What?
Since when?
These companies don't operate as charities. A little flexibility can go a long way in customer satisfaction and loyalty. But if there is no chance that the customer will be able to break the habit and start paying when expected, it makes better business sense to cut bait. I know you aimed that question at Bob, but here is my answer anyway. Again, this answer is
from the company's perspective, which isn't always compassionate.
In my many years in DirecTV retention:
Slow Pays
If a customer was habitually paying late every month, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month. I didn't usually give them any discounts or promotions. I occasionally bluntly told them they could reduce their bill by $5 per month (the typical cost of the late fee) simply by paying their bill on time each month. Some people took this as a novel concept.
Non-Pays
If a customer had a habit of only paying their bills once the service got interrupted every couple months, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month and the "minimum service" fee whenever services got interrupted. I very rarely gave them any discounts or promotions, though, since this is typically just a matter of sloppy money management on the customer's part, or just not paying attention to when bills were due. These kinds of situations are not generally resolved with discounts or even a reduced service package -- the customer simply needs to learn to pay their bills before the TV gets shut off.
"I'm entitled" or Screamer
If I'm deciding whether or not to give the person a discount, on a scale of 1 (hell no) to 10 (whatever you ask for), if they get grumpy, think their entitled, or refuse to work with me to reduce their bill in other ways, they automatically fall a few points on the scale. On a side note, the "I read about this discount on SatelliteGuys" callers also slid a few points down the scale.
If a person in the "slow pay" or "non-pay" situations demanded a discount because "I'm a great customer", they would quickly learn that in order to get any kind of concession on the bill, they needed to learn to pay their bill on time.
"The economy sucks" combined with "I'm entitled to a discount"
Yes, the economy sucks, but it sucks for everyone (including the company), and most customers are still paying their bill on time. If the customer refuses to discuss a reduced service package or suspension and demands a discount, they generally didn't get one unless they have an excellent payment history in the past.
One-Time Issues
If a customer had a decent payment history in the past but had a one-time payment issue, it was easy to discuss a service reduction, service suspension, or maybe a one-time credit or reoccuring short-term discount to get them caught back up on the bill. People in this situation are generally upset at themselves or their financial situation, and don't take it out on the company. They are also generally thankful for the gesture and tend to stick with the company in the future.
