Virgin Losing The Plot

I am an ardent fan of Virgin. Like many global Citizens I have not only admired the company but also its owner Richard Branson. I have read some of his books and even attended some of his talks in South Africa. My first experience directly with the brand was in 1998 when I flew Virgin from Johannesburg to London. It was an incredible experience and was certainly sold on everything Virgin. Richard Branson is the ultimate entrepreneur.

Recently, I have been receiving regular calls from Virgin Mobile call centre agents. They offering me a special on a phone that I don’t need or want. They have not taken the time to do their home work on me as person to understand what I look for in a phone. They just assume because it is on special I may be interested. The call agents sometimes even get annoyed at me when I say call back after you know what I am looking for. I have a contract with Nashua Mobile on my Blackberry which runs for two years at a time. Virgin should be proactive and ensure that they call me six months prior to my contract expiring to enable them to understand my needs, the phone I require and the contract I need. It is not difficult for anyone to provide a better service than Nashua Mobile (they have become big and clumsy). In that way I would be in a position to offer them a chance at my business. Just too merely call me and offer me a phone is by no means enticing me to join Virgin Mobile. In fact it is highly irritating.

The first lesson of customer service is to understand their needs. Give them a product that they want not what you want to give them. Put the customer in control of the event and you will be successful. The call centre agent route may work for some but if you are truly looking for brand advocates then please understand who they are and what they do and what they require.

Sorry Virgin you have lost the plot on this one.