So recently I was looking for a new Internet service plan for my parents as their contract expired with their current company and they didn’t seem to want to offer them a better deal to stay as one. Considering they can get better for less money it only makes sense to switch. So as I was researching plans I was speaking to a person that was able to offer something really good. The only issue was my parents needs the phone service too. While the Internet was a great price adding the phone makes the deal not as good.
This was the surprising part as the associate essentially told me about a competitor that offers phone service for way less and will pretty much do the same job. So with that option you could sign up for the great Internet package and then use the other company for the phone where my parents would almost save almost $500 a year. That’s a crazy good deal and savings I must say. Of course the big thing here was how the person just openly told me to go to a competitor as it was technically the best option price wise for my parents.
Would you think that is the right and best thing to do if you were the business owner? The immediate reaction for many would be no as you shouldn’t be directing away potential business. On the other hand it could work in the sense of building trust where people will have confidence that you have their best interest in mind. That could then equal to more sale. I know when I worked at retail for the most part if we didn’t carry an item then there is no reason not to tell people where they can potentially find it. I know from my personal experience people valued the honesty and often came back to the store I worked at as the number one choice if we did carry the items.
Of course if you carry the product or service and still recommend a different company because it is cheaper where there is no price matching option that’s probably a bit trickier. But I definitely think at times it can be a positive to do so.