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PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Townman
Superuser
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PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Just seen the member centre splash page (unsure how long this has been around) - PlusNet are now offering 18 months free unlimited ADSL for no commitment beyond the 18 month contract.  This is sheer lunacy!
How on earth does marketing expect the company to pay for the essential support services without an income stream?  Staff certainly cannot work for nothing, so if ADSL is being given away how is quality support personnel going to be provided... or is that the heart of the matter - not enough of them are being (or will be) provided?

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

22 REPLIES 22
Oldjim
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

jelv
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

It's profitable for Plusnet because you have to take the exorbitantly priced phone package as well!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Razorback
Grafter
Posts: 208
Registered: ‎08-08-2014

Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Depends on your definition of free.
It is only “free” with £16.99 line rental, so you have to buy something to get the “free" offer.
MattyC
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

It's not the cheapest in the market at the moment.
ex-Plusnet staffer. Any posts after 28/07/2017 aren't on behalf of Plusnet
Townman
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Semantics - you have to have a phone line for ADSL.
For all ISPs the line rental is circa £17pcm.
Yes there are CPs out there who can shave a bit off the line rental, but then you'd have to fund the broadband separately.
Line charges though is a bit of a distraction - broadband capacity has to be bought by usage.  I recall not so long ago PlusNet talking about the myth and unstainability of unlimited usage ... and that was back in the days of pay-as-you-use bandwidth.
The only thing missing from this lunatic asylum offer is a £100 cash back offer similar to BT Retails!  Crazy

@Matty,
I think I must be missing something?  That image looks like PN brand style, but the line rental is more than that quoted on the current splash page (see OJ's post #2) so it is cheaper than what you've pointed to.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Oldjim
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Cost to Plusnet of basic line rental £86.72 + VAT = £8.67 per month so margin for broadband £8.23 and I hate to think how much they make on call charges given the charges by the smaller ISP's who don't subsidise broadband
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Well maybe there is a method to their madness. If you attract a lot of users with this 'free' offer, the next logical progression from ADSL is Fibre, so maybe they are playing the long game in the hope that the majority of users will simply stay with them and migrate to fibre, because it would appear that this is their best source of income. If you think about their new network it implies there is a demand for it, no doubt created by fibre users.
Just a thought.
glloyd
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

I for one would prefer to pay a little more for far better C/S.
w23
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Quote from: Townman
I think I must be missing something?  That image looks like PN brand style, but the line rental is more than that quoted on the current splash page (see OJ's post #2) so it is cheaper than what you've pointed to.
The image showing free broadband for 18 months with line rental @ £17.70 is TT.
Call me 'w23'
At any given moment in the universe many things happen. Coincidence is a matter of how close these events are in space, time and relationship.
Opinions expressed in forum posts are those of the poster, others may have different views.
MattyC
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Sorry, shoulda clarified that!  Cool
ex-Plusnet staffer. Any posts after 28/07/2017 aren't on behalf of Plusnet
Razorback
Grafter
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

It is not semantics.

If it was was really free then Plusnet would allow you to have free broadband whilst keeping your phone line elsewhere. As OJ points out by making you have line rental with them too they still generate decent margin.
pwatson
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Plusnet were even paying people to take free broadband around Black Friday!
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,146139.msg1287077.html#msg1287077
The cost of the phone rental isn't semantics - It's clearly subsidising the cost of broadband!!
Oldjim
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

jelv
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Re: PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

Quote from: Townman
For all ISPs the line rental is circa £17pcm.

No it isn't!
£13
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)