Charge me $150 less a month on mobile? Yes please (UPDATED)

UPDATE: This just in from a second reader (whom, like the first supplied his full name and company details):

I recently negotiated a new contract with Vodafone in regards to a new iPhone 4S on a 24-month term.

After telling them I was thinking of switching to Telecom, I was offered a $120 in credit as a loyalty one-off (I’ve been with Vodafone for six years, and have had two residential broadband contracts with them).

They were very willing and able to help me out.

What I found a little bit annoying though was they will not budge on the 250MB worth of data per month. 

A one-off loyalty credit good ... though not as good as any ongoing monthly discount for being a long-term customer.

On the heels of yesterday's latest development in the phone wars, I've had an email from a reader who's scored a big monthly saving in his mobile phone bill.

He related how he was spending $130 a month for 500 voice minutes on Vodafone, but always going over that cap and being billed around $250.

"I told them I was off to 2degrees," wrote Kevin.

He forwarded correspondence in which Vodafone countered with a $100 a month Business 100 plan with 1000 minutes to NZ mobiles, unlimited landline calls, 500MB of data, free voice mail and three NZBestMates (a new option that lets you allocate numbers on any network for 1000 minutes and 1000 texts to each of those numbers).

Best of all, Vodafone offered to waive the $370 termination fee for switching plans before Kevin's contract was up.

Nice. Vodafone kept his businesses.

Everybody should follow Kevin's lead, whoever their current phone company.

The episode underlines lawyer Michael Wigley of Wigley & Co's recent advice to NBR readers. That is, in the newly competitive environment, don't be shy of asking for a cheaper deal - or more minutes or data - even if you're mid-contract.

Similarly, be proactive about calling your phone company (or ISP) to check you're on the best value plan for your usage.

Plans are being update all the time, but phone companies and ISPs are only sometimes proactive about changing customers to the cheapest plan. Full credit to them when they do, but it pays to keep tabs. While making a support call to my ISP last week, I was both pleased (to hear) and disappointed (I wasn't told earlier) when the call centre rep told me I could have been on a cheaper plan for months. 

No reward for loyalty
A final point: a fellow NBR staffer was surveyed by a phone company the other day. They asked him what they could do better. He said he was disappointed he had been with them for years and years, but got no loyalty bonus or discount. The point resonated. In my case, I got treated like a chump.

If there are phone companies (or ISPs) out there that offer automatic benefits for long term customers, I'd love to hear about it. Email me or leave a comment below. I'm not talking about the odd points scheme or coupon, but paying less, every month, because you've stayed loyal for years, saving your provider a bundle (churn, and the cost of acquiring new customers, is a big expense).

But my general impression is that the opposite is the case. You don't get offered a better deal unless you threaten to walk, or a competitor hands you a signing bonus (six month discounts are common when you sign up with a new ISP, among other frills; admittedly in part to nullify termination fees with your existing provider - that good old negative incentive). Disloyalty pays.