Who to believe?

Paul from Levin

Who to believe, a salesman a my front door or Consumer New Zealand?

A person at my door (5pm Sunday) wanted to persuade me to change both my internet and electricity suppliers to a combined package with Mercury. At his request, I supplied him with a typical monthly electricity bill. Without a moment’s pause for thought or consideration of what I had provided, he launched into a well practised flood of words describing how much better I could do with Mercury than with my current supplier, Power Shop. I agreed that he could email me a document describing what Mercury could provide under a 1-year contract and asked me to promise to reply to the email. I agreed though I made it clear that I was not likely to be convinced to change.

After he left I immediately visited Consumer New Zealand’s web site, knowing what I would find and replied to his email with an inner smile, wondering what, if any, impact it might have on him and his salesmanship:

"You visited me at 43 Burn St, Levin, about 5pm this evening. When you left I visited Consumer NZ to check their latest survey on consumer satisfaction with power companies.  Basically, I don't trust  large companies of any kind, and the larger, the less confidence I would have in their behaviour and service.  Furthermore, so far as I am concerned, the goals of salesmanship are focussed on persuasion, not on reality."

 "I quote from the survey results:
Note that Mercury came 10th and Contact was bottom in consumer approval.
"The best power companies
"Powershop and Frank Energy tied in first place this year, both scoring 67% for customer satisfaction. 
“Powershop and Frank Energy have achieved our People’s Choice award. It's the seventh time in 10 years that Powershop has taken out the accolade – a commendable achievement.” 
Frank Energy’s customers rate it highly for having competitive pricing, while Powershop customers rate it for its value for money."
"Disappointingly, the two power providers at the bottom of the pack had the largest market share. Mercury took tenth place, and Contact came in last at eleventh."
“Bundling power, phone and broadband plans is appealing as it offers the ‘one-stop-shop' convenience of paying only one bill. However, bundled plans can cost households more financially. Our survey results highlight that bundling could cost you in the satisfaction stakes, too.”
Thank you, Consumer NZ!!!