Last week, Guest IQ looked at loyalty and social networks. As I looked closer at these subjects, I found this thought-provoker on CNN.com.
Marguerite Reardon points out that the Iphone has impressive loyalty; 90% of its users would recommend it to a friend. However, she states half of Iphone users would defect from AT&T if they could. AT&T counters that the truest measure of loyalty is customer churn, and in that area they are the best wireless carrier.
Some suggest that AT&T should simply fess up, acknowledge the problems, and simply apologize. Otherwise, they face swelling animosity and a potential mass defection when the exclusivity with the Iphone runs out (approx. two years). The author states that 50% of Iphone users on AT&T came over from other carriers, so their loyalty is far from a sure thing.
Question: To what percentage does the consumer hold each provider in the transaction responsible? This article indicates that AT&T is picking up the entire tab, but certainly this situation gives Iphone’s competitors valuable time to gain footholds with other providers.
In hotels, Wi-Fi support is almost always contracted out to a third-party. If a hotel guest is talking with a hotel’s Wi-Fi support partner, it is an important ‘moment of truth’ that the hotel will be held accountable for. Hotels should consider asking any guest with a phone call on their folio to the Wi-Fi provider specifically about that guest experience, and make sure that their partner isn’t writing checks against the hotel’s valuable brand equity.
Read the CNN article here.
