V Tolls – The Aftermath.
Since I wrote the first piece on this Vodacom price issue coined the phrase “Vtolls” ,thousands of people have visited this site and read that article.
I have seen many more responding directly to Vodacom via social media and telling them “Goodbye Vodacom ,no renewals for me..”
We are finally getting it and the ‘it’ is that WE have the power.
We , the consumer, the person in the street. No longer will be dictated to by local branches of wealthy multinationals.
We will no longer accept bullying and arrogance when it comes to our (very) hard earned money and more importantly , we WILL NOT ACCEPT BETRAYAL FROM OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
WE WILL STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS.
And that , my friends is a victory for us.
Finally.
Is this really a betrayal?
I have advocated that this unilateral action by Vodacom is a breach of their contract with us and that it constitutes a betrayal.
But what is betrayal? Is it fair to compare this with the emotional damage done by a cheating partner or spouse?
Below is a definition of betrayal from Wikipedia.
“Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations.”
Yep, under that definition, this is DEFINITELY a betrayal.
Vodacom may argue that ,” the amounts in question are miniscule and won’t have any real impact on our pockets and that they are necessary because of costs..” shmosts and blah…blah..blah…
THAT’S NOT THE POINT VODACOM.
Don’t you get it yet?
We have an agreement with you and you broke that agreement – even if you think your ‘terms and condition’ allow you to.
We trusted you and you didn’t trust us back.
Would it really have been so difficult to allocate some of that massive marketing spend on a customer survey to find out what WE think about this?
Nope. It was more important for you to make us buy the new S6 and keep dribbling on about “Power to you.”
YOU DIDN’T ASK US- YOU JUST DID IT!
Did you really think we wouldn’t mind?
Really?
We have seen this all before.
And here , writing this piece, I am reminded of another recent social issue that smacks of the very same arrogance – E Tolls.
The pattern is quite similar except this time , no one saw it coming! That was sneaky.
I wonder if the management teams at Vodacom looked at the E Toll debacle and said,”We must avoid that at ALL COSTS – but how? I know, we won’t tell them!!” (quiet laughter and snickering of the ‘hee hee’ type).
I am almost certain that the ANC wishes IT had thought of that before launching E Tolls!
Speaking of E Tolls, I really didn’t feel badly about it…it never left a bad taste, as this was something we expected from government and so while we resisted it, we didn’t really shed any tears.
Here, we had an agreement. We had a contract and we ( the Vodacom customer) played our part and honoured that contract . Every month we paid our bills. Every two years we upgraded and 80% of us INCREASED our upgrade!
Meanwhile you were plotting to cheat on us..while we went to work,cleaned the house, looked after the kids, prepared dinner, did the maintenance and gave everything – you knew you were going to cheat and yet you didn’t have the integrity or the respect for your loyal partner to even ASK us!
You took us for granted and that is unforgiveable.
The damage is done, the trust is gone.
Nothing you do from here on out can remove that stain or rebuild that trust- even if you don’t go ahead, you have revealed your true colours and that we can never undo.
Everything you have invested in building your brand has been wasted on this one single action.
Although many of us still have a way to go with you before we part ways, part ways we shall.
One question remains.
Was it worth it?
Was it worth the revenues you will generate from this to have so callously thrown away the trust and loyalty of your customers?
I truly hope so- because we were worth it.
Worth keeping and worth looking after.
WE WERE WORTH IT.
And that’s the Joburg Truth.