Virgin Media's Misguided Pursuit of Retention: A Tale of Bad Math and Worse Customer Service The £28m fine levied against Virgin Media for its egregious customer service practices is a stark reminder that even in an era of increasingly sophisticated technology, the fundamentals of treating customers with respect remain woefully underappreciated by some companies.
The Ofcom investigation uncovered a three year period during which millions of calls from would be cancellers were mishandled – deliberately hung up on or subjected to excessive delays.
Virgin Media's commission scheme incentivized call centre agents to engage in this type of behavior, with financial rewards for those who could successfully persuade customers to stay.