Internet Services Providers & Reputation Management

respect2-300x199What is the difference between reputable and disreputable companies? And how do companies earn their reputation?

The difference between  reputable and disreputable companies is identified according to certain situations faced by clients with the staff or the representatives of a company.

The staff of any company are the first image a client sees and the first impression a client gets. If the image and the impression is good, the client will go back; if it’s the opposite to that, the client will surely never go back.

And I wonder here. Do business owners really realize how many customers they are losing daily because of their representatives giving a bad image of the company when they deal with possible clients with no efficiency at all?

Do the staff of these companies realize that their lack of efficiency in dealing with possible clients, means the loss of their jobs and salaries in the future?

How do we judge Companies’ Reputations?

We judge the reputation of  any company through our experience. If it’s a good experience, we will spread the good word, but usually good words spread and travel slowly. On the other hand, if it’s a bad experience, we will spread the bad word and bad words spread and travel fast.

Do business owners of companies and their representatives  for sales and publicity realize that the most important and most dangerous propaganda are their own employees?

Different kinds of publicity

There are many types of advertising propaganda, such as expensive advertising through television, magazines; non expensive like the Internet… etc. Does anybody out there  think about the natural free publicity which simply  “the client” is?

This natural effective publicity which “the client” is, doesn’t cost companies a penny! But it does cost them their precious reputation. Either they keep it or they lose it.

A client is a  propaganda vessel when he or she deals with a company who knows how to gain their customers by offering high quality services and ensures the recruitment and training of highly qualified staff to deal with clients.

When a client deals with such company, he or she spreads the word by informing  friends and relatives about how  satisfied he or she is with the level of services they obtained through a company who dealt with them on high efficiency base.

Even if that client won’t use the services of a certain good reputed company for one reason or another, he or she will still spread the good word about that company.

On the other side, you are also a propaganda tool if you deal with a company’s representative who is not qualified for his post, he just complicates things for you and treats you with disrespect or underestimates you or wastes your time..

And of course in a situation like that, you are not only gonna spread the bad word just to friends and family and people you know but also to people whom you don’t know. And here, bad words travel and spread so fast.

Let’s say that you go to a company and you know very well that this company provides high quality services or products. If you get  abused by the  staff , you don’t care for the good quality services and products because dealing with a client is an Art and not everyone can comply with that Art, unless they are really qualified.

TEDATA (Te Data, a subsidiary of Telecom Egypt – Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN) Internet Services providers and the Policy of De Facto

To be more accurate about that issue, I shall give an example here of one of the biggest and first Companies in the revolution of communications field in Egypt which is called TEDATA Company, Internet Services Providers.

This Company forced me to use their services without any confirmation from my part and without any signed contract either; just because of a poor phone call I made to ask about their services.!

According to what they publish about themselves they have a vision which is to become a world-class customer-centric communications service provider enhancing people’s lives in the markets they serve.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

And their mission is to provide cutting-edge converged communications services that exceed customers expectations and drive market growth, by bringing outstanding quality and customer service through attracting and retaining the finest talents, while fostering their business ethics and creating value to their customers, employees, shareholders and communities.

TE Data is Egypt’s largest IP based data communications carrier with a national network and a regional vision. TE Data S.A.E. was established late 2001 by Telecom Egypt (Incumbent Operator of Egypt) to act as its data communications and Internet arm.

TE Data was awarded a Class A license from Egypt’s National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

Such a license allows TE Data to build its own national backbone network, operate its international data gateway, co-locate its equipment at the central offices and all IP based services to end-users as well as other Service Providers.

But what TEDATA missed to mention to their dear clients is that once you make a phone call to ask about their Internet services and I mean here just to make a phone call and ask about their Internet services, they take you for granted as their own client. With no contract, no confirmation from your side not even verbally that you would like a membership or anything similar to that.

Just call to check their Internet Services and you become their own dear client.

Then all of a sudden you get a phone call of one of their representatives telling you that they can get you an Internet service for three weeks free of charge and they ask you when it is suitable for you to send their representative to collect the fees for your membership!

Isn’t that amazing and super. Just a phone call to ask about something and there you go.

But that’s not the surprising part. The part that really drives you nuts, is that they oblige you in case you do not want to get their membership, to just cancel it.

But of course they try their best in convincing you of how super and good their services  are and they insist that no other company can provide similar services to theirs and they even keep repeating to reconsider the cancellation because you don’t have that many choices but theirs.

So, you are forced to Cancel a membership and a contract which has never taken place in the first place! Furthermore, you can’t get any document which proves the cancellation or even the number of cancellation before 15 days.

And why 15 days?! Because it is the regulations and rules of their bureaucracy. Can you believe that? You wait 15 days just to get a cancellation number for a contract you have never signed?!

If you are a negative person, you are going to think that 15 days is a long period and you are forced again to get along with their membership and just accept the situation they have put you in.

During that process, you can’t get the internet services through another provider, because TEDATA has already taken it by force.

And I again wonder here, how did TEDATA manages to get that order of mine without presenting a document or a contract to the authority in charge at the main Central of Egypt Telecom to get that order functioned?!

Just a phone call and they right away get the authorization to execute the order to work on it without your permission. And if you want to cancel this order which of course you never signed any contract to become a member, you are forced to wait 15 days to get the number which will prove the termination of your non existing membership in the first place!

On the other hand, if you ask them to listen to the phone call you have had with their representative  which proves your claims, you don’t really get any specific respond from their part in that regard. Your rights are completely lost in there (they register all phone calls as they claim to guarantee the quality of their services!).

Without going any further into more details about that TEDATA issue, I think that TEDATA and some other similar companies when they started their business, they were good and they were working with high efficiency.

But when their business started to grow, they just become arrogant and they apply their services by force.

Those kinds of companies, they do forget that it is actually the client who is in fact pays their salaries.!

The Policy Of De Facto

In so many countries specially in the Arab world, so many customers lose their rights because they are so negative. They just gave up when facing complicating routines, bureaucracies and applying services by force through the DE Facto Policy.

“De Facto Policy means Exercising power or serving a function without being legally or officially established.”

When customers act negatively, they only help those companies in going further with their De Facto Policy.

If we want to stand against disreputable companies, we must act positively even if we face frustrations and no matter how long it takes to get your rights back , believe that it is you the customer who mainly help those companies on keeping or losing their businesses.

Egyptian Companies mentioned in this article:

Telecom Egypt – Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN – www.telecomegypt.com.eg

TE Data – A fully owned subsidiary of Telecom Egypt- www.tedata.net

LINKDSL – www.linkdsl.com

We want to hear your story!

Please comment if you have similar stories, bad experiences or if you want to help us in fighting disreputable companies, act positively to get the high services qualities you deserve in all aspects.

Last Updated on October 3, 2013 by Eman Nabih

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