kinds of early termination penalties. This same premise applies to the income stream of any business. A new customer attracted because of a lower price is new income, but an existing customer who pays less represents a loss of income. T.T.F.N. William H. Magill [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
