I mentioned a few days ago on how I was having problems with my cell phone while trying to pin point it as hardware or network issue. I first contacted the carrier and the person thought it was odd as it sounded like it could be a network problem and so he directed me to go to a storefront and they could do a test to confirm on the spot what the problem was. On top of that, I could apparently get a free replacement phone if necessary since I have been with them for almost five years now.
That kind of made me impressed as it seems like they were going out of their way to make sure that I was being taken care of. It was kind of a different story when I went to an actual store. Immediately, without testing the answer was that it was a phone problem and that I should just buy a new phone while signing another long-term agreement.
Just to make sure this wasn’t an isolated incident, I went to a different store and sure enough it was a similar experience. That kind of made me think that if I had to start from square one again, considering I have been with them for that long, I may as well start shopping with other carriers as well.
This also reminded me on how it is very expensive from a business perspective just to acquire one customer in that industry. But in general, the initial time or financial investment to retain a customer can be more economical than trying to directly acquire new ones.