Why I Feel Bad Today

Today I learned that a prophecy I had made to someone nice had come true, for  them.  And it is not good news.

Last week I phoned VirginMedia to tell them that they were trying mistakenly to extract payment for my cancelled account.  I had to quit VirginMedia Broadband because they totally failed to perform, and repeatedly misled me. My ChangeWORLD business partner, also a long time Virgin customer,  had to quit after a total and lengthy failure of service.  He was told by Offcom (it was that bad) that they were in breach of contract.

My call was answered by someone who insisted that there was a penalty charge - when I questioned this and asked to speak to a supervisor I was disconnected - that is what we have come to expect from VirginMedia.  My second call was answered by someone totally different. This lady checked the facts, apologised nicely for an administrative error, and acted at once to cancel their end of the Direct Debit arrangement.  I was so pleased to be treated with courtesy and respect.

So pleased that, as I said goodbye, I suggested to the lady that she should start as quickly as possible to find a new job.   I explained that I was one of the authors of a business health measurement tool and that it was indicating that VirginMedia was going downhill, fast.  I told her that I was very sorry, after all the good years I had enjoyed with VirginNet, at the certainty that many jobs would be lost - possibly hers too.

We predicted this via the Competitive Strength point of view elsewhere in this Blog series.

Today's news is that VirginMedia will shed 2,000 jobs.

There are times when it is horrible to be proved right.