Being Charged for Paying the Monthly Bill
My telephone service provider – Telstra – is now going to charge me for the privilege of paying my monthly phone bills via check payments!
That's right, it is going to cost me A$2.20 each and every time I write a check payment to them. And even more if I want to pay with my credit card or pay at my local Australia Post shop.
And since I have multiple accounts with Telstra covering land lines, mobile phones, Internet and wireless connections, I currently write about 40 to 50 checks a year to them. So this new charge could cost me up to $100 a year for me to stay loyal to them.
Talk about Marketing Morons.
A few years ago, Telstra starting charging its customers a "processing fee" of 0.69% to pay bills via a Visa or other branded credit card or with an American Express charge card. This fee is now being raised to a full 1% of the payment amount effective next week.
And now they are introducing a $2.20 "payment administration fee" for each bill payment sent through the mail or made in person at either their own Telstra shops or an Australian Post outlet.
Even more mercenary, if a customer wants to pay with their credit or charge card in person at a Telstra shop or post office, the customer gets hit with both the processing fee and the payment administration fee!
The only way to avoid the $2.20 payment administrative fee is to pay one's Telstra bills through Internet banking or with a direct debit to your bank account.
One of the fundamentals of good marketing practice is to offer customers choice. Telstra is going about this the wrong way, by charging customers a fee when they select any choice other than the one that Telstra obviously prefers.
I wrote about the need for marketers to Eliminate Stupid Rules & Fees in my marketing blog last year. I do not expect anyone at Telstra to understand what I wrote, but to help keep you from making the same brand deteriorating mistakes as Telstra, I suggest you read this and focus on two key questions:
1) What fees or surcharges drive your customers crazy? How can these be eliminated, or incorporated into your overall price structure?
2) What rules do you have that drive your customers crazy? How can these be eliminated or modified?
The last thing you want to be doing is to have your customers asking themselves why are the continuing to buy your products, services, or brands. At least if you want to reduce customer attrition and improve your customer loyalty.
For more on this topic, listen to the BNET interview with me two months ago called Slapping on the Fees.
Coincidentally, the same week I received three notices from Telstra about these new surcharges, I also received a letter from the David Thodey, the new CEO of Telstra. His opening paragraph made be laugh, as he states one of his priorities as the new CEO is improving customer service and satisfaction across the company.
Well Mr. Thodey, this is one long-time customer who is definitely less than satisfied.
For the past nine years I have been a loyal Telstra customer, and Telstra has received 100% of my corporate and personal telecommunications expenses, not only for my business but for my entire family.
I used to prefer making my monthly payments via credit card, but switched to check payments when Telstra introduced their fees on these payments. Now, rather than accepting another surcharge from Telstra, or having to change my payment habits once again to suit their needs, I think it’s time to look for a new telecommunications service provider.
If Mr. Thodey and his colleagues at Telstra are truly serious about improving customer satisfaction across the company, they need to have a serious look at the fees and surcharges that are not only driving customers crazy, but are also driving customers like me away.
Ideas for Taking Action
Weekly Tip: the last thing you want at the start of an economic recovery is for customers to starting questioning why they continue to buy your products, services or brands.
Taking Action: what fees or surcharges drive your customers crazy? If you don't know, now is the time to go ask and find out.
How can these fees or surcharges be eliminated, or incorporated into your overall price structure?
What rules do you have that drive your customers crazy? How can these be eliminated or modified?
Contact us today for a free in-depth discussion on how we can help you assess your fee structure, rules and policies in order to improve your customer retention rates.
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Recent Blogs
In recent weeks the Steven Howard Marketing Blog has covered a wide range of topics, including:
Understanding the Green Consumer
Personal Recommendations More Trusted Than Advertising
Not Necessarily the World's Strangest TV Ads
Marketing Luxury in a Downturn
10 Worst Green Brands
Subscribe to The Steven Howard Marketing Blog
Podcast
Listen to the BNET podcast featuring Steven Howard discuss why adding fees and surcharges can lead to a loss of customers or a reduction in customer spend.
Recommendations
Good friend Ken Hickson has launched his new book "The ABC of Carbon." It is available in leading book stores in Australia and on Amazon.com. |
Business/Personal Activity
Steven was elected last month as Deputy Chairman of Tourism Macedon Ranges, the peak body for tourism in the region northwest of Melbourne that includes iconic Hanging Rock.
We have recently done the naming, branding and product positioning work for a new global medical insurance policy that will be launched later this month in Hong Kong. We also produced the marketing collateral for this and did the copywriting for the web site.
Last week also saw us finish the final draft of Essenstial Words of Asian Wisdom, which should be in book stores in Singapore and Southeast Asia just in time for Christmas.
On the personal side, we celebrated Father's Day here in Australia yesterday with the family.
Eldest son Ryan continues to excell at Taekwondo, while Patrick is forming new-found interests in photography, journalism, and protection of the environment.
18-month old daughter Diani continues to delight, even when she's disturbing my nicely stacked work papers on my desk!
Zahida is busy as ever being a mom and planning for our new home.
Speaking of which, we have finally bought some land here in Gisborne and will commence building our new home next month.
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Contact Details
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