A chance to say thanks
Get your vote counted at this year's Channel Awards
It's been annoying me for a while now. At first it was just slightly grating but, as it's becoming such a regular occurrence and so prevalent, and the rewards becoming ever bigger, I am really starting to become maddened by it.
I've had my mobile phone for a number of years. I've paid by direct debit every month without fail, never lost a handset and always sent my old ones back after an upgrade. I'm a conscientious, and I would hope, valued customer.
And yet for years I've had to put up with peering at all the mouth-watering deals and brand new offers to entice new customers: free talk-time, free texts, free handset, free cuddly toy, the lot.
But me, an existing, loyal customer, what do I get? Nothing, nowt, nada, zilch. Not even a thank you.
Manners cost nothing, and things shouldn't be different in business. Retaining good business relationships is key to establishing a successful business.
O2 has just caught on to the idea, and has been heavily touting its 'Thanks' campaign, offering existing customers something to retain their business.
It's a move I'm sure the other service providers will emulate before long, because as much as we all love getting a free cuddly toy or gizmo that we will never use and will be filed away somewhere at home - most probably in a drawer known only as 'odds and sods' - what most of us would actually prefer is a genuine 'thank you'.
This is why at CRN we are giving all our reseller readers the chance to say thank you to their vendor and distributor business partners by voting for them as the Vendor or Distributor of the Year at this year's channel Oscars, the Channel Awards 2004.
This really is the reseller channel's chance to give something back to the vendors and distributors that not only helped to support your business this year, but worked to grow incremental business and develop new markets and revenue streams.