Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Hi Quentin

With regard to your last post, you fail to really 'get' what the Utility Warehouse is about. It isn't about rates it's about offering club members something that your so called 'proper' suppliers can't or won't do for their customers ie give a good overall deal with just one bill to worry about. The club isn't in the game of offering as many different tariffs as it thinks it can produce to confuse as many people as it's possible to do in the shortest possible time. It isn't about trying to offer the cheapest and undercutting just so it can offer a cheap deal with no real service.

It has never been about this. The club is more than this. It is about offering something of value. What's more, this is recognised by the many, many different 3rd party organisations including WHICH? magazine. Or do you consider Which? not worthwhile.

You keep going on about the ASA finding fault with the UW. I believe this occurred about twice in 10 years. And who referred the UW to the ASA. It wasn't customers but organisations such as BT. And why should BT or the like do it? Because they have an agenda as all big companies do when smaller companies such as UW are successfully competing against them.

I notice that you conveniently ignored my question in a previous post. So, I'll ask it again. If UW are so dodgy as you imply why is it that they are still around after 10 years?

The company is cash rich and without debt and getting stronger all the time with a track record liked by the 'city'. I know they like the company because the share value is the only one of the utility companies that has remained stable and is steadily growing. My wife who is a shareholder likes the dividend she got today. It had gone up and not by a small amount either.Which demonstrates the strength of the company as a whole.

I suggest again that the real reason why you don't like the company is because you have an aversion to what you consider to be 'not a proper supplier', plus the method of getting customers - by referral marketing.

I would also suggest that you start to read around how companies such as UW really operate before casting aspertions. It is ethical, well run, has growing popular support and gives people an opportunity not just to save money but make money. Or are you against ordinary people having a proper stake in a company that provides good service and good products at a fair price - not overpriced like the 35% increase which British Gas customers will now have to pay for their gas.

With UW you can be your own customer. I make money off my own bills as well as my customers beacuse I am my own customer. BT will never pay me for using their services. Nor will any of your so called 'proper suppliers'.

By all means be a rate chaser if you want but not all of us like the stress that comes with trying to chase after the 'best deal' you think some company is offering only to find the following week another company has a supposedly better deal.

UW isn't perfect. It never will be. But it's a darned sight better than the likes of BT and BG. Even people who work for BG think UW is better. I know I've been told often enough by their employess.

Regards
Steve



Regards
Steve

You are what is called a rate chaser. That's fine. The club doesn't want or need rate chasers. They only want people who like a good overall deal.

What's wrong with being a member of a club rather than a customer. These days customers are wrong as far as companies are concerned. Watchdog proves that. As a member of the club I can voice my opinion which I can assure you gets back to HQ. The company thrives on its members and IDs being able to make suggestions for improvement. In return club members get great customer service - something else the company has been winning awards for.

UW isn't for everyone but with over 200,000 members and growing strongly - all done by word of mouth - an awful lot of people are satisfied.

Regards
Steve

So you say.

I wouldn't go back to paying BT's so called great deals or BG extra 35% on top of the massive increases they have already passed on.

I'll tell you a little story which happened fairly recently. An UW distributor received a phone call out of the blue from a potential customer. She was referred by her manager at a British Gas call centre. She had recently joined the firm and asked her manager if BG gave their staff a discount on staff members gas energy bills. The manager laughed and said if you want a discount you had better join the Utility Warehouse. Needless to say, this person did because she realised she would get a far better deal than she would get from the company she worked for..

According your logic she was duped along with the other 200, 000 odd customers including me. I have to say I have had 10 years happily being duped apart from making money off my own and other people's bills I've recommended and not recommended.

Before attacking I suggest you try before you buy. You can do that with UW as we have no minimum contracts with most of the services. The same can't be said with the likes of the so called major companies you seem so fond of.

Regards
Steve

keggs wrote: »

UW isn't for everyone but with over 200,000 members and growing strongly - all done by word of mouth - an awful lot of people are satisfied.

Regards
Steve

Agreed, it is certainly done by "word of mouth".

The problem is that the 'mouth' that utters the words has a vested interest - namely money.

Fortunately none of my friends would try to get me to join UW - they would simply be too embarrassed to admit any connection with that sort of organisation.

They also don't organise Tupperware, Pippa Dee or Ann Summers parties.

Although that would might be an appropriate incentive that would fit UW's modus operandi - sign up for UW and get a free Ann Summers toy!!

Cardew

I'm very confused here.. Have your friends ever recommended a good book or film to you? If they have and you found out that they got paid by say the Odeon cinema for recommending you to their cinema would you suddenly feel cheated, shocked or duped even though you enjoyed the film.

If you do then that kind of attitude is ridiculous. It's also illogical. It's a perfectly normal everyday occurrence. Sky TV offer people vouchers to recommend Sky TV to their friends.I've known plumbers to offer people discounts if they recommend their services.

I offer free admittance to members of my sport club if they recommend a friend.

So, what is so terribly wrong with UW, Tuppaware, Usborne books, the list is endless paying someone to recommend something. It is sound business.

Your problem is that UW, Tuppaware, Usborne Books, Sony, MacDonalds, Burger King, and so on do not somehow fit into your supposed 'normal' business model.

Well a little business education here for you. Network or Referral marketing is far older (and is the traditional way of doing business) than your supposed way of doing business - big shops in high streets etc.

Furthermore, the only difference between network marketing and your supposed traditional way of doing business is that products or services go directly to the customer without the need to go through a whole host of intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers and so on. It is the latter that which creates the high costs that shoppers have to pay at the end. Not to mention VAT being added at every stage, high advertising costs and so on. Network marketing does away with most of this. The money saved is paid to people like me who use the services and recommend them to others. Not only is it highly rewarding financially it is highly rewarding in far more ways than you will ever realise.

Would you be happier if one of your friends ran their own mobile phone shop or computer shop for instance and just happened to offer the Utility Warehouse's services over the counter. Because that's all we as distributors are doing. We just don't have to spend a lot of money on renting premises, paying business bills etc. Instead we dispense with all that and talk to people who would like to try the services. Our shop is called a file which we carry around with us when we go to see someone. But there are computer shop and mobile phone shop owners in this business who simply see it as an extension of their current business but I doubt if any member of the public would even realise it if they went into the shop and 'bought' one of UW's services over the counter.

But because most distributors don't happen to do it that way you castigate them.

I'd suggest doing what I suggested to your fellow naysayers to do some proper research into what Network Marketing really is. A little education works wonders.

Regards
Steve