Being a Smart Customer - Looking Further into Deals

When you see this sign, what will you do?
Will you take the bait?

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I have quite an interesting story to share with you guys. Well, at least for me, this story is interesting enough to write and post immediately. A few days ago, on September 29 2016, to be exact, I saw an interesting deal. A very interesting and tempting one. Imagine, for each web hosting package you extend or buy in September, you will also score a lifetime discount of up to 40%. This means that all your future payments regarding to affected packages will be discounted by 40%, forever. Very tempting, isn't it?

Above is the promotion banner. In case you don't understand, it says that there is a lifetime discount of up to 40%. For each web hosting package you buy, you will also get a free domain and free unlimited SSL.

However, I just couldn't bite that promotion, because I strongly believe that there are only a handful of deals that actually benefit the customers, or at least they come with lots of (hidden) terms and conditions. However, at that time, the promotion page didn't mention any terms and conditions, except that the deal was only valid in September, and that the promotion was applicable only to those who extend or purchase a web hosting package.

Driven by curiosity, I decided to have a chat with one of their customer service agents. Surprisingly, at the beginning, the agent told me that the discount was only applied once–no discounts would be applied in the future. Hearing that, I snapped, and immediately asked why they had put the word "lifetime" in the said promotion. After waiting for 30 minutes without any answer, the agent finally admitted that I was right, and the discount would be re-applied when I extended my hosting subscription. I suspect that the agent had been consulting with her supervisors about how the deal really worked during that 30-minute period. Anyway, I still couldn't believe such a deal could exist, and I kept bombarding the agent with questions and possible scenarios regarding the deal, especially when involving upgrading to a higher tier. Though there were some unanswered questions, the agent managed to convince me that the promotion was genuine, and was actually beneficial to me. I thanked the agent, and immediately bought a new hosting package with this deal, thus leaving my old hosting for dead.

Okay, back to our main topic. Let me remind you to always keep your heads up to all available deals and discounts out there. Honestly, I don't blame the marketing team behind those campaigns, since profits have to be made and there are mouths to feed. However, as a consumer, we have every right to exercise caution, especially when a deal sounds too good to be true, like the one I just told you about.

If you don't understand one or more aspects from that deal, don't hesitate to ask the customer service agents. Don't be shy, or feel bad, because if you do, there is a greater chance for you to be exploited by the deal instead of the other way. To further proof my point, there's a saying in Indonesia: "If you hesitate to ask, you will be lost". Customer service agents are trained to be patient when dealing with all kinds of customers, so don't worry about being scolded or treated unpleasantly (in fact, if you're unfortunate enough to be scolded, you should report that agent to his/her employer).

The most-known stereotype for customer service agents is that they are friendly and patient, so don't hesitate to ask them.

Well, I guess that's all, Folks. This article is never intended to blame any company, nor any particular division within a company. This article merely intends to remind us that whenever or wherever we are, we should always be a smart customer. As always, sound off what you're thinking in the comments section below. Finally, thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to your next visit. Have a nice day! :D