I have an issue that is really burning my ass lately. I just don’t understand how this whole surcharge (which have been made to look like taxes on phone bills) thing has gotten as out of control as it has. I review customer’s phone bills every day, and every day I want to pull out what is left of my hair.
It is very simple. The price of a PRI has dropped significantly over the last few years. What we used to sell for about $500.00 now can be purchased for as low as $299.00. At first glance you mark it up to a PRI becoming a commodity or competition in the marketplace. I am here to tell you it is neither. By the time you get done your bill is still going to be close to the $500.00 mark.
There are two reasons this chaps my ass. The first is the consumer is getting hosed! The second is that agents only get paid on the base price. Consumer bills are filled with what I like to call “bullshit charges.” These charges are made to look like taxes and have some very funny names like “Regulatory Recovery Fee” and “Universal Service Fund Surcharge.” The government let’s telcos get away with this. My question is why?
As simple way to look at this is your average cell phone bill. You think you pay $49 for that package but your bill is $75. Sure some of it is actual taxes, but some of it is also bullshit.
I just signed up a new customer here in Chicago and I took a vendor in to explain all of these charges to that customer. He told me that he bought from us because he knew he was getting screwed, but we were the only ones who were honest about it and took the time to walk him through all of it. So what happened to this poor guy? He gets his first bill and there is a new surcharge on it for “Network Maintenance.” He said to me, “Didn’t they know they were going to have to do maintenance on their network?”
We were honest and told him everything, and then some suit decides he can get another $10 of pure profit out of all their customers. Why? Because the government told him he could. How can we put a stop to this (or at least get paid on it since it is profit to the telcos)?
I know that many shady salespeople don’t even talk about these fees. I try, but it is obvious that I can’t even keep up with it and I deal with it every day. Something must be done, and I am looking to everyone reading this post for help. Please let me know your thoughts!