Stop defection: using FUD and avoidance

The other mobile networks in the UK are shitting themselves.

Fraser Speirs gives us an anecdote of the lies and FUD told by T-Mobile when he decided to ditch his contract and switch to an iPhone on O2.

Firstly, there was a warning that “there are lots of problems with the iPhone”. What these “problems” were was left mostly unspecified, but I eventually extracted the claim that you “can’t send an email from the phone”. Then there was the claim that several features are “not compatible with O2’s network”.

and then there’s the rumour that Vodafone fought defections by switching off their customer services line:

Vodafone’s customer service line for customer cancellations is dead – it’s been dead since the iPhone’s launch last Friday. The helpful recorded message blames a “system fault” and kindly suggests that the customer call back later.

Whether you cre or not you could do worse than tuning into Stephen Fry’s blog where he tears strips off Philips for their technology missteps and then fawns over the iPhone a little bit more.

I’m still not sure, of course, whether her indoors’ boss actually bought one. I guess I’ll find out later.

Of course, Vodafone and T-Mobile could have tried something REALLY innovative like offering service plans that kicked O2’s butt? Or maybe cutting prices? But if the only think they can think of is just lying to their customers or avoiding their calls, then they deserve what they’re getting.